Camphill

 

It is quite some time I have not written in my blog…I wrote a bit on TTG blog…but somehow these last months I was not « in the mood » for writing…

 

I guess when I started my blog it was just in the beginning of Tho moving to Bhutan ( already 3 years ago !) and me trying to adjust between Switzerland/Vietnam/Bhutan

 

With Bhutan coming into our lives we needed to re-balance our lives and I think I needed to write my sort of diary/blog, in order to help me to make sens of it all, to digest and to share it with those I love, to keep us all on board in this very moving landscape of life!

 

These moments of « unsettling », »moving out of our comfort zone » are so precious, even though sometimes quite challenging on different levels…practical, inner etc…

 

Bhutan is now fully part of our life, many new wonderful friends, many experiences are interweaving with all the various « other » parts of our destiny, actually there is not such a feeling as « other parts » anymore…it is ONE life really !

 

So here I go again writing my blog…after a few months of …silence…

 There is in me , since quite some time, a feeling that we sometimes we do not always look in the right direction...I'll explain...

 

I called my blog Camphill…

 

In my previous blogs I told the story ( at least I think so…check it later) of our family living for 12 years in a Camphill community ...

 

For those of you who do not know Camphill I need to give a certain background

 

In the 30ties last century, an Austrian Doctor Karl König, who was of jewish origin, and a student of Rudolf Steiner, felt a calling to become a doctor specialized to work with children living with disabilities.

 

Rudolf Steiner was an austrian philosopher and spiritual teacher who’s aim it was to create a dialogue between philosophy/spirituality and science and to bring insights out of the meeting of these first seen as opposite attitudes into practical realizations ( Waldorf schools, Weleda, Wala, Medicine, bio dynamics, Demeter, Arts…etc etc) …something extraordinary in those days..something that it quite up to date nowadays ( Mind&Life and others..). He was the initiator of what is now called Steiner School education in which the social and emotional aspect of learning , creativity, education of head heart and hands etc is central.

 

Many insights of Steiner must be seen in a context of his time, of a very un-globalized world, time of colonialism, time of strict separation of anything spiritual and scientific

But some of his insights are still avant garde and valid today.

 Steiner died in the 19 twenties, so Dr König actually never met Rudolf Steiner personally.

 Dr König and a group of friends who all studied Anthroposophy together, some were doctors like him, some artists, many from jewish origin and rather from Viennas vibrant intellectual, openminded and artistic society, studied and practiced Steiners ideas together in Vienna.

 

As a Viennese myself, I always felt drawn to this « Vienna of the 1920 » when there was such a concentration of scientists, artists, philosophers, architects, gathered in this vibrant City…a moment of artistic grace of scientific breakthroughs…of innovations.

 

But the 3oties in Vienna turned into a very grimm and dark time...It was the rise of Hitler and the Nazi regime

 

The rise of the Nazi regime changed this vibrant creative City into a city of fear, desolation and war.

 

The Nazi regime refused dignity to people of jewish origin, to people living with disabilities, persecuted and killed many… Many jews fled Vienna Austria

 

Karl König and some of his friends also just fled Austria just in time.

 

They fled to England and came to Scottland. There they ceated the first « Camphill »in a place actually called Camphill.

 

They created a living community, a « village » of people living with disabilities, mainly children and so to say « not disabled » people together as a big community or almost family. Not working for, but living with...concentrating on each ones abilities, co workers, children etc not on the disabilities.

 

The main aim was to honor cherish the HUMAN BEING in all its forms, all its origins and to create a community in which respect, dignity and care of the Human nature are truly in the centre.

 

Till today there are over a 100 Camphill communities in the world

 

TTG has become partner of the Camphill movement and feels inspired by its principles and aims.

 

Why I tell you all this comes in my next chapter !

 

Camphill today ?

Ps this page is still under construction...too busy with Eurasia these days...

susumills@gmail.com 19.01.2015 19:06

"Respect, Dignity and Care of the Human Nature". Yes. <3

Commentaires

14.04 | 09:07

Je progresse un peu en anglais et j'ai presque tout compris. Merci Lisy pour ton magnifique engagement dans cette belle réalisation qu'est TTG.

11.04 | 01:36

Looking forward to your next article beeing amongs the friends and development of TTG.THANK YOU And all the best.

08.04 | 08:20

Beautiful Lisa,- yes for sure being among the clouds gives a whole wonderful other dimension, - if we listen into it, as you did. Thank you

08.04 | 07:44

Wonderful blog entry, than k you Lisi