Painting : Irma Stropeni
"Anthroposophical Biography Work"
Among the many good things brought into the world by Rudolph Steiner are two exercises given in a lecture in 1916, which have since become a basis for biography work. The first is a tool for developing better self knowledge ; the second a way to deepen awareness and appreciation for our fellow human beings.
Biography work is done in groups, and led by a facilitator who provides biography exercises, asks questions to clarify participant responses, and moderates discussion that follows. The theme of an exercise might be work and career, some aspect of one’s relationships with others, or some aspect of inner life - any theme the facilitator knows is relevant to the group, or that it wants to explore.
Each exercise looks at a particular situation, and a particular moment in time. The heart of the work is to explore a particular memory in gentle, careful detail. This includes :
- a physical description of the place, of oneself and of others present.
- feelings and thoughts surrounding that moment.
- recalling what happened, and the actions of all concerned.
- reflection on the effects and meaning that moment came to have for us.
For the first kind of biography exercise, emphasis is mostly on ourselves ; with the second on others, and the effects they had on us.
For most of us, our self knowledge has definite gaps. We’re invested in our sense of ourselves, and can’t help “taking our own side,” even at the expense of accuracy. Biography work with Steiner’s first exercise lets us see ourselves from a different angle. We may find we take ourselves by surprise - and that what we learn is not just helpful and useful, but new.
The second exercise has different effects - namely to open our eyes to the people around us, and awaken interest in them.
If we’re truly honest with ourselves, we’ll notice that the greater part of what we know, we’ve actually learned from others. We’ll also notice that, consciously or unconsciously, we’ve taken on our best character traits from people we love and admire - or built them up in reaction to people who've somehow disturbed us.
In this second exercise, past experiences with others are looked at in a precise, meticulously nonjudgmental way. Again we find ourselves surprised – this time by the extent to which we owe our best achievements and qualities to the influence of others. The outcome is that we’re not just more grateful to people in our past, but more interested and open toward people in the present – including those we meet for the first time.
Biography work is most often done in a series of exercise over the course of a weekend, or in weekly sessions, either covering a specific life theme, or working toward an overview of our lives so far. Positive effects of this work include :
- more clear and objective knowledge of ourselves, free of harsh self judgement on the one hand, flattering illusions on the other.
- an ability to bear painful feelings calmly and with courage ; and bear joyous ones with balance and equanimity.
- clarity about what we need to do as next steps in our lives, or in some situation we face.
- a sense of continuity and unity concerning our lives - a sense of pattern, purpose, and meaning.
- gratitude for what we've received from others, and new openness for those we know or meet.
As we look at experiences with people in our lives from these slightly different perspectives, our old familiar image of ourselves changes. We notice it becomes more objective, and at the same time more of a mystery. We may actually find our new image of ourselves more interesting - and something of a relief. Questions and comments from the facilitator and co-participants help further complete our picture.
The two exercises described arose from indications given by Rudolf Steiner in the lecture Social and Antisocial Forces in the Human Being, to be explored next in this series.
Jeff Smith RN (Retired)
Next in series : Social and Antisocial Forces
Series overview : Anthroposophical Biography Work : An Introduction !
Please share this page with friends
"Anthroposophical Biography Work"
Among the many good things brought into the world by Rudolph Steiner are two exercises given in a lecture in 1916, which have since become a basis for biography work. The first is a tool for developing better self knowledge ; the second a way to deepen awareness and appreciation for our fellow human beings.
Biography work is done in groups, and led by a facilitator who provides biography exercises, asks questions to clarify participant responses, and moderates discussion that follows. The theme of an exercise might be work and career, some aspect of one’s relationships with others, or some aspect of inner life - any theme the facilitator knows is relevant to the group, or that it wants to explore.
Each exercise looks at a particular situation, and a particular moment in time. The heart of the work is to explore a particular memory in gentle, careful detail. This includes :
- a physical description of the place, of oneself and of others present.
- feelings and thoughts surrounding that moment.
- recalling what happened, and the actions of all concerned.
- reflection on the effects and meaning that moment came to have for us.
For the first kind of biography exercise, emphasis is mostly on ourselves ; with the second on others, and the effects they had on us.
For most of us, our self knowledge has definite gaps. We’re invested in our sense of ourselves, and can’t help “taking our own side,” even at the expense of accuracy. Biography work with Steiner’s first exercise lets us see ourselves from a different angle. We may find we take ourselves by surprise - and that what we learn is not just helpful and useful, but new.
The second exercise has different effects - namely to open our eyes to the people around us, and awaken interest in them.
If we’re truly honest with ourselves, we’ll notice that the greater part of what we know, we’ve actually learned from others. We’ll also notice that, consciously or unconsciously, we’ve taken on our best character traits from people we love and admire - or built them up in reaction to people who've somehow disturbed us.
In this second exercise, past experiences with others are looked at in a precise, meticulously nonjudgmental way. Again we find ourselves surprised – this time by the extent to which we owe our best achievements and qualities to the influence of others. The outcome is that we’re not just more grateful to people in our past, but more interested and open toward people in the present – including those we meet for the first time.
Biography work is most often done in a series of exercise over the course of a weekend, or in weekly sessions, either covering a specific life theme, or working toward an overview of our lives so far. Positive effects of this work include :
- more clear and objective knowledge of ourselves, free of harsh self judgement on the one hand, flattering illusions on the other.
- an ability to bear painful feelings calmly and with courage ; and bear joyous ones with balance and equanimity.
- clarity about what we need to do as next steps in our lives, or in some situation we face.
- a sense of continuity and unity concerning our lives - a sense of pattern, purpose, and meaning.
- gratitude for what we've received from others, and new openness for those we know or meet.
As we look at experiences with people in our lives from these slightly different perspectives, our old familiar image of ourselves changes. We notice it becomes more objective, and at the same time more of a mystery. We may actually find our new image of ourselves more interesting - and something of a relief. Questions and comments from the facilitator and co-participants help further complete our picture.
The two exercises described arose from indications given by Rudolf Steiner in the lecture Social and Antisocial Forces in the Human Being, to be explored next in this series.
Jeff Smith RN (Retired)
Next in series : Social and Antisocial Forces
Series overview : Anthroposophical Biography Work : An Introduction !
Please share this page with friends
