reflection moments

meditation in the everyday

our spiral pathway I designed for our courtyard

I was recently asked about what I do to meditate. Like most people, I picture a moment of stillness, sitting perhaps in quietness and solitude, whereby I consciously look inward to tap into some peaceful place to bring clarity to my thoughts or to seek answers. I think, like most people, rarely do I have time in my family life and work life to have the luxury to create the formal atmosphere for meditation. While I do occasionally make the effort to create a meditative moment, I realized that upon further reflection, meditative moments happen in the everyday activities of my life.

What is the purpose of meditation? For me, it is to create harmony of spirit. By this, I mean, it could be the need to center oneself, to seek clarity, to open oneself up to a revelation, to deepen one's spirituality, or to tap into one's joyfulness and creativity.

It dawned on me that aside from those times when I actually sit in a meditative manner, I create harmony of spirit - meditation - when I engage my emotional and will forces in an activity that is inherently peaceful, reflective, and rhythmic.

These meditative moments are:

1. When I watch our rabbit eat after I have given her some fresh vegetables, and she seems content as the sun bathes her in morning light.
2. When I slowly walk the garbage cans to the curb, and the sound of its wheels roll hollowly and deeply, and crunch leaves on the driveway.
3. When I sip a cup of coffee as I breathe in the cool morning dew.
4. When I write a verse from scratch, with pen in hand and paper on my lap, and I reach within for words that fit what I am feeling and express what I want to say.
5. When I play the harp and improvise the melodies.
6. When I sand a wooden snail or streamer wand and think about where it will go and who will play with it.
7. When I listen to my daughter play guitar.
8. When I hear the spinning wheel that my wife is using to spin some yarn.
9. When I look closely at leaves and branches and see that there is something so beautiful in the patterns of shapes, colors, and textures.
10. When I drive long distances (this might be a guy thing!)
11. When I wake up in the morning from a tent, unzip the door flap, and step out into the wooded setting to bear witness to the majesty of our world.
12. When I clean the house and everything appears in order, each thing repsectfully sitting in its rightful place.
13. When the kids are in bed and the house is breathing, relaxing, re-energizing.

In each moment, it is a connection with the stillness of the world around us.

verse for thanks

for my family

Journeys are made across oceans

through uncharted waters

and into new worlds.

With courage

you face the day

with faith

you face the night

with hope

you face the future.

Only with your family

can you face

yourself.

Thank you Jennifer,

Ricky, Joey, and Wilson

for helping me

see me

and making the journey

together.

Happy Thanksgiving

to all.

five spheres

of waldorf education

Rudolf Steiner created a richly textured world when he developed anthroposophy and laid the foundation of Waldorf education. It would take a lifetime - and perhaps two or three more incarnations - to understand all of it! So, the best I can do in this life, in my striving as a creative spirit, is to make the journey with the help of art. The five symbols here, for me, represent the main concepts of Waldorf education.


The circumpunct is the first symbol of the Five Spheres of Waldorf Education. It represents the singularity of the self. It symbolizes oneness and wholeness. The individual human soul is unique, and our strength to do good in the outer world comes out of working the inner life. This inner development is the core of anthroposophy. Through meditation, practical training of one's internal faculties, and living a life of good intent and genuine striving does a person develop character and presence, valued by Steiner as paramount to a Waldorf teacher.



The second symbol is the yin yang. In eastern philosophy, it symbolizes the dynamics of polarity: male and female, light and dark, heaven and earth. I borrowed it to represent synergy between relationships, how a cycle of growth develops within the particular relationship between individuals. In Waldorf education, the quality of relationships is key in strengthening us and the community. Key relationships for the Waldorf teacher are with the student, the school, and the parents. For the Waldorf school, its relationship with the community is key in its growth.

Between teacher and student: the teacher nurtures, guides, inspires, and models for the student, who grows, and in turn, encourages, motivates, and respects the teacher.

Between teacher and parents: the teacher maintains open and honest communication, offering reassurances for the parent, who grows in the Waldorf philosophy, and in turn, develops trust and faith in the teacher.

Between teacher and colleagues: the teacher contributes, collaborates, and cooperates with colleagues, who in turn offer mentorship and support, and the school grows in its vision.



The third symbol is the triform. In Waldorf education, the familiar head, heart, and hands, or thinking, feeling, and willing, is represented by this simple triangle. Balance of these three areas of human development is carefully attenuated in the Waldorf classrooms. I also like to refer to the three areas as: 1. practical cognition (thinking), 2. creative freedom (feeling), and 3. global citizenry (willing). In the service of the Waldorf student, the dynamic balance of these three areas provides an exciting framework for the teacher in bringing the art of education to the child.



This four pointed symbol, while looking much like the rose cross, is used here as the compass rose. The rhythms of life, in seasonal changes, the seven-year cycle, math concepts, nature, and music, are revered in Waldorf education. I have used the compass rose to symbolize the rhythm of the main lesson.

Beginning with E, East: ENTER the classroom. The children are greeted by the teacher, and begin circle time, which synchronizes the energy of the classroom, and makes them ready to receive the day.

Moving counterclockwise to N, North: NEW content is introduced. After review of previous content, and some mental activities, the teacher introduces the new material of the main lesson.

Now heading to W, West: WORK in the practice books and main lesson books begins. Following two-day or three-day rhythms in learning material, the students work in their practice books or main lesson books, and here they may also be work with manipulatives or other activities to engage the student in a multisensory experience.

Finally, at S, South: STORYTIME closes the main lesson. Now, I don't think there is a hard and fast rule about storytime, as it seems to be different with class teachers and grade levels. However, generally, a story does help conclude the main lesson to help the student breathe out, and also offers the student something relevant to sleep on.



The fifth symbol is the pentacle, which symbolizes many things in different faiths and cultures. Here, it represents the concept of course, with two meanings. One, as a path of discovery, and two, as an area of study. It is about the Waldorf curriculum. If you can picture Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian man superimposed onto the star, at the head is language, in the left hand is music, arts, and crafts, in the right hand is math, in the left foot is social studies such as history, including geography, and in the right foot is natural science.

By being mindful of the concepts that each symbol represent, I believe that the Waldorf teacher will have a balanced and fulfilling experience in guiding his or her students to love learning.

veteran's hope

honoring our warriors

My grandfather Lolo Victor had served in WWII, a military engineer, a warrior, a man who helped me hone an artistic eye.

In honor of our veterans, let us proceed today in peace and hope.

My verse for veterans:

in war
they were soldiers
a fraternity of singular purpose
brothers in arms in mind in heart
eyes that have seen
the darkness
of war
at home
free men and women
individuals with many endeavors
holding family in arms
finding peace of mind
longing for love
to replace darkness
with light
at home

calendar of the soul

for november 10 thru 16

I feel my own force bearing fruit,

growing strong to give me to the world:

I feel my own being gaining power,

turning to clarity

in the weaving of life's destiny.

soul train

more on reincarnation and karma

Wilson visits with one of Arneson's "eggheads" at UC Davis, 2006

Our study group forged ahead on our study of Steiner's Reincarnation and Karma. In Chapter 2, Steiner offered philosophical concepts to help in our understanding of the movement of the soul through birth and death and rebirth.

What resonated with me was his illustration of the young child as the evidence for former incarnations. Soon after birth, the newborn is so full of life and energy. Without yet the provocations of the external world and influences of a thinking life, the baby is active in the will and strong in the feeling life. Where did these forces come from? Steiner believes they are what was carried over from the former incarnation. While the thoughts and concepts of one's life is learned and dissolves upon death, the striving of the individual, translated in the soul as the gestalt of feeling and will, is carried through the period between death and rebirth. This soul force is what is present in the newborn.

I created an image of my own - perhaps a simplification of reincarnation - but helpful in my understanding of the soul force. It is the soul train. Picture a train as the vehicle of the eternal soul, traveling through time and space. Each station that it arrives at is the physical embodiment of the soul, our life between birth and death. While at the station, the soul train experiences thoughts, feelings, and actions of the human being. Before it departs, the train loads the essence of the human: the striving, the feelings, the will forces. Upon death, the train leaves and travels once again through the spaces before it proceeds to the next station. At previous stations - former incarnations - the soul train builds and carries the essence of the soul, and every incarnation thereafter is a product of that force.

Each human of course is unique. We value our individuality, or in the context of Steiner's philosophy of human freedom, our individualized concepts. While the essence of the soul train lives within us, we are free to be who we are in the physical realm of human existence.

Clearly, we have a responsibility for what the soul train will take into the next incarnation. If we load the train, our soul, with positive feelings and good intentions of the will, then the human of our next incarnation will have the essence of a decent, striving individual, no matter what his or her endeavors and talents are. Karma - pass it forward.

In the study group, the image of the soul train sparked some humorous imagining of the train. What kind of train lives in me? A bullet train, locomotive, mag lev, the Chicago "L" train, a steam engine? Perhaps, it is that Little Blue Engine That Could.

strings and yarn

the best moments of life

Autumn's warm, dappled sun and crisp, cool air drew me, my daughter, and youngest son outdoors to enjoy a joyful moment. Guitar strumming and singing. Knitting. The synchronicity and spontaneity of the soul forces - it is an awesome feeling when the vibrations and rhythms of family, earth, and heaven just hum together.

verse for sleep

soul as nocturnal being

"spiral spirit" by rick tan, acrylic on canvas

an angel's inky blue veil
descends from the heavens
i close my eyes to welcome sleep
so that my body may rebuild
and my mind may release
the nocturnal nature
of my spirit self


free to travel
about the cosmos


chance meeting
with destiny
exploring all
possibilities
making unbiased
opinions
digging deep
into the unknown
cultivating
seeds of hope
embracing
fearfulness
flying high
by simple will
dancing with
the stars
finding insight
into worldy matters
and
receiving
God's graces.

reincarnation and karma

a study group seeks to understand



People come together drawn by a collective motivation to seek truth and order, or to activate the will towards a common goal. Our study group aims for both. In a book titled Reincarnation and Karma, a compilation of five lectures by Steiner, he makes a bold statement: "The whole of life I now lead has no foundation for me if I cannot know anything of my former incarnation."

Our study group, comprised of anthroposophists and those new to Steiner's works, all academics with advanced degrees, educators, administrators, and authors, artists and musicians, philosophers and scientists, does not simply accept things as written. Even Steiner would agree, we must discover the truths within us, we must first seek to understand. Then we can act with full intensity.

So, in diving into the first lecture (some have read the book more than once), the subject opened the floodgates as important questions and concerns poured forth!

Steiner poses the first question: "To what extent can we find, in the facts of life, proof that the conception of repeated earth lives and karma is true?"

The group offered more to ponder:

"If knowing that our abilities in this life are determined by faculties of a former incarnation, can this lead to a position of surrender and non-accountability?"

"What is a soul-kernel?"

"Upon death, we discard the physical body and our most penetrating thoughts. What then does the soul take with it into the spiritual realm?"

"If thoughts are so central to Steiner's philosophy, why does the soul not take them with it? Or does it, in a different form?"

"Is there a practical application, a usefulness, in knowing that my soul had former incarnations?"

"When Steiner says we must have knowledge of former incarnations, does he mean we should have a literal and direct knowledge of a former life, or does it mean we should have an openness to the general concept of renincarnation?"

"Does that knowledge mean being mindful of consequences?"

"Does that knowledge mean the acceptance of a spiritual reality?"

"Are we anxious for meaning?"

"What is the origin of the concepts and beliefs of reincarnation and karma?"

In the course of our discussion in the next few weeks, we hope to answer some of those questions.

To start, I would like to present a thing that Steiner describes in this first lecture that, for me, may answer some of those questions (well, at least, it will help me answer mine), and that is the word "force." Steiner uses this word to describe an intensified form of the thoughts or whatever else that is passed into the next life.

In our layered human existence, the kernel is our striving. Striving is a force. A powerful force. If in your striving you have layered positive thoughts and pure will, the force that Steiner speaks of will carry much weight in the spiritual realm. And into the next incarnation.

autumn storm

beauty in chaos and decay

organic material of Nature's body

through the spirit of God

receives Life and gives Death

storm fashioned from Earth and Heaven

through the eyes of Humankind

receives Death and gives Life

dalai lama

from syrendell's world leader series


I am pleased to announce a new member of our Syrendell family of wood crafts: Dalai Lama in the Dell! Freshly carved, sanded, and painted, he is available through our Etsy shop.

Along with Mother Theresa and Gandhi, our Dalai Lama reminds us to seek peace in our daily lives.

Here is my verse for peace:

born from the cosmic seed all
humankind begins as a cellular ball
with potential energy to proceed in love

growing in the womb of our earth mother
tethered to spirit cords of one another
a family cared for by our heaven father above

we crawl then walk and talk and interact
with innate sense for mindfulness and tact
yet some brothers choose to push and shove

a downward spiral created by the unthinking few
ending our earth stay in a catastrophic brew
so I offer now suggestions to extend our lease

close your eyes and inside you will find
your earth family connected by oneness of mind
think collectively and goodness will increase

the blood of angels from your chest the flow starts
coursing with others via oneness of heart
feel in empathic wisdom and be naturally at ease

sift through wartime rubble or play in timeless sand
we choose our actions through oneness of hands
so in kinetic energy let us proceed today in peace

calendar of the soul

for the week of october 13 - 19

watercolor painting by Ricky

Inwardly revived again, I can feel

my own being's vastness.

I can pour forth powerful beams of thought

rising from the soul's Sun-like might -

to solve life's mysteries

and give fulfillment to many wishes

whose wings loss of hope had lamed.

east bay waldorf

serenity in el sobrante

Nestled atop a ridge along Wildcat Canyon Regional Park in Contra Costa County, East Bay Waldorf School nurtures its children in the spirit of anthroposophy, educating them through the gifts of art, music, and nature. The rolling chaparral with coast live oak, eucalyptus, and maple provides the setting for this 11-acre K-8 school founded in 1980. Lavender and wild grasses grow along the perimeter, maples dot the school grounds, and a lone pepper tree stands guard next to a stuccoed bell tower in the central courtyard. A straw-bale structure houses wood-working tables, and an earthen chicken coup shelters hens and a couple of roosters. Wooden decks and large overhangs extend out from the classrooms to give students the continued feeling of protection in their daily lessons. Wood pegs lined one railing with colorful rubber boots made for small feet, apparently to let children play in puddles on rainy days - wonderful!

I was a guest teacher on Thursday, having done a main lesson for the third grade class, and an art lesson for their fourth grade class. Culturally diverse, and altogether endearing, the chidlren shared with me their joyful energy and youthful spirits.

For the third grade child, who is transitioning away from the security of oneness, and into the adventure of separateness, I had each one introduce him or herself while striking a pose, and repeating what each of their classmates also had done. As you might imagine, some had quite lively and exuberant poses, while others simple and quiet. It was my barometer to see what the students were like, and a way for me to remember their names.

Paying attention to the rhythms of our activities, I had them do a controlled exercise of passing a wood squirrel I had made, with words:

This is Sally Squirrel

There she goes

She will stop

Where the acorns grow!

Then they all placed acorn caps on their heads, and while balancing, sung to the tune of Little Tea Pot:

I'm a giant acorn

Here's my crown

When the wind blows

I fall down!

I then played my harp for them. After the end of each song, they asked for another one, and another. I was so glad they enjoyed the harp music.

The students were learning about time, so I brought as our new content and practice, wood blocks I fashioned from branches, along with sticks, and a circular mat (from our Syrendell Etsy shop). It was a partner activity where I instructed the children to count by ones using the short stick, and by fives using the long stick. Then, the sticks became the hands of the clock, and I gave them a time to match with their clock faces.

For storytime, I recounted from my own childhood the story of The Sleeping Giant, about my grandfather's adventures with me and my brothers through the countryside of the Philippines - the Sleeping Giant was a mountainside whose silhouette was that of a reclining man. The students are also learning about Cain and Abel, so I wanted to bring up in my story about my loving relationship with my younger brothers.

I closed with a simple verse, and their teacher then lead their rituals of getting ready for snack time. I felt blessed to have had the chance to be with the children and offer them some jewels of my life and work.

For the fourth grade class, I taught an art lesson on basic shading techniques using colored pencils. Their curriculum is all about the adventurous spirit of humankind - Norse mythology, Native American studies, California history. This is tied to their studies of zoology, geometry, and map making. The fourth grade child is expanding his or her boundaries, meeting the world with a mix of trepidation, wonder, and courage. Heroism is called for, strength and boldness is essential. Guidance is absolutely necessary.

I offered them the Warrior Code:

Fight for love

Aim for victory

Embrace fear

Accept destiny.

With reverence for the art instrument, I also asked them to recite with art pencil raised high above their heads:

In my hand I hold

The power to express

The beauty of my world

I use it with respect.

A classroom of 19 students, I prepared a drawing for each child from which they practiced shading corners and circles, creating three-dimensional spaces. In the end, using an extended version of the Warrior Code, with each word of the code I printed on the backs of their art papers, they reassembled their individual works to reveal the Midgard sea serpent! I had first prepped 20 sheets of paper by drawing a sea serpent (with artistic elements that allowed for the lesson on shading), then distributing them randomly in the classroom. It was like putting a puzzle together. The reveal was the coolest part of the lesson!

I was very thankful for East Bay Waldorf for welcoming me that day. It was clear to me that the teachers of the school cared deeply for the welfare of the children. I sensed in those I met, genuine and gentle souls.

In the peaceful setting of the school, through the spirits of the teachers, I

know that the children were loved and supported through their individual strivings.

inner work

the six essential exercises



Once we develop these inner qualities, we stand above all the dangers that can arise from the division in human nature. We can no longer stray from the path. These qualities, therefore, must be formed with the greatest precision. Then we enter the esoteric life.
-Steiner, Berlin, December 7, 1905

Steiner describes a series of qualities that are essential to our growth and development. Inner work is a major construct of anthroposophy, and one can easily understand the importance of it for the Waldorf classroom teacher, and for anyone else who wants to work on their inner Self.

The six essential qualities are as follows:

1. Control of Thoughts. Mastery of one's thoughts begins with setting aside a short time each day to focus consciously on a thought, placing it center in one's mind, and actively arranging other thoughts related to it in a logical manner. In this way, one practices creating order and logic in one's mind.

2. Self-Initiated Action. Often, our actions are a result of reactive circumstances, obligations to work and family, and environmental stimuli. This exercise asks one to initiate an activity or task that is derived solely from one's own inner drive, creating a connection with one's individualistic, unique Self.

3. Eveness of Feelings. Steiner describes it as detachment or imperturbability (detachment sounds too emotionless, and imperturbability is a funky word!) so I am using "eveness of feelings." One simply practices in regulating one's emotions to weather the ups and downs of life. Also, it decribes one's ability to take an objective perspective to fully evaluate the circumstances of one's surroundings. Sometimes, it helps to step outside of the self to see oneself clearly.

4. Goodness of a Thing. In everything, there is goodness. One must practice in seeing the silver lining in every situation that arises. Yin and yang. We are confronted everyday by what appears to us as negativity. It is a higher state to see the positive within it.

5. Having Faith. In the esoteric sense, this means that every new experience is met with openness. One must practice in avoiding past events and circumstances to color how one may approach a new idea or thought or concept. This allows you more freedom to experience the fullness of the world. You become fearless.

6. Balance. This is key to any esoteric or practical training. One must practice in harmonizing one's activities so that there is time for meditation, for practicing these exercises, for family, and everything else that develops one as a fully functioning human being.