“You never enjoy the world aright, till the Sea itself floweth in your veins, till you are clothed with the heavens, and crowned with the stars: and perceive yourself to be the sole heir of the whole world, and more than so, because men are in it who are every one sole heirs as well as you.

Till you can sing and rejoice and delight in God, as misers do in gold, and Kings in sceptres, you never enjoy the world.Till your spirit filleth the whole world, and the stars are your jewels; till you are as familiar with the ways of God in all Ages as with your walk and table: till you are intimately acquainted with that shady nothing out of which the world was made: till you love men so as to desire their happiness, with a thirst equal to the zeal of your own: till you delight in God for being good to all: you never enjoy the world.”

I couldn’t participate in the group this week, but enjoyed listening in afterwards. Several topics were touched upon, but the one that resonated most strongly in me was the participants trying to imagine and experience how the ancient Greeks felt connected with the world in an experiential way. However, as we know from other Steiner writings this must be accomplished with full I consciousness. To do otherwise would be to become re-enslaved by nature, to act out of unknown impulses and lose any possibility of freedom. It would mean to cede power, possibly to some fallen angel. I must consciously choose the harmony of the spheres to strum on the chords of my inner being and join the choir of like minded musicians.

I am drawn to the word re-enchantment to describe this superior state of re-connection. To become enchanted can be likened to the falling under the spell of a song (these are the etymological roots). Consequently some people might prefer to avoid the use of this word as it can have negative connotations. However, if I am the chooser of the song, if I am the chooser of the paradigm through which I view the whole of creation. If this choice has been made in full consciousness then I am a knowing doer to paraphrase a key concept from the philosophy of freedom/spiritual activity. Other candidates for words to describe this process might be re-magification, re-connection, re-turn. I will stick to re-enchantment for the time being and continue to emphasize that it is I who chooses the song that will make my soul sing. And with that I’ll leave it to Sade