CHAPTER FOURTEEN

SPIRITUAL BEINGS STAND BEHIND MATTER

In her book “The Field,” Lynne McTaggart summarizes much of quantum physics research and states that “the zero point field is an ocean of microscopic vibrations in the space between things” and “the very underpinning of our universe is a heaving sea of energy, one vast quantum field. If this is true, everything would be connected to everything else like some invisible web.”To better understand Biodynamic farming, I have to share some ideas based on my understanding of how the world works. The above paragraph might help make sense and give some credibility to my beliefs, although I go one step further into the metaphysical. Behind this quantum field, I believe there is a spiritual world that is beyond time and space and energy. This world is as diverse as there are stars in the universe. Just as our earth has consciousness and we can talk about the being of Gaia, so every planet and star in the universe is a being, and there are billions. As there are so many levels to the universe, it is difficult to generalize but through ages of time, I believe our world has condensed from the spiritual world. I believe that, behind all physical matter, there stand spiritual beings. For instance, there is a being that is the essence of nitrogen. Over eons of time, this essence condensed out of the spiritual into the substance of earthly nitrogen. Over time, the spirit withdrew out of matter so that now we only experience nitrogen as the mineralized matter, the end of a process. This is the level at which science works, but there are other levels of existence that I will describe later. However, within the mineral world there are still forces at work. Science tends to think purely in quantitative terms but all minerals have energetic qualitative values as well. For instance, there is a whole healing industry surrounding crystals. Different crystals have qualities, energies that can heal conditions of the soul. We receive different energies from the ground if we live in a place that sits on granite or limestone. Metals too have an influence on the world. For instance, iron has the quality of hardness that makes it suitable either for war or ploughshares. Iron is found in a very high concentration in the mighty oak and a Steiner meditation on iron reads:The knobly oak tree speaks,Servant of the iron Mars,O Man, be rooted in the deeps
And reach up to the heights,Be active and strong,Be fighter, knight, protector.We have all these forces and substances within us that make us citizens of this mineral world. As farmers, we work with all these substances and forces. Depending on how we farm, these qualities can be stronger or weaker. It makes a difference whether the iron we get from our vegetables comes from synthetically fertilized soil or from a living soil where the forces from the cosmos are active. In a deadened soil, it is possible that the mineral substances are no longer imbued with energy, than these energies are no longer available to us. The iron does not provide us with the ability to be fighter, knight and protector.These forces only work in the mineral realm. As soon as we enter the realm of the plants and animals, the living realm, all the rules change. For the farmer, there are three levels to the spiritual world that we can experience working within nature. First, there are life forces. Although the plant or animal anchors this life force, it is one step above the physical; life as such does not rise out of mineral and chemical interactions. Rather life is a mighty power that we can experience, for example at birth. When a calf is born and it lunges to rise off the ground for its first drink, the mother patiently stands and nudges the calf into position. Or a seed breaking through the crust of soil to reach the sun. These let us experience the power of life. Beethoven catches this life force most perfectly in the Ninth Symphony. In “Ode to Joy,” the choir singsAll creatures drink of joyAt nature’s breast.Just and unjustAlike taste of her gift;She gave us kisses and the fruit of the vine,A tried friend to the end.Even the worm can feel contentment,And the cherub stands before God.Life pervades the whole cosmos and it is a celebration and hymn to god. Some of the Biodynamic preparations work directly to strengthen or harmonize this energy level. Rudolf Steiner terms it the etheric field.
The next level we can experience is the organizing principle of the plants and animals. All life is organized, in that it has parts or organs that have different functions. Most plants have roots, stems, leaves and flowers but on the whole they are not sentient beings the way animals are. For plants, this organizing principle of life comes from the outside. It is not experienced internally. For example, a leaf that is damaged does not feel sore or if the soil is infertile it does not feel hungry. Animals on the other hand are sentient beings, meaning they have feelings. This life of feeling is internalized. They are unhappy if hungry or they feel pain if infected by disease. Steiner named this body the astral body and again the preps work to heal and balance these forces.We still have one more spiritual realm, and this shines in from the periphery, for both plants and animals. The archetypes of the species are held in the realm of the constellations of the zodiac. When a seed is placed in the ground, it grows into its own kind because it fills in the formative forces coming from the zodiac with matter. For humans it is a little different, as each individual person is like a whole species of the animal kingdom. That is why astrology works for us. All people born under a certain sign, say Sagittarius, will have similar characteristics that they inherit as they incarnate. Again, the preps can strengthen and balance how the species come to incarnate into the plant or animal. As the spiritual world is so varied, people with spiritual vision have different organs of perception developed and therefore will see and experience different aspects. For me, after all these years of meditation, I can now see the beginnings of the etheric body, a beautiful, transparent blue cloud-like shape surrounding a plant. Being a beginner with this vision, it takes time to see it. I look at the plants and bring up a meditation which can vary. The core meditation for me is to be grateful that the plant is so faithful to her task in life and that every day she makes it possible for the world to survive. Here in Ecuador, the capital of the flower world, we have a beautiful flower garden and one particular white rose gives off a wonderful perfume. I am able to steep my senses with the sounds of nature, the delicate smells from the garden and earth and to take in the breathtaking view over the valley and mountains.
How Does The Farm Work As An Ecosystem?With these thoughts in mind, I will continue describing the farm as an ecosystem. I described my farm in Wisconsin in some detail but wish to continue along the lines of the terrestrial aspects.

THE FARM AS A SOLAR COLLECTOR. A farm can be thought of as a huge solar collector. Plants are about one and a half percent efficient in collecting solar energy but this is probably good as otherwise the soil could burn out. Then you need the converters of all the energy that is stored in the vegetation. Humans can convert some of this directly into food with vegetables and grains but it is hard to keep up the fertility of the farm when we only produce food for humans because humans do not give much fertility back to the land. Cows do, because they are ruminants. They love grass and legumes and so they excel at both converting the stored energy in the grass into food and also at providing fertility. They produce meat and milk and tons of manure and urine which is one of the best sources of fertility. When we spread compost made with cow manure, it is amazing how this dressing improves both the fertility and organic matter of the soil. The hay or pasture is also a restorative crop and can easily be worked into a rotation.
By rotation I mean SSSS
With all this fertility, we can grow food for people, like vegetables, corn, beans and small grains. Now we start to have a farm that is self-sufficient in both fertility and in the food needed to feed the cows.
THE FARM AS AN ETHERIC ENTITY.
The next level of the farm is the etheric and here we enter into the celestial forces. Within the farm boundary which I talked about before, the life forces of the plant are recycled. When the crops grow (we shall follow grass), the grass is full of life energy which the cow digests, and in her ruminant stomach adds her own energies. The resultant manure is a life-filled product that can be composted. In the compost pile, we are not only transforming organic matter into humus but are retaining the life energy, which when spread back on the ground, enlivens the soil. In the world of nature, there are hosts of nature spirits that we cannot see as they have no physical body. To name just a few, there are earth, water, air and fire beings, tree beings, landscape beings, cloud beings and house beings. In the past, many people could see these and indigenous people still accept and honor them as part of their lives. These beings are still around us. They carry the consciousness of the farm and they work on the energetic level. For them, it is difficult if they have to work with energies that come from off the farm. Especially hurtful are forces from synthetic fertilizers and herbicides that they have to assimilate into the farm organism. Part of my practice as a farmer is to honor these beings and for many years Susan and I spent time each morning communicating what we would be doing that day, explaining our needs and celebrating with them. In this way, we felt we were able to co-create with them, even if it was at a beginners’ level. We often felt that we were heard and helped. (Need to finish next paragraph}

THE SENTIENT LIFE OF BIODYNAMIC SOIL.

The earth of a biodynamic soil has a sentient life as well. It has the ability to strengthen within the plant the organizing principle that I talked about before. The astral principle is balanced, not over-powering the life forces and allowing the spirit formative forces to incarnate.We have now created a fertile soil that is imbued with life forces that want to become plant. Into this soil, we place a seed and the formative forces from the constellations of the zodiac that hold the archetypes ray into the seed and tell the seed what to grow into