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In December, the farmer brings the year’s harvest to the table for the end-of-year feast, recalling the labors that made this moment possible. Looking back through the seasons at the many efforts invested, some always stand out in bold outline because they were especially joyful, difficult, or both. The same holds true for this past year in our school.

The great advantage of theater is that it presses knowledge into our entire being. Unlike academic study, which mostly engages our mental function, enactment must involve our emotional and physical functions as well. It is a powerful tool for understanding, and understanding is our most powerful agent for lasting change.

Inner farming pursues a radical aim: not mere character refinement, not the elimination of isolated habits, but a fundamental transformation of who we call ‘I’. This metamorphosis demands specific conditions, both internal and external—and among these catalysts, none proves more potent than voluntary suffering.

The emotional center distorts our perception of the world by placing ourselves at its center. Misled by this bias, we take everything personally and experience feelings about situations that need not stimulate any feelings whatsoever.

A person in search of self-knowledge is called a Seeker. A seeker who puts self-knowledge into practice is called a Practitioner. Most seekers are reluctant to adopt a definite and grounded approach to their search, which means they continue seeking without ever finding.

A sound diagnosis is half the remedy. Our practitioner is wisely responding to something specific she has observed in herself. It is a pattern she knows well; she has seen it over and over again. Also, she is focusing her efforts on a specific area, namely her work with children.

It is in the nature of group work that the loss of understanding in any one of its members impacts the rest, especially since we have shared with them our intimate observations and challenges…

One of Darsha’s routine checkups alarmed her doctors. Her vital signs were more abnormal than expected. She was rushed through a series of more thorough tests and these showed even more concerning results. After consulting specialists in the field, the physician returned to deliver the news: Darsha’s end was near.

Last week, twenty six BePeriod students gathered in Northern Italy to study Esoteric Christianity. Traces of this ancient teaching can still be found in the mosaic decorations of the churches of Ravenna. But these mosaics were never meant to be studied academically…