Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Rudolf Steiner in 1889. 

Midnight EDT/
Noon Japan Time Update

Our guest commentator today is the anthroposophist Rudolf Steiner, who was born 25 or 27 February 1861 in Donji Kraljevec, then Kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire, now Croatia, and died 30 March 1925 in Dornach,Switzerland.


Underneath the solid earth there are a large number of subterranean spaces which communicate to the sixth layer, that of fire. This element of the fire-earth is intimately connected with the human will. It is this element which has produced the tremendous eruptions that brought the Lemurian epoch to an end. At that time the forces which nourish the human will went through a trial which unleashed the fire catastrophe that destroyed the Lemurian continent. In the course of evolution this sixth layer receded more and more toward the center and as a result volcanic eruptions became less frequent. And yet they are still produced as a result of the human will which, when it is evil and chaotic, magnetically acts on this layer and disrupts it. Nevertheless, when the human will is devoid of egoism, it is able to appease this fire. Materialistic periods are mostly accompanied and followed by natural cataclysms, earthquakes, etc. Growing powers of evolution are the only alchemy capable of transforming, little by little, the organism and the soul of the earth.-Rudolf Steiner, An Esoteric Cosmology

Yesterday TEPCO desperately sought ways to retrieve spent fuel rods from the leaking storage pools. This is a tacit admission that the effort to keep these rods cool using vast quantities of water was a losing battle. Temperatures in these pools are still rising as are surging radiation levels and the threat of spontaneous combustion of the rods is a real threat according to this story from the Associated Press.  It was obvious from the beginning that the creation of irradiated water indefinitely was not a feasible plan. Of course, we know now that TEPCO never had a plan for this. And we know that TEPCO was storing far more spent fuel at the site than acknowledged or permitted. 
"It may be difficult to completely remove the contaminated water and so allow work to proceed. We may need to think of other options." -Hidehiko Nishiyama, Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency Deputy Director-General

Assume for instance that we take, as firewood, wood that is derived from trees which were planted in the Earth without understanding of the cosmic rhythms. It will not provide the same health-giving warmth as firewood from trees that were planted intelligently. These things enter especially into the more intimate relationships of daily life, and here they show their great significance. Alas! the life of people has become almost entirely thoughtless nowadays. They are only too glad if they do not need to think of such things. They think it must all go an just like any machine. You have all the necessary contrivances; turn on the switch, and it goes. So do they conceive, materialistically, the working of all Nature.- Rudolf Steiner, The Agriculture Course

It seems that much  reclaimed land around Tokyo Bay has undergone liquefaction from the effects of the earthquake according to Bloomberg. Some of the most affected land is in the Urayasu suburb. The alchemy of the earthquake basically turns the loose reclaimed land to mud. Urayasu is one of only three residential areas in Tokyo that enjoyed increased housing values last year. 

“The problem is, buyers who bought the high-rise apartments because of the convenience of the bay area’s location and a view of the ocean are now reminded of danger,” said Miyoshi Kaido, a manager at Sanyu Appraisal Corp., a Tokyo-based property appraisal company. “We will see a rising number of sellers.”

Significantly, Disneyland is located in Urayasu. One can study elsewhere the esoteric nature of the fantasy-land of Disney if one desires. Fantasy and imagination in the service of greed is a trickster djinn. 

Take yarrow—a plant which is generally obtainable. If there is none of it in the district, you can use the dried herb just as well. Yarrow is indeed a miraculous creation. No doubt every plant is so; but if you afterwards look at any other plant, you will take it to heart all the more, what a marvel this yarrow is. It contains that of which I told you that the Spirit always moistens its fingers therewith when it wants to carry the different constituents — as carbon, nitrogen, etc. — to their several organic places. Yarrow stands out in Nature as though some creator of the plant-world had had it before him as a model, to show him how to bring the sulphur into a right relation to the remaining substances of the plant.
One would fain say, “In no other plant do the Nature-spirits attain such perfection in the use of sulphur as they do in yarrow.” And if you also know of the working of yarrow in the animal or human organism —if you know how well it can make good all that is due to weaknesses of the astral body (provided it is rightly carried into the biological sphere) — then you will trace it still farther, in its yarrow-nature, throughout the entire process of plant growth. Yarrow is always the greatest boon, wherever it grows wild in the country — at the edges of the fields or roads, where cereals or potatoes or any other crops are growing. It should on no account be weeded out. (Needless to say, we should prevent it from settling where it becomes a nuisance — it may become a nuisance, though it is never actually harmful). 
In a word, like sympathetic people in human society, who have a favourable influence by their mere presence and not by anything they say, so yarrow, in a district where it is plentiful, works beneficially by its mere presence.-Rudolf Steiner, The Agriculture Course

This AFP story reports that the ranks of the workers at Fukushima Daiishi are "thinning" but that some are ignoring personal radiation limits as they push on in the spirit of the samurai.

"...engineer Hiroyuki Kohno was heading back into the leaking plant, fully aware that one day it could make him very ill.
"My boss phoned me three days ago. He told me: 'The situation over there is much worse than what the media are reporting. It is beyond our imagination. But, will you still come?'," he told AFP.
"It was just that. We didn't need to say anything more because we both knew that the situation is really dreadful," the soft-spoken Kohno said, leaving lengthy pauses between his sentences.
The two did not discuss financial reward or compensation for the possible long-term health risks, which could include cancer.
"It's not even about money any more,"

We know that TEPCO has raised the radiation exposure limits for workers at the site three times. We also know that not all of the workers have been given personal dosimeters and must trust the company to track their exposure. We also know that the rapacious TEPCO has been using low paid  temporary workers who have negligible benefits.

To some extent, in this respect, the potato is akin to the tomato. The potato, too, works in a highly independent way, and in this sense: it passes easily right through the digestive process, penetrates into the brain, and makes the brain independent — independent even of the influence of the remaining Organs of the body. Indeed, the exaggerated use of potatoes is one of the factors that have made men and animals materialistic since the introduction of potato cultivation into Europe. We should only eat just enough potatoes to stimulate our brain and head-nature. The eating of potatoes, above all, should not be overdone.- Rudolf Steiner, The Agriculture Course

Southern Co. (SO) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thomas Fanning, whose company won $8.33 billion in U.S. nuclear loan guarantees last year, said the nation should build reactors without letting radiation releases from a Japanese plant “distract us from what we must do here.” Bloomberg reports. 

That's easy for you to say, Tom. I might be tempted to dispose of all morality and decency for an $8.33 billion loan guarantee from Uncle Sam. Get the tar and feathers for Mr. Potato, boys. 

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