What Am I Here For?
Finding My Path Through Life

Our path through life is as individual as we are but there are common threads which are part of being human. In this series we are looking at some of the questions that arise along the way.

7.30 - 9pm
£3.50 (£1 concessions, students and under 25s)
No bookings required - Just turn up

12th January - Russell Evans
Why on Earth are we here? The Search for Meaning in Life
Our 'know how' has vastly increased over the past two centuries, but we are in peril of losing our 'know why'. Purpose is becoming lost. Yet there is so much more to life than meets the eye. Our life journey can be a means of opening new eyes, the eyes of the soul. A beginning can be made now, where life questions lead to a meaningful quest.
Russell Evans is by profession a chartered electrical engineer, aiming to become a professional Human Being.

19th January - Rev. Pearl Goodwin
Coming and Going - Being Born and Dying
When we come into earthly life we already bring with us much from the past with who we are. We are however free in our choice in what we make of that. What do we take with us when we go through the gate of death?
Rev. Pearl Goodwin is a mother and a long-standing priest of the Christian Community, the movement for religious renewal founded on the work of Rudolf Steiner. She trained in embryology, and unites her scientific training with her work as a priest.

26th January - Terry Goodfellow
Life Unexpected
The course of our lives does not always turn out as we wish or intend. In this talk we will look at what significant events and meetings have affected us on life's journey, and how these may be illumined by Rudolf Steiner's understanding of karma.
Terry Goodfellow was House Manager at Rudolf Steiner House for many years and has contributed a number of articles on current events for New View magazine.

2nd February - Margli Matthews
Biography Work: Opening the Present of our Lives
In this talk Margli will explore biography work as a path of development that opens us to the potential of the present moment and its creative unfolding into the future. It awakens our interest in others and the world, engendering love for the human being in every circumstance.
Margli Matthews is a biographical counsellor, trainer and supervisor with over 25 years' experience in private practice and adult education.

9th February - Nick Thomas
Spiritual Experience gives Meaning to Life
In this age of the triumphs of materialism many people feel estranged from their destiny and find little or no real meaning in their lives. We can find that meaning when we wake up to the fact that we are spiritual beings. The future of the Earth and the cosmos depends upon that happening, and in this age we can train ourselves to have spiritual experiences and find again true meaning in life.
Nick Thomas was trained as an electrical engineer in the RAF. He has been interested in Rudolf Steiner's Anthroposophy since his teens and lectures widely on many themes. Currently he is engaged in research to develop a new spiritually-based scientific paradigm.

16th February - Angus Jenkinson
The Role of Work Challenges in your Path
Surprisingly, stress can be a valuable aid in understanding 'What Am I Here For? Finding My Path Through Life'. Life is a development process and 'stresses' are also soul signals for spiritual and practical development.
Angus Jenkinson is author of 'From Stress to Serenity, Gaining Strength in the Trials of Life' and will explore the origins, meaning and wisdom of different kinds of stress (while commiserating with the pain!).

23rd February - Dr. John Lees
The Different Paths of Anthroposophic Therapy, Psychoanalysis and Transpersonal Therapy
Counselling and psychotherapy has grown exponentially in recent years and different approaches to therapy offer different ways of understanding our path through life. This lecture will look at the similarities and differences between some fundamental approaches to therapy and their relevance to the crisis facing humanity at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
Dr. John Lees is an accredited therapist in private practice and researcher at the University of Leeds.

2nd March - Sevak Edward Gulbekian
Holding Your Own in Mass Culture
Contemporary culture throws up many challenges and obstacles in the path of the spiritual seeker. Should we nevertheless try to embrace our culture as it stands, or should we distance ourselves from it by retreating to our own spiritual communities? Alternatively, is there a third possibility - a way that allows for participation and balance, as well as transformation?
Sevak Edward Gulbekian is publisher and editor of Rudolf Steiner Press, Clairview Books and Temple Lodge Publishing. He is also the author of 'In the Belly of the Beast, Holding Your Own in Mass Culture' (2004).

9th March - Hazel Adams
Living in Creative Tension
The negative aspects of stress and tension in daily life are frequently aired with many interesting solutions on offer. Can pitfalls and growth points be identified in the landscape of human existence, which although clothed in individual gestures and colours nevertheless contain a common thread?
Hazel Adams will address themes which arise in her work as an Art Therapist and Colour Light Therapist at Blackthorn Medical Centre, Maidstone, Kent, which is an NHS practice integrating anthroposophic medicine and therapies.

16th March - Dr. Tessabella Lovemore
To Learn To Love
Most people know the importance of love, but learning to love when it does not naturally flow out of you seems impossible. Rudolf Steiner gave many indications of how one can develop the capacity to love anyone unconditionally and unreservedly. This active practical love he described as the moral ethic or foundation of Anthroposophy is within everyone's capacity to develop. It is not some kind of magnanimous expression of loving everyone, but an unreserved flow of health giving activity from one individual to the other.
Dr. Tessabella Lovemore is specialist in behaviour, relationships and learning after 20 years as a Steiner Waldorf teacher and 14 years as an education consultant and counsellor

23rd March - Rev. Peter van Breda
Christ - The Lord of Karma
Rudolf Steiner saw the incarnation of the Being of Christ as central to the ongoing development of humanity and the Earth. In our life before birth, and in our life after death, we will meet with spiritual beings who assist and guide us through the process of learning from the experience of one incarnation and preparing ourselves for the next. Christ is the being who, with us, reviews and prepares our future karma.
Rev. Peter Van Breda is a priest of the Christian Community in London, having lived and worked as a priest in South Africa for many years. His many interests include the relationship of classical art and literature to the work of Rudolf Steiner and the spiritual life.