Interview with Matthias Rang
New member of the faculty of Study & Professional Development at the Goetheanum.
Goetheanum Alumni: What are your impulses and motifs in teaching Anthroposophy in general? How are these aspects reflected in your teaching?
Matthias Rang: A field as young as Anthroposophy can - to some extent not be taught. Rather, it has to be discovered and developed. For me, the study of Anthroposophy is like an excursion to inner worlds. How do I learn to distinguish a feeling from an idea in inner observation? It is actually fascinating that we can live without many abilities of this kind since in this, I not only get to know myself, but also understand better my relationship to the world.
GA: How is your competence in natural science extended by Anthroposophy and vice versa?
MR: Natural Science and Spiritual Science seem to have little in common. But as one looks closer, one notices how both are connected and can enhance each other. For example, the seed meditation begins with the observation of the sense-perceptible seed and leads further into the inner process of "letting the plant grow" out of it. In the imaginational shaping of the plant in its growth dynamics, I learn a lot about nature, as well as my soul capacities.
GA: What themes do you want to explore with the students and why do you think these aspects are important, especially at this time?
MR: We deal with social or personal problems and challenges all the time. In comparison, an awareness of inner challenges - our mental and spiritual needs - are also opportunities of our time that are little present in everyday life. However, I am convinced that these are the inner sides of the world's problems and will be crucial in solving them on the outside. The climate crisis, for example, is to a large extent a symptom of a disturbed relationship with nature. From this point of view, Goetheanism is not a luxury good, but a life insurance for man and nature.