In the silence during a taxi ride from Herdecke Community Hospital, the taxi driver softly says, “If I were sick, I would go to this hospital too.” — “Why? Have you had good experiences here?” — “No, but the people I pick up from here smile.” Another example: in the 1960s, a friend’s mother sent him to the Waldorf School in Hanover because she was touched by the school’s architecture. Yes, it is not uncommon for people to be attracted to anthroposophy because they are drawn in by the beauty of a building or a friendly face. “There’s Atmo here!”1 said a cameraman as I guided the filmmaker through the Goetheanum. Light-filled air. This light can also cast shadows when guests feel excluded from the “we” during conference lectures or when advice is given from a collection of quotations. What the image in the left panel of the Red Window in the Goetheanum calls for—learning to look at one’s own shadow—is now part of the basics of spiritual teaching. Here, the strengths are the old light, and the knowledge of the shadows is the new.
Translation Laura Liska
Image Workshop at the international annual conference of the Medical Section at the Goetheanum, 2025. Photo: Xue Li
