Born Free Method: The Podcast Edmund Knighton, PhD (Part 1): Certainty in Uncertainty: Parenting, Presence, and the Pedagogy of the Soul
Edmund Knighton, Ph.D., is a seasoned educator, clinical psychologist, and somatic movement practitioner whose multidisciplinary career spans more than three decades. He has engaged through various capacities with Waldorf education for over 35 years, once even serving as the president of Rudolf Steiner College. Drawing on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner, the channeled material of “Ra” from the The Law of One, and somatic/transpersonal psychology, Edmund offers consulting for individuals, organizations, and families (including my own) committed to holistic growth.
You won’t find Edmund on social media, but you can reach out to him by email: Fifthwanderer@gmail.com if you ‘d like to have his support in your home.
In Part 1 of this series with Edmund, we discuss some of the basics around Steiner’s philosophy, the Waldorf pedagogy, a 3- and 4-fold approach to human wellbeing, and we start our venture into autism.
00:12:30 - The myth of normal. No…you’re not crazy. Edmund’s conscious conception of his son Liam. Edmund shares the immediate sense of relief (!!) they felt in discovering that Liam had Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21) along with the challenges of raising him which later was a hard strain on his marriage
00:23:38 - Edmund expands on the divine nature of Liam’s conception and why the Trisomy 21 diagnosis didn’t provoke fear or despair. Edmund offers a mantra firm Steiner for relaxing into being certain about uncertainty. “Ruchshau” and mini deaths as important practice for death at the end of life.
00:35:20 - The best explanation of Rudolf Steiner’s work that you will ever hear in as few words as possible. The essence of Waldorf education was born out of the spiritual failings of world reconstruction post-WWI. Likewise for biodynamic farming.
00:42:40 - A lot of work and healing starts in our dreams. Literally. Edmund met Steiner in a dream which prompted him to accept Steiner as a teacher. Steiner is hard for many but it was like drinking mother’s milk for Edmund, who also learns from Ra, the “Sun” God.
00:47:15 - Definition of the four-fold human: physical, etheric (life), astral (feeling/soul), and Ego bodies. What informs the growth and shape of the physical body? 7-year cycles and the development of a human. Who is to say that Steienr was right about everything? Pedagogical laws support ways to “teach” children based on their age and specific needs. Chaos at a higher level is lawful motion. When your children are hitting you this is an attempt at loving. The absence of love is indifference. Anger wakes us up to our own needs, which is why kids scream and “tantrum”. We also comment on the three-fold human.
01:00:00 - The etheric (life/memory) body. growing these subtle energetic bodies for ourselves is the work of good parenting. Instead of “teaching” a child, why not optimize their environment (starting with ourselves) so that the child can organize herself, and this may be at a different pace than society demands. “Oppression” in teaching . Movement contains the soul and permits the soul to penetrate more deeply into our skeletal structure...but only when movement is soulful.
01:06:40 - The astral (feeling/soul) body. Spirit bodies. Development happens in 7-year cycles, and this can help explain why so much transition happens in our 40s. Purposeful movement defined through the lens of the 8 limbs of yoga. This year marks a hundred years of Waldorf pedagogy in the world. The purpose of movement in yoga is to achieve nothing/stillness (don’t be fooled by its bastardization in the West).
01:16:50 - Children wake up in the “doing” of life through own embodied living as parents. Rhythm is critical to the day/life of young children. Always allow stillness after movement. Our job as parents is to stay out of their way, which is an active process.
01:23:30 - What if Autism isn’t something that can (or should) be fixed? Good Waldorf kindergarten teachers first notice movement of their pupils and how to support them through rhythm in the classroom, which may be even more important for children with autism. Waldorf educators are actively studying your children as a biodynamic gardener might study a plant, and this “study” promote the conscious, passive transformation of the child.
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References from the conversation:
* Buddha in Red Face, by Eduardo Duran
* The Ra Material, by Ekins Rueckert
* Blume’s Taxonomy of Learning
* Philosophy of Freedom, by Rudolf Steiner
* Eurythmy
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