Perry Havranek

Born 1970 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Consultant and educator with entrepreneurial and social initiatives, applying conflict resolution, archetypal cosmology and eurythmy.

B. Commerce, 1996, Wits University (Majored in Mathematical Statistics with a 2nd). DipAstrol (with Distinction), 1999, Astrological Institute of Research and Studies. BA Dance (including Pedagogical Eurythmy with Distinction), 2005, Kairos Eurythmy School at the Centre for Creative Education. Eurythmy in the Workplace training with Annemarie Ehrlich. Active performing member of Cape Town’s Kairos Eurythmy Stage Ensemble in Africa and Europe as of 2005. Regular yearly seminars at Kairos Eurythmy Zentrum in Dornach with Ursula Zimmermann from 2002 to 2012. Presencing Foundation and Advanced Programmes, Presencing Institute. Regular Theory U community of practice working groups from 2011 to 2015.

Ongoing part-time educator and lecturer in adult education for 18 consecutive years at Waldorf teacher training university college, Centre for Creative Education in South Africa. Teaching module areas: Conflict Resolution, Archetypes and Creative Listening; Deepening Education through Meditation; Biography Work; Eurythmy.
 
Eurythmy educator (class 10 and 11) and choreographer for class 11’s artistic Eurythmy performance projects at Constantia Waldorf School (since 2013) and Michael Oak School (since 2016) with main lesson introduction on archetypal cosmology.
 
Goetheanum Meditation Initiative Worldwide journeyman since 2013- includes giving ongoing regular Anthroposophical Meditation workshops with Silke Sponheuer in Europe and South Africa.
 

Fruitful engagement with anthroposophic meditation can be enhanced by working on alignment and dynamic virtuous balance. This virtuous balance is characterized by Aristotle as the capacity to hold the balance between the too much and the too little. The longer term combined practice of alignment with social art can potentially help harmonize anti-social forces. On one level, alignment involves cultivating the everyday “mediator” self (charioteer) as an attuning instrument with the inner selves and Self (higher, deeper and wider charioteer). On the other hand, with the integrating outer selves (horses) in relation to the outer world. Thus this aligning inner work, when placed in service to the inner and outer worlds, can become an ever growing, uplifting and socially transforming dynamic factor for the evolution of humanity.

Rudolf Steiner has highlighted that “life is the constant creation and overcoming of opposites”. Joseph Beuys believed “Art, in my opinion, is the only truly evolutionary, revolutionary force". With a growing manifesting worldwide trend in the rise of populist (anti-social) forces and the accompanying fear, hate, doubt and revolt that it generates, our time paradoxically offers us multiple opportunities that include cultivating socially artistic responses. This cultivation involves exploring the “reciprocal relations between the social and the anti-social forces” with their presencing and absencing potentials. We will learn about and also experientially exercise with some aspects of these often conflicting polar forces. To give one example, Steiner urges that these anti-social forces “must be developed in us”. As these latter forces are often perceived and/or projected as part of the dynamics of the shadow/double, combining meditation with “social-artistic methods" can prove a valuable adjunct in a healthier exploration of these dynamics and their evolving edges.

Perry Havranek will be part of the workgroup <Meditation and Social Art>