November 14, 2007

i-Study in Motion
Initiative of the Individual Study of the Goetheanum and the Youth Section

“The risk of an i-study is that sooner or later you meet yourself. At some point you don’t have an escape. You have to face it, to see it in order to go on.” - Kathleen Morse
On a sunny January day in the Youth Section in Dornach, five people gathered around to begin a pilot program: ‘Live One’s Questions’. Annie Sauerland, Claire Lerner, and Kathleen Morse embarked on a project to study their burning questions in the context of life with the leadership and support of Elizabeth Wirsching and Juliana Hepp.
This is a project whose home is in the Individual Study program at the Goetheanum and is represented by Elizabeth Wirshing, head of the International Youth Section. It is funded by the Evidence Foundation.

From this center point in Dornach, Switzerland, Annie went East to Palestine, Kathleen went West to America, and Claire went South to Peru. During their travels, each young person engaged in living research around a burning question for themselves and the world.
Annie - What is the Spirit of Islam? Kathleen - What is the Spirit of America? Claire - Art and Communication
Each researcher studied in a variety of ways, including conversations, interviews, men-tor relationships, reading. Through everyday life rhythms, personal investigations, video documentation, and experiencing places in life where their questions were resounding, each made her study.

Through the experiences, each student could reflect upon what happened to them, and create their own meaning from this experience. This process is different from reading in the newspaper, or books about what is happening in the world situation, and different from being told what to think, or how to feel. Within the framework of this study, each individual was able to go out into the world with her question, and investigate, through their own experience, creating meaning in the world situation, putting together the pieces from themselves, and the shape of reality.

Annie’s theme of ‘Bridges’ took her to the Middle East. She began her presentation with an image of an expansive bridge in Lebanon which had been bombed in the war with Israel during the Summer of 2006. Then she spoke about the few bridges that were successfully built by young people in the Middle East. One powerful story was of a young Israeli Jewish girl, who snuck onto the bus going from Kibbutz Harduf, a Jewish community, to Ramallah for a social initiative project. It is illegal for her to pass the checkpoints, but she had a strong desire to be in Ramallah, and see the reality of the other side of the wall. One evening, the Arabic boy-scouts were singing. This girl didn’t sing, but she took out her flute and began to play. The scouts, who were already very touched by her act of courage of crossing the checkpoint, were entranced. A small group of children and teenagers began to congregate around the girl, and soon there was a small mob of people all listening, and sharing with each other. Annie co-organized an international youth conference “Walk Your Talk - crossing inner and outer boundaries” in Israel and Palestine, May 2007 as part of her individual study.
“Sometimes I have the feeling that I am the Middle East, exploding very easily Palestine is suffering, so am I. I can learn so much from the Middle East, Palestine brings me back to earth, meeting reality, that’s the gift of Palestine - from them to not make me fly away. And, I can offer them dream, vision, and initiative qualities.” - Annie Sauerland
Kathleen’s theme of Mirrors took her to Africa, Europe, Israel/Palestine, and the United States. She was interested in the affects of American foreign policy and military actions on individuals around the world. From these experiences she realized that while she could not immediately change US foreign policy, on a personally level, she could insti-tute change by meeting others on a human level. She also began to see clearly how we as individuals mirror the outer world in ourselves, and how our thoughts and actions are mirrors of the outer-situation. Because of this, we have the power to create both inner and outer change in the world. Kathleen organized an initiative meeting of young Ameri-cans in Vermont, Summer 2007.

Claire's theme of ‘Arriving’ took her into her own personal exploration of expression through painting. After an intensive winter of entering the process of art, she took what she had learned out into the world. She flew across the ocean to Peru where she orga-nized a workcamp – service-learning project - at St. Christof School for children with special needs in Lima, Peru. There she facilitated the building of a water clarification center as well as the building of a bench. The bench was a practical need of the school, but also a group artistic process whereby each individual contributed his or her own skills and visions to the creation of a bench that had beauty and purpose in its whole-ness.
“Two boys from Lima - one rich and one poor - were able to break through their own pre-conceived understanding and have a deep conversation with each other through working artistically with each other.”
“... also more and more unite the "two different worlds" inside of me I feel connected to (Peru & Germany)” -Claire

This pilot program has successfully run its course, giving tools and acting as a springboard into each individuals next endeavors in life. For more information on future individual studies in motion or living your own questions please contact

Elizabeth Wirsching elizabeth@youthsection.org.