Over the years, Michael has been developing various courses and workshops related to nature and Spiritual Science (Anthroposophy) in general. See below for upcoming courses and previous events
‘We are not Seperate’
Online Autumn Course – Perceiving and Working with Subtle Energies in Nature and Ourselves
5 Zoom meetings beginning Saturday 7th October 2023
9.00am – 11.00am
This introductory course offers ways to collectively and individually perceive the hidden energies active in the living world around us. Using a unique blend of online meetings, individual exercises in nature, movement and shared internet-free meditative space we will create a warm and supportive group experience, which can nurture the unfolding of our perceptive faculties.
Working with each other and the many elements of the non-human world can give us confidence that we are not separate from nature and that we have an important co-creative role in her future development; in these challenging times this feels like a hopeful and inspiring ideal.
The course comprises:
- 5 Zoom meetings (on consecutive Saturdays) including: meditation exercises, individual connection exercises to nature, movement (eurythmy), space for sharing and questions
- 5 individual walking exercises in nature (between meetings)
- 5 background reading texts from different streams of nature connection
- 5 optional short group meditation spaces offline, in our own homes (between meetings)
Cost: £100, concessions available.
To book a place a £25 deposit is payable to the bank details below, with the remainder payable before the course begins, or by individual arrangement. Michael Fuller T/A The Biodynamic Garden, sort code: 08-92-99, account number: 69318377
Please note: it is a requirement of the course that your camera and microphone are kept on during the meetings (notwithstanding unavoidable interruptions). This is to maximise our connective possibilities and to replicate the experience of being in an ‘in-person’ meeting despite being geographically separate.
Course dates: October 7th, 14th, 21st, November 4th, 11th. (no meeting October 28th – half term)
Comments from previous participants:
“I am amazed at how through zoom you managed to reach that deep into my/our soul life, what attention to detail and circumstances you paid to each and every one of us and how much time and energy you invested in this […] Somehow we connected without knowing the factual realities of each other so much and that on its own helps me to see how we are not separate from anything around us closer and further. Thank you from the very bottom or top of my heart!” – Emilija L.
“Thank you, Michael for this really inspiring workshop and thank you everyone for being so open to the group as an entity!” – Katerina V.
“With gratitude….Thank you so much Michael, and each and everyone in the group for sharing this experience. The openness and generosity has been very inspiring” – Trude L.
Introduction to Spiritual Science
In-person (Forest Row): Monday mornings, 9.00am -10.45 am beginning Monday 2nd October 2023
Online ( Zoom): Tuesday evenings 7.00pm – 8.45pm beginning Tuesday 3rd October 2023
During 16 sessions spread over two terms, available both in-person and online we will learn about the core ideas of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Spiritual Science (Anthroposophy) which includes biodynamic gardening. In this wide-ranging reading and guided discussion group we will study the spiritual background to all we experience on earth – ourselves, our environment, our relationships and will learn about life after death, karma and reincarnation, world evolution, Waldorf education and more.
This course is intended for those newly-acquainted with Spiritual Science; no previous knowledge or experience is necessary!
In-person (Forest Row) from 9.00am – 10.45am over 8 Monday mornings /term, beginning 2nd October 2023 (Autumn term)
Online (Zoom) from 7.00pm – 8.45pm over 8 Tuesday evenings /term, beginning 3rd October 2023 (Autumn term)
Cost: £120 /term ( 8 meetings), concessions available
To book a place a £25 deposit is payable to the bank details below, with the remainder payable before the course begins, or by individual arrangement. Michael Fuller T/A The Biodynamic Garden, sort code: 08-92-99, account number: 69318377
If you would like to get a flavour of the lectures please click here.
Course dates:
In- person (Monday mornings).
Autumn term 2023:
October 2nd, 9th, 16th, 30th, November 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th (no meeting October 23rd – half term), Spring term 2024: January 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th, February 5th, 26th, March 4th, 11th (no meetings February 12, 19th – half term)
Online (Tuesday evenings).
Autumn term 2023:
October 3rd, 10th, 17th, 31st, November 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th ( no meeting October 24th – half term). Spring term 2024: January 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th, February 6th, 20th, 27th, March 5th (no meeting February 13th – half term)
Comments from previous participants:
“If anyone is interested in going deeper and gaining some introductory knowledge on anthroposophy, we would like to recommend this course. we attended last year and found it to be mind-expanding, thought-provoking, challenging and fun. Michael is a delight.” – Charlotte B and Adam S. (online course)
“Thanks Michael, am loving our enquiries and how you hold a sacred space with humility and fun. […] I have found the group such a great meeting of knowledge, humour and interesting people”– Michelle M.
“A wonderful discovery of Anthroposophy through exchange of thoughts and the great perspective and understanding of Michael, in his beautiful home” – Gloria J.
“This is a great opportunity not only for people new to anthroposophy but also for people who have had experience in the field before. The variety of topics and activities can be very fruitful and it is also a good time to meet new people and debate in a healthy way. Tea and snacks is a big plus and Michael’s hospitality as well as his wide knowledge can make this course real fun and meaningful. By the end I was able to understand a lot more about anthroposophy, but most importantly, it left me with more and more questions and therefore an impulse to keep studying and learning” – Juan L.
“Thank you so much again for everything you gave to us as a group and also to me personally over the last 7 months. It has been so transformative for me in giving me both intellectual stimulation and insights, but also some tools that I needed to get through some of the hardest weeks of my life” – Sara W.
Please contact Michael for more information or to book a place at
contact@michaelfullergardens.co.uk or 07952 751029
Previous courses:
Embracing the Shadow: navigating our way through the encounter with evil today.
April – June 2023
A new course will take place in April – June 2024, please email me to register now.
A series of weekly meetings (10 online or 7 in-person) on the theme of the shadow, both within us and in the world, from the perspective of Spiritual Science. The course comprises guided study and discussion of 4 lectures by Rudolf Steiner about evil in our time and in the future Slavic epoch. We will also be working with artistic representations of Christ, Lucifer and Ahriman from the first Goetheanum and eurythmy-inspired movement.
Although some previous knowledge of Spiritual Science is helpful, the course is open to anyone who is looking for ways of navigating the often confusing and overwhelming encounters with the shadow today. Please feel very welcome to join me on this exciting and inspiring journey. Course numbers are limited to around 8-10.
Please note: whilst following the theme of last year’s course, we will be working in the main with new lectures and exercises. The course is therefore equally suited to new participants as well as those who took part last year.
Cost: apart from a £25 deposit, the course is donation-based, with a suggestion of £95 for the online course and £75 for the in-person course.
Online, Zoom (10 meetings): Tuesdays in term-time, 7.00pm -8.45pm
In-person, Forest Row (7 meetings): Mondays in term-time , 10.00am-12.00pm
Course overview:
- We will be working with 4 lectures by Rudolf Steiner on the theme outlined above. We begin each meeting with reading together a part of the relevant lecture; this will be around half an hour with the rest of the time comprising discussion and group work. The first lecture is the same as last year: the best description of Lucifer and Ahriman that I have found (in a lecture to the workmen at the Goetheanum), describing in a lively and understandable way the necessary qualities of light and dark that we carry within us. The following three lectures, not studied last year, bring us further into an intimate experience of ourselves: powerlessness, ways to transform evil in our different soul members and the ‘I’ as a double-edge sword. Becoming conscious of these experiences will become more and more important in the future as both the powers of the light and of the shadow intensify. To complement the study there will be blackboard drawings to illustrate the texts, as well as eurythmy-inspired movement, observation of art from the Goetheanum and some simple meditation and writing exercises.
- A reading list will be sent after booking, with links to online sources.
- One of the aims of the course is to create a safe space of ‘open enquiry’ for everyone, whatever their level of experience or knowledge of Spiritual Science. Allowing space for all participants to be able to ask questions and keeping a peaceful openness for answers to come from each of us, in particular from those newer to Spiritual Science, is an important part of the group dynamic. Therefore, although those more experienced are welcome, help with creating this quality would be very much appreciated.
- Although ‘Christ’ is mentioned in some of the lecture titles on the reading list, please be reassured that this is not a ‘Christian’ study group and no belief or otherwise in Christ is required to participate. We work with the Anthroposophical conception of Christ which I would interpret as ‘pure selfless love’ and/or ‘the highest expression of being human’ and is not attached to any dogma or religious belief.
- Artwork from Rudolf Steiner. All images of artwork will be made available during the course, but for those of you who wish to prepare in advance, please find below the list of the main works we will be observing:
a) ‘The Representative of Humanity’- wooden sculptural group
b) ‘Slavic Man’- pastel sketch for the ceiling of the Goetheanum
c) ‘The Redemption of Lucifer and Ahriman’ – sketch for north pink window of the Goetheanum (see illustration above)
d) Central motif: ‘the Representative of Humanity’ – pastel sketch for the ceiling of the Goetheanum
Comments from previous participants:
“Thank you for these past Mondays. This time around I thought it was a particularly special group – a combination perhaps of the things we were discussing, the addition of the non-intellectual experiences and visual material you brought, together with the constellation of people who came, and then all the good things we can now reliably expect to find in your groups – the honest questioning, striving for understanding, the creating and holding in an un-egoistic way a space for us all to listen, share and discuss difficult, enlightening and challenging ideas and understandings” – Rebecca D (in-person course)
“The motivation/aim that led me to take part in the course was to learn a bit more about the course topics but also to touch base with others around the country and learn what they find challenging. I also hoped to learn a little bit more about a ‘darkness’ that is to many anthroposophists a very real aspect of modern life. This aim was very much realised” – Nick K (online course)
“I found the provision of blackboard style drawings by you to be a most useful aspect of the course, and I believe I said, during the course itself, that to achieve such clear diagrams is something to be admired, as this is quite the art form in its own right. Congratulations on that. I thank you Michael for your work in compiling and running the course, which gave me new materials to read and new concepts to reflect upon” – Wendy T (online course)
“The shadow I faced most of the time with the course was: ‘the language barrier’. But not so much because of the difficulty in expressing my thoughts in other than my mother language, but more because I realised how difficult it is for me to find appropriate words (also in my language) to express thoughts which appeared as new realisations or as new questions. I realize this difficulty is connected with my inability to correctly express feelings which appear together with new thoughts. And finally, I found out, that when that happens, it is like being pregnant: you have something new inside in the darkness, yet much alive and in the process of growing. And that is the most beautiful gift I get from the course” – Mojca Maria K (online course)
Further details about the lectures covered in the course:
In ‘How do I find the Christ?’ we are shown that the experience of powerless and resurrection in our lives today is a consequence of the transformative working of Christ to counter adversarial forces from the year 666, this powerlessness is presented to us in both soul experiences and in speaking and writing.
In “The Mission of Evil” we are given inspiring examples of how we could work with and ‘digest’ shadow elements in our relationships, showing that the initiation into ‘The Mystery of Evil’ will be a necessary and ultimately inspiring and important force for the future.
In “The Future of Evil” we are led further with these thoughts, hearing about the development of the ‘I’ as a double-edged sword, and how the future will be decided in part upon whether we choose to work selflessly or selfishly with this ’I’. A picture of a hopeful future as described in the Book of Revelation is presented to us.
Connecting to Nature through Movement and Meditation
Sunday 24th April 2023, 10am – 5.30pm, Rudolf Steiner House, London NW1 6XT
Through a series of simple meditation and movement exercises, we will learn ways to perceive the subtle and often hidden energies that live in the world around us. The exercises are inspiring and fun and with continued practice can help us feel more in tune with the phenomena and beings of nature, leading to ways of becoming co-creators with them. The morning will consist of exercises to help us feel how these energies live in ourselves and each other; in the afternoon we will apply these experiences to explore ways to connect with plants and trees in nearby Regent’s Park.
The space that we create together, particularly through our sharing of experiences, can be nourishing and enlivening for each participant and also for the natural world. Experiencing nature in this way has real and important possibilities for the future; in these times of environmental and social turbulence this feels like a hopeful and inspiring ideal, an ideal which nature herself is asking for.
£45 full/£35 concession (£25 student/under 30). Booking is essential as numbers are limited.
Comments from previous participants:
“It was really an amazing workshop and I’m still processing all of the stuff that I experienced and felt. Something has shifted in me, and I am working out what to do with this new energy. Big thanks” – Rebecca H.
“You have a real gift for holding workshops! The way you spoke was very clear and captivating and you managed to create and hold this very safe and harmonious space for all of us. Please continue doing what you do!” – Emma S.
“I want to thank you for the wonderful course you gave. It was an unusual experience and one I that I think has helped me see things in a slightly different way. I love so much being in nature […] so to be able to see things more clearly, or to become better at communicating with nature itself seems so worthwhile” – Torquil L.
” I enjoyed the eurythmy, it felt very meaningful […] I felt connected energetically with the group and the surrounding nature. Overall, I feel more connected to nature and even more respect, awe and love for it. So thank you for that Michael ” – Jude D.