Anthroposophic veterinary medicine – what is it?
In essence: Anthroposophic veterinary medicine rests in deepening and enriching the academic veterinary medicine – a strictly natural science – with philosophical/anthroposophical understanding of life and all living organisms. This understanding is mostly manifested in the universal fourfold typology of organisms which distinguishes: 1) physicality, 2) shaping and enlivening powers in organism, 3) soul/feeling of organisms and 4) the spirituality of organisms – their wisdom, basic self-knowledge of individuality. This gives ground to a better understanding of the source and essence of illnesses and new possibilities for diagnostics and treatment.
Who is this track designed for?
The Anthroposophic Veterinary Medicine track is primarily designed for professionals involved in animal care and healing, i.e. for veterinarians, veterinary caretakers, breeders of agricultural and domestic animals, etc. However, this track is open to anyone who is seriously interested in the topic – i.e. including biologists, biology teachers, and committed amateur breeders.
Programme of the track
Why is this track added to the conference Sources of Health? Because it shares the methodological foundations of the entire conference, especially the stress on personal/authentic knowledge and diagnostics. Learning and training of appropriate abilities, namely the ability to observe and to analyse without the burden of unconscious presuppositions and judgements takes place in the morning work group. Those are universally applicable abilities which is why the morning work group is open to all the related professionals who wish to partake in the aforementioned exercises.
The programme is thus composed of two parts:
1. Exercises in observation and assessment – authentic diagnostics (joint programme). This part of the programme takes place in the mornings and together with the participants of other work groups. It is comprised of morning eurythmy (feeling into and experiencing, exercising will and movement), exercises in observing life processes and the exercises of authentic understanding of thoughts and exercising logical thinking through working with a rich and complex text.
2. Two work groups of veterinary medicine (special programme). The seminar is built so that the participants can move from encounters with practical phenomena to their theoretical grasping. Therefore the first group (15:00 – 16:15) Animal and Man Pulse Diagnostics focuses more on the diagnostics on the level of fine physio-energetic processes. The following group (16:45 – 18:00) Constitution of young animals, the foundations of their health and the treatment of their illnesses picks up on the experienced phenomena and introduces their theoretical grounding from the perspective of anthroposophic veterinary medicine.
(Both the work groups refer back to each other but are at the same time autonomous and meaningful on their own and it is thus possible to only participate in one of them.)
Parallel seminar of Anthroposophical veterinary medicine: Constitution of young animals, the foundations of their health and the treatment of their illnesses / Wilbert Beyer
In this work group we will continue with familiarizing ourselves with the basics of Anthroposophical veterinary medicine, in other words veterinary medicine enriched with the Anthroposophical perspective on the foundations of life, nature, living organisms and both organic and inorganic processes. We will begin by summarizing last year’s seminar and then we will move on to the topic of this year – the veterinary medicine of young animals. We will use specific examples to discuss matters of constitution and health of young animals, their vaccination, growth, maturation and therapy. Furthermore, we shall address the principles of salt, sulphur and mercury and use those principles as a background for understanding the workings of Anthroposophical medicine.
Parallel seminar of Anthroposophical veterinary medicine: Pulse Diagnosis in animals and in humans / Markus Steiner
In this work group we will try to experience our own heart as a sensory organ. We will discuss the relationship between Chinese pulse diagnostics and a method derived from pulse diagnostics. This method allows us to determine the position of organs from our pulse. Using different exercises we will examine the qualities of emptiness and fullness – the core qualities of pulse itself. Using pulse diagnostics we will also examine illnesses and their link to the man-animal relationships. Later we will discuss the influence medicine can have on the quality of pulse. This group is also open to new participants as the content of last year will be summarised in the first meetings.