Enquiry, as a Saturn Path Technique
A guide to meditative conversation
An integral part of Saturn Path meetings, such as that in Events, is Enquiry.
Enquiry is a form of meditative or ‘Goethean’ conversation that differs from ‘normal’ social interaction.
The purpose of ‘Enquiry’ is to open the true space between the self as it lives in one person, and its manifestation or appearance in another. Enquiry connects the inner spirit-life that I practice through taking my life seriously with that same space or life in another. It opens a sense of deep community between people, while also strengthening a person’s connection with their own direction and confidence in themselves.
Enquiry takes at least 30 minutes to practice well and with more than 2 or 3 may well need 90 minutes. In some circles I have joined, we practice for many days at a time, with the usual breaks.
It is helpful to have the spine upright, not rested back in easy chairs. Many practitioners prefer to be floor seated.
The focus here is on our inner soul-space. A sense of embodiment is an important counterbalance to the thoughts that seek to take this space. The body is a metaphor of our inner space, when we send our consciousness as loving interest into this body-space we are bringing Christ’s light into our darkness. The result is the astral and the etheric awakening to each other within the Christ-space of loving awareness.
“Where two or three are gathered in my Name,” said Christ, “There also will I be.”
In Rudolf Steiner’s description of the inner meanings of the Lord’s Prayer we find that the ‘Name of the Father’ is the true nature of the physical body. Also, that the true Name of Christ is the human “I,” this sacred point of attention, from which all of my life proceeds.
The inner space within which Enquiry works can be conditioned by bringing our points of attention together into a sacred purpose. This can be done with profound, leading-questions, or is easily done with a meditation, spoken aloud. Most of Steiner’s meditations weave together our personal experience with its cosmic counterpart. This is particularly strong in the Foundation Stone Meditation, which forms a core of Rudolf Steiner’s later work. In this seven-verse meditation, each ‘panel’ has two halves. Taking one of the seven ‘Rhythms,’ or a single panel, of this central meditation has been effective in work done so far.
The practice, leading on from the meditation, is to rest into the resultant silence of the inner space. As we settle more and more into this, we find one or more issues that do not wish to settle. When we bring the sacred light of our caring point of attention to such an issue it reveals itself as both thought, feeling and impulse to action. When we leave aside the impulse to action, step down from the thoughts and enquire into the feeling nature of the issue, we come to the “black cross,” the true nature of the sorrow that underlies our soul’s journey. This fear, at this moment, expresses our relationship with this situation, the circle of people we are in and the meditation we have shared.
Unlike social conversation, where what you speak is a response to what another spoke, here we only speak from what rises inside us in our silent inner space. If you have practiced Goethean Observation, you will be familiar with bringing contributions that do not build on what someone else has spoken but remain direct observations of the chosen object. Here the chosen object is the depth of one’s own inner silence and what, in there, is not easily settling.
“Know Thyself” means so much more than head-knowledge. The ancient meaning of to know is to love. There is a quiet intimacy involved. When we sit in silence, inner silence, we come closer to our deep self than thinking alone will ever achieve.
Do not be fooled into believing that a spoken observation has to be profound, insightful, or “a gift to the group.” Whatever does not wish to settle is a key to something deeper.
It could be as simple as:
• “that shoulder pain is back again.” Or
• “I am afraid for my child in their journey.” (the focus is ‘my fear’ here)
• “My money is running out, and I do not know what to do (I am afraid for my future.)”
• “I am feeling a deep joy at being here, now, buzzing within me.” (Love is awakening)
• “I really miss ‘X’ since they died.”
Enquiry is delving into these feelings and discovering the channel they hold for us to our source. Joy and sorrow are two sides of the flow that arrives from the infinite and enters the body through the inner spaces of the heart. When we put aside the rationalisation we attach to things and speak the core feelings, we discover that the whole circle is one connection to this flow, and each of us are a distinct perspective within that flow. What one of us is missing, another expresses. Without any attempt to answer, fix or even help anyone else, what one person speaks becomes an insight into what another is feeling.
If what is spoken is a genuine confession of personal feelings, expressions will slowly go deeper and deeper. More and more, we find the group becoming an integrated organism. As the opposite of conforming, individuals find their own expression becoming freed. Feelings that would not be acceptable in most settings become a creative part of the life of the whole group, each person revealing more of their own individuality and approach to life through deeper connections with their own heart.
My present favourite analogy for a group like this is that everyone becomes part of the same musical instrument. If you took the string off a guitar and strung it between two rocks, you’d hardly get any sound from it. The wood of the body of the instrument and (particularly) the space inside are what gives volume and quality to the instrument. If I speak when no one is truly listening, my voice gets lost. When I truly listen while another is speaking their meanings become clearer, even to themselves. When a whole group gives deep, silent attention to another’s attempts to speak their truth, that truth becomes clearer, that person finds themselves more fully. Rudolf Steiner expresses this as ‘the presence of the Saturn beings in the space between us.’ The Great Circle of Saturn defines our lives. It is within this circle that our destiny plays out. When we make space for these guides, the Saturn beings, between or amongst us, our lives take on more meaning. Thus, our destiny is facilitated, our gifts begin to flow more freely, and we enter more fully into the world.
We gather like this, not for a chance to speak, but for a chance to listen to each other. In this quality of listening, we find encouragement to listen also to our own heart, speaking its desires for this life, more clearly than it mostly can. Often there is no obvious, outward or logical connection between a person’s life beginning to flow more sweetly and this group activity, yet it is a repeated and common feature. Receiving the Black Cross with love, is the deed that grows the roses around it.
N.B. it needs to be added, that despite any resemblance, Enquiry groups are not therapy groups.
As such, it is not suitable for those hoping to get help with their inner life or stability. ‘Enquiry’ requires that every participant takes responsibility for their own feelings and has a handle on their emotions, such that they are willing to manage difficulties that may arise within their own meditative framework and not hold others responsible for wounds they may feel arising in their own soul. Those on any kind of psychoactive medication or feeling any symptoms of mental ill health should best avoid this work. If you have any doubts please do not book a workshop before consulting with the leader/organiser.
Read: The Golden Key
Read: The Lost Gardens of our Youth
Read: Parzival and the Sons of the Widow
Also helpful: The Shaman’s Code
