Holiest Day

Sunday Meeting of December 19, 2021
with Alfred Haferkamp, H.W., M.

The season of winter celebration is upon us. This year it is marked by challenges that continue to ask us to bring our attention to bear on the sacred, the good or, simply, the turning.

Alfred Haferkamp, H.W., M., is a long-time student of The Prosperos and teacher of certain Tai Chi forms. He has served as Dean of The Prosperos since 2009.

This presentation is about 42 minutes long; the introduction is by Ben Gilberti, H.W., M.

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COVID Words - Tolerance

A conversation with Prosperos Dean Al Haferkamp and William Fennie

Recorded March 24, 2021

This brief conversation continues our project to use words to excavate new understanding from the unprecedented challenge that is COVID-19.

Tolerance has applications in the social and family sphere, psychology, and engineering, to name only a few areas. Generally speaking, it applies to the number of disparate elements or conditions a given system can incorporate and manage before suffering from disequilibrium. Al and William chew over the implications of tolerance in a number of areas and the impact of “multiplication by infinity.”

We welcome your comments about this presentation on the Prosperos Podcast website.

COVID Words - Patient

A conversation with Prosperos Dean Al Haferkamp and William Fennie

Recorded March 7, 2021

This brief conversation continues our project to use words to excavate new understanding from the unprecedented challenge that is COVID-19.

In this episode we look at the word patient, as a noun and an adjective, and differentiate the sense of endurance from that of waiting. The following quote from the Nag Hammadi Library showed up the day after our conversation and captures the spirit of genuine patience very well :

This is the manner of those who possess
something of the immeasurable greatness from above
as they wait for the One alone and the perfect One,
the One who is there for them.

They do not go down to Hades
nor have they envy nor groaning nor death within them
but they rest in him who is at rest,
not striving nor being twisted around the truth.

They themselves are the truth, and the Father is within them
and they are in the Father, being perfect,
being undivided in the truly good one.

Being in no way deficient in anything,
they are set at rest, refreshed in the Spirit.

- The Gospen of Truth, NHL, p51
via June Singer, A Gnostic Book of Hours

We welcome your comments about this presentation on the Prosperos Podcast website.

COVID Words - Variant

A conversation with Prosperos Dean Al Haferkamp and William Fennie

Recorded February 8, 2021

This brief conversation continues our project to use words to excavate new understanding from the unprecedented challenge that is COVID-19.

We are hearing about variants of the COVID-19 virus. Al and William discuss the ramifications of such changes and, along the way, refer to an excellent (YouTube) presentation about 2021 potentials by Richard Tarnas of the California Institute of Integral Studies.

We welcome your comments about this presentation on the Prosperos Podcast website.

COVID Words - Criticism

A conversation with Prosperos Dean Al Haferkamp and William Fennie

Recorded January 31, 2021

This brief conversation continues our project to use words to excavate new understanding from the unprecedented challenge that is COVID-19.

We explore the many sides of criticism (or critique) : How the word is lodged in our thinking and what is the essential nature of criticism. We look at how it applies to the second and third steps of Translation class and how this process of discernment enables us to “call down the fire.”

We welcome your comments about this presentation on the Prosperos Podcast website.

COVID Words - Exploitation

A conversation with Prosperos Dean Al Haferkamp and William Fennie

Recorded January 3, 2021

This brief conversation continues our project to use words to excavate new understanding from the unprecedented challenge that is COVID-19.

This conversation is a bit of a throw-back. We spoke on January 3 but held back on releasing it to respond more immediately to the events of January 6 and January 20. The word exploitation has “positive” and “negative” connotations. We try to get to the essence of this difficult word.

We welcome your comments about this presentation on the Prosperos Podcast website.

COVID Words - Grief

A conversation with Prosperos Dean Al Haferkamp and William Fennie

Recorded January 20, 2021

This brief conversation continues our project to use words to excavate new understanding from the unprecedented challenge that is COVID-19.

This conversation took place on the evening of the Inauguration of the new American President. Event planners had the insight and intelligence to preface the inauguration ceremony with a lighting ceremony on the national mall the previous evening to remember the over 400,000 Americans killed by the COVID pandemic. This got us to thinking about the nature of grief in its individual and collective expression, as well as its close ties to our essential Beingness.

We welcome your comments about this presentation on the Prosperos Podcast website.

COVID Words - Lies, Shadow, and Insurrection

A conversation with Prosperos Dean Al Haferkamp and William Fennie

Recorded January 6, 2021

This brief conversation continues our project to use words to excavate new understanding from the unprecedented challenge that is COVID-19.

This conversation took place on the evening of a day Americans will remember for a long time. We open with a quotation from William's talk, "The Consciousness of Now", given on September 20, 2020. This conversation may appear a bit disjointed as we work through our reactions to the events of the day and put things into as large a context as we can. We reference a talk on C.G. Jung's conception of the Shadow by Carole Taylor of the Faculty of Astrological Studies (FAS), London. Definitely worth listening to if FAS ever make it available.

We welcome your comments about this presentation on the Prosperos Podcast website.

COVID Words - What have we learned ?

A conversation with Prosperos Dean Al Haferkamp and William Fennie

Recorded December 27, 2020

This brief conversation continues our project to use words to excavate new understanding from the unprecedented challenge that is COVID-19.

On the cusp of the new year, Al and William take a moment to reflect on what we’ve learned - not just during the COVID pandemic but during the four years of the Trump administration. They look at the movement of Saturn and Jupiter into the sign of Aquarius and what that might portend in general terms.

Correction : William says Jupiter doesn’t stay in Aquarius for a full year. Technically correct because it moves into Pisces, but retrogrades bring it back into Aquarius such that it makes its final move into Pisces on December 29, 2021.

COVID Words - Togetherness

A conversation with Prosperos Dean Al Haferkamp and William Fennie

Recorded December 13, 2020

This brief conversation continues our project to use words to excavate new understanding from the unprecedented challenge that is COVID-19

It seems to be dawning on us, collectively, that the answer to the COVID crisis - and to other large scale challenges - has to come from all of us, together. We look at the spirit of the season, the benefits of simple gratitude, and a winning strategy from an old friend, Ken Wauchope.

COVID Words - Heart

A conversation with Prosperos Dean Al Haferkamp and William Fennie

Recorded November 22, 2020

This brief conversation continues our project to use words to excavate new understanding from the unprecedented challenge that is COVID-19

Heart is seen as a COVID word because of the huge role it plays in navigating times like these. We talk about heart, about courage, and finally about bigness.

The long quotation from Al comes from an NPR interview with J. Frank Dobie, July 18, 2005.

COVID Words - Mobility

A conversation with Prosperos Dean Al Haferkamp and William Fennie

Recorded November 5, 2020

This brief conversation continues our project to use words to excavate new understanding from the unprecedented challenge that is COVID-19

Mobility is crucial to our sense of freedom and power. We explore the frustration around feeling immobilized and some ways of getting beyond appearances to a different kind of patience - and the secret to calling forth a principle of freedom.

COVID Words - Compression

A conversation with Prosperos Dean Al Haferkamp and William Fennie

Recorded October 28, 2020

This brief conversation continues our project to use words to excavate new understanding from the unprecedented challenge that is COVID-19

We started out by remarking that Mars is retrograde (in Aries) and will remain so until mid-November. After thinking it over we decided the word Compression best described the unique situation of energy that is not flowing outwards but gathering inwards. This led to some very interesting observations about the nature of energy. As Al put it, when you understand the nature of this kind of cycle:

“You're sitting on a personal powerhouse of creative expression.”

COVID Words - Debate

A conversation with Prosperos Dean Al Haferkamp and William Fennie

Recorded October 22, 2020

This brief conversation continues our project to use words to excavate new understanding from the unprecedented challenge that is COVID-19

Debate was the word of the day, and the upcoming evening’s ‘entertainment’. We look at the word’s roots and explore a surprising side of the word “argue”.

COVID Words - Blockages and Flow

A conversation with Prosperos Dean Al Haferkamp and William Fennie

Recorded October 18, 2020

This brief conversation continues our project to use words to excavate new understanding from the unprecedented challenge that is COVID-19

Al and William discuss blockages and flow, and how blockages can point to areas where something needs to be released, let go.

COVID Words - Energy and Rest

A conversation with Prosperos Dean Al Haferkamp and William Fennie

Recorded October 12, 2020

This brief conversation continues our project to use words to excavate new understanding from the unprecedented challenge that is COVID-19

This chat looks into Energy and explores one important component of energy, Rest.

COVID Words - Control

A conversation with Prosperos Dean Al Haferkamp and William Fennie

Recorded October 4, 2020

This brief conversation continues our project to use words to excavate new understanding from the unprecedented challenge that is COVID-19

This chat looks into the many ways we view and practice (or try to) control. Interestingly, the technology let us know that whatever illusions we had about being in charge were infantile. Bad connections were only the beginning. The good news is that we practiced discipline, as prescribed herein, and ended up with a recording that’s as good as any we’ve done.

William quoted Frank Herbert and got it wrong. The correct quote is :

“Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.”

Al has a great quote from Stephen Mitchell’s excellent interpretation of the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu

COVID Words - Challenge

A conversation with Prosperos Dean Al Haferkamp and William Fennie

Recorded August 30, 2020

This brief conversation continues our project to use words to excavate new understanding from the unprecedented challenge that is COVID-19

This chat expands our conversation related to astrological transits that were first hinted at by our Moonwobble update on August 18, specifically, Mars in Aries squaring Saturn in Capricorn. Here we look at the word challenge, a very Martian dynamic, and the way in which ideologies can lead us into actions that betray our spiritual integrity.

COVID Words - Fire

A conversation with Prosperos Dean Al Haferkamp and William Fennie

Recorded August 25, 2020

This brief conversation continues our project to use words to excavate new understanding from the unprecedented challenge that is COVID-19

This chat examines the experience of fire in both an inner and an outer sense. It was recorded several weeks before the catastrophic fires which have devastated Oregon over the past 10 days, and it includes references to significant astrological transits that were first hinted at by our Moonwobble update on August 18, specifically, Mars in Aries squaring Saturn in Capricorn. Along the way we pay a nostalgic visit to the cinematic equivalent of a wooly mammoth: Quest for Fire (1981).

COVID Words - Fatigue

A conversation with Prosperos Dean Al Haferkamp and William Fennie

Recorded August 13, 2020

This brief conversation continues our project to use words to excavate new understanding from the unprecedented challenge that is COVID-19

This chat examines the experience of fatigue, how that relates to various levels of energy and perceptions of energy, and the possibility of finding a source of renewal in compassion.