Gardens and Prayer

Biodynamic horn manure (BD #500) to bring earthly 

and cosmic life forces to the plants via the soil.

The French philosopher, mystic and activist, Simone Weil 

(1909–1943) once wrote, “Absolute unmixed attention is 

prayer.” Her statement holds meaning for those who en- 

gage in biodynamic work. While practical and scientific in- 

formation about biodynamics is widely available through 

hundreds of books, websites, classes and conferences, the 

spiritual aspects of our movement cannot be so neatly 

packaged and sold. 

Though it is important to share “how-to” information, 

and encourage friends and fellow farmers to use the prep- 

arations, it is equally essential for practitioners to adopt 

a devotional mood while working with the land. Rudolf 

Steiner describes an attitude of reverence as a fundamental 

prerequisite for the human soul to gain access to supersen- 

sible worlds. After all, emphasis on how the spiritual world 

is active in nature and agriculture is what sets biodynamics 

apart from organic agriculture. 

Mindfully stirring the preparations, or really being on 

our farms and in our gardens can become opportunities for 

the development of spiritual capacities. This is the juncture 

where we go beyond a biodynamic practice that is more 

or less, one of following instructions or guidelines, to one 

where the gardener or farmer participates with the whole 

of nature; through this higher sense of awareness, spiritual 

scientific research takes place. We become capable of phe- 

nomenological research, “reading the book of nature,” and 

can come to our own understanding of what, for example, 

a healthy plant, field, or landscape truly looks like. From 

the basis of this understanding, we can problem-solve and 

discern what can be done to restore balance. 

—Christy Korrow 

Letter to readers of the fall 2009 issue of Applied Biodynamics, the newsletter of the Josephine Porter Institute, Christy is managing editor.