Riddle of America, The - Waldorf Research Institute

Choosing America as a Placefor Incarnation or Immigrationin the 21st CenturybyVirginia SeaseEach person who finds a relation to Anthroposophy treads a uniquepath of study and meditation that fits his or her specific life situation. Besidesthis more individual aspect, however, there are general themes thatare timeless in their nature and yet sometimes demand attention at a specificmoment out of inner historical necessity. Now that we have entered the nextmillennium, such a theme, in my estimation, centers on the relation of thehuman being to the spiritual hierarchies. This acquires special importancefor America due to the unique situation of its folk spirit.Whereas other countries such as Italy, Norway, and France have aguiding folk spirit that is at the level of an Archangel, America does not havean archangelic being as its folk-spirit. America has a being that is higher inrank, an Archai-being, but this Archai-being has remained behind in thenormal course of evolution. This is in the sense of service, not as a failure,as when certain hierarchical beings do not progress normally and thus stayat a lower degree.The Archai-beings are designated by Rudolf Steiner as the Spirits ofPersonality. From an external perspective, especially if one has immigratedto America, the qualities of personality appear much stronger here than inother places in the world. One often hears the phrase: “In America everybodyis somebody,” and for those who have immigrated to America even in childhood,the great test often seems to be how to become “somebody.” How canone activate one’s personality, which is not even the earthly ego, in orderto project a countenance? Otherwise a nagging fear creeps in that one willget “lost in the shuffle,” unknown and invisible. Even when a person says251