WHO I AM
Renatus, born 1979 in Frankfurt, Germany, is a nature boy, a trained biologist, geographer and philosopher. His passion are birds and birdsong. He is totally into cows, pigs and growing beetroot. If not looking at plants or listening to birdsong, then it’s probably raining, and he is indoors at his desk writing about nature and soul and the curiosities of life. After a short (4 years) intermezzo of being a high school science teacher, he went back to academia. He worked for the past 10 years as a Goethean scientist in Switzerland at the "natural science section" of the "Goetheanum" ("Free University of Spiritual Science"). In 2018 he finished his PhD with a study about the healing plant mistletoe (used in natural cancer remedies) at the University of Witten/Herdecke in Germany.
From 2018 to 2022 he lived on the Isle of Mull, Scotland and made Leob Croft his home. He knew the place since he organized and facilitated the “Summer School Isle of Mull and Iona" – a summer course for about 30-50 people from all over the globe who want to reconnect with nature and spirituality – which happend there since 2016 each year. In 2022 he moved to Dunbar to work at the Goethean Science place Pishwanton Wood, with a split position as Land Manager for Fairhill Rise, a day care provision for disabled young adults and as researcher at the Colquhound Research Centre, part of the Ruskin Mill Centre for Research.
He loves to lead and to share observations and to explore, alone by himself, with someone, in groups, with children or with friends all kinds of phenomena- the wildlife, wilderness, animals, plants and their secrets. This includes meditation, spiritual ecology, phenomenology, Goethean science and hands on experiences, hiking, drawing, photography, early morning birdsong excursions.
Next to the events presented on this website, Renatus works as a lecturer at "Freie Hochschule Stuttgart", and as a writer and travel journalist for different magazines and - hopefully - some books to be published when time comes. He is also a singer-songwriter, speech artist and father of three daughters.
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WHAT I DO
The Goethean Approach
Goethean science is a holistic, sensual approach to nature, scientific, yet not excluding feelings and other wonderful things that belong to our human experience. Its scientific, since it embraces the methodological framework of science, like objectivity and reproducibility. The methods are orientated at the sense world, using the senses and thinking. Yet, it is also not scientific at all, but rather an artistic approach, since its not aiming for abstract laws, but rather works with the subjectivity of the observer, it counts on the subject of observation as a tool and trusts the observer’s abilities (which are not regarded as biasing the results, but in fact are boosting them). Such Goethe’s science is also about self-observation. So, if you know yourself, you know what and how you might "bias". You can take that into account! Because the observer always brings about a certain perspective. Normal science neglects that. Goethe says: "know yourself" in order to achieve valid results. There is always a perspective, a lenses though which one looks, so you need to know which perspective you are applying. And once you master your soul as a tool, you can share and communicate your perspective perfectly well. And then, others can arrive at the same conclusions if they take on this exact perspective as well. And then its objective again! Everyone comes to the same result, without excluding the subject. And with it, comes again into view: joy, devotion, morality. This sounds rather sophisticated, which it is! But it’s also very simple: Just go on with observing and take everything serious including yourself: embrace the full, rich experience. Live in the sense world without just consuming it. Take everything in. And then, observe yourself at the same time. Take nothing for granted and explore! You might then discover, that “you” (the subject) is the door and the key to understanding the world.