To the Members of the Anthroposophical Society

Dear Friends.

Unfortunately, the Central Board has been obliged to state, for the protection of the spiritual property of our movement, that a longer stay of Mr. Haugen in the Anthroposophical Society is not compatible with the principles and aims of our movement. Anyone who is truly willing to embrace the teachings of our movement knows that one cannot rely on purely psychic powers today.

Of course, the Anthroposophical Society will never feel called upon to sit in judgment on the behavior of its members, which it must respect as a private matter in the strictest sense of the word. Such was not the case with Mr. Haugen. The measure that was taken had to be carried out because his behavior, stepping completely out of the sphere of the private, took on the character of psychic acts that are in contradiction to the basic principles of the Anthroposophical Society.

Even if the Society always refrains from observing such behavior in narrower circles, it could not remain silent in this case, because Mr. Haugen's behavior took on such proportions that it gradually gave the entire Society a contradictory character and could have a highly detrimental effect. Mr. Haugen was using the framework of the society for practices that are not compatible with it.

One cannot blame the members if they do not always immediately see the full significance of such behavior; however, the leadership of the Society must endeavor to express its will unequivocally in such cases, so that members are not hampered in their judgment by the Society seemingly condoning the behavior by tolerating what is incompatible with it. To accomplish this, there was no other way than for the Central Board to declare that a personage acting as Mr. Haugen does could not be a member of the Society. Such a measure is not considered a punishment, but only a detailed statement of the fundamental principles of the Society in a particular case. It is necessary to realize that any other measure would truly be a penalty; this, however, is nothing more than a declaration by the Society of its recognized principles.

The Central Committee hopes that this highly unwelcome measure will be spared it in the future, because if members become more careful in their judgments on such matters, the Society will be what it should be: a place where personalities like Mr. Haugen can develop quietly as ordinary members, without being driven to acts that cannot be approved by the nimbus that a false judgment casts around them.

With warm regards
the Central Board
of the Anthroposophical Society.