I travelled extensively including to Bolivia, Peru, China, Tibet, India and Sikkim – visiting sacred sites and the ashrams of some of the great Indian sages, spending time with Guruji Krishnananda a master meditation teacher based in Taponagara outside Bangalore – returning a few years later for more instruction.  I was fascinated by the ancient and esoteric spiritual paths of knowledge and found a magic in exploring the megalithic structures in England, Ireland and Wales and the legendary sites of King Arthur.  I participated in numerous growth workshops including in Morocco with Carolyn Myss an internationally renowned speaker and author in the fields of human consciousness, spirituality and medical intuition and at Einsiedeln, Switzerland, famous for its Black Madonna, with Marion Woodman a leading Jungian analyst and explorer of the feminine.

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Whilst I had read widely in the fields of psychology, philosophy and esoteric and exoteric religious paths, I still did not understand the links between the different religious streams nor the life, death and resurrection of the Christ and the meaning of these events for life today.  Again, destiny intervened.  A friend suggested I spoke to her husband Chris Wegerif, who had started the Anthroposophical Society in Cape Town.  He had been fortunate to attend a lecture by Rudolf Steiner and Zeylmans van Emmichoven who was closely linked to Rudolf Steiner and had considerable influence on the Anthroposophical Movement, stayed the Wegerifs on his visits to Cape Town.  He significantly died in their home and his ashes were scattered on Table Mountain.  Chris introduced me to the works of Rudolf Steiner who had himself been a member of the Theosophical Society but later founded Anthroposophy.  Rudolf Steiner recognised the event at Golgotha as the pivotal event of human history, one that transcends all differences of religion, race or nation and has consequences for all of humanity.  His writings and teachings on how an understanding of the spiritual impulses manifesting in the material can be actively worked with to transform ourselves and participate in the evolution of humankind continue to have a great influence on my life and thinking.

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FINDING MY PASSION

Before I would find my passion, I needed to know more about myself.  I initially moved into professions aligned with my degree working as a computer programmer and statistician but soon realised I was not a “9-to-5” office bound kind of person.  I taught Mathematics at a cram college and after one of the students lit a fire under my desk, decided teaching was not for me.  My first break came when a friend asked if I would become a research assistant at CRIC, the Careers Research and Information Centre (CRIC) where she was the director.  The Cape was a “Coloured” preference area where people classifies as “Black” were excluded from most work and study opportunities.  CRIC was established to find out what options did exist for them.  By the late 1970s, things were beginning to change politically in South Africa as pressure against apartheid gained momentum.  The University of Cape Town traditionally designated a “White” university, was allocated a quota of “Black” students.  On receiving notification of the receipt of their application, many “Black” students assumed they had university acceptance and arrived in large numbers on the campus expecting admission.  I was approached by the Careers Office of the University of Cape Town to counsel these students.  Most if not all had E aggregates and wanted to attend UCT, which they saw as the “best University”.  What alternatives existed for them?  In seeking answers to this question I was offered a research assistants position.  I found I loved doing research and after completing the term of my grant at UCT, continued doing free-lance research projects mostly in the area of “Black” education. 

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A clearer idea was beginning to form in my mind of what was important to me and where I wanted to focus my attention.  At the same time, I was fortunate to inherit a legacy from my parents.  I wanted to use these funds for the “good” and began volunteering as well as sponsoring projects from a personal trust.

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I spend eight very rewarding years working closely with The Group of Hope.  This remarkable prisoner rehabilitation project at Brandvlei Maximum in Worcester was where I became acutely aware of the potential for positive change in every human being.  Unfortunately, the project terminated but I continue to have contact with some of the ex-inmates who have made successes of their lives.  The Carehaven was a shelter for abused women and children.  The scourge was not openly discussed at the time I was approached by the Salvation Army to be part of initiating a campaign which we called “Call to Action” to raise awareness on the abuse of women and children.  I also co-ordinated the development of a non-profit small retirement complex in Hermanus – the vision of my father who had a number of professional friends whose incomes had not kept up with inflation.  I am still involved in the selection and welfare of the tenants.

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Attending the Sunday evening concerts at the City Hall by Cape Town Symphony Orchestra was part of my university life.  The orchestra had been fully subsidised by grants from the City Council and government but the post-apartheid government had different priorities – basic services for all before the arts.  Orchestras needed to become self-sustaining entities and private funding was needed to support the arts and culture.   I believe the arts are essential for a healthy and balanced society and was moved to become a major donor and thus board member of the newly formed Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, later playing a significant role in the initiation of our current Orchestra.

My love of nature and the animal kingdom had deepened with time and I sponsored two research projects based in the Department of Agriculture at Natal University.  The small lion population at the Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game Reserve (HUP) was under threat with a huge deterioration in the condition of one of the prides.  This project “Genetic Variation and Depletion in a population of lions in HUP” was the first to discover the presence of feline aids in the lion population.  The other project was a general study on the “Migration, Nesting and Pathology of the Nile Crocodiles in the Kruger National Park”. 

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