Many will be familiar with the notion that a person at the point of death sees their life flash before them. Rudolf Steiner describes that when the spiritual bodies separate from the physical body, the etheric body of the dying person is revealed, giving a panoramic overview of their earthly life. This etheric body contains everything we have experienced in our consciousness and kept in memory. The etheric not only generates and sustains all life, but encompasses the life forces out of which we shape our existence. Although the revelation of the life tableau belongs to the early period after death, it can also emerge as a result of meditation. Rudolf Steiner speaks of this – through the first level of spiritual experience known as ‘imagination’ – as a conscious self-perception of the soul, taking place in the world of images. Here we are confronted with the harrowing knowledge of our doppelgänger – but we also experience the cosmic forces of childhood that are present in all our life processes. These same forces are described in psychology as the ‘inner child’. In this highly-original anthology of Steiner’s work we are led to a therapeutic, meditative approach that – through working with the imaginative life tableau – can strengthen and heal body, soul and spirit. Chapters include: ‘Experiencing the Inner Child as the Starting Point for a New Philosophy’; ‘Experiencing Life before Birth’; ‘Pain and Sadness When Reliving the Life Tableau’; ‘Intensive Backward Thinking’; ‘Feelings of Happiness When Experiencing the Life Tableau’; ‘Re-experiencing the Inner Child’; ‘Through the Forces of Childhood to the Higher Self and the Christ Experience’.

Healthy senses help to refresh our souls. These windows into the world are the vital wellsprings of our inner life. This profound -- yet simple -- book helps us to discover the wonders of the senses so we can enrich our experience of the world.

Living soulfully means awakening to the world's beauty -- to color, warmth, movement, smell, sound, taste, and texture. But the sensory overload of modern life can also leave us feeling empty and thirsting for more stimulation. So how do we pay closer attention to healthy sensing?

We can begin by appreciating the rich tapestry of the twelve senses, rather than the usual five. This book offers insights into the physical, soul, and spiritual senses, to encourage a greater awareness of our own humanity. The author's research into the senses builds on Rudolf Steiner's work and forms an original contribution to spiritual psychology.

'Required reading for anyone remotely curious about how they came to be remotely curious' Observer 'Enthralling' Spectator What is human consciousness and how is it possible? These questions fascinate thinking people from poets and painters to physicists, psychologists, and philosophers. This is Daniel C. Dennett's brilliant answer, extending perspectives from his earlier work in surprising directions, exploring the deep interactions of evolution, brains and human culture. Part philosophical whodunnit, part bold scientific conjecture, this landmark work enlarges themes that have sustained Dennett's career at the forefront of philosophical thought. In his inimitable style, laced with wit and thought experiments, Dennett shows how culture enables reflection by installing a profusion of thinking tools, or memes, in our brains, and how language turbocharges this process. The result: a mind that can comprehend the questions it poses, has emerged from a process of cultural evolution. An agenda-setting book for a new generation of philosophers and thinkers, From Bacteria to Bach and Back is essential for anyone who hopes to understand human creativity in all its applications.