'I rang the bell, the door opened, and there stood Rudolf Steiner in person. I was so taken aback that I dropped the basket which burst open and all my clothes and underclothes, together with my other belongings, were lying at the feet of the Doctor. A ball of wool got away and rolled between Dr Steiner's feet into the long corridor. Somewhat surprised, but amused, he said: "I have never been greeted in this way."' Anna Samweber (1884-1969), an active coworker in Berlin with Rudolf Steiner and Marie Steiner-von Sivers, presents a lively, homely, and often moving collection of anecdotes and recollections. Recorded by Jacob Streit during an intensive two-day session, this short work offers a warm, illuminating and intimate picture of Rudolf Steiner, the man and his work, during a critical phase in the development of anthroposophy.

How can we truly understand the vital questions of health and illness, which are so much part of our everyday lives? Good nutrition, exercise and relaxation are only some of the answers, says Buhler. What we really need is a comprehensive insight into our true human nature, including the various forces working within and through us. In this classic, concise study we are given a vivid picture of the human being's threefold nature, consisting of body, soul and spirit. The author analyses the key aspects of our physical being and inner selves: the heart (organ of the 'heart quality'), the metabolism (relating to the will), and the sensory-nervous system (as 'mirror of the soul'). He provides a deeper understanding - and hence a solid basis for work - for teachers, medical professionals and therapists, and anyone seeking encouragement to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Austrian philosopher, playwright, and artist Rudolf Steiner (1861 1925) is perhaps best known as an educational philosopher and reformer, the founder of Steiner (or Waldorf) schools located around the world. These schools' philosophy represents the priorities Steiner discusses in Theosophy: the development of body, soul, and spirit. Goethe was an important influence on Steiner, and he edited the poet's scientific works (1889 1896). Steiner was an active member and leader of the German branch of Madame Blavatsky's Theosophical Society, eventually broke away from theosophy, as he developed his own spiritual philosophy termed 'anthroposophy'; this philosophical movement asserted the potential of realizing a spiritual reality through cognition. This 1910 translation by Elizabeth Douglas Shields is of the book's third German edition; it was first published in 1904. This work will be of particular interest to historians of philosophy, of spiritual movements and of education.

As human beings, we have a great longing for community, to feel part of something. Despite this apparent need, the opposite tendency is evident everywhere: a growing individualism leading to the breakdown of relationships, conflict and war. How can we connect meaningfully with our fellow human beings and build successful communities, whilst also cultivating a healthy individuality? Karl Koenig considered that finding answers to these questions was one of the central tasks of anthroposophy, as well as its greatest potential downfall. Seventy years ago, he founded the Camphill Movement as a search for social renewal and healing from new sources. As part of a growing dialogue between people within and outside of Camphill, a conference called Community Building in the Light of Michael took place at the Goetheanum in 2009. The contributions in this book originate from there; contributors include Cornelius Pietzner, Virginia Sease, Penelope Roberts-Baring, Sergei Prokofieff, Peter Selg and Bodo von Plato.

Throughout the ages, people have given the fairy kingdom various names. To some it was Paradise, to others Tir-nan-Og, Avalon, Country Underneath the Sea, Fairy Land, World of Immortal Youth, Land of Heart's Desire, Land of Life, or the Middle Kingdom. Fairy tales - the stories of this kingdom - are not only folk literature but also accounts of the subtler layers of fact clothed in poetic imagery. Rudolf Steiner was a close observer of the fairy kingdom and gave many lectures that describe the work of its inhabitants, whom he called elementals. It was clear to Steiner that these elementals were of great importance to the Earth, charged not only with the maintenance of Nature's household, but also with her evolutionary plans. He also spoke of how vital it is that we get to know these fairy workers and honor the work they do, so that their efforts prosper to carry the Earth forward in its evolution. Written and illustrated by two insightful women who experienced the fairy kingdom directly, this book offers a profound, yet simple introduction to fairy worlds and workers. Includes Ingrid Gibb's color paintings of the four races of Little People: Undines (water spirits), Gnomes (earth spirits), Sylphs (air spirits), and Fire-Spirits.

Hermann Beckh's masterful study of Mark's Gospel offers much more than scholarly argument. It is the work of a true visionary who allows his readers to discover the meaning of the Earth and of humanity for themselves. Beckh was in the forefront of entirely new research and recovery of the Gospel, writing more for the future than for his own time. It is not uncommon for biblical scholars to view St. Mark's Gospel as little more than an assemblage of fragmentary sources and a copy of uncertain, early memories. The Gospel is said to have little historical veracity, harmony or guiding structure. Beckh's contemporary, the German writer Arthur Drews, even argued that the text was nothing more than a simplistic solar myth, wherein another Sun-hero pursued his way around the Greco-Roman constellations. Mark's Gospel: The Cosmic Rhythm is a response to such twentieth-century materialistic thinking. He was asked to write the book in the 1920s by the leaders of The Christian Community, who sought to rescue the desecrated Gospel from its opponents. Inspired by Rudolf Steiner and a vast knowledge of ancient languages - Tibetan, Sanskrit, Pali and Avestan along with Hebrew, Greek and Latin - the Rev. Professor Hermann Beckh perceived how the Gospel reflects God's Everlasting Covenant, and meticulously expressed its aesthetic unity, the consonance of its parts and its consequent radiant clarity. His far-reaching understanding of sacred texts in the original languages, always associated with the disciplined meditation he had attained from anthroposophy, led to unprecedented insight. This new edition of his classic study has been revised and redesigned.

This is a NEW (2010) easy-to-read translation by ancient languages scholar Dr. A. Nyland and is NOT one of the many Public Domain translations of Enoch NOR IS IT A REWORDED PUBLIC DOMAIN VERSION of Enoch. Great advances which have been made in ancient word meaning in the last twenty years were unknown to the translators of the public domain versions of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. There are copious background notes and cross references. This book is an easy to read translation with cross references and notes. Ideal for those interested in Theosophy Despite the current trend for non-translators to reproduce public domain versions (both as is and disguised by slight rewording) as a commercial venture, be aware that such public domain versions do not take advantage of recent scholarship. This new translation by Dr. A. Nyland contains all three books of Enoch: 1 Enoch (Also called The Ethiopic Book of Enoch) 2 Enoch (Also called The Slavonic Book of Enoch, The Secrets of Enoch). This volume contains the extended version of 2 Enoch, The Exaltation of Melchizedek. 3 Enoch (Also called The Hebrew Book of Enoch) Note that this is Dr. Nyland's translation and NOT a public domain work. 1 Enoch tells of the Watchers, a class of angel, who taught humans weapons, spell potions, root cuttings, astrology, astronomy, and alchemies. The Watchers also slept with human women and produced the Nephilim. For this, they were imprisoned and cast into Tartarus. This is also mentioned in the New Testament. In 2 Enoch, two angels take Enoch through the 7 heavens. This volume contains the extended version of 2 Enoch, The Exaltation of Melchizedek. In 3 Enoch, Enoch ascends to heaven and is transformed into the angel Metatron. This is about the Merkabah and is of interest to Kabbalists. People interested in Theosophy and Rosicrucianism will find this book invaluable. Dr. A. Nyland is an ancient language scholar and lexicographer who served as Faculty at the University of New England, Australia. Dr. Nyland is also the translator of "The Book of Jubilees," and "The Gospel of Thomas," among others. She is also the author of the Amy Stuart Mystery series.

Rudolf Steiner's core mission, repeatedly delayed due to the incapacity of colleagues, was to pursue contemporary spiritual-scientific research into the phenomena of reincarnation and karma. This stimulating book describes the winding biographical path this mission took, and in particular focuses on the mystery of Rudolf Steiner's connection with the influential medieval philosopher and theologian, Thomas Aquinas. Utilizing numerous archival sources and publications, Thomas Meyer reveals many facts relating to Steiner's core mission, and shows the critical roles played by Wilhelm Anton Neumann and Karl Julius Schroer in its genesis and development. Meyer examines how Steiner's pupils responded to his insights into karma, and places this 'most intrinsic mission' into the context of current divisions within the anthroposophic movement. In particular, he highlights the place of spiritual science within culture and history, showing how Steiner developed the great scientific ideas of evolution propounded by Darwin by raising them to the plane of each individual's soul and spiritual development. As Steiner stated in 1903: 'Scientific researchers explain the skull forms of higher animals as a transformation of a lower type of skull. In the same way one should explain a soul's biography through the soul biography which the former evolved from.'

From 2009 to 2010, Sergei Prokofiev and Peter Selg-two leading authorities and spiritual researchers into the life and work of Rudolf Steiner-gave a series of conferences on the Christological foundations of Anthroposophy. Their aim was to show the power of anthroposophic Christology. Consequently, they focused on key turning points in Rudolf Steiner's exposition: his major work, An Outline of Esoteric Science; the first Goetheanum; the Reappearance of Christ in the etheric realm and the relationship of this event to Rudolf Steiner's lectures on the Fifth Gospel; and the Christmas Conference (1923-24) and the founding of the New Mysteries. The lectures from the conferences (published as four booklets in German) are collected here in a single volume. The Creative Power of Anthroposophical Christology is essential reading for all those who are interested in the true meaning and depth of Rudolf Steiner's experience and understanding of Christ's deed on Golgotha and his continuing presence among us and within Anthroposophy.

Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Anthroposophy, spent some five months of his life in Britain, visiting it ten times between the years 1902 and 1924. With the exception of German-speaking countries, the longest time Steiner spent abroad was in Britain, a place he clearly considered as central to his work. In this extraordinarily thorough study of over 1,200 pages and dozens of illustrations, Crispian Villeneuve documents these important visits, reproducing letters, articles, records and other archival material - much of it published for the first time. He also studies the interconnected theme of the life and work of D.N. Dunlop, Rudolf Steiner's closest British colleague. Rudolf Steiner in Britain has special significance for English-speaking peoples around the world, as well as for those seeking to understand how and why Steiner disseminated his spiritual world-view. Villeneuve's two-volume opus, the fruit of a decade of research, is finally available in a paperback edition.

Ita Wegman spent the last three years of her life in Tessin, in the Casa Andrea Cristoforo. In this secluded province, largely protected from the destructive events of those years and imbued with certain forces, she developed a great work for the future, gathering, leading, and nurturing people both therapeutically and spiritually, preparing for the war's end with the full intensity of her being. Her last three years were a period of devotion to Rudolf Steiner and his work, as well as to esoteric Christianity-to the forces of the Archangel Michael and to Christ for the present and future. She continued to take a great interest in the difficulties of her time and never ceased to participate in events-taking in refugee children and the homeless, keeping up extensive correspondences with others, struggling with aid organizations and various agencies, caring daily for the afflicted and for patients and colleagues. On March 4, 1943, Ita Wegman passed into the spiritual worlds, well prepared and with all of the spiritual intentions of a Christian initiate. This book contributes to documenting the final phase of Ita Wegman's life, focusing on the forces of the future that emerged in her. It draws on her notebooks from her time in Ascona, as well as from her extensive correspondence and memories of those who lived and worked at Casa Andrea Cristoforo. She remained upstanding, free, and positive with an esoteric Christian orientation and felt that she was obligated only to her conscience and to the spiritual world for which Rudolf Steiner stood and that she served. This book was originally published in German as Die letzten drei Jahre. Ita Wegman in Ascona 1940-1943 (Verlag am Goetheanum, Dornach, Switzerland, 2004).

The beginnings of the Templar Order are shrouded in mystery. Very little is known about its foundation, inner workings or its rapid growth. This lack of knowledge can lead to all sorts of speculation and, sometimes, bizarre theories. This book - developed from a conference held on the theme at Emerson College, England - offers new, well-grounded perspectives that utilize both esoteric and exoteric sources. From varying points-of-view, the contributors tackle key questions relating to the forming of the Order and its aims and intentions. They explore the Knights Templar's spiritual and historical background, as well as the Order's significance at the present time and its continuing impulse in the future. With its broad scope, this stimulating anthology encourages independent, open-minded enquiry and research. Featuring contributions by: Peter Tradowsky, Gil McHattie, Horst Biehl, Margaret Jonas, Rolf Speckner, Sylvia Francke, Simon Cade-Williams, Jaap van der Haar, Alfred Kon, David Lenker, Peter Snow, Christine Gruwez, Frans Lutters, Walter Johannes Stein and Siegfried Rudel.

This title includes over 750 classic and current books reflecting many cultures and traditions, selected in response to requests for an annotated listing of quality children's literature. Chosen for artistic and literary merit and their contribution to the child's inner growth, these books address universal themes, stimulate the imagination, share great sentiments, and build respect for all living things. It includes picture books, fiction, myths and tales, world religions, poetry, science and nature, and general non-fiction as well as resource books for parents.

'A great deal is happening all the time in world evolution; and it falls to human beings, particularly those of our own time, to acquire real understanding of the world events in which they are involved.' In this popular lecture, Rudolf Steiner reveals that the angels - the spirits closest to human beings - are seeking to create images in human astral bodies. These images are given with the intention of bringing about 'definite conditions in the social life of the future' related to brotherhood, religious freedom, and conscious spirituality. Other spiritual beings, however, are working against the angels. If, as a consequence of their disruption, humanity sleeps though the angels' spiritual revelation, the consequences will be dire, and aberrations connected to sexuality, the misuse of medicine, and the misapplication of mechanical forces will begin to manifest.

Many spiritual traditions speak of a 'guardian' or 'dweller' who protects the threshold to the spiritual world, warning the unprepared to pause in their quest for access to higher knowledge. The Guardian reveals the consequences of our negative actions and points to the full reality of our untransformed nature. This experience is said to be one of the deepest and most harrowing on the inner path, but is an essential precondition to any form of true initiation. The words 'Know thyself' were inscribed at the forecourt of the ancient Greek Temple of Apollo. Those who sought initiation in 'the mysteries' were thus instructed first to look within themselves. Likewise today, as spiritual seekers we need true self-knowledge, to distinguish between what belongs to our consciousness and what is objectively part of the spiritual environment. Rudolf Steiner taught that as long as we draw back from such knowledge, our spiritual quest will be unsuccessful. When we begin engaging with anthroposophy, it becomes clear that Steiner's teachings are not a doctrine or set of dogmas, but a path towards deeper insights. In this essential handbook, the editor has drawn together many of Rudolf Steiner's statements on the intricate and arduous path of self-knowledge, offering ongoing support and guidance. Chapters include: The Importance of Self-Knowledge for Acquiring Higher Knowledge; Seeking to Form an Idea of the 'Guardian of the Threshold'; The Guardian of the Threshold and Some Characteristics of Supersensible Consciousness; Morality on the Path of Knowledge; Self-Knowledge and Nearness to Christ; The Powers of Christ in Our Own Life; Knowing Ourselves in the Other; Self-Knowledge - World-Knowledge.

The so-called 'supplementary exercises' - to be carried out alongside the 'review exercises' and meditation - are integral to the path of personal development presented by Rudolf Steiner. Together they form a means of experiencing the spiritual realm in full consciousness. Meditation enlivens thinking, the review exercises cultivate the will, whilst the supplementary exercises educate and balance feeling. Conscientiously practised, this path of self-knowledge and development has the effect of opening a source of inner strength and psychological health that soon make themselves felt in daily life. In six stages these exercises enable the practise of qualities that can be summarized as: control of thoughts, initiative of will, equanimity, positivity, open-mindedness and equilibrium of soul. When carried out regularly, they balance possible harmful effects of meditative practice and bring inner certainty and security to the soul. They are also of inestimable value in their own right due to their beneficial and wholesome effect on daily life. In this invaluable small book, the editor has drawn together virtually all Rudolf Steiner's statements on the supplementary exercises, supporting them with commentary and notes. With a chapter devoted to each exercise, they are described in detail and from different perspectives.

While modernism's engagement with the occult has been approached by critics as the result of a loss of faith in representation, an attempt to draw on science as the primary discourse of modernity, or as an attempt to draw on a hidden history of ideas, Leigh Wilson argues that these discourses have at their heart a magical practice which remakes the relationship between world and representation. As Wilson demonstrates, the courses of the occult are based on a magical mimesis which transforms the nature of the copy, from inert to vital, from dead to alive, from static to animated, from powerless to powerful. Wilson explores the aesthetic and political implications of this relationship in the work of those writers, artists and filmmakers who were most self-consciously experimental, including James Joyce, Ezra Pound, Dziga Vertov and Sergei M. Eisenstein.

"Translation of Geiste und soziale Wandlungen in der Menschheitsentwickelung, published by Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach, Switzerland, 1992"--T.p. verso.

"We must become selfless-that is the task of culture today for the future. Human beings must become more and more selfless. Therein lies the future of right moral life actions, the future of all acts of love that can occur through earthly humanity." -Rudolf Steiner (Approaching the Mystery of Golgotha) In a lecture eight weeks before the outbreak of World War I, Rudolf Steiner, conscious of developments to come, coined the phrase "culture of selflessness" to describe the culture that would develop in the future. The far-reaching social implications of his primarily Christological lectures on the Fifth Gospel, given in 1913/14 under the same political circumstances, were foreign to many of Steiner's contemporary audiences, who largely failed to understand his dramatic accounts drawn from the Fifth Gospel (or that gospel itself) as a "source of comfort" for the future, or (as Rudolf Steiner said of them) as "needed" for future work. The subsequent catastrophes of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, however, have sensitized us to Steiner's central themes and contents of 1913/14. He spoke of spiritual development and self-preservation in the face of great suffering; of truly participating in the misfortunes of others; and of acquiring "true selflessness" that takes the human "I" fully into account. During the 1930s, during the National Socialist reign of violence, a few of Rudolf Steiner's pupils took this path of moral resistance and all-embracing therapeutic action. One example is described in the second chapter of this volume. Many other destinies are less well-known; by now, they can no longer be saved completely from oblivion. They include the great life work of Maria Krehbiel-Darmstadter, an anthroposophist of Jewish origin who was murdered in Auschwitz in January 1943. However, both now and in the future, in a world that must find humane ways to endure continued calamities of tremendous magnitude, the task Rudolf Steiner described remains relevant in all cultures and all parts of the globe. "A single great community covers the earth. Its name is suffering and strength."

'Those who observe human nature with regard to the smallest things will find that everyday experiences can also lead to an understanding of the greatest actualities...' In a refreshingly practical series of lectures, Rudolf Steiner speaks about the nature of the human soul and how it can be metamorphosed and raised to a higher consciousness. He studies the spiritual significance of various expressions of human nature, including laughing and weeping, sickness and health, error and mental disorder, positivity and negativity, and conscience. Steiner also discusses the nature of prayer, mysticism, the mission of art, and the significance of language. Throughout the talks he refers to many key historical figures, including Zarathustra, Socrates, Plato, Homer, Wagner, Goethe, Hegel and Angelus Silesius. These inspiring lectures form the conclusion to "Transforming the Soul, Volume 1", but can also be read independently.

Rudolf Steiner, the often undervalued, multifaceted genius of modern times, contributed much to the regeneration of culture. In addition to his philosophical teachings, he provided ideas for the development of many practical activities, including education - both general and special - agriculture, medicine, economics, architecture, science, religion and the arts. Steiner's original contribution to human knowledge was based on his ability to conduct 'spiritual research', the investigation of metaphysical dimensions of existence. With his scientific and philosophical training, he brought a new systematic discipline to the field, allowing for conscious methods and comprehensive results. A natural seer from childhood, he cultivated his spiritual vision to a high degree, enabling him to speak with authority on previously veiled mysteries of life.Samples of Steiner's work are to be found in this introductory reader in which Matthew Barton brings together excerpts from Steiner's many talks and writings on Michaelmas. The volume also features an editorial introduction, afterword, commentary and notes.

'If the intentions of the Christmas Conference are to be carried out, the Anthroposophical Society will in future have to fulfil, as far as possible, the esoteric aspirations of its members. With this end in view, the School, consisting of three Classes, will be established within the General Society.' - Rudolf Steiner, January 1924 A year after the burning of the first Goetheanum building in Dornach, Switzerland, Rudolf Steiner refounded the Anthroposophical Society during the Christmas Conference of 1923/24. At the heart of the Society he created 'the School of Spiritual Science', which has the specific task of presenting 'the esoteric aspect', and leading its members to knowledge and experience of the spirit. The School was to have 'Sections' to represent various fields of human endeavour, such as Medicine and Education, and three 'Classes', with the First Class to be established immediately by Rudolf Steiner. This short book is a collection of articles (from the Society Newsletter) and lectures by Rudolf Steiner from 1924, introducing and explaining the purpose of the School of Spiritual Science to members of the Anthroposophical Society. It forms a companion volume to The Foundation Stone / The Life, Nature and Cultivation of Anthroposophy.

"It is not always right to send someone to the chemist for some medicine when he's ill. Instead we should organize our lives in a way that renders us less susceptible to illness, or alleviates its impact. Disorders will impinge on us less severely if we strengthen the ego's influence on the astral body, the astral body's influence on the etheric and the etheric on the physical." Nervousness, anxiety and agitation are all common symptoms of our increasingly stressed and pressured society. They manifest in the everyday form that many people experience, or sometimes as serious mental or psychological disorders. In this classic lecture, Rudolf Steiner offers practical advice and spiritual insight for those who wish to heal these proliferating ailments of modern life. He describes simple exercises that strengthen the inner self, with the goal of achieving the calm and centredness necessary to lead a purposeful and healthy life. Also available as an Audio Book