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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Alternative belief systems > Syncretist & eclectic religions & belief systems > Post-renaissance syncretist / eclectic systems
"Following Rudolf Steiner's death, the mysteries cannot be revealed
further at the present time, but we must continue to cultivate a
living, not only rational but also ritual, continuity of the
mystery contents he has given, passing them to people who did not
know Rudolf Steiner and yet seek to connect with him esoterically
and not just intellectually." -Ludwig Count Polzer-Hoditz Since
Rudolf Steiner's death in 1925, little has been written about the
"First Class" of the School for Spiritual Science in Dornach. The
Class continues as an esoteric institution in the hearts of its
disciples and in the mantras and meditations. This meditative work
is hidden from view, yet, behind the scenes, it lives on in the
inner striving for development of soul and spirit that is part of
any mystery school. Rudolf Steiner himself guarded the content of
the Class Lessons strictly, only intimating to members of the
General Society that his esoteric school existed and how it worked.
In this book, Peter Selg provides a context for the "reading" of
the Class Lessons, the School for Spiritual Science itself, as well
as for Rudolf Steiner's intentions for such an esoteric
undertaking. The School for Spiritual Science was the work of an
initiate, and through the esoteric collaboration of Rudolf Steiner
and those who worked with him a Christian mystery center began to
unfold. But Steiner's aim has not yet been achieved. Intense work
is still needed for its realization-unwavering efforts with
awareness of the foundations Rudolf Steiner laid down and
consciousness of the mystery dimension of the endeavor. As an
aspect of that wider mystery dimension, Peter Selg also looks back
to Ita Wegman as Rudolf Steiner's "helper" in the First Class. He
seeks to leave behind the conflicts of the 1920s and 1930s as Ita
Wegman herself left them behind her. As Ita Wegman said, "For me
the matter is settled. There are so many misunderstandings that I
consider it better to leave things well alone. We all thought we
were doing the right thing. Looking forward is more important now
than looking back." In its exploration of the First Class, Rudolf
Steiner and the School for Spiritual Science provides a much-needed
perspective on what ought to be at the very heart of Anthroposophy
and the movement for Spiritual Science that Rudolf Steiner brought
into the world.
Today some six million Freemasons around the world continue to
perform their rituals regularly - an enormous legacy of spiritual
endeavour, kept largely in secret. In Britain alone there are over
7,000 Lodges, with a quarter of a million members. What is this
wealth, this appeal, and how did the philosopher and spiritual
scientist Rudolf Steiner reinterpret or reconstruct Freemasonry's
time-worn legacy? Unless one is a Freemason, the masonic world,
with its arcane conventions and language, remains largely unknown:
an obscurity that is almost impossible to fathom. Yet understanding
its traditions and style are invaluable when approaching Goethe,
Mozart, Herder, Lessing and Novalis - as well as Rudolf Steiner.
Steiner himself renewed the 'Royal Art' of Freemasonry from 1906 to
1914 through his ritual work known as Mystica AEterna. When Steiner
invigorated education, medicine, the social order and religion, he
fully intended that committed and professional individuals should
assume responsibility for the new initiatives. But this was not the
case with the Masonic Order he founded, whose leadership he took
upon himself. Even the celebration of his passing in 1925, led by
Marie Steiner, was entirely Masonic in character. In the context of
continuing resistance and misrepresentation, N.V.P. Franklin
uncovers the living heart of Freemasonry and reveals why it was -
and still is - immensely relevant to anthroposophy. With profound
research into its older rituals and teachings, this detailed and
conscientious study is a unique contribution to comprehending
freemasonry and anthroposophy - both historically and in the
present day.
Underlying Sergei O. Prokofieff's life's work was a fundamental
research-theme to which he returned to repeatedly: the
individuality of Rudolf Steiner as manifested through his past
incarnations on Earth. Beginning in 1982, inspired by a visit to an
exhibition on The Epic of Gilgamesh, Prokofieff planned a
full-scale spiritual biography with the intention of finding an
answer to the question: Who is Rudolf Steiner? In a sequence of
five past incarnations - as indicated by Steiner himself - and
culminating in the life of Rudolf Steiner, Prokofieff searched for
the inner thread between the six stages of this great,
all-encompassing life. His intention was to find not only the outer
connections in this sequence but also the deeper, more esoteric
stream that offers the key to the unique significance of this
individuality. In 1984, Prokofieff began to write the first chapter
about Rudolf Steiner's incarnation as Enkidu in Sumer. Sadly, many
obstacles in his path were to prevent him finalising the project.
However, the author returned to the book in his final months,
preparing a Preface that outlines its conception together with a
summary chapter on Rudolf Steiner's evolutionary journey. This
precious 'fragment' of a biography features valuable additional
material, including: a full introduction to the relationship of the
anthroposophical movement to other occult streams of esoteric
Christianity and their Masters; a detailed spiritual-scientific
interpretation of the Epic of Gilgamesh that establishes Rudolf
Steiner's connection with the being of Jesus of Nazareth, and an
exploration of Steiner's relationship to the Nathan soul, the Luke
Jesus child. Serious students of anthroposophy will welcome these
final writings from the pen of one of Rudolf Steiner's most
faithful and insightful disciples.
'From the contents of original Greek drama and the soul drama of
the present day that leads to self-knowledge, Rudolf Steiner
develops his thought processes - pulsating with lively
contemplation - about wonders of the world, trials of the soul and
revelations of the spirit!' - Marie Steiner In this remarkable
interpretation of Greek mythology, Rudolf Steiner goes beyond Carl
Jung and Joseph Campbell in reading mythological figures such as
Demeter, Persephone, Eros and Dionysos as primordial archetypes of
macrocosmic thinking, feeling and will. Moreover, he explains in
detail how this archetypal consciousness was gradually lost, giving
way to new-found, subjective experience of these faculties, which
in turn opens up possibilities for human freedom. His overarching
theme of 'the evolution of consciousness' is grand in its sweep,
but Steiner also shows himself to be the master of telling details.
Lectures include: 'The origin of dramatic art in European cultural
life and the Mystery of Eleusis'; 'The living reality of the
spiritual world in Greek mythology and the threefold Hecate';
'Nature and spirit'; 'The entry of the Christ Impulse into human
evolution and the activity of the planetary gods'; 'The merging of
the ancient Hebrew and the Greek currents in the Christ-stream';
'The ego-nature and the human form'; 'The Dionysian Mysteries';
'Eagle, Bull and Lion currents, Sphinx and Dove'; 'The two poles of
all soul-ordeals'; and 'On Goethe's birthday'. The freshly revised
text features an introduction, notes and appendices by Professor
Frederick Amrine, colour images and an index.
During the brief window between the two World Wars, the Rev. Prof.
Hermann Beckh led research at The Christian Community Seminary in
Stuttgart. In those precious years he published on music, the
gospels and the ancient Mysteries. By 1930, in his Contributions to
the Priests' Newsletter, he had produced the most far-reaching
account of the cosmic order ever written. The typescript of this
great work was destined to gather dust in the Berlin Archiv,
however, until it was discovered in recent years. Published here
for the first time, it is the crowning masterpiece to Beckh's
Collected Works. The translated and annotated text is accompanied
by Rudolf Frieling's in-depth application of Beckh's principles of
the cosmic starry order to the Creed of The Christian Community,
and by a number of appreciations and relevant book reviews. Through
ever-deepening meditation guided by Rudolf Steiner, and his vast
knowledge of Tibetan, Sanskrit, Pali and Avestan sacred texts -
scarcely to be equalled in Europe at the time - Beckh came to the
first-hand realization that human and cosmic life was ordered. He
perceived directly that this cosmic order was: good, as originating
from the World-Will; true, as from World-Thinking; and beautiful,
as from World-Feeling. All three could be personally experienced in
disciplined consciousness that could enter dream, sleep and
pre-natal life. This, then, was Beckh's method and inspiration, as
shown in this extraordinary work.
During the refounding of the Anthroposophical Society as the
General Anthroposophical Society at Christmas 1923/24, Rudolf
Steiner also reconstituted, as the School of Spiritual Science, the
Esoteric School he had led in three classes from 1904 to 1914, at
the same time extending its scope by adding artistic and scientific
Sections. However, owing to his illness and later death in March
1925, he was only able to make a beginning by establishing the
First Class and the Sections. The actual step from the Esoteric
School to the School of Spiritual Science was nevertheless an
exceptional one. The Esoteric School from Helena Blavatsky's time
had been secret. Its existence was known only to those personally
invited to participate. In contrast, the existence of the School of
Spiritual Science was stated openly in the public statutes of the
General Anthroposophical Society. From the Christmas Conference
onwards, Rudolf Steiner worked within this publicly acknowledged
framework. The Class Lessons comprise a complete spiritual course
of nineteen fundamental lessons given between February and August
1924, several lessons given at other locations, and seven further
lessons from September 1924 which take up the themes of the first
part of the nineteen lessons in a modified form. This authentic,
accurate and high-quality bilingual edition - with English and
German texts printed side by side - is published in conjunction
with the School of Spiritual Science at the Goetheanum. A compact
four-volume clothbound set, it features plates with Rudolf
Steiner's handwritten notes of the mantras and reproductions of his
original colour blackboard drawings. The translations of the
mantric verses have been reworked by a committed group of
translators, linguists and editors, expressing subtleties of
meaning, grammatical accuracy and poetic style whilst retaining the
original sound and metre of the German mantric forms. Three
versions of the existing English translations are also included.
Based on direct communications with his eight spirit guides, Dr Bob
Woodward confirms that we have all lived in spirit worlds before
our birth - and that we will enter these same realms again after
our material deaths. In a very real sense, these higher spirit
worlds are actually our true home, he says, rather than our present
physical existence, which is only a temporary abode. In
consultation with his spirit guides - including a Tibetan Lama, a
Jewish Rabbi, a Native American and his personal guardian angel -
Bob Woodward gives a detailed survey of our lives in spirit worlds
before birth and after death, our relationships there with friends,
family and even pets, and our connections with both good and evil
spiritual beings. He also gives a commentary on a range of subjects
such as reincarnation and climate change. In a final extensive and
moving interview, Woodward finds and speaks with the soul of his
deceased father, who offers enlightening glimpses of life after
death. Whilst the author's knowledge is grounded in decades of
study of the work of Rudolf Steiner - with which he compares the
results of his own extrasensory perceptions - Knowledge of Spirit
Worlds is not intended as a dry philosophical study. Rather, it has
a warm, experiential quality - based as it is on personal
interaction with spirit entities - and emphasizes the love that
connects all worlds and beings together.
What lies at the root of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the worldwide
pandemic it has caused, affecting the health and livelihoods of
untold millions of people? What are the deeper, spiritual realities
behind COVID-19 and the global turmoil it has left in its trail? In
an effort to answer these queries and many others put to her at the
start of the pandemic, Judith von Halle composed two letters in
March 2020, based on her own spiritual-scientific research.
Published in this book together with an additional essay, she
addresses questions such as: * Which entities stand behind the
virus? * How and why does it affect human beings? * What measures
can be taken for prevention and therapy? * What does the crisis
mean to individuals and what possibilities does it offer for
personal development? The author suggests that, apart from the
material havoc triggered by coronavirus, the spiritual causes
behind it are extremely serious and - if the present pandemic is
not to be the first in a series of catastrophes - humanity is
called upon to respond in a radically transformative way. In an
additional article von Halle tackles the controversial issues
relating to government lockdowns and the protest movements that
have sprung up in opposition to them. How do these events point to
real questions of individual freedom and, most importantly, how do
they relate to the central event of our time - an event that,
tragically, remains largely unknown? Revealing unexpected
perspectives to the COVID-19 pandemic, Judith von Halle asks urgent
and difficult questions and offers shattering insights for
humanity's further development.
With great empathy, delicacy, and directness, Peter Selg recounts,
in three lectures, the moving story of Ita Wegman and her
relationship with Rudolf Steiner in the context of the development
of anthroposophic medicine and the formation of the Medical Section
of the School for Spiritual Science. Steiner had suffered patiently
until the right person-Ita Wegman-arrived to guide spiritual
science's healing mission into the medical fi eld. In the fall of
1920, Ita Wegman founded a medical clinic in Arlesheim. From then
on, she and Rudolf Steiner worked together, both medically and
spiritually, gradually unveiling a karmic working relationship
unique in Steiner's life. Thus the stage is set. The second lecture
focuses on anthroposophic curative education: ..". the social
center, the heart even, of Ita Wegman's 'Medical Section.' To make
a commitment to children with severe obstacles in their
incarnation, out of spiritual insight into the human being and the
wider karmic context, and to make this commitment as a group of
people working out of a Christian-religious impulse-this was for
Ita Wegman the true anthroposophic medicine." Dr. Selg then
describes Dr. Wegman's heroic eff orts to create a true community
of physicians working anthroposophically out of Rudolf Steiner's
indications and in the spirit of Christ; how she looked after her
colleagues, always seeking to wake them up "to the destiny of their
own being." As well, she sought to resist all that was happening in
Nazi Germany, never forgetting Rudolf Steiner's warning: "In the
future the Anthroposophical Society will be faced with the crucial
decision of whether responsibilities will be met or not..." And
here exactly lies the heart of this wonderful book: the inner
struggle to make love responsible.
In his final lectures to the general public, Rudolf Steiner speaks
with great clarity and purpose about the inner and outer necessity
of the anthroposophical impulse in modern times. Following the fire
that destroyed the first Goetheanum building in Dornach,
Switzerland, Steiner had focused his efforts on rebuilding and
reorganizing the Anthroposophical Society. But he also continued to
travel and speak to the public - in Prague, Vienna and Basel - to
explain the purpose of the Goetheanum and to elucidate the broader
aims of his spiritual work. These lectures, including a semi-public
series in Dornach, are gathered here and published in English for
the first time, together with an introduction, notes and index. The
volume features the following lectures: 'The Purpose of the
Goetheanum and the Aims of Anthroposophy'; 'Enhancing Human Powers
of Perception to Develop Imagination, Inspiration and Intuition';
'Human Soul Life and the Development of Imagination, Inspiration
and Intuition'; 'Experience and Perception of the Activities of
Thinking and Speech'; 'The Physical World and Moral-Spiritual
Impulses': 'Four Stages of Inner Experience'; 'Perceiving the
Etheric World'; 'Soul's Eternity in the Light of Anthroposophy';
'Human Development and Education in the Light of Anthroposophy';
'Supersensible Perception, Anthroposophy as a Contemporary Need';
'Anthroposophy and the Ethical and Religious Life'; 'How Do We Gain
Knowledge of the Supersensible World?'
In the early part of the last century, Professor Hermann Beckh
began a search to discover the truth about the Mystery wisdom of
antiquity. As a recognized authority on Buddhist texts, he knew
that complete knowledge of such Mysteries was not to be found
within the limitations of waking consciousness, sense perception
and logic. Beckh was already aware that Gautama Buddha had
indicated the stages of higher knowledge. Furthermore, his studies
of Rudolf Steiner's anthroposophical teachings revealed that such
knowledge could be experienced directly, given disciplined
meditation. Clairvoyant cognition included the conscious
penetration of sleep consciousness, the dream state and an
experience of pre-natal consciousness. Both the Mysteries and
Rudolf Steiner's major books, he concluded, were founded on the
same perceptions. Beckh - a worldwide expert on Tibetan, Sanskrit,
Pali and Avestan texts - quickly became disenchanted with Madame
Blavatsky's Theosophy, as it displayed little precise academic
knowledge of primary records. At the same time, university
departments showed scant trace of understanding the texts they
analysed through philology and sociology. Thus, based on
comprehensive studies and personal experience, he resolved to
present his own perceptions and vision to the public. The results
are to be found in this invaluable book, bringing together for the
first time in English three groundbreaking publications: Our Origin
in the Light (Genesis 1-9) (1924); Zarathustra (1927) and From the
World of the Mysteries
In this concise summary and introduction, Michaela Gloeckler
presents the therapeutic spectrum of anthroposophic medicine - its
scientific basis, diagnostic methods and potential for practice.
She gives numerous practical examples of its application and
suggestions for treating patients at home. Anthroposophic medicine
is an integrative system that combines scientific training and
practice with a spiritual understanding of the human being. It
seeks primarily to stimulate self-healing powers, directly
supporting recovery processes and innate capacities of resistance.
Anthroposophic physicians - registered general practitioners and
specialists in all fields - utilize the knowledge and skills of
conventional treatments as well as anthroposophic and homoeopathic
medicines, external applications, and eurythmy, art and physical
therapies. Michaela Gloeckler describes the current status of
anthroposophic medicine whilst raising awareness of the social
dimension of illness and health to address issues of fate and
destiny and to show what individuals can do for their own and other
people's health. She reflects on Rudolf Steiner's call to 'make the
health system democratic' and clarifies why scientific pluralism of
methods and freedom of therapy are essential for the further
development of the healthcare system and a modern understanding of
disease.
What is the meaning of memory in the information age? When all
knowledge is seemingly digitised and available for reference at any
time, do we actually need human memory? One consequence of the
proliferation of digitization is the deterioration of our capacity
to remember - a symptom that is apparent in a steady increase in
dementia within contemporary society. Rudolf Steiner indicates that
memory is the determining factor in awareness of oneself. Even a
partial loss of memory leads to loss of self-consciousness and the
sense of our 'I'. Thus, memory is crucial for the development of
I-consciousness - not only for the individual, but for humanity as
a whole. Rudolf Steiner's research on memory, recollection and
forgetting has many implications for the way we learn, for inner
development and spiritual growth. This unique selection of passages
from his works offers insights into how consciousness can remain
autonomous and creative in a digital environment. It also provides
ideas for improving education and emphasizes the importance of
life-long learning. Chapters include: 'The Development of Memory
Throughout Human History'; 'The Formation of Memory, Remembering
and Forgetting in the Human Individual'; 'Remembering and
Forgetting in Connection with Education'; 'How Remembering and
Forgetting are Transformed by the Schooling Path - Imagination and
Inspiration'; 'Remembering Backwards (Ruckschau) and Memory
Exercises'; 'Subconscious Memories of the Pre-birth Period and of
Life Between Death and a New Birth'; 'Memory and Remembering after
Death'; 'The Development of Memory in the Future'.
This unique work - the fruit of many decades' research and
experience - throws new light on the supersensible history and
karma of the Michaelic movement since Rudolf Steiner's death. It
describes that movement's evolution and transformation in the
etheric world during the twentieth century, from the world-changing
apocalypse of the 1930s and 40s through to the beginning of its
incarnation on Earth at the end of last century. The book also
focuses on developments in the practical and social work of
building the community of the School of Spiritual Science, which
embodies the new Michaelic movement in our time. As Ben-Aharon
indicates, the Michaelic movement is searching for creative,
courageous and enthusiastic souls to foster a strong community that
develops - from one decade to the next - as a living organism.
Based on the continuous resurrection of anthroposophy, this
community strives to create a fully conscious meeting and
communication with the school of Michael and Christ in the etheric
world, in a form that is appropriate and demanded by the times. The
transcripts of these lectures bring together the author's
experiences with anthroposophy over the last 42 years in the light
of present communications from the spiritual world. It is based on
contemporary spiritual investigation and individual, lived
experience. From the Contents: 'The Amfortas-Parsifal Duality of
Modern Humanity'; 'The Twilight of Humanity and its Resurrection';
'The Universal Language of Michael and the Being of Rudolf
Steiner'; 'The Anthroposophical Movement in the Present'; 'The
Etheric Form is Alive'; 'The Resurrection of the Etheric Christ in
the 21st Century'
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