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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Alternative belief systems > Syncretist & eclectic religions & belief systems > Post-renaissance syncretist / eclectic systems
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
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'
From Joseph Vogelsang and his mysterious peep-box to Hollywood
blockbusters and Netflix, R.A. Savoldelli's survey of cinema and
film is based on practical experience - he was once the enfant
terrible of Swiss cinema - and years of contemplation and study. He
examines the difference between film as the 'hypnotic monster'
referred to by the Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini, and the
art of film that Rudolf Steiner aspired to. The author depicts the
historical development of cinema from its origins, paying
particular attention to science fiction - from Star Wars to The
Matrix - and influential filmmakers such as Eric Rohmer, Andrei
Tarkovsky and Pasolini. As a scholar of anthroposophy, Savoldelli
gives a comprehensive assessment of Rudolf Steiner's attitude to
film. In addition to frequenting the silent cinema of his time,
Steiner made several statements about the new artform in his
lectures, letters and private discussions. The author examines and
interprets these and complements them with commentary on Steiner's
attempt to produce a film on the theme of reincarnation and karma
as well as his explorations with Jan Stuten of 'light-show art'.
Other topics in this penetrating study include: 'Basic
philosophical stances in the pioneer period of media studies';
'Steiner's prophetic warnings about a technocratic form of
civilization that will destroy humanity'; 'Nostalgia for the
art-house cinema that emerged in the 60s'; and 'The project
discussed by Alexander Kluge and Andrei Tarkovsky for a film based
on Rudolf Steiner's From the Akashic Records'. Anyone interested in
the cinematic arts will find a treasure of stimulating ideas and
new thought in this unique book.
"It is a simple but essential principle: education aims at the
future, at a time that we as educators do not yet know and cannot
foresee. The challenges that will confront the children in the
future are not those of the past-of our past, of our life story and
our horizon. Times change, so do the realities of life, and in our
times they change quickly and dramatically. Education aims at the
future and that puts us as educators in a difficult situation: this
future is not-or is only to an extent-identical with our past, with
our life experiences. My youth, your youth: they are not identical
with the adolescent constitution and life reality toward which we
currently have to direct our educational efforts. Yet educate we
must, and educating means preparing for a future." -Peter Selg
(from the book) Schools reflect the state of society. If society is
materialistic, competitive, egoistic, technological, and without
concern for human values and long-term thinking, our schools will
tend to reflect those values. However, what if education were about
something else? What if education were about the future? What if
education were a about nurturing a new generation of human beings,
integrated in body, soul, and spirit and able to think for
themselves and have the capacity to love? Perhaps the world would
change. The Waldorf school, initiated and guided in 1919 by Rudolf
Steiner, was conceived with precisely such an end in view. In this
passionate, inspiring, and moving book, Peter Selg, speaks from a
deep knowledge of Anthroposophy and from his extensive experience
as a child psychiatrist. He returns to the original impulses behind
the first Waldorf school to show their continuing validity and how
they still respond to what we need. From this view, Waldorf
education is future-oriented, based on a holistic worldview and
cosmology that is humanistic, scientific, and spiritual, and
develops through a curriculum and a teacher-student relationship
based on love. Its focus is the miracle of the developing human
being. Recognizing the equal importance of thinking, feeling, and
willing, Waldorf education works through bodily movement and art,
as well as through intellect and mind. Waldorf Education is not a
theory but a living reality, and Selg brings this reality to life
before us through the biography of the first Waldorf school. Thus,
we learn to see it in a new way-in its essence, as a healing model
of what education might become if the primary relationship, the
inner core of a school, is the free relationship between teacher
and student. As Steiner wrote: "It is our task as teachers and
educators to stand in awe of the individuality of the student and
offer our help so that it can follow the laws of its own
development. We are merely called upon to remove any obstacles in
body or soul that might hinder the individuality from realizing its
potential freely." A verse given at the dedication of a building at
the Waldorf School in Stuttgart expresses the essence of Waldorf
Education in poetic form: May there reign here spirit-strength in
love; May there work here spirit-light in goodness; Born from
certainty of heart, And from steadfastness of soul, So that we may
bring to young human beings Bodily strength for work, inwardness of
soul, and clarity of spirit.
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