Following his major work on Rudolf Steiner's ten visits to Britain, Crispian Villeneuve studies Steiner's relationship to the British Isles in the 40 or so years before those visits took place. The theme of Steiner's early connection to British culture leads inevitably to the broader topic of his relationship to modern science. This in turn highlights the polarity and tension between the Goethean philosophic view that arises from Middle Europe, and the 'Baconian' perspective emanating from Western Europe. Interweaving these contrasting Baconian and Goethean world-views, Villeneuve presents numerous primary texts - often culled from obscure sources, and many previously unavailable in English translation - with commentary relating to Rudolf Steiner and the nineteenth century. We learn about Steiner's teachers, Karl Julius Schroer and Edmund Reitlinger, as well as English polymath William Whewell. The latter figure was perhaps the greatest admirer of Francis Bacon in recorded history, but maintained manifold connections to Middle Europe. Rudolf Steiner: The British Connection offers genuinely new and valuable research into the early life and thought of one of the greatest cultural innovators of our time.

Lachman brings us an in-depth look at Blavatsky, objectively exploring her unique and singular contributions toward introducing Eastern and esoteric spiritual ideas to the West during the 19th century, as well as the controversies that continue to colour the discussions of her life and work.

De donde venimos? Por que estamos aqui? Cual es nuestro destino final?

He sido privilegiado a traves de los anos en "dialogar" con individuos y agrupaciones de gente en varias regiones del mundo. En estas conversaciones se destacaba una realidad aparte de todo lo demas, la busqueda de una filosofia factible a la que se pudieran aferrar en su interior y a la necesidad correspondiente de poder corroborar la percepcion intuitiva de que si hay una aclaracion o explicacion de los multiples problemas y paradojas de la vida. Con el reconocimiento de que la civilizacion muestra, mas que nada la evolucion y el producto del caracter humano, nuestras conversaciones sondearon aquellos principios espirituales que pueden utilizarse en cualquier circunstancia, sin hacer caso de la profesion de fe, la politica, la cultura o la clase social personal. Pues cualquiera que sea la trayectoria de experiencia de uno, siempre hay un terreno comun de valores en que muchos pueden concurrir. --Introduction

'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.

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.

In 1924 at Koberwitz, the estate of Count and Countess Keyserlingk, Rudolf Steiner gave a key course of lectures on agriculture. At a time when industrial methods were being introduced into farming, Steiner had a radically different, evolutionary, vision. Based on a revitalized relationship with nature, his approach encompassed knowledge of the cosmos, the elemental world and the earth, and utilized special planting methods and preparations. Today his biodynamic agriculture is widely valued and used around the world. In addition to the lively and entertaining accounts of the agriculture course held at Koberwitz, this extraordinary book features Countess Keyserlingk's memories of her meetings with Rudolf Steiner. Steiner told the Countess that she had a consciousness which would be usual 'in the third millennium', and her reminiscences reflect this uncommon quality! Also included are essays by the editor which incorporate rare material such as the communications received by Countess Keyserlingk after Steiner's death. This book will be of interest to students of biodynamics as well as those interested in how Rudolf Steiner worked to develop anthroposophy. It is compiled and edited by Adalbert Graf von Keyserlingk, the son of the Count and Countess who hosted the Koberwitz conference.

"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."

Beginning in January 1913, five days after the Anthroposophical Society was founded, this rich volume traces the esoteric work (and lack thereof) in the decade leading up to the reestablishment of the General Anthroposophical Society at the "Christmas Conference" (1923/1924) and the subsequent creation of the First Class, which replaced the Esoteric Section. Part One, the largest section (Jan. 2, 1913-July 14, 1914), containing thirty-nine lessons in nineteen months, allows us to sense the subtle, though seismic, shift as Anthroposophy gradually became an autonomous earthly, spiritual reality outside the context of Theosophy, with the initial focus to deepen the Rosicrucian path. The emphasis is more practical than theoretical. The task is meditation, without which the new, freestanding spiritual movement could not fulfill its mission. As a consequence, instructions and advice are given. Then, with the outbreak of World War I, the esoteric lessons cease. Part Two is much shorter and covers the period from 1918 to 1923, with only six lessons. Clearly, the time demanded a different approach to the spiritual world, and esoteric students were less prepared to work. Nevertheless, important meditations were given that indicated a new direction. Part Three contains the two esoteric lessons given to the esoteric youth circle-members of the Youth Movement who were serious about esoteric work and would become public exponents of Anthroposophy. Here is something quite new and future-oriented: a new way of undertaking spiritual work in the service of the Archangel Michael. Never before made public, the meditations and instructions are powerful and relevant. This section is preceded by a moving account of the history and development of the esoteric Youth Movement, in which Rudolf Steiner placed such hopes. The volume closes with the Threefold Mantra that foreshadowed a new approach for the First Class and was used by those in the Esoteric Section between 1920 and 1923. This volume is the English translation of Aus den Inhalten der esoterischen Stunden, Gedachtnisaufzeichnungen von Teilnehmern. Band.3, 1913 und 1914; 1920-1923 (GA 266)

Widely used as an introduction to theosophy, this book features short essays and roundtable talks with varying age-groups. Here in refreshingly simple language is a re-presentation of primeval spiritual ideas distilled from the treasury of ancient tradition, the god-wisdom or theosophia inspiring every great religion. Rather than providing ready-made answers to the problems of life, "Expanding Horizons" presents practical insights on those basic questions which go to the root of the human predicament.

Despite dramatic advances in recent decades, medicine - like many other scientific disciplines - is prone to materialistic tendencies, viewing the human being as little more than a biological machine that can be manipulated with 'interventions' and drugs. In this collection of challenging lectures, Dr Glockler asks if a new science of healing can be developed today - a discipline that allows for realities of soul and spirit. With humanity standing at the threshold of a new spiritual consciousness, this question becomes increasingly relevant. Michaela Glockler speaks on themes relating to the esoteric path of spiritual development and its therapeutic task for the individual and community. Giving an account of the evolution of the ancient mysteries in relation to medicine, she discusses the application of inner work in outer action, reflecting on modern social and ethical issues such as organ transplantation and the termination of pregnancy. Whilst the author primarily addresses those involved in the healing professions, this book will be of interest to anybody concerned with a new science of the spirit.

Widely used as an introduction to theosophy, this book features short essays and roundtable talks with varying age-groups. Here in refreshingly simple language is a re-presentation of primeval spiritual ideas distilled from the treasury of ancient tradition, the god-wisdom or theosophia inspiring every great religion. Rather than providing ready-made answers to the problems of life, "Expanding Horizons" presents practical insights on those basic questions which go to the root of the human predicament.

Widely used as an introduction to theosophy, this book features short essays and roundtable talks with varying age-groups. Here in refreshingly simple language is a re-presentation of primeval spiritual ideas distilled from the treasury of ancient tradition, the god-wisdom or theosophia inspiring every great religion. Rather than providing ready-made answers to the problems of life, "Expanding Horizons" presents practical insights on those basic questions which go to the root of the human predicament.

The path of an individual human life - our biography - is something of a mystery. Despite the abundance of published biographies and autobiographies of celebrities and historical figures, the scientific study of human biography remains in its infancy, with little understanding of the inherent laws in the path of an individual's life. Yet as Rudolf Steiner shows here, every biography, regardless of the individual's fame, perceived importance or outer success, is ruled by archetypal influences, patterns and laws. This broad-ranging anthology addresses some critical and as yet unanswered questions: What effects do education - and in particular contrasting education methods - have on later life? How do the various periods of life relate to each other? Do the effects of events on the individual become evident immediately, or is their true impact delayed - perhaps by decades? To what extent can an individual shape the stages of his or her biography? How much freedom of choice do we have, and how much of life is predetermined? Out of the higher knowledge Rudolf Steiner acquired from his spiritual research, he described the human individuality as a being with a continuing existence - before birth and beyond death. This eternal being experiences many varied conditions and situations, the effects of which are observable in our biography. This book addresses these and other issues such as freedom and destiny, the effects of heredity, illness, and the impact of education, offering answers based on a profound knowledge of the human being. Compiled by E. Fucke (Selected lectures, various GAs)

'Meditating is a totally free undertaking; it is the epitome of an autonomous deed.' - Rudolf Steiner Based on brief, pithy quotations from Rudolf Steiner's collected works, the 'spiritual perspectives' in this volume present core concepts on the subject of meditation. These brief extracts do not claim to provide exhaustive treatment of the subject, but open up approaches to the complexity of Steiner's extraordinary world of ideas. Some readers will find these fragments sufficient stimulus in themselves, whilst others will use the source references as signposts towards deeper study and understanding.

From 1933 to 1935, Ita Wegman was confronted by both Nazi fascism and internal crises in the General Anthroposophical Society. During those years, she traveled to Palestine in the fall of 1934 following a grave illness that nearly ended with her death. Her correspondence during this period, as well as her notes on the trip, reveal the great biographical importance to her of these travels and indeed the whole scope of her spiritual experiences in 1934. Ita Wegman had unambiguous perspectives and a uniquely clear view of both the political threat and her social-spiritual task during this period. There was, however, a radical change in her inner stance toward the opposition, aggression, and defamation she encountered within anthroposophic contexts in reaction to her intense, purely motivated efforts. She tried to live and work in true accord with her inner impulses and, ultimately, with Rudolf Steiner's legacy, especially within the anthroposophic movement. Doing so, she increasingly found her way to her own distinctive and uncompromising path. The author reveals the general nature of those three years-a period whose distinctive spiritual and Christological task and dramatic dangers Rudolf Steiner had foreseen in 1923: "If these men the Nazis] gain government power, I will no longer be able to set foot on German soil." Ita Wegman's efforts in 1933 to confront the dark powers of National Socialism and the convulsions in Dornach, which she experienced firsthand, as well as her subsequent illness and the clarity of her "Christological conversion" in 1934 to '35, reveal a very specific, intrinsically comprehensible and forward-looking quality whose spiritual signature is clearly prefigured in Rudolf Steiner's spiritual-scientific predictions. In this book, Peter Selg focuses exclusively on Ita Wegman, her development, and her words, simply presenting the processes she went through and, implicitly, their extraordinary spiritual nature, without any attempt at interpretation. This focus arises from the governing premise that the mysteries of a great life such as that of Ita Wegman reveal themselves in the details. Tracing the subtle steps in her life allow us deeper insight into Ita Wegman's being. She herself wrote, "In general meetings or gatherings, people always understood me poorly because I lacked a smooth way of expressing myself. But people of goodwill always understood what I meant." This book was originally published in German as Geistiger Widerstand und Uberwindung. Ita Wegman 1933-1935 by Verlag am Goetheanum, Dornach, Switzerland, 2005.

"Rudolf Steiner's Riddles of Philosophy: Presented in an Outline of Its History is not a history of philosophy in the usual sense of the word. It does not give a history of the philosophical systems, nor does it present a number of philosophical problems historically. Its real concern touches on something deeper than this, on riddles rather than problems. Philosophical concepts, systems and problems are, to be sure, to be dealt with in this book. But it is not their history that is to be described here. Where they are discussed they become symptoms rather than the objects of the search. The search itself wants to reveal a process that is overlooked in the usual history of philosophy. It is the mysterious process in which philosophical thinking appears in human history. Philosophical thinking as it is here meant is known only in Western civilization. Oriental philosophy has its origin in a different kind of consciousness, and it is not to be considered in this book. "What is new here is the treatment of the history of philosophic thinking as a manifestation of the evolution of human consciousness. Such a treatment requires a fine sense of observation. Not merely the thoughts must be observed, but behind them the thinking in which they appear. "To follow Steiner in his subtle description of the process of the metamorphosis of this thinking in the history of philosophy we should remember he sees the human consciousness in an evolution. It has not always been what it is now, and what it is now it will not be in the future. This is a fundamental conception of anthroposophy." --From the introduction by Fritz C. A. Koelln:

An Outline of Esoteric Science is Rudolf Steiner's most complete and methodical presentation of the results of his own spiritual research. Written in 1909, when he was forty-eight years old, it represents his mature thinking, yet also has the careful structure and development characteristic of the work of young authors. The title points out that the subject of the book is just those realities and beings which are, at least initially, hidden from most of us. But at the same time, it makes explicit that this is not collection of "tales of the supernatural," but a clear, conceptual, thoroughly scientific account of these matters. The book is terse, concise, and demands the reader's utmost attention, as well as the energy to visualize inwardly the pictures presented. It is not a book to be skimmed. Nor is it to be sampled here and there-though one man who tried to do so hit a passage that changed his life. - Clopper Almon, from the introduction With the commentary in the Study Companion keyed by paragraph number to the text of An Outline of Esoteric Science, Clopper Almon takes the reader step-by-step through one of Rudolf Steiner's most difficult texts. Each chapter is considered for themes, or brief summaries of the main points, review questions, discussion questions, and Almon's own observations of the text. This study companion will be a great help to readers of every level, vastly enriching their reading of one of Steiner's most important written works.

The remarkable discussions in these two volumes took place between Rudolf Steiner and workers at the Goetheanum, Switzerland, who chose the varied subject matter. The astonishing nature of his responses the questions--their insight, knowledge, and spiritual depth--is testimony to his outstanding ability as a spiritual initiate and teacher. Accessible and stimulating, the records of these sessions are both entertaining and profound. In From Crystals to Crocodiles, Steiner discusses speech and languages; lefthandedness; dinosaurs; Lemuria; turtles and crocodiles; oxygen and carbon; ancient giant oysters; the moon, sun, and earth; the Old Testament; the real nature of Adam; breathing and brain activity; dreams; sugar; the liver and perception; brain cells and thinking; illnesses such as cancer and its origin, migraines, and diabetes; the eyes of animals; Paracelsus; alcohol, and more.

In this concise and richly-illustrated work, Olive Whicher introduces a radical new science of living organisms, forms and processes, based on the pioneering work of Rudolf Steiner and his pupil George Adams. If we are to understand fully the laws of living nature, she argues, it is necessary to overcome the one-sided ideas of modern science - ideas that are only adequate to describe material forms and forces. We need to widen our thinking to include the 'etheric formative forces' - forces that are alive in ethereal space or 'counterspace'. Such forces work in plants, for example, by drawing matter upwards in a suctional manner, in contrast to the forces of gravity, which draw downwards, and the forces of an explosion, which work upward and outward. This easily-digestible introduction will be valuable to anybody seeking to comprehend the living world around us.

A second, wiser self guides us through life. Without it we would not go far, for it is what makes us human. In the first years of life -- before memory and ego -- it guides us to stand upright and to learn to speak and think. Then we exchange this wisdom, which is still connected to the spiritual hierarchies, for our ego-consciousness. Yet it remains ever-present, and through meditation we can consciously connect to it.

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.