`The whole hive is really pervaded by the life of love. The individual bees relinquish love but develop it instead throughout the hive. And so we start to understand bee existence if we recognize that the bee lives in an air, an atmosphere, that is entirely impregnated with love.' From time immemorial, human culture has been fascinated by bees. Mythic pictures and writings tell of our close affinity and connection with these complex creatures, as well as the inestimable value of honey and wax. In recent years, bees have come to prominence again in the media, with reports of colony collapse and the wholesale demise of bee populations, forcing us to awaken to the critical role they play in human existence. Rudolf Steiner's unique talks reveal the hidden wisdom at work in bee colonies. Speaking in Switzerland in 1923, in response to concerns from beekeepers amongst his local workforce, Steiner delivered a series of addresses whose multi-layered content, structure and wording is unparalleled. In The World of Bees, editor Martin Dettli, a longstanding beekeeper, uses Steiner's seminal bee lectures as the main framework of the book, augmenting them with further relevant passages from Steiner's collected works. Dettli also provides substantial commentaries on the texts, placing them within the context of contemporary beekeeping. This new anthology is an essential handbook for anyone interested in beekeeping or the indispensable work that bees do for humanity. It features chapters on the origins of bees, human beings and beekeeping, the organism of the hive, the social qualities of bees, their relationship with wasps and ants, plants and elemental beings, the efficacy of honey, bee venom, as well as scientific aspects such as silica and formic acid processes and a critique of modern beekeeping.

Dieser Buchtitel ist Teil des Digitalisierungsprojekts Springer Book Archives mit Publikationen, die seit den Anfangen des Verlags von 1842 erschienen sind. Der Verlag stellt mit diesem Archiv Quellen fur die historische wie auch die disziplingeschichtliche Forschung zur Verfugung, die jeweils im historischen Kontext betrachtet werden mussen. Dieser Titel erschien in der Zeit vor 1945 und wird daher in seiner zeittypischen politisch-ideologischen Ausrichtung vom Verlag nicht beworben.

Contemporary science views our planet as an insignificant speck of dust in the vastness of space, with its four kingdoms as a random assemblage of atoms. Yvan Rioux presents a radically different perspective, demonstrating an indissoluble relationship between Heaven and Earth. Over aeons of existence, the four kingdoms have manifested a creative power that perpetually brings forth new expressions. With the goal of bridging science and spirit, Rioux helps revive the old intuitive awareness of an intimate communion between the outer perceptible life of nature, the inner life of the soul and the majestic spiritual formative forces that preside as architects - an organic whole where all levels co-evolve. The earth, nesting in its solar system, is connected with the Milky Way and the twelve constellations. The impact of the stars as an influence on human behaviour has been known for millennia. In the original edition of Rudolf Steiner's Calendar of the Soul, twelve illustrations of the constellations, made by Imma von Eckardstein, were published for the first time. These intuitive drawings differ greatly from the traditional ones, but Steiner stressed their importance for our modern consciousness. The images invite us to comprehend formative forces in their various guises in the kingdoms of nature. By exploring the gifts of each constellation, the author uses Imma's drawings as a template to elucidate the emergence of twelve basic forms as the common denominators of all creatures, leading eventually towards the human form. 'The [new] images of the zodiac constellations represent actual experiences connected with the waking and sleeping of particular spiritual beings. In these images we have a knowledge that needs to be renewed at this time...' - Rudolf Steiner (1912)

Who was Cain and what does he represent? The first part of this book invites us to revise the traditional, biblical, view of Cain as his brother's murderer. Rudolf Steiner shows how the original Cain was ready to sacrifice his being to something higher, but this pure impulse was perverted into the desire to murder. Our earthly knowledge has an affinity with the fallen Cain, but there is also a path by which we can ascend to the condition of Cain before his fratricide - through the stages of higher knowledge. Only the descendants of Cain, coming to full and real 'I' development, can sustain themselves in the face of earthly forces. In the context of this primeval Cain, or the 'new' Cain, the ritual ceremonies enacted by Steiner between 1905 and 1914 acquire their true meaning: as a way to incorporate previously developed spirit knowledge into the human soul and into physical reality. Here the practical occultist increasingly identifies with Hiram, the central figure of the Temple Legend, in order to realize the new Cain within him.Meyer demonstrates the direct line from Rudolf Steiner's early 'rites of knowledge' to the Class lessons of 1924, which Steiner had intended to reinvest with a ritual element. Besides reflections by Rudolf Steiner and editor Thomas Meyer's commentary, this volume includes important thoughts by Marie Steiner, W.J. Stein, Ludwig Polzer-Hoditz and Rudolf Geering-Christ. The final chapter is a lecture by D.N. Dunlop - perhaps Steiner's most important pupil in the West - that reveals the universally human core of the rituals we encounter both in traditional freemasonry and in Steiner's own rites.

Rudolf Steiner offered numerous practical methods to enrich and enliven our daily lives. Drawing on these, the texts in this anthology provide a wealth of ideas to strengthen our health through self-education and personal development. The content ranges from tangible and easy-to-practise exercises to relevant observations on human nature.Steiner speaks of memory and forgetting as the basis of education and cultural development, explaining their significance for health and illness. He discusses the influences of the four human temperaments and their relationship to well-being, and the eightfold path in connection with self-education. Finally, he gives specific exercises for inner development to be practised on the various days of the week. The themes of personal resilience and 'salutogenesis' - an approach that focuses on factors that support human health and well-being rather than those that cause disease - are addressed directly by editor Harald Hass in his introductory essay.

This invaluable book not only provides practical suggestions and advice regarding common medical issues and ailments, but also presents the fundamental principles of anthroposophic medicine. It explains the underlying picture of disorders in the human organism and the therapeutic approach of anthroposophic medical practice, giving answers to the questions that, in an ideal world, a patient would like to discuss at length with his or her doctor.Anthroposophic Medicine for all the Family illustrates some of the key remedies and procedures used in the treatment of common ailments as diverse as influenza, asthma, menstrual pain, sunburn, hypertension and childhood illnesses. It provides support for anyone seeking to improve their health whilst involving the reader in a conscious process of healing and self-development.