At the threshold that divides the elemental and etheric worlds, Are Thoresen encounters two spiritual entities - Vidar and Balder, 'guardians of the threshold' - whose task is to protect the spiritual border from uninitiated intruders. Building on previous reports, Encounters with Vidar offers startling new esoteric teachings, gleaned - through processes of spiritual knowledge - from these enigmatic gods. Here, Vidar and Balder emphasize the importance of clairaudience as opposed to clairvoyance (the latter particularly being open to attack from adversary beings). Through the process of working with the communications, the author begins to experience a transformation of his head chakras, leading to an awakening of 'spiritual ears'. Whilst clairvoyance is like reading the holy script, clairaudience is akin to hearing the holy script, he learns. --- Amongst the wealth of fresh insights revealed here are the 'fourth aspect of the soul' (or 'time-karma-Christ'); the task of eurythmy today; the whereabouts of the contents of the School of Spiritual Science; and the work of 'Vulcan beings' and other planetary entities. Thoresen offers reflections on his travels to western England (with its connections to Troy) and southern Spain (with its legacy of Moorish occupation). His intention is not to create new dogmas or beliefs, but to testify to the living reality of metaphysical dimensions of reality - and humanity's latent ability to access them.

In a series of vibrant and lively essays, Steffen Hartmann focuses on a little-known but critically important theme relating to the teachings of Rudolf Steiner. Steiner described the collaboration between human souls connected to the Platonic and Aristotelian 'schools' or groupings - both here on Earth and in the spiritual world. These groupings of souls work within a wider metaphysical collective known as the 'Michael School', led by the ruling Spirit of our age, Michael. Prior to their births, millions of human souls were prepared within this School to help them face the challenges of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. We may have forgotten these pre-existence experiences, but they can be reawakened within us, says Hartmann. Indeed, it is possible consciously to reconnect to our earlier incarnations and to perceive our karma. The book begins with this theme and leads to Rudolf Steiner's 'Michael Prophecy' of 1924 - to his vision of the millennium and the era in which we now live, especially the crucial period between 2012 and 2033. Dealing with the 'anthroposophical block' in the emerging holistic building of humanity, the author contextualizes the topic with reference to direct personal experiences. The sharing of such considered experiences can help to stimulate self-reflection in the anthroposophical movement and contribute real spiritual substance to contemporary culture. This little book provides stimulation to spiritual seekers who carry within them deeper questions about life in the modern world.

A collection of extra-biblical scriptures written by the gnostics, updated with three ancient texts including the recently discovered Gospel of Judas "The one indispensable book for the understanding of Gnosis and Gnosticism."-Harold Bloom This definitive introduction to the gnostic scriptures provides a crucial look at the theology, religious atmosphere, and literary traditions of ancient Christianity and Hellenistic Judaism. It provides authoritative translations of ancient texts from Greek, Latin, and Coptic, with introductions, bibliographies, and annotations. The texts are organized to reflect the history of gnosticism in the second through fourth century CE. This second edition provides updates throughout and adds three new ancient texts, including the recently discovered Gospel of Judas.

'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.

Rudolf Steiner's intuitive artistic knowledge enabled him to use colours in a unique way, giving expression to their individual natures. Together with his many lectures on art, Steiner's paintings provide artists with fresh ways of understanding colour, allowing for an entirely new creativity and aesthetics. In 1924, Steiner painted a watercolour of the Madonna and Child, giving it the title `New Life'. Through Steiner's depiction of Mary, mother of the Divine Child, this painting draws us to the feminine expression of spirituality. In this highly-illustrated, full-colour book Angela Lord studies this feminine principle, beginning with the very earliest stages of human evolution - the `Fall' from paradise and the pre-historic periods of Lemuria and Atlantis. From the Mysteries of Egypt and Greece to the development of Christian art, she offers insights to the myths and legends of female deities and goddesses. According to Rudolf Steiner, at the time of Jesus's birth humanity had entered a decadent phase of development. Small groups of initiated individuals, however, were preparing for a sacred birth: the descent of a heavenly being into earthly existence. The God of the Old Testament would be revealed `in flesh', born to a virgin mother. In the second part of New Life - Mother and Child, Angela Lord takes us on a journey through two thousand years of Christian art, covering Iconography, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. We see how artistic images of Mary and her Child have changed, why these variations have occurred and how they reflect the changing consciousness of humanity. Finally, the `New Life' painting is considered from the interactive processes of colour and composition, illustrated with a series of artistic colour sequences.

'We have shown how in the course of time the being who was present in Elijah appeared again at the most important moments of human evolution on Earth - appeared again so that Christ Jesus Himself could give him the initiation he was to receive for the evolution of mankind. For the being of Elijah reappeared in Lazarus-John - who are in truth one and the same figure ...' Thus spoke Rudolf Steiner in his 'Last Address' to members of the Anthroposophical Society. This was his first and only indication of the connection between John the Baptist and John the Evangelist. As Prokofieff points out, Steiner intended to develop and bring to full clarity the short comment reproduced above, but his terminal illness prevented him from doing so. In this brief but enlightening booklet, Sergei O. Prokofieff addresses the mystery of the 'two Johns', solving many unanswered questions. In particular, he throws light on issues of 'incarnation and incorporation', the nature of John the Baptist's and John the Evangelist's respective initiations, the significance of their mutual work at the 'Turning Point of Time', and its relevance to our present day.

The unique scholarship and artistic sensitivity of Prof. Dr Hermann Beckh (1875-1937) is in the process of being rediscovered. The great linguist, Orientalist and Christian priest - an active music-lover who also composed - penned pioneer works on our musical system that are respected by musicians and musicologists. This volume brings together two revised versions of his best-loved books. The Essence of Tonality is written '...for musicians and music-lovers who, because of their particular musicality experience something spiritual - and for spiritual seekers and sensitive people who, because of their particular spirituality, have experienced a connection with music.' Beckh believed a spiritual view of tonality would ensure music's, and humanity's, future. The author elucidates the correspondence of the circle of fifths (the keys) to the zodiac. Research should be directed towards the twelve vital, spiritual key-centres, as expressing the cosmic rhythms in which we all live, rather than the abstract twelve chromatic notes of atonality. In The Parsifal Christ-Experience, Beckh's original insights throw new and powerful light on the search for meaning in our age, for a knowledge of the heart. In the poetic libretto and remarkable music of his final creation, Wagner - acknowledged by Bruckner as 'the Master' - presents the Grail legend and its imagery. The psychological drama and its ultimate solution provide insights to anyone who is prepared to reflect on inner experience. Through Beckh's references to Wagner's own letters, as well as a remarkable letter from Nietzsche, the reader gains knowledge of the true nature of Wagner and his work.

Heiner Ruland charts a practical path towards a deepened musical understanding, illuminating the panorama of humanity's musical past. Indicating what may happen - and needs to happen - to music in the immediate and more distant future, the implications of this book for composition, musical education and therapy are immense. The author shows how the fundamental elements of music embody distinctive modes of consciousness. He examines the musical systems of ancient humanity and goes on to draw a vivid picture of our contemporary musical situation. This seminal work is more than a theoretical treatise on the nature of music, but a book to be understood and experienced through musical practice. With the help of the monochord, the reader, with a minimum of technique, is able to explore new and unfamiliar musical realms. 'Rudolf Steiner believed that an expansion of our tone-system was a necessity...In this book of Ruland's, we have for the first time an account that is penetrating enough and of sufficiently large scope to enable us to understand why.' - Jurgen Schriefer

'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.

Theologian and writer Robert M. Price is perhaps best known today for his scholarly arguments against the existence of a historical Jesus. Yet, he has been at various times in his career an agnostic, an exponent of Liberal Protestant theology, a nontheist, a secular humanist, a religious humanist, a Unitarian-Universalist wannabe, an unaffiliated Universalist, and a Fellow of the Jesus Seminar. Any way you cut it, he is not your typical atheist. This collection of his best essays demonstrates his love for the various great religions, which he views as endlessly fascinating expressions of the human spirit. Beneath the keen insights and sharp critiques he offers, whether the subject is theology, secularism, or biblical studies, the essays themselves are also deeply personal and revealing. Read together, they document his self-extrication from the born-again Christianity in which he dwelt for some dozen years--and his subsequent rise to celebrated freethought advocate whose work has challenged an entire field.

Valentinus, an Egyptian Christian who traveled to Rome to teach his unique brand of theology, and his followers, the Valentinians, formed one of the largest and most influential sects of Christianity in the second and third centuries. But by the fourth century, their writings had all but disappeared suddenly and mysteriously from the historical record, as the newly consolidated imperial Christian Church condemned as heretical all forms of what has come to be known as Gnosticism. Only in 1945 were their extensive original works finally rediscovered, and the resurrected "Gnostic Gospels" soon rooted themselves in both the scholarly and popular imagination. Valentinian Christianity: Texts and Translations brings together for the first time all the extant texts composed by Valentinus and his followers. With accessible introductions and fresh translations based on new transcriptions of the original Greek and Coptic manuscripts on facing pages, Geoffrey S. Smith provides an illuminating, balanced overview of Valentinian Christianity and its formative place in Christian history.

A Life with Colour is the first complete survey of Gerard Wagner's biography and his artistic intentions, featuring dozens of illustrations and more than 120 colour plates. The life and work of Gerard Wagner (1906-1999) were closely aligned to the artistic-spiritual stream connected with the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. He first heard of the Goetheanum - and of its destruction by fire at New Year 1922/23 - whilst still a youth. In 1926, he made his first visit to Dornach, but his intended stay of a week turned into a lifelong sojourn of over 73 years. He found there an active, striving community with which he felt intimately connected. From the start, Gerard Wagner immersed himself in the various artistic impulses that Rudolf Steiner had instigated. This, together with an intensive study of anthroposophy, formed the basis upon which he forged his own approach to painting. The many years he spent in colour experimentation led him to discover objective principles within the language of colour and form that are an inspiration to many today. His paintings, first shown at the Goetheanum in the early 1940s, were exhibited internationally, most notably at the Menshikov Palace, Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia, in 1997. '[Wagner's] whole being bowed before the mystery of colour in a loving, joyful yet serious way, full of devotion and dignity. His life and work itself became a living metaphor of the creative power of colour.' - Christian Hitsch 'Caroline Chanter has not only accomplished a great and seminal study that illuminates the life and work of Gerard Wagner, but has done a great service also to the Goetheanum and its School of Spiritual Science.' - Peter Selg '[Gerard Wagner was] a soul which on earth was devoted so selflessly and in such purity to the beings that are revealed... in forms and colours. He helped them to utterance and manifestation in this world of ours.' - Sergei O. Prokofieff

In this practical guide to attaining your true Divine Identity, Denmark's leading spiritual teacher Lars Muhl reveals exactly how to connect with your magnificent inner power and attain your highest possible potential. Muhl invites us to join him on a journey to the Qumran Caves in the Judean desert to discover The Book of Asaph. The journey and the sacred text itself offer a breath-taking metaphor for the process of spiritual Enlightenment. Lars Muhl considers The Light Within a Human Heart his most profound and powerful work. It is for all who wish to embrace their endless magic and enter Heaven on earth, remaining beautifully Present despite the inevitable difficulties of life. When we move, breathe and live in our Inner Light, we have returned home.

A seer "sees" more than meets the eye. Ordinary seeing reveals the visible world through one's perceptions of light patterns that we interpret as "the world." Higher seeing perceives patterns and relationships that are invisible to the physical eyes, yet are nevertheless present in our world. This is truly a form of perception, but through the eyes of the soul, or heart. All seeing is a form of cognition, or knowing, and, likewise, higher sight is a form of higher cognition. These two kinds of perception go together. To be a seer is to use the eyes of the soul together with one's physical eyes -- being able to move from one to the other, letting go of one for the other. For those who wish to develop faculties of higher knowing and seeing, The Seer's Handbook is a unique, practical, and extensive guide, filled with exercises, meditations, and insightful commentary.

Mental and emotional disorders have reached epidemic levels in Western societies. Self-doubt, panic-attacks, anxiety disorders and personal fears of all kinds present major challenges to contemporary medical science. Rudolf Steiner's spiritual research offers a startlingly original and complementary contribution to the problem. True insight into psychological issues requires knowledge of the influences of spiritual beings, he suggests. In everyday life we are all confronted with metaphysical entities that can hinder or progress our development. Many forms of anxiety and self-doubt derive from such meetings on the border - or threshold - of our consciousness. Further, these `threshold experiences' are exacerbated today by a general loosening of the subtle bodies and components of the human soul. As these constitutional changes persist, says Rudolf Steiner, a condition of `dissociation' becomes increasingly common. A healthy emotional life will only be possible if individuals engage in a conscious practice of personal growth, strengthening their constitution through the action of the `I' or self. The expertly selected and collated texts in Self-Doubt offer numerous cognitive and practical ideas for the improvement of everyday mental and emotional health. Chapters include: The origin of error, fear, and nervousness; Crossing the threshold in the development of humanity and the individual; The polarity of shame and fear; The polarity of doubt and terrifying disorientation; The polarity of scepticism and claustrophobia, astraphobia, and agoraphobia; The origin of panic; Anxiety; The multilayered nature of terrifying disorientation; Healing aspects of the anthroposophical path of training; The spiritual-scientific qualities of fear compared with standardized diagnostic terms and as a basis for therapy.

In these remarkable lectures, Rudolf Steiner reestablishes the human being as a participant in an evolving, dynamic universe of living spiritual beings: a living universe, whole and divine. He does so in concrete images, capable of being grasped by human consciousness as if from within.

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.

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.

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.

This book provides an anthology of sources highlighting Manichaeism, a gnostic religion which flourished largely clandestinely in the Near East, Central Asia, and China until the beginning of the seventeenth century. It translates and discusses the importance of a number of Arabic, Syriac, and Hebrew testimonies for a proper understanding of the cultural importance of what most scholars consider to be the first 'world religion.' Many of these sources are translated here into English for the first time.