Our world today is increasingly characterized by speed, movement and flux. There is often a lack of sufficient time to do 'what needs to be done', and life seems to be marked by change, upheaval and revolution. But in the midst of this turmoil, say the authors, people are having conscious and semiconscious experiences of the etheric world - the world that comprises the forces of life. However, this growing sensitivity to the etheric realm only intensifies experiences of movement and upheaval. To counter such feelings, we should take hold of our inner life and strengthen the 'I' - our true self. Featuring essays supplemented with a substantial amount of source material from Rudolf Steiner and other authors, this book is an invaluable resource for inner development and the beginnings of true spiritual vision. We learn to practise the ability to add to every physical perception - whether of stone, plant, animal or another person - the etheric reality associated with that entity. This process leads us to become more aware of the 'after-image' and to become conscious within the etheric realm. Baruch Urieli comments that this 'is not an esoteric path but is, rather, an endeavour to bring the beginnings of a natural consciousness of the etheric to full consciousness and, hence, under the rulership of the ego'.

2012 Reprint of 1945 Edition. Exact facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. "A Treatise on White Magic" is considered to be one of her most important writings, as it is less abstract than most, and deals with many important subjects of her works in an introductory, even programmatic fashion. It was first published in 1934 with the subtitle 'The Way of the Disciple'. She promulgated White Magic as a discipline to serve humanity. Bailey said the work was dictated telepathically by the Tibetan Master, Djwal Khul. It is offered as a "basic textbook" for the Western aspirant to initiation, and is divided into fifteen rules of magic, each one taking the reader further into the mysteries of spirituality. Topics discussed include: how an aspirant can best prepare himself for service, the various ray types of their influences, the relationship between the macrocosm and microcosm, the spiritual, causal, astral and physical realms and their interactions, the spiritual psychology of man (although this is dealt with much more fully in the Esoteric Psychology volumes), The Hierarchy of Masters, esoteric groups and schools, the spiritual centers (or chakras), the occult concept of the Seven Rays, meditation work and much more. One of the main themes is that of soul control. Students of the works of Alice A. Bailey and Theosophy believe that the ultimate purpose of White Magic is furtherance of the spiritual and material evolution of humanity. Specifically, this evolution is conceived in terms of the increased benevolent manifestation of seven spiritual energies or Seven Rays. It is further believed that adept practitioners of White Magic, wielding the power of the Seven Rays, can contribute to this evolution.

Rudolf Steiner, the often undervalued, multifaceted genius of modern times, contributed much to the regeneration of culture. In addition to his philosophical teachings, he provided ideas for the development of many practical activities, including education - both general and special - agriculture, medicine, economics, architecture, science, religion and the arts. Steiner's original contribution to human knowledge was based on his ability to conduct 'spiritual research', the investigation of metaphysical dimensions of existence. With his scientific and philosophical training, he brought a new systematic discipline to the field, allowing for conscious methods and comprehensive results. A natural seer from childhood, he cultivated his spiritual vision to a high degree, enabling him to speak with authority on previously veiled mysteries of life.Samples of Steiner's work are to be found in this introductory reader in which Matthew Barton brings together excerpts from Steiner's many talks and writings on Michaelmas. The volume also features an editorial introduction, afterword, commentary and notes.

Beginning with the premise that modern so-called "Gnostic" organizations are actually products of the 19th Century Occultist and New Age movements, 'This Way: Gnosis Without "Gnosticism"' embraces the most recent scholarship which concludes that there was no ancient "Gnosticism." Consequently, modern organizations which refer to themselves as "Gnosticism" are in no way related to ancient heretical sects in historical reality, but are, instead, entirely modern creations. As a response, 'This Way: Gnosis Without "Gnosticism"' presents an applied spirituality based on the writings found in the Nag Hammadi Library and Zen Buddhism, for people interested in a simple, mature approach to gnosis that doesn't rely on unprovable claims of apostolic succession or New Age neo-Templar silliness, but instead acknowledges the limitations of the material. If you are looking for a context for a modern approach to gnosis that can be practiced by anyone, alone or within an extant organization 'This Way: Gnosis Without "Gnosticism"' is the book for you.

Life today poses many questions, both in our personal lives and in our participation in nature and the broader culture. We often focus on the outer needs for social, political, technological, or environmental change. However, can we really meet the challenges around us without also attending to our inner life and to our own evolving biography as it reflects and informs the outer world? This book starts from the premise that each of our lives expresses uniqueness of spiritual intention within the unfolding of universal rhythms and possibilities. Can we wake up to the developmental opportunities offered to us through different life phases? Are we able to step out of the narrowness of the dualistic nature-nurture argument and experience that we are both more than our genetic composition and more than a product of the social and educational influences that have shaped us? Can we come to appreciate the learning that our "I" has received through heredity, ethnicity, schooling, and gender without losing a sense of our true individuality? Waking up to our unique self as it grows through interaction with the world and other human beings helps us recognize the significance we all play in one another's biographies and in the unfolding of our larger human story. Why on Earth? invites us to explore our own meaning-filled life journey, to bring conscious attention to how we go our path, so that we may more freely perceive our possibilities and our responsibilities along the way of our personal and shared becoming.

Pistis Sophia is an important Gnostic text, possibly written as early as the 2nd century. The five remaining copies, which scholars place in the 5th or 6th centuries, relate the Gnostic teachings of the transfigured Jesus to the assembled disciples (including his mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Martha), when the risen Christ had accomplished eleven years speaking with his disciples. In it the complex structures and hierarchies of heaven familiar in Gnostic teachings are revealed. The female divinity of gnosticism is Sophia, a being with many aspects and names. She is sometimes identified with the Holy Spirit itself but, according to her various capacities, is also the Universal Mother, the Mother of the Living or Resplendent Mother, the Power on High, She-of-the-left-hand (as opposed to Christ, understood as her husband and he of the Right Hand), as the Luxurious One, the Womb, the Virgin, the Wife of the Male, the Revealer of Perfect Mysteries, the Holy Dove of the Spirit, the Heavenly Mother, the Wandering One, or Elena (that is, Selene, the Moon). She was envisaged as the Psyche of the world and the female aspect of Logos. The title Pistis Sophia is obscure, and is sometimes translated Faith wisdom or Wisdom in faith or Faith in wisdom. A more accurate translation taking into account its gnostic context, is the faith of Sophia, as Sophia to the gnostics was a divine syzygy of Christ, rather than simply a word meaning wisdom. In an earlier, simpler version of a Sophia, in the Berlin Codex and also found in a papyrus at Nag Hammadi, the transfigured Christ explains Pistis in a rather obscure manner: Again, his disciples said: Tell us clearly how they came down from the invisibilities, from the immortal to the world that dies? The perfect Saviour said: Son of Man consented with Sophia, his consort, and revealed a great androgynous light. Its male name is designated 'Saviour, begetter of all things'. Its female name is designated 'All-begettress Sophia'. Some call her 'Pistis'. The best-known of the five manuscripts of Pistis Sophia is bound with another Gnostic text titled on the binding "Piste Sophiea Cotice." This "Askew Codex" was purchased by the British Museum (now British Library) in 1795 from a Dr. Anthony Askew. Until the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library in 1945, the Askew Codex was one of three codices that contained almost all of the gnostic writings that had survived the suppression of such literature both in East and West, the other two codices being the Bruce Codex and the Berlin Codex. Aside from these primary sources, everything written about Gnosticism before the Nag Hammadi library became available is based on quotes, characterizations, and caricatures in the writings of the enemies of Gnosticism. The purpose of these heresiological writings were polemical, presenting Gnostic teachings as absurd, bizarre, and self-serving, and as an aberrant heresy from a proto-orthodox and orthodox Christian standpoint. The text proclaims that Jesus remained on earth after the resurrection for 11 years, and was able in this time to teach his disciples up to the first (i.e. beginner) level of the mystery. It starts with an allegory paralleling the death and resurrection of Jesus, and describing the descent and ascent of the soul. After that it proceeds to describe important figures within the gnostic cosmology, and then finally lists 32 carnal desires to overcome before salvation is possible, overcoming all 32 constituting salvation. Pistis Sophia includes quotes from five of the Odes of Solomon, found in chapters between 58 and 71. Pistis Sophia was the only known source for the actual wording of any of the Odes until the discovery of a nearly-complete Syriac text of the Odes in 1909. Because the first part of this text is missing, Pistis Sophia is still the only source for Ode 1.

You may want to reverse what you think about dying. See what some normal people experienced in their final days.Some of their experiences were extraordinary and even unexplainable. Life begins with an orgasm. I bet our Creator will even top this at our journey's end. You don't believe there is a Creator? That's okay, no judgement here.We all have a lot of clutter we must come to grips with as we live our lives. Could our departing be our purpose in life?

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Partial Contents: Scenery: seven subdivisions, degrees of materiality, characteristics of astral vision, the aura, etheric double, records of astral light; Inhabitants: human, the adept or chela, psychically developed person, black magician, the dead, ordinary person after death, the shell, the suicide, victim of sudden death, black magician after death; Nature Spirits; Elementals formed consciously; Phenomena: churchyard ghosts; apparitions of the dying, haunted localities, bell ringing, fairies, communicating entities, clairvoyance, precipitation of letters, transmutation, repercussion.

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1925. A priest in the Liberal Catholic Church, Van Der Leeuw's book is the outcome of a series of talks given to a group of students interested in the meaning and work of the Third Person of the Divine Trinity, He who in the Christian religion is called God the Holy Ghost. Contents First Section, The Holy Ghost as the Creator: The Holy Spirit a Neglected Chapter in Religious History; The Fire of Creation; The Rhythm of Life; The Divine Ritual; The Dynamic Universe; and Divine Alchemy. Contents Second Section, The Divine Mind: From Image to Archetype; The World of the Divine Mind; The Way of the Higher Mind; and Inspiration. Contents Third Section, The Mahachohan, the Representative of the Holy Ghost: The Paraclete and the Mahachohan; and The Lord of the Five Rays. Contents Fourth Section, The Motherhood of God. See other works available by this author from Kessinger Publishing.

Based on a remarkable series of lectures delivered in his native Israel, Dr Ben-Aharon presents his illuminating research on the meaning of Judaism and the spiritual mission of the Jewish people in the past, present and future. The Hebrew people have been a central root in the development not only of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, but of the universal human spirit itself. Thus, a new understanding of their development and contribution to the spiritual biography of humanity is essential to understanding ourselves as human beings. The Jews were chosen to reveal the deepest secret of ancient times: the existence of one God above all gods, being the Creator of all human beings - beyond race, nation and gender - in his divine image. The great historical and spiritual figures of the Hebrew people - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joseph, the Judges, Kings and Prophets - prepared humanity for individuation - the true `I AM' - through devotion to the divine foundation of the world. `The Lord our God is one', who is to be loved with all one's heart, soul and being. Each person could now fulfill the Word, which could be actualized on earth - in the human being. In Jerusalem Dr Ben-Aharon describes the evolution of the Hebrew people and its role in the development of the human race. The journey continues to the present day, where the universal human Self has the potential to become a free participator in the ongoing creation of the universe. `The better I understand the roots of the Hebrew people and its universal-human mission, the better I shall understand the nature of humanity and its mission; and the more human I become, in the most universal sense, anchored in a new spiritual knowledge and practice, the more fulfilled, active and creative I can be at the roots of my existence as a Jew and an Israeli.' - Yeshayahu Ben-Aharon

Although Eastern Europe has been part of the Christian world for more than a thousand years, its spiritual identity remains a mystery. This mystery, says Sergei Prokofieff, can only fully be solved by looking behind external events and seeking spiritual - meta-historical - dimensions of reality. In illuminating the maya of outer history, Prokofieff reveals the forces that have been at work to hinder the progress of mankind: the materialistic Brotherhoods of the West and the occult aspects of both Jesuitism and Bolshevism. These adversary groups have created a 'karma of materialism', that the eastern Slavic peoples have taken upon themselves out of their 'exalted willingness for sacrifice'. Prokofieff shows how, from the earliest times, the future 'conscience of humanity' flowed from hidden mystery centres in Hibernia, to the eastern Slavic peoples. As a result, qualities of 'compassion, patience and willingness for sacrifice' developed in their souls, creating a truly Christian 'Grail mood'. Despite incalculable suffering - from the persecutions of the Mongol hordes to the Bolshevik experiment of the last century - this quality has become an unconquerable force. Will humanity be able to use the present opportunity granted by this sacrifice to fulfil the primary purposes of the present cultural epoch? Can the future mysteries of the Holy Grail be fulfilled? In this momentous work, breathtaking in its scope and detail, the author attempts a truly esoteric approach, penetrating to the spiritual wellsprings of Eastern Europe in the light of Rudolf Steiner's research.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

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.

Using an accessible question-and-answer format, this short but focused book tackles themes relating to the etheric - or life - realm. What is etheric technology? What are the impacts of radioactivity and atomic energy? How should we read apocalyptic symptoms in science and society? In a fascinating series of discussions Nick Thomas examines a range of concepts, including: the right and wrong ways to develop an etheric technology; spiritual events in the etheric realm; how the physical world works into the etheric world and vice versa; Rudolf Steiner's 'Strader machine'; the nature of truth and lies; attacks by the adversaries on forces of vitality; and humanity's crossing of the threshold to the spiritual world. His explanations and ideas help to evoke a living picture of a great struggle between forces of good and evil, with the future of humanity and the Earth at stake.

"What is the nature of matter?"Within conventional science, the reductionist, materialist view asserts that matter is solely physical. Hauschka shows that open-minded study, based on qualitative observation and quantitative research, can overcome this now standardized view. Without denying the laws of matter, he shows the limitations of a science restricted by them, and points to new research that indicates the primal nature of spirit. This classic work, reprinted in its original form, is the result of Dr Hauschka's many years' research at the Ita Wegman Clinic in Arlesheim, Switzerland. Through decades of experimentation he came to radical conclusions that suggested potential new directions for science. This book includes the detailed results of Hauschka's experiments although his approach is not restricted to measurement and outer observation. Based on the work of Goethe and Steiner, he encourages a method of seeing nature that has an artistic quality, and calls for direct experience rather than intellectual theorizing. "The Nature of Substance" is generally accessible. The author deliberately avoids technical terms and academic style in favor of vivid descriptions and lively discussions. His fascinating study takes in many substances, with chapters on plants, animals, oils, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, metals, carbon, oxygen, poisons, high dilutions, and much more. This book is a companion volume to the author s other work, "Nutrition."

Within the Mystery cultures of ancient history, art, science and religion formed a unity that offered direction and spiritual nourishment to the broader society. Today, art, science and religion can again be reunited. However, as Marie Steiner indicates in her introduction to these lectures, these aspects of our culture need rejuvenation through fresh spiritual understanding and knowledge. Art cannot be renewed through compromise, but only by returning to the spiritual foundations of life. As she says: "The remedy lies in unlocking the wisdom of the Mysteries and presenting it to humanity in a form adapted to contemporary needs." In these wide-ranging lectures, Rudolf Steiner offers spiritual insight for the modern day into a revitalised world of the arts. His themes include: the relation of art to technology, the moral experience of the worlds of colour and music, the legendary Norwegian Dream Song of Olaf Asteson, and the relationship between the various arts of architecture, sculpture, painting, music, poetry, eurythmy and the human being.

Gnosticism is a term covering a group of heresies that for a time had great influence within the early church, including: belief in the existence of a hidden or secret revelation available only to the initiated; rejection of the physical world as evil or impure; and stress on the radical individuality of the spiritual self. In this book Philip Lee finds parallels between gnosticism and belief and practice in contemporary North American Proestantism. Sharply attacking conservatives and liberals alike, Lee spares no one in this penetrating and provocative assessment of the current stage of religion and its effects on values and society at large. The book concludes with a call for a return to orthodoxy and a series of prescriptions for reform. Lee will add a short preface for this paperback edition.

In this innovative anthology, Angela Lord presents a unique series of commentaries on art, aesthetics and colour by three of western culture's greatest intellects. Her comparative study of the works of Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas and Rudolf Steiner illustrates how each of these towering thinkers employed an individual and groundbreaking approach. Yet, remarkably, there are common threads that weave through their collective works that have previously been overlooked. By selecting and extracting specific quotations and arranging them in particular sequences, Lord throws light on texts that have often been restricted to theological and academic study. Through this exposure, she reveals their relevance to the Arts today, showing how their content can stimulate an enhanced awareness of truth, beauty and knowledge in our lives. Art Aesthetics and Colour also offers us the opportunity to reinterpret the works of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas in the light of Rudolf Steiner's contemporary spiritual-scientific insights. In addition to the extensive quotations from the three historical figures, Lord provides brief biographies, an introduction, notes and a bibliography. The book is well-illustrated throughout and includes colour plates.

Based on personal knowledge and intimate interviews with his subject, as well as access to W.J. Stein's archive of letters and documents, Tautz's biography is a thoroughly-researched and lovingly-detailed study of an exceptional life. Walter Johannes Stein (1891-1957) was one of the original pioneers of anthroposophy. A student of the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, Stein met his spiritual teacher whilst studying at Vienna University. After serving in the First World War, Stein was invited by Rudolf Steiner to teach History and Literature at the fledgling Waldorf school in Stuttgart, despite the fact that Stein's doctorate was in Philosophy and his training in Mathematics and Physics. Through his efforts to master the new disciplines, and with the aid of unconventional methods of research, Stein developed groundbreaking new insights into the story of Parzival and the mystery of the Holy Grail, which led to his seminal book The Ninth Century and the Holy Grail. Tautz describes Stein's close friendship with Eugen Kolisko, his struggles to help establish the threefold social order, his work as a Goetheanum lecturer, and his eventual estrangement from the Anthroposophical Society following Rudolf Steiner's death. After journeys of discovery across Europe, Stein landed in London in 1933 - a refugee from the Nazi aggression in Central Europe - where he met his mentor D.N. Dunlop. Dunlop employed him to help establish the first World Power Conference. Based in England for the last 24 years of his life, Stein became a prolific and popular lecturer and the editor of the important anthroposophical journal The Present Age. Long out-of-print, the new edition of this important work is a welcome addition to the growing number of biographies on the founders of anthroposophy.