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.

2012 Reprint of 1930 Edition. Exact facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. Theurgy means "the science or art of divine works." In alchemy, this process is called the "Great Work," which is the purification and exaltation of our "lower" nature by the proper application of esoteric principles, so that it may become united with its higher counterparts, whereby we may attain spiritual, and ultimately divine, consciousness. Drawing on the teachings of the Egyptian, Greek, and Hebrew mystery schools and quoting extensively from important alchemic writers, Garstin details this process of purification. Students who are curious about alchemy but daunted by the body of its literature and its strange allegories will find this book to be an excellent introduction. Garstin discusses source alchemic works and clearly explains what their esoteric symbolism means. With the information in this book, students of alchemy can then proceed to make a more informed exploration of the alchemical works and other writings of the Western Mystery Tradition.

This peer-reviewed study represents a culmination of years of research into the history of the Theosophical Society. In this unique project which combines biographies with source analyses, Jeffrey D. Lavoie records a detailed history of the early Theosophical Society and examines its relationship with the modern Spiritualist movement between the years 1875-1891. Special attention has been paid to some of the neglected figures associated with these organizations including Arthur Lillie- the Gnostic-occultist and early critic of the Theosophical Society; the Davenport Brothers- the Spiritualist mediums who developed many of the standard elements which became associated with modern Spiritualism; Alfred Wallace- the prominent scientist, Spiritualist, and supposed member of the Theosophical Society and many others. This work will appeal to a wide array of readers including those interested in modern religious movements, Western Esotericism, South Asian history, and Victorian studies.

'Anyone who embarks upon the study of anthroposophy will soon recognise that the mystery of the human ego lies at its very heart. This mystery is one of the central questions of anthroposophical Christology and at the same time forms one of the most difficult cognitive challenges presented by anthroposophy.' - Sergei O. Prokofieff. The question of the true nature of the human 'I' or individuality is one of the key issues of our time, but it is also one of the most complex riddles of existence. This booklet doesn't give simple answers but adds perspectives that deepen the theme, offering a picture of its manifold mysteries. In three great panoramas, the author develops central aspects of the topic, beginning with the threefold nature of human individuality, followed by an illumination of the cosmic dimension of the ego, and finally an encapsulation of the significance of the earthly ego. With his usual thoroughness and clarity, Sergei O. Prokofieff throws light on one of the fundamental questions of our time.

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.

"As microcosms we are actually part of, and subject to, the same laws that cosmic beings are, just as the breath we draw is subject to our own human nature.... If our hearts are sensitive to the secrets of cosmic existence and not merely blocks of wood, the words we have been placed into the universe will no longer be an abstract statement. We will be fully alive to this fact. Knowledge and a feeling will spring up within us, the fruits of which will be born in our will impulses, and our whole being will live in unison with the great life, divine cosmic existence." -Rudolf Steiner In this important series of lectures, Rudolf Steiner lays out for Society members right and wrong ways of establishing connections with those who have died. Rather than following the materialistic desire to draw those who have died back into the physical realm, Steiner presents a means toward true spiritual union through strengthening one's forces of consciousness. He also showed how help is provided from the sphere of Christ's activity as a balance for our time. Steiner stated: "One who sees into the deeper meaning intended by our spiritual science recognizes in it not merely theoretical knowledge about all sorts of human problems, the members of the human being, reincarnation and karma, but one looks in it for an entirely different language, a way to express oneself in regard to spiritual matters. The fact that we learn through spiritual science to speak inwardly in our thoughts with the spiritual world is far more important than acquiring theoretical ideas. The Christ is with us even until the end of the world. It is his language that we must learn." This book is a translation (translator unknown) of 7 lectures from Bausteine zu einer Erkenntnis des Mysteriums von Golgatha. Kosmische und menschliche Metamorphose ("Building Blocks for an Understanding of the Mystery of Golgotha: Cosmic and Human Metamorphoses") 17 lectures, GA 175.

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.

Two lectures in Bologna: on 31 March 2011 at the International Conference to Mark the Centenary of Rudolf Steiner's Lecture in Bologna, and on 8 April 1911 at the Fourth International Philosophy Congress A special conference took place in Bologna in Spring 2011, marking the hundredth anniversary of a unique lecture Rudolf Steiner delivered to a philosophically-trained audience in the same city. In his key exposition, Steiner had given a concise description of the spiritual-scientific theory of knowledge as well as a brief outline of the anthroposophical path of schooling. In his contribution to the 2011 congress, Sergei O. Prokofieff tackles two principal aspects. On the one hand, he describes how Steiner's Bologna lecture contained the essential foundations for a new 'science of the human ego'. On the other hand, Prokofieff states that Rudolf Steiner was the first person to transform this same theory into a practical path of knowledge, following it to its very conclusion. Thus, the words of Rudolf Steiner's lecture were based entirely on personal experience. Together with a transcript of Rudolf Steiner's full Bologna lecture, Sergei O. Prokofieff's own lecture is reproduced here in an expanded version. In addition, this volume features Rudolf Steiner's important 'summaries of essential points', in which he develops and connects some of his key thoughts with further aspects of anthroposophy, especially in relation to their Christological foundations.

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.

Rudolf Steiner differentiated clearly between the spiritual concept of Imagination and our everyday understanding of the word. As living, pictorial thinking, Imagination is a primary aspect of the contemporary path of inner schooling - the first of three levels of initiate knowledge and cognition. Imagination leads us into a world of flowing, living pictures: a realm of soul and spirit in which everything is in continual movement. This anthology offers a survey of the diverse aspects of Imagination and imaginative cognition. As the thematically re-ordered texts reveal, Rudolf Steiner's spiritual philosophy - anthroposophy - is itself often pictorial and imaginative in nature. Many of its fundamental concepts, such as the evolution of the world and the human being, were formulated by Steiner in vivid, living pictures. However, whilst imaginative perception leads us to the threshold of the spiritual world, we can also fall prey there to illusions, visions and hallucinations. This volume, expertly assembled by Edward de Boer, draws on the entirety of Rudolf Steiner's collected works - from his earliest writings to passages from his many lectures. It is conceived as a stimulus to readers to practise, deepen and extend their own imaginative consciousness. Steiner's commentary on `exemplary Imaginations', in particular, encourages further study, contemplation and schooling of our own pictorial thinking. Chapters include `Imagination as Supersensible Cognition'; `The Rosicrucian Path of Schooling'; `Exercises to Develop Imagination'; `Understanding Imagination Through Inspiration and Intuition'; `Illusions, Hallucinations and Visions'; `Imaginative Perception as the Threshold to the Etheric World'; `Goethe's Worldview' and `Exemplary Imaginations' (including commentary on `The Fairy-tale of the Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily', The Mystery Plays; The Great Initiates; the `Apocalyptic Seals'; The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz and the `Michael Imagination').

When Tertium Organum burst onto the New York literary scene its author, P. D. Ouspensky, was unaware of it. Piotr Demianovich Ouspensky, the most famous pupil of Greco-Armenian spiritual teacher George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff, had written Kluck Kzaradkam (the original title) in his native Russian and it had been published in St. Petersburg in 1912. At the time of its New York debut his whereabouts were unknown. A Russian by the name of Nicholas Bessarabof had emigrated to America before the 1917 Russian Revolution and had taken the book with him. He gave a copy to architect Claude Bragdon who could read Russian and was interested in forth-dimensional consciousness. After reading the book a friend echoed Bragdons' sentiments saying; He has recently discovered a young Russian who "seems to us remarkable in many ways." The man has introduced him to Ouspensky and his book on the fourth dimension called Tertium Organum. Bragdon believes this book to be the "long sought New Testament of the Sixth Race which will justify the meekness of the saint, the vision of the mystic, and create a new heaven and a new earth." He is currently collaborating with Bessarabof on an English translation.A " In 1920 without Ouspensky's knowledge, Bragdon and Bessarabof published the book in English through Manas Press in New York. Meanwhile Ouspensky, a journalist and destitute author, had arrived in Constantinople with hardly a penny to his name. Later that year he was gratified to receive a substantial royalty check, and the news that Tertium Organum was a publishing success in English, and that his fame in literary circles was assured. In 1921 he wrote, "This translation, made without my knowledge and participation, at a time when I was cut off by war and revolution from the civilized world, transmits my thought so exactly that after a very attentive review of the book I could find only one word to correct. Such a result could be achieved only because Mr. Bessarabof and Mr. Bragdon were not translating words merely, but were grasping directly my thoughts at the back of them." In May 1921 Ouspensky received the sum of GBP100 from Lady Rothermere who was in Rochester, New York; it was wired with the message: 'Deeply impressed by your book Tertium Organum - wish to meet you in New York or London - will pay all expenses.' This invitation gave Ouspensky the opportunity to move to England where he secured Gurdjieff's permission to write a book on his philosophy. Ouspensky spent the next twenty years in England lecturing and teaching Gurdjieff's ideas and developing his own philosophy. His lectures in London were attended by such literary figures as Aldous Huxley, T. S. Eliot, and other writers, journalists and doctors. His influence on the literary scene of the 1920's and 1930's as well as on the Russian avant-garde was huge but today he is not widely known.

Torin Finser takes on some of our contemporary challenges and proposes new solutions. Rather than simply "kicking the can down the road," as often happens with issues such as sovereign debts, Middle East conflicts, and environmental issues, Finser calls for individual initiative. Drawing on a variety of rich cultural and spiritual traditions, he makes the case for social change that begins within. To do so, one must first access resources that support initiative and innovation. Key questions discussed in this book include: * How is it possible to live a spiritual life in our materialistic age? * Can an individual person still make a difference? * How can we use a whole-systems approach to innovation? * How can planetary wisdom help us find appropriate leadership styles? * What are the inner conditions needed to work with the transcendent Self? * In the swirl of multi-tasking, how can we find moments of solitude and reflection? We need new, a ethical individualism that is fully transformative. As quoted from the Peace Pilgrim in chapter 2: This is the way of peace-overcome evil with good, and falsehood with truth, and hatred with love. Today's world needs people of initiative-those willing to become the change that is so desperately needed. This book offers a wakeup call for inspired leadership.

The Heathen's Guide to World Religions is a humorous but accurate history of the murder, lust, greed, and sheer stupidity that have made the world's religions what they are today. "Hopper represents the most lethal of organized religions many opponents: a curious, well-educated individual with a sharp wit." Queen's University Journal Review "Wickedly fun and informative." Toronto Star "The Heathen's Guide To World Religions has taken up permanent residence on my bookshelves... a masterfully written, wonderfully funny, and deliciously snarky trip down religious lane." Al Stefanelli, UNITED ATHEIST FRONT. "Like Monty Python in religious garb... easily one of the best places to invest your book buying dollar." Georgia Straight

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?

DID YOU KNOW THAT OUR GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES ARE PERFECTLY IN LINE WITH THE EVENTS DESCRIBED IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION THAT USHER IN THE ANTICHRIST?
All of bible prophecy has been fulfilled for the antichrist to come to power.
However, there are 3 world events that need to be implemented in order for the antichrist to come to power and become the world leader.
1.) The nations of the world need to be ready to accept and implement a One-World Order and Government, allowing for a single world ruler.
2.) The world needs to be ready and willing to be on a One-World Currency and Banking System, which will allow the antichrist to control what the citizens of the entire world can buy and sell.
3.) Once the Holy Spirit has been removed by way of the Raptured Christians, The New One-World Government will gather the leaders of the top religions together and unite them under a One-World Religion already in existence today and growing rapidly.
These three biblical and historical events are already taking place today in our own government. You can see this for yourself at www.thewitnessalliance.com Video News Page. The Rapture can happen at any moment. In this book you will learn who is responsible, what organizations to watch, and just how close we are to these events being implemented. As you walk with the author verse by verse through the pages of Revelation. You will experience the tribulation first hand, as though you have missed the rapture and were left behind. You will deal with every catastrophic event as it happens from day to day and month to month, surviving each event only to take on another of even greater challenge. As you walk with the author through the tribulation, you will experience the joys of victory, the challenges of surviving and the destructive and evil treatment of the tribulation saints; all of this at the hands of the antichrist. Up to this point, everything has been prophecy of future events, but that future is NOW
I am delighted to recommend this book written by my friend of over 20 years and brother in the ministry of our Lord to any student of the Bible. Never have I seen a book explain Revelation as though you are actually living through the Tribulation. This book get's you to thinking in ways you never thought of before. After reading this book, I fell down on my knees and prayed that God would use this scholarly work to help thousands of souls prepare for the soon coming Lord Jesus."
-Pastor Glen Aycock, Southern Baptist Minister

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'The intention is to take a practical subject and show how our spiritual science with anthroposophical orientation truly can play an effective role in everyday life.' - Rudolf Steiner Following his first major lecture course for medical practitioners, Rudolf Steiner sought to elaborate and deepen his 'extension' of the art of healing from a spiritual-scientific perspective. In this collection of addresses, discussions, question-and-answer sessions and lectures - running parallel to his major medical cycles - Steiner comments on contemporary medicine's emphasis on experimental, materially-based research and its subsequent lack of attention to therapy. Steiner's intention is not to detract from developments in medical science but to build on them with spiritual science - not quackery but a true art of medicine. The medical practitioner has an important task: diseases must be cured, and it is wrong not to intervene and simply to allow 'karma to take its course'. Speaking to audiences ranging from members of the general public to small groups of medical professionals, Steiner offers new insights into our understanding of human organs such as the brain, kidneys and liver, as well as the efficacy of healing substances including arsenic, sulphur, arnica and essential plant oils. He studies a broad range of specific medical conditions, giving advice on cancer, hysteria, rheumatism, gout, skin eruptions, typhoid, diabetes, haemophilia, syphilis, gonorrhoea, asthma, glaucoma, leukaemia, smallpox, insomnia, and childhood diseases such as measles. His commentaries on a raft of contrasting subjects - such as psychiatry, sexual maturity, memory, poisoning and detoxification - present challenging perspectives for patients and medical practitioners. Steiner's surprisingly non-dogmatic advice on vaccination, for example, gives a refreshingly balanced, and perhaps unexpected, point of view. This volume also includes a lecture on eurythmy therapy, a comprehensive introduction, index and notes, and nine full colour plates of Rudolf Steiner's blackboard drawings.

11 lectures, various cities, January-May, 1909 (CW 109)These talks reveal a particular aspect of how humankind have been guided spiritually throughout history--by the life forces and astral bodies of the great initiates and avatars that were preserved, duplicated, and interwoven with the leading personalities of history. Steiner gives numerous examples of this process, but he says that such inspired people are rare today. Nevertheless, we have the possibility of elevating ourselves in the future to the point where we can receive into ourselves the "I-being" of the Christ, which is indeed our greatest goal--"not I but Christ in me." Contents: * The Principle of Spiritual Economy in Connection with Questions of Reincarnation * Christianity in Human Evolution, Leading Individualities, and Avatar Beings * More Intimate Aspects of Reincarnation * Results of Spiritual Scientific Investigations of the Evolution of Humanity * On the Occasion of the Dedication of the Francis of Assisi Branch * The Macrocosmic and Microcosmic Fire: The Spiritualization of Breath and Blood * The Event of Golgotha -- The Brotherhood of the Holy Grail * Ancient Revelations and Learning: How to Ask Modern Questions * The God of the Alpha and the God of the Omega * From Buddha to Christ

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Anthroposophy has manifold roots in natural science. Rudolf Steiner never tired of saying that the development of scientific awareness had given people the possibility of freedom, that the way to cognizing the spiritual world is based on the natural scientific attitude, and that certainty of such knowledge is comparable to the certainty found in mathematics and natural science. Especially noteworthy is Steiner's comments on the importance of how experiments should be done-first, that scientists should adopt the attitude that their workbench is an altar, and second, that scientists should seek the cooperation of elemental beings. Steiner was concerned that people do new experiments because of the many new views and educational possibilities that can arise. Consequently, in 1920, a special institute was established with departments for physics and biology in Stuttgart, financed by the scanty means of the joint-stock company, Der kommende Tag (literally, "the coming day"). The purpose of the institute were described by Steiner: "What we lack is not the empirical material, but the gathering of possibilities, which are also possibilities of explaining one phenomenon through another phenomenon. Therefore, in our research institute, we will no longer do experiments using the old methods, for there really is an excess of empirical material available." Though the institute eventually closed, owing to financial difficulties, in 1926 on the initiative of Guenther Wachsmuth, Paul Eugen Schiller took most of the materials to Dornach. There, he set up a simple physics laboratory where he worked for several years, working mainly on Steiner's indications about the "sensitive flame." Drawn from Schiller's notebooks, this important volume describes natural scientific research by scientists working at the Goetheanum and following suggestions from Rudolf Steiner, leading, for example, to research on gases at low temperatures and high vacuum. Steiner told them, "You will tend to produce conditions at the Sun's center, where matter is annihilated and exists in a negative state; similarly with space. Spectrum analysis was used in these experiments, but for 'true' results, the spectroscope would need to be modified." On electricity, Steiner told them," We do not know electricity, except by its effects.... In origin, it is an astral force." The Schiller File is an important resource for those who wish to better understand how to approach and practice natural science from the perspective of spiritual science. Includes an extensive index. The Schiller File is a translation of Beitrage zur Rudolf Steiner Gesamtausgabe Veroffentlichungen aus dem Archiv der Rudolf Steiner-Nachlassverwaltung, Dornach, Switzerland.

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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