In the architecture of Rudolf Steiner's great cosmological temple, this extraordinary course of lectures on spiritual beings forms the central pillar with other important texts such as the fourth chapter of An Outline of Esoteric Science, The Spiritual Hierarchies and the Physical World, and Inner Experiences of Evolution. These works, outlining a revolutionary angelological cosmology, lie at the heart of Steiner's mission to transform our understanding of the world by laying down a new, non-dual, phenomenological path to a contemporary divine-spiritual-physical cosmology that is angelological and theophanic. For Steiner, what constitutes the world are "beings"-including the ground of the world itself, the "Father being." Steiner's cosmology or angelology is personal, and it is known in relationship; therefore, he presents it in terms of states and deeds of conscious, and of the divine-spiritual beings whose states and deeds they are. The spiritual world is thus always a world of beings. The twin realizations-that "I am an 'I'" and that "reality is constituted of other "I-beings"-go together. Cosmology is angelology. Spiritual beings define experience of the nature of reality. In these lectures, the reader is led through a series of meditations to recognize these spiritual beings and come to know their deeds. Steiner's approach is "contemporary" in that, while continuous with the most ancient understanding of the cosmos, he discovers it for himself, out of his own experience and consciousness, and expresses it in his own words with a logic and language appropriate to our time. Thus he teaches us, his readers, to do the same.

What is it like to live to a ripe old age? What is it like to have to look after oneself in later life, or to be cared for by others? As life expectancy in the western world continues to grow, and as people manage longer periods of old age, these questions face us on a daily basis. With great honesty yet sensitivity, the author describes, in poetically moving words and phrases, the experiences of an old person at the boundary of life.Shortly after the death of her almost 90-year-old mother, Almut Bockemuhl pauses to contemplate the four years of intensive care that she devoted to her. What happened during this period of sacrifice to a dying person? Taking a thoughtful, meditative approach, she describes invaluable experiences, concluding that old age, death and dying have the potential to touch the highest spheres of human knowledge and perception.'Growing old is a constant battle...One has the experience of being squeezed out of one's bodily home, and one sets out to protect oneself against it, and holds on to what one can...But when we make an effort to grow old in the right way, which means transforming what is earthly into what is spiritual, we are working at the transubstantiation of the earth. '

"Rudolf Steiner's model of a spiritualized medicine could hold the key for the next growth phase in Western medicine, if it is to survive, flourish, and become consistently and deeply therapeutic instead of merely palliative." -Richard Leviton, author of Imagination of Pentecost: Rudolf Steiner & Contemporary SpiritualityRudolf Steiner, a scientist by training, lectured and wrote, at different times on medical subjects and advised physicians on their work. His view of medicine was both unconventional and precise. He could describe-based on his highly developed powers of observation and his spiritual research-processes of health and disease that escape conventional methods of medical observation. In all his lectures to doctors and in his explanations of anthroposophic medicine, Steiner emphasized that his medical concepts are not intended to replace conventional Western medicine, but to extend it; diagnosis and healing methods are expanded to include our soul and spirit. In these broadly ranging talks, Steiner introduces fundamental principles of anthroposophically extended medicine. Some of the most remarkable insights that anthroposophy brings to medicine are contained in this volume. For example, Steiner points out that the heart is not a pump and that its motion is a consequence, not the cause, of rhythmic movements in human beings. Topics include: Health problems, such as hay fever, migraine, sclerosis, cancer, tuberculosis, typhoid, and childhood diseasesThe polarity between nerve and liver cellsThe functions of the spleen and the gallbladderThe three basic processes of sensory-nervous system, rhythmic system, and metabolic-limb systemRegenerative and degenerative processesThe true nature of the nervous systemPlus many suggestions for the use of minerals, plants, and artistic therapies in healing.This Collected Works edition contains a new introduction, a chronology of Rudolf Steiner's life, and an index.

"Not only do we pass through the gate of death as immortal beings, we also enter through the gate of birth as unborn beings. We need the term unbornness, as well as the term immortality, to encompass the whole human being." (Rudolf Steiner) As anyone who has had a child knows, newborns enter the earthly world as beings different from their parents. They arrive with their own individuality, being, and history. From the beginning, they manifest an essential dignity and a unique "I," which they clearly brought with them from the spiritual world. This unborn life of a person's higher individuality guides the whole process of incarnation. It frames our lives, but we fail to recognize this because of a single-minded focus on immortality, or life-after-death, which makes us forget the reality of our "unbornness." This unbornness extends not only from conception to birth, but also includes the whole existence and history of one's "I" in its long journey from the spiritual world to Earth. Unbornness-the other side of eternity-allows us to experience the fact that birth is just as great a mystery as is death. In a new and striking way, unbornness poses the mystery of our human task on Earth. It was one of Rudolf Steiner's great gifts that he returned the concept of unbornness to human consciousness and language. In this brief, stunning, and moving, almost poetic work, Peter Selg gathers the key elements and images needed to begin an understanding of-and wonder at-the vast scope of our unbornness. Drawing on and expanding on Steiner's work, as well as Raphael's Sistine Madonna and the poems of Nelly Sachs and Rainer Maria Rilke, Selg unveils this deepest mystery of human existence. After reading it, one will never look at a child or another human being in the same way again. Life after death life before birth; only by knowing both do we know eternity. (Rudolf Steiner) Unbornness is a translation of Ungeborenheit: Die Praexistenz des Menschen und der Weg zur Geburt (Verlag Ita Wegman Institut, 2009).

'Christianity is not a matter of a religion or even a denomination; it is not a question of a particular culture. Christ is there for all humanity.' In the old Mystery cultures the human being experienced himself as a child of the Gods, or even an instrument of them. According to Rudolf Steiner's spiritual-scientific research, the birth of independent thinking came only with our present state of consciousness - through becoming aware of the individual self. But who is this self? Who am I? Virginia Sease and Manfred Schmidt-Brabant maintain that real self-knowledge is intimately connected with knowledge of the central being of world evolution: the Christ, or the 'I AM'. Focusing on the being of Christ and on Christianity, "The New Mysteries" presents a series of engaging lectures on the developing Mystery wisdom of our age. Having given an overview of the history of the Mysteries in their book "Paths of the Christian Mysteries", the authors deepen and further their study by paying special attention to the effect of the "Christ Mysteries". Among the essential themes of the new volume are the transformation of conscience, the place of prayer and meditation, and the significance of sacrifice today.

Emil Bock lectured widely on Rudolf Steiner after the Second World War, and during the course of his research he uncovered many previously unknown aspects of Steiner's life. This book, the second of two volumes, explores some of the themes and ideas in Steiner's work, as well as exploring the nature of destiny. The early years of Jesus, the Christmas festival and the break from the Theosophical Society to the Anthroposophical Society are just some of the many themes and events covered in this comprehensive study. Bock also examines the circle of people around Steiner at this time and, using Steiner's ideas on karma and reincarnation, draws interesting parallels with Rome, Byzantium, Ephesus and the Grail Castle.

Why is it so difficult actually to understand and implement the "intentions of the Christmas Conference" (in Rudolf Steiner's words), which represent a very concrete answer to the Anthroposophical Society's identity crisis'? - Peter Selg More than 100 years after its founding, the Anthroposophical Society faces serious questions - some of an existential nature - regarding its purpose and tasks in the present day. On 30 March 2012, in the course of the Society's Annual General Meeting in Dornach, both Sergei Prokofieff and Peter Selg gave lectures in which they addressed difficult issues relating to the General Anthroposophical Society and its global headquarters, the Goetheanum in Switzerland. These lectures were met with a mixture of enthusiastic support and stern disapproval. They are reproduced here in full - together with supplementary material that helps broaden and deepen their themes - in order for each and every interested individual to have access to them. 'The intention of my lecture was to draw attention to the fact that the recent development of the Goetheanum is no longer heading in the right direction; rather, it is heading in a direction that can be considered neither in the spirit intended by Rudolf Steiner, nor of service to anthroposophy. Before it is too late, this direction must be altered...Otherwise, the Goetheanum is in danger of being degraded to spiritual "insignificance", and of becoming a mere combination of museum and conference centre.' - Sergei O. Prokofieff

Reassessing human history in relation to the cosmic-earthly events of Christ's incarnation, Rudolf Steiner stresses the significance of both Gnostic spirituality and the legends of the Holy Grail. The 'Christ-Impulse', he tells us, is not a one-time event but a continuous process, beginning well before Jesus of Nazareth walked the earth. This mighty impulse is a force that gives impetus to human development, such as with the extraordinary blossoming of free thinking of the last two millennia. Surveying this pattern of evolving human thought, Steiner explains the roles of contrasting historical figures, for example the great teacher Zarathustra, Joan of Arc and Johannes Keplar. We are shown the widespread influence of the clairvoyant prophetesses, the sibyls, who formed a backdrop to the Greco-Roman world. Steiner contrasts their revelations to those of the Hebrew prophets. The lectures culminate in the secret background to the Parzival narrative. Steiner illustrates how it is possible to experience the Holy Grail by reading the stellar script in the sky at Easter. Here, he provides a rare personal account of the processes he utilized to conduct esoteric research. The new edition of these much-loved lectures features a revised translation and an introduction, appendices and notes by Frederick Amrine.

How can we best achieve our personal goals - not just to benefit ourselves but also our loved ones and wider communities? Mastering Life introduces comprehensive and effective methods to transform the self, enhanced by the meditative use of magical symbols and sacred words. These help us identify our aspirations, combining goal contemplation, visualization and meditation techniques. Through these processes, we can gain control over spiritual forces that work within our destiny, attracting favourable outer circumstances in everyday life. Dr Gruenewald offers a set of practical tools: * A spiritual symbol and mantra for meditation that can enhance our capacity to manifest harmonic goals. * Contemplation - courageous conversation with our resourceful self - to enrich imagination and willpower. * Resilience-building techniques, active listening, mindful nature observation and transformation of negative emotions. * Harmonization of our goals with the developmental needs of others, in freedom and love. * Contemplative work with the initiatory Temple Legend narrative (featured in the book). In this accessible handbook, the author shows how we can call upon the assistance of spiritual beings and masters who serve the development of humanity - including Christian Rosenkreuz, whose pupils have long used magical symbols and verses for meditative and ritualistic work.

Isis Unveiled created a sensation when it was first published in 1877. The first major work by the young Russian noblewoman who founded The Theosophical Society, its 1200 pages explored "the mysteries of ancient and modern science and theology". This new abridgment by Theosophical scholar Michael Gomes breathes fresh life into this classic of Western esoteric thinking. With its central themes highlighted and its style modernized for today's readers, Isis Unveiled is revealed as a fascinating exploration of the universal truths of the Ancient Wisdom Tradition by one of the most remarkable women of modern times.

Edith Maryon (1872-1924) was a trained sculptor who worked alongside Rudolf Steiner to create the unique sculpture of Christ (the 'Representative of Humanity') at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. One of Steiner's closest collaborators, she was a highly-valued colleague and esoteric pupil. As one of his dearest friends, Maryon kept a busy and detailed correspondence with Rudolf Steiner, in which he confided freely about his personal situation, his lack of true colleagues, difficulties with lecture tours, and the embattled public standing of anthroposophy. Almost invariably, these letters emphasized Steiner's longing for the Dornach studio and their shared work on the Christ statue. Maryon's early death, aged 52 - following fifteen months of illness - shook Rudolf Steiner to the core. He was to die himself less than a year later. With this book, the author's central aim is to illuminate the spiritual signature of Edith Maryon's relationship with Rudolf Steiner and their mutual work in anthroposophy and on the sculpture of Christ. Building on Rex Raab's (1993) biography, Peter Selg's moving study features dozens of photos and facsimiles of letters, utilizing previously unpublished sources from Edith Maryon's and Ita Wegman's literary estates and the Rudolf Steiner Archive in Dornach. -- The most essential and intrinsic quality of her soul ... was not a particular branch of human endeavour, not even art; the most salient of her soul tendencies, her soul intentions, was the striving for spirituality...' - Rudolf Steiner

Speaking towards the end of the catastrophic Great War, Rudolf Steiner reveals the spiritual roots of the crises of our times. Since 1879, he says, human minds have been influenced by backward angels, 'spirits of darkness', who - following their defeat in battle with Archangel Michael - were forced out of the heavens and 'fell' to the earth. This war in the spiritual worlds had consequences, and it is essential that people today are sufficiently awake to the retrogressive influences around them. In a positive sense, we can choose freely to engage with the spirits of light, who seek to emancipate human beings from bonds of race, nation and blood. In this extraordinary series of lectures, Rudolf Steiner throws light on hidden aspects of world affairs. With the Bolshevik Revolution having just taken place, he discusses events in Russia and humanity's attempts to build theoretically perfect social orders. Steiner also speaks about the roles and spiritual backgrounds of significant individuals, such as the mystics Johann Valentin Andreae, Vladimir Soloviev and Saint-Martin, the American and British politicians Woodrow Wilson and Lloyd George, and world-historic figures including Charles Darwin and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The new edition of this classic work features a revised translation, notes and extensive appendices by editor Frederick Amrine, plus a new introduction by Christopher Schaefer.

This text, outlining a new methodology for the study of human nature, dates from 1910 and was found after Rudolf Steiner's death among his unpublished papers. Steiner had dealt with the same theme earlier in lectures. Asked for a written version, he tried to write down what he had said, but found himself unable to do so-the language would not completely relinquish the words. Nevertheless, what he was able to put down remains a major intellectual and spiritual accomplishment of the twentieth century. Steiner presents anthroposophy, which lies between anthropology and theosophy, as a way of studying the human being. Where anthropology studies the human being on the basis of the senses-i.e. by observation within the limits of the scientific method-theosophy recognizes the human as a spiritual being on the basis of inner experience and seeks to understand what it means to be human in a spiritual world. Between these two approaches-basically those of science and religion-lies anthroposophy, which seeks to study human beings as they present themselves to physical observation, while at the same time seeking to derive indications of the spiritual foundations of phenomena by a process of phenomenological intensification. The results of such phenomenological intensification, though fragmentary and incomplete, are of enormous importance. They constitute the first steps toward a truly cognitive psychology, one that demonstrates the richness of the phenomenological approach to the human being as a sensory organism. Starting from there, Steiner unfolds the seven life processes, the nature of I-experience, the meaning of the human form, and its complex relation to higher spiritual worlds. This is a key work, whose time has truly arrived.

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.

In two related studies, Peter Selg tracks the groundbreaking of first Goetheanum from September 20, 1913, in the context of the so-called Michael movement, the primary active pulse brought by Rudolf Steiner in 1924 that explicitly indicates the anthroposophic movement and its formal society. The author shows the fundamental importance of this beginning in Dornach. He illuminates the fateful goal of the "School of Spiritual Science" with Rudolf Steiner's karma lectures, not only providentially in sense that it involved individualities, but also with regard to the future progress of human civilization. This monograph builds on Peter Selg's book Rudolf Steiner's Foundation Stone Meditation: And the Destruction of the Twentieth Century and Sergei O. Prokofieff's Rudolf Steiner's Sculptural Group: A Revelation of the Spiritual Purpose of Humanity and the Earth. Originally published in German as Grundstein zur Zukunft. Vom Schicksal der Michael-Gemeinschaft by Verlag des Ita Wegman Instituts, 2013.

6 lectures, Berlin, November 16-December 12, 1915 (CW 157a) This is a fully revised edition of the book previously published as The Forming of Destiny and Life after Death Rudolf Steiner delivered these lectures near the end of 1915 and the beginning of World War I, when the issue of death and destiny weighed on the minds of many in Europe. He describes, from a spiritual perspective, the process of crossing the threshold of death to life in the spiritual world; the soul's experience immediately after death; and the process of forming one's destiny, or karma, while we remain on Earth and later in the spirit world. Steiner also discusses the importance of our connection with those who have died and how love and reverence to the memory of the dead must be united with our love for the physical world, and how we can strengthen ourselves through meditation. In the final lecture, given on December 21, Steiner stresses the esoteric importance of the thirteen nights of Christmas and how we can consciously affect our future karma during that time. This edition includes "The Dream Song of Olaf Asteson," a Nordic poem (discussed in lecture 6) that describes in pictorial language the deep mysteries of the Christmas nights.

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.