Even within the Anthroposophical Society and movement, people's relationship to Rudolf Steiner is weakening and dissipating. This is problematic, says Prokofieff, as the future of both the Society and movement is dependent on a sufficient number of people aspiring to and realizing a true spiritual connection with anthroposophy's founder, Rudolf Steiner. Prokofieff deals in detail with the issues surrounding this concern, and asks the question, "Can one be an anthroposophist without being Rudolf Steiner's pupil?" In the second part of this book Prokofieff elaborates on the mysteries surrounding the laying of the spiritual Foundation Stone at the Society's Christmas Meeting of 1923-24. This event, he suggests, ensured that a personal relationship to Rudolf Steiner "would not remain within the realm of the generally abstract or intellectual, but would become a real inner deed". Thus Rudolf Steiner gave each of us the possibility of connecting with him by way of free inner work on the Foundation Stone. Both parts of this book are integrally linked in the sense that once a relationship to Rudolf Steiner is established, an inner longing to work with the new Mysteries will inevitably follow. In Prokofieff's words: "...the will to take the foundation of the New Mysteries seriously leads to a real, inner connection with Rudolf Steiner". Also included is an important essay that assesses the difficulties connected with the recent digital publication of Rudolf Steiner's most important esoteric texts, as well as the occult background to the internet and electronic media as a whole. In response to readers' questions as to how one might counteract the damaging consequences of these developments, the author has expanded and developed his original essay on the subject.

In an extraordinary exposition, Lorenzen - an expert beekeeper and student of contemporary spiritual science - describes the `Logos mysteries', based at the ancient temple of Artemis in Ephesus, where priestesses were known as `Melissas' (`honeybees') and the sacrificial priests were called `Essenes' (or `bee-kings'). These cultic mysteries, he says, bore remarkable parallels to the workings of a bee colony - specifically in the relationship between the queen and worker bees to the spiritual `group-soul' of the bees. Lorenzen commences his unique study with a discussion of flowers and insects, exploring their common origins. He then describes the beginnings of the honeybee, its connection with the fig wasp, and the subsequent controlled transformation of the latter that took place in pre-historic mystery-centres. Breeding the honeybee from the fig wasp - a sacred deed performed at consecrated sanctuaries - was part of the `Fig-tree mysteries'. The initiates behind this task developed the ability to commune with the bees' group-soul and to work consciously on the mutual development of the hive and humanity. This concise but rich work features an illuminating foreword by Heidi Herrmann of the Natural Beekeeping Trust as well as a lucid introduction by translator Paul King that explains the anthroposophical concepts employed by Lorenzen in his text.

"Many who enter esoteric training are very disappointed and say that they had imagined the exercises to be much more energetic and the effects of the exercises to be far more drastic. Those who tell this to themselves should quickly consider the possibility that they are caught in a great error, and that they should make the greatest efforts to correct this error as soon as possible. It is not the exercises that lack enough energy, but rather the individual. It is not the exercises that are ineffective, but rather the person who is not making them effective. By living an esoteric life, the student should become an entirely different person. One must add something new to the old." -Rudolf Steiner In this second of three volumes from Rudolf Steiner's early Esoteric School, we find a further deepening of spiritual practice and training. Rudolf Steiner explains the requirements one must meet to become a serious student of esotericism. In addition, he gives directions-always emphasizing the increasing need for earnestness-for the transformation of the inner life, for the development of new spriritual forces and capacities, and for recognizing and overcoming the dangers that arise on a spiritual path. Moreover, he shows how one should approach specific meditations. These lessons mark Rudolf Steiner's continued movement away from the Eastern path of the Theosophical Society at the time and his increasing focus on the Christian-Rosicrucian path, recognizing Christ as the leader of the path of his form of spiritual training. This volume is the English translation of Aus den Inhalten der esoterischen Stunden, Ged chtnisaufzeichnungen von Teilnehmern. Band.2, 1910-1912 (GA 266/2).

'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.

The Mystery of the Resurrection approaches the deepest mysteries of the Turning Point of Time through Rudolf Steiner's spiritual research. At its heart stands the question of the restoration of the 'phantom' of the physical body, and its transformation into the resurrected body of Christ through the Mystery of Golgotha. The author draws a broad and differentiated picture of the tasks and possibilities that the Easter event, as well as Ascension and Whitsun, present - both for the individual and humanity. The final chapter considers the mystery of Easter Saturday, through which the two polar aspects of the Mystery of Golgotha - death and resurrection - interconnect, at the same time explaining the relationship of the Earth Spirit to the interior of the Earth. An appendix tackles the phenomenon of stigmatization from a spiritual-scientific perspective.

These authoritative lectures, delivered during a period of deep crisis and conflict in world history, present a comprehensive spiritual teaching for contemporary humanity. Despite the raging world war, Rudolf Steiner was still actively touring Central Europe whilst simultaneously completing work on his architectural masterpiece, the first Goetheanum, in neutral Switzerland. The building of the Goetheanum - undertaken by a community of people from seventeen nations at war - forms a thematic backdrop to the lectures. In speaking of the walls in the new building, for example, Rudolf Steiner describes how their forms are not confining, but rather express an openness to the surrounding cosmos. Likewise, the carved motifs on the architraves of the wooden pillars are not fixed 'symbols' but are alive and continually metamorphosing . These observations are reflected in Steiner's broader discussions. He speaks of extending and deepening our connection with the world and the cosmos, going beyond our usual narrow limits and definitions to engage in 'community with the realities of existence'. We can do this, for example, with the so-called 'dead', who find it difficult to relate to sense-bound thinking. Rudolf Steiner explains how we can connect with them, greatly enriching our lives and 'making an enormous difference to their souls'. The distinction between fixed symbols and living motifs takes us to the core of anthroposophy, striving never to rest in inert forms of thought. In the field of education, Steiner thus warns about 'external measuring' of pupils and linear models of cognitive learning. Throughout the three lecture courses included here - which together form a kind of compendium of anthroposophy at the time - Steiner touches upon a wealth of absorbing themes, including the 'discovery' of America, the contrast between East and West, the qualities of European 'folk souls', Valentin Andreae's Chymical Wedding, and Darwinism. Regardless of his topic, however, Steiner consistently makes the urgent appeal that we 'grasp reality', looking further than abstract schemes of all kinds - such as social and political 'programmes' - to participate in the cosmos as conscious and fully human co-creators.

Rudolf Steiner's spiritual philosophy is the inspiration for many successful initiatives in the world today, from the international Steiner Waldorf school movement to biodynamic agriculture and its increasingly popular produce. Steiner developed his philosophy in dozens of books and many thousands of lectures. His teaching contains dozens of new concepts and ideas, and as a result he had often to create his own vocabulary. In this practical volume - a companion to his Anthroposophy, A Concise Introduction - Henk van Oort gives concise definitions of many terms and concepts in Steiner's worldview, from the most commonplace to the more obscure. Anthroposophy A-Z can be used as a reference guide, but also as a gateway into Rudolf Steiner's manifold world of spiritual ideas and concepts. Anthroposophy can be seen to be a new language - a language that can lead to the world of the spirit. It was with this awareness that Henk van Oort took the initiative to write this glossary. Ultimately, he has written the sort of inspiring handbook that he wished had existed when he first became acquainted with anthroposophy over 40 years ago.

`It is a cosmic law that what has once taken place can never vanish, but must reappear later in a metamorphosed form. Every thought, feeling and action brought about by man does not only affect the world around him but will re-appear in the future...' (From the Preface) This course of lectures was originally offered as private, strictly verbal instruction to a select group of esoteric pupils. In an atmosphere of earnest study, Rudolf Steiner `translated' from the Akashic Script valuable concepts of human and cosmic knowledge into words of earthly language - content that is often not to be found in his later lectures. Although working within the Theosophical Society, Steiner was an independent spiritual teacher: `... I would only bring forward the results of what I beheld in my own spiritual research.' The manifold, exact and detailed descriptions of the events of evolution in these lectures form a background to the evolving figure of the human being. The mighty event of the moon leaving the Earth, vividly described, took place - according to Rudolf Steiner - in order to provide an environment suited to human progress. The wonderful moment when the higher being of man descended in a bell-like form and enveloped the lower human body, still on a level with the animals, depicts what eventually provided human beings with a body suited to the development of the self or `I'. Spiritual beings and the great initiates led humanity along the path it was destined to tread. Rudolf Steiner presents a sweep of occult knowledge, including the phases of planetary evolution, various myths and symbols, human physical and spiritual organs, illness, reincarnation, and much more. Also included are unexpected insights into specific phenomena such as dinosaurs, bacteria, radiation, black and white magic, the Sphinx and Freemasonry.

Dementia, a broad category of brain diseases including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, affects millions of people worldwide. Although its impact is primarily focused on populations of Western countries, orthodox medicine has not been able to discover the causes of dementia, let alone develop successful treatments or a cure. Given this situation, there are good reasons to investigate the psycho-spiritual factors connected to the outbreak of the illness. As the author states in her Preface: 'The conception of man that is given priority today by the scientific world hardly takes into account that in addition to the physical-material component, for which certain degenerative or pathological processes can be determined with the help of technical apparatus, there are other components of his being to be taken into account which cannot be investigated in that way. So long as the cause of an illness is not sought in connection with those spiritual components of the human being, a successful treatment of the patient cannot be assured.' Developing successful methods of treatment requires a full understanding of the human being.This can not be achieved through observation with the outer senses only, but increasingly calls for spiritual-scientific perception. Through this method, as founded by Rudolf Steiner, great service can be rendered to humanity, including precise research into the causes of ill-health. The factors involved in the eruption of modern afflictions, such as dementia, can be determined by careful consideration of humanity's - as well as the individual's - destiny. In this succinct but rich study, Judith von Halle describes her investigations into the phenomenon of dementia, beginning with a general outline of the anthroposophical conception of the human being and society, and applying that knowledge to what today is increasingly referred to as an epidemic. This book does not demand medical expertise, but requires an effort to engage with the psycho-spiritual conditions of dementia sufferers. It provides a wealth of insights and guidance to approaching one of the greatest challenges of our time.

Finally available in English, Thomas Meyer's major biography of Ludwig Polzer-Hoditz (1869-1945) offers a panoramic view of an exceptional life. One of Rudolf Steiner's most valued and independent-minded colleagues, Polzer-Hoditz was born in Prague - in the midst of the Austro-Hungarian Empire - to an aristocratic family with royal connections. Leaving behind the traditions of his background, he was to become a key actor in Steiner's regenerative 'threefold' social impulses, working tirelessly for a genuinely unified and free Europe. Polzer-Hoditz also fought to protect Rudolf Steiner's esoteric legacy and the integrity of the Anthroposophical Society that had been founded to further his work. Following Steiner's untimely death, Polzer-Hoditz fostered a broad range of friendships and alliances with key figures such as D.N. Dunlop, Walter Johannes Stein and Ita Wegman. In a bid to avoid further division and conflict, he made significant interventions to alter the tragic course of events that consumed the Anthroposophical Society, although he was unable to stop the major split within the membership that was to follow. In the final decade of his life he concentrated his energies on world issues, seeking to influence events in Europe in particular, lecturing widely and writing a number of books and memoranda. In contrast to the destructive 'special interests' of the national and religious groups that craved dominion and power, Polzer-Hoditz sought to build a true understanding between Central and Eastern Europe and to cultivate a spiritual connection with the West. Meyer's book is a pioneering work in biographical literature, structured in four main sections that reflect the stages of an individual's personal development. In the concluding section he studies world events up to the present day, practising a method referred to as a 'symptomatological observation of history', which Polzer-Hoditz himself sought to develop. Much more than a standard biography, Ludwig Polzer-Hoditz presents a vibrantly living picture of how a spiritual individuality can work in human culture and history - in past, present and future. This first English edition is based on the latest German version and features additional material.

Much plagiarized and its contents distorted over the years, Stein's seminal work is a classic of original scholarly and spiritual research. In studying the central Grail narrative of Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach, Stein takes a twofold approach. On the one hand he searches historical records in order to identify actual people and events hidden behind the Grail epic's veil of romance, and on the other hand he deciphers Eschenbach's hidden spiritual messages, showing Parzival to be an esoteric document containing mighty pictures of the human being's inner path of development. Stein reveals the period of the ninth century to be of more than historical and academic interest. It is the karmic ground out of which the destiny of modern times grows - the mighty battle that must take place between the powers of the Grail and the sinister anti-Grail forces at large today.

'These Letters ... aim to make John's Gospel accessible to people today as their own gospel, both as a whole and in the details; to illuminate it with the spiritual knowledge of the age and to make it fruitful for life, not only for meditation but also for practical ordering of destiny.' - Friedrich Rittelmeyer. --- A revitalized Johannine Christianity stands at the heart of the work of Christian renewal that was led by Rudolf Steiner in the early twentieth century. Friedrich Rittelmeyer, a Lutheran minister and theologian who helped found The Christian Community in 1922, was a leading figure within this new Johannine movement. Rittelmeyer described John's Gospel as encapsulating '...an indescribable glory of revelation of love. This glory has such purity, delicacy and spiritual power that in it one has the material with which a marvellous new world may be built.' --- Without doubt his most powerful work, Rittelmeyer's Letters on John's Gospel first appeared in a series of publications by the Stuttgart seminary of The Christian Community between 1930 and 1932. Whilst these Letters were originally written with students and local congregations in mind, they provide manifold insights for anyone seeking to glimpse the majesty of John's Gospel. Margaret Mitchell's translation from 1937 has never before been published in book form. Revised here and expanded by editors Alan Stott and Neil Franklin, this volume features additional contributions by Rudolf Frieling and Emil Bock.

'It depends on the human being whether he merely conceives of anthroposophy or whether he experiences it.' - Rudolf Steiner During the Christmas period of 1923-4, Rudolf Steiner refounded the Anthroposophical Society at its headquarters in Dornach, Switzerland. This important event, which has come to be known as the Christmas Conference, can be studied on many levels, and its many mysteries have been central to Sergei O. Prokofieff's anthroposophical research over the years. His beginning point has been an enduring question: What did Rudolf Steiner mean when he called the Christmas Conference the 'start of a World-Turning-point of Time'? In this far-reaching work, the author - working from several different viewpoints - guides the reader towards an answer. Prokofieff suggests that the impulse of the Christmas Conference can only be reenlivened today through conscious action by individuals to experience its spiritual essence. Rather than offering dogmatic conclusions, he opens up paths of approaching this goal by throwing light on different aspects of the Conference and what lies at its heart: the Foundation Stone and its Meditation. In particular, Prokofieff explores three key perspectives: the connection of the Christmas Conference with humanity's evolution; the inner relationship of each individual anthroposophist to the Christmas Conference; and the significance of the Conference to Rudolf Steiner himself. Although this is major work of some length, the individual chapters of May Human Beings Hear It! are complete in themselves, and can therefore be studied independently of each other.

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.

In this series of previously-untranslated lectures, Rudolf Steiner describes how myths and legends portray humanity's most ancient evolutionary and spiritual history. Folklore presents ancient mystical wisdom in the form of stories - clothed in pictures by initiates - that enable individuals to understand their content in a more intellectual form at a later time. Focusing on Greek and Germanic mythology, the lectures in the first part of this volume cover the chronicles of Prometheus, Daedalus and Icarus, Parzival and Lohengrin, the Argonauts and the Odyssey, and the heroic dragon-slayer Siegfried. From these focal points, Rudolf Steiner discusses a variety of themes - from the mysteries of the Druids and the founding of Rome to the esoteric background of Wolfram von Eschenbach; from good and evil and the unjust death sentence on Socrates to the significance of marriage. The second part of this book features lectures on the nature and significance of the musical dramas of Richard Wagner. Wagner's works, from his earliest attempts to his most mature opera Parsifal, are discussed from spiritual viewpoints. Although Wagner did not have a fully conscious awareness of the deeper meanings of his compositions, Steiner suggests that his shaping of Germanic legends was driven by an instinctive, creative and artistic certainty that accords with deep occult truths.

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

Earth and humanity are involved in a fragile interplay of physical and spiritual relationships, the full spectrum of which can only be discerned by higher, finer senses. Based on actual, living discernment rather than dogmatic ideas, Karsten Massei reveals how we can unite with nature, supporting our inner development and everyday lives. We ourselves comprise the path leading to the mysteries of the earth. Through delving into nature's secrets, paradoxically we are brought back to our own being - our soul-gold, our luminosity, but also to our shadow, lower nature. Deep encounters with the earth are thus self-encounters. --- In a series of concise and accessible chapters, Massei illumines human characteristics - our senses, the quality of our listening, our soul wounds and the possibility for transformation. Likewise, he lights up the natural world - plants and animals, but also elemental beings, spirits of trees, and the great being of the earth, Christ. Amongst a wealth of interrelated themes, the author portrays death as the doorway to a new existence, describing the relationship of the dead with the earth and humanity and speaking movingly of the healing social deed of forgiveness. Founded on first-hand research, this book is full of reverence for the hidden aspects of life and their significance for personal growth.

Are you finding it difficult to understand your child? Do you feel frustrated because you often end up in an argument but not sure about how you got there? Authentic Parenting can help. By gaining insight into how your temperament and your child's temperament could be in conflict with each other, you can lean how to work with both yourself and your child to head off misunderstandings, explosive emotions, and sulking. With descriptions of how to identify your child's temperament, tips for tailoring disciplinary techniques so your child really hears you, as well as suggestions for helping your boy or girl feel safe and secure, Authentic Parenting is a valuable resource for bringing our the best in both our children and ourselves. The authors have provided an invaluable resource for all parents and educators.

The Theosophical Society (est. 1875 in New York by H. P. Blavatsky, H. S. Olcott and others) is increasingly becoming recognized for its influential role in shaping the alternative new religious and cultural landscape of the late nineteenth and the twentieth century, especially as an early promoter of interest in Indian and Tibetan religions and philosophies. Despite this increasing awareness, many of the central questions relating to the early Theosophical Society and the East remain largely unexplored. This book is the first scholarly anthology dedicated to this topic. It offers many new details about the study of Theosophy in the history of modern religions and Western esotericism. The essays in Imagining the East explore how Theosophists during the formative period understood the East and those of its people with whom they came into contact. The authors examine the relationship of the theosophical approach with orientalism and aspects of the history of ideas, politics, and culture at large and discuss how these esoteric or theosophical representations mirrored conditions and values current in nineteenth-century mainstream intellectual culture. The essays also look at how the early Theosophical Society's imagining of the East differed from mainstream 'orientalism' and how the Theosophical Society's mission in India was distinct from that of British colonialism and Christian missionaries.

During 1924, before his last address in September, Rudolf Steiner gave over eighty lectures on the subject of karma to members of the Anthroposophical Society. These profoundly esoteric lectures examine the underlying laws of reincarnation and karma, and explore in detail the incarnations of certain named historical figures. In Rudolf Steiner's words, the study of karma is '?a matter of penetrating into the most profound mysteries of existence, for within the sphere of karma and the course it takes lie those processes which are the basis of the other phenomena of world-existence?' In this fundamental first volume - and essential basis for study of the later volumes - Rudolf Steiner gives an overview of the laws and conditions of karma, and goes on to consider the incarnations of Friedrich Nietzsche, Lord Bacon of Verulam, Lord Byron and many others.