Moral preaching cannot establish morality. Only by delving into the hidden secrets of life can we find its moral sources. Humanity has always manifested moral life. In ancient India, for instance, morality lay in devotion to the spirit: in Europe, the cardinal virtue was courage. To understand the relationship between these, however, the evolution of consciousness must be taken into account. Originally, morality was a gift of the gods, a part of human nature, but errors, deviations, a falling away have occurred in the course of evolution. Nevertheless, something divine still underlies human nature. In this short, much-loved cycle of three lectures, Rudolf Steiner, using the example of St. Francis of Assisi, indicates the sources for the recovery of a living morality. In ancient times, some version of the caste system ruled. Then the Buddha came with his teaching of equality and compassion. This teaching was particularly suited to Europe. And thus, "some centuries into the Christian era," on the shores of the Black Sea, an esoteric school was established where Buddha's teaching was interpenetrated with the Christian impulse. Two streams flowed out of this school: a more Buddhist stream of equality and brotherhood, and a stream of Christic morality. St. Francis came from this school, permeated by outer Christ forces. Rudolf Steiner explains how the spiritual world was connected with his coming. St. Francis exemplifies morality as the middle path. We see a warrior nature transformed into the expression of mercy, compassion, and love. Rudolf Steiner shows the transformation of the virtues through the evolution of consciousness and, above all, through the incarnation of Christ in the Mystery of Golgotha. Since then, morality - if it is true morality - works to build up Christ's being. Therefore Francis sought to live a Christ-like life, seeking an intense personal relationship to Christ and the Cross.

Unlike other works on this theme, Sergei Prokofieff's short book is not a straightforward introduction. Presupposing an acquaintance with the basic principles of anthroposophy, it focuses instead on the central Christological insights which form the core of Rudolf Steiner's philosophy. "What is Anthroposophy?" is a personal work in the sense that it reflects an individual's own endeavors to build a connection to anthroposophy. As the author states in his Preface: '...as soon as we comprehend anthroposophy as something living, we are concerned not merely with defining it intellectually but, rather, with developing a real relationship to it...' He elaborates: 'The content [of this book] will probably reveal more about the author and his relationship to anthroposophy than about it itself, for its nature is basically beyond description and consequently evades any purely intellectual definition.' This is a valuable addition to the introductory literature on anthroposophy from an established and well-respected author.

"Steiner does not talk about soul; he speaks from soul. That is the entire method. There is, however, an entrance fee for doing psychology. The fee is that you need to leave behind your well-known-to-you self-identity. You must suffer the experience of leaving behind not only what you know, but also what you think you know of yourself. This requirement qualifies psychology as integral to the work of initiation. -Robert Sardello, from his introduction "Essentially, the correct meaning of theosophy is the allowing of the god within us to speak; what it tells you about the world is theosophy. Anthroposophy, for its part, may be characterized as the wisdom spoken by us as human beings when we are between God and nature, and allow the human being in us to speak of what is shining into us from above and of what is projecting into us from below. Anthroposophy is the wisdom that human beings speak. -Rudolf Steiner In 1904, Steiner publicly described this classic account of the Western path of initiation. Beginning with the assumption that "the capacities by which we can gain insights into the higher worlds lie dormant within each one of us," Steiner carefully and precisely leads us through the stages of preparation, illumination, and initiation, from cultivating fundamental soul moods of reverence and tranquility to esoteric self-development. He also provides practical exercises for inner and outer observation and moral development. By patiently and persistently following his suggestions, new capacities of soul and spirit begin to form, revealing the contours of the higher worlds previously concealed from us. Robert Sardello's in-depth introduction places Steiner's lectures within the context of modern life and psychology and provides insights into how to read and use this text for inner development and a deeper understanding of spiritual science. The challenges we face in modern life require ever-deeper levels of wisdom and insight. In this important book, Rudolf Steiner becomes a teacher, counselor, and friend through advice that is practical, clear, and powerful. The text shows us how to cultivate the capacities for such insights and places them at the service of humanity.

`A wonderfully beautiful legend tells us that when Lucifer fell from heaven to earth a precious stone fell from his crown... This precious stone is in a certain respect nothing else than the full power of the "I".' Seven years after staging Edward Schure's drama The Children of Lucifer, Rudolf Steiner felt able to talk openly about the complex relationship between the beings of Lucifer and Christ. In an extraordinary series of lectures, Steiner addresses the difficult and often misunderstood subject of Lucifer's role in human development. Speaking within the broader context of ancient and modern - Eastern and Western - spiritual teachings, Steiner clarifies that Lucifer is not the simple caricature of evil that many imagine, but rather plays a pivotal role in human development. Whilst Rudolf Steiner held a deep respect for Eastern philosophy, he worked consistently from his personal knowledge of the Western - Christian - esoteric tradition. At a time when many of his colleagues revered ancient Eastern texts, Steiner viewed these same documents as representations of an earlier stage of human consciousness; as evidence of the heights that Eastern wisdom had reached, thousands of years before the development of Western science and culture. But Steiner maintains that the ancient truths need to be understood in the context of contemporary knowledge: that the old wisdom of the East has to be seen in the light of the West. Chapters include: Eternity and Time - Comparison of the Wisdom of East and West - The Nature of the Physical and the Astral Worlds - Evolutionary Stages - The Children of Lucifer and the Brothers of Christ - Lucifer and Christ - The Nature of the Luciferic Influence in History - The Bodhisattvas and the Christ.

From the moment that Marie von Sivers met Rudolf Steiner in 1902, their relationship became key to the development of anthroposophy. Marie Steiner's immense contribution is well known in the fields of eurythmy, speech, the arts, and in her management and publication of Steiner's literary estate - but she also assisted in almost every aspect of Rudolf Steiner's work. So why has she been so neglected by the anthroposophical movement? Driven by this central question, the authors of this penetrating study came to the conclusion that the karma and mission of Marie Steiner-von Sivers is of vital importance to the present and future spiritual and cultural development of the West. They evaluate Marie's 23-year partnership with Rudolf Steiner, but also her three previous incarnations: in the Ancient Orphic Mysteries, as the Neoplatonist Hypatia, and as Albertus Magnus. The lives, deeds, cultural legacies and thought of these various personalities are addressed through a series of lucid essays, interspersed with studies on the missions of both Rudolf and Marie Steiner. These are supplemented with short extracts from literature which reverberate with the word, helping to reveal the intimately intertwined karmic missions of Marie Steiner-von Sivers and her work-companion and soul-partner, Rudolf Steiner.

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.

"It is a simple but essential principle: education aims at the future, at a time that we as educators do not yet know and cannot foresee. The challenges that will confront the children in the future are not those of the past-of our past, of our life story and our horizon. Times change, so do the realities of life, and in our times they change quickly and dramatically. Education aims at the future and that puts us as educators in a difficult situation: this future is not-or is only to an extent-identical with our past, with our life experiences. My youth, your youth: they are not identical with the adolescent constitution and life reality toward which we currently have to direct our educational efforts. Yet educate we must, and educating means preparing for a future." -Peter Selg (from the book) Schools reflect the state of society. If society is materialistic, competitive, egoistic, technological, and without concern for human values and long-term thinking, our schools will tend to reflect those values. However, what if education were about something else? What if education were about the future? What if education were a about nurturing a new generation of human beings, integrated in body, soul, and spirit and able to think for themselves and have the capacity to love? Perhaps the world would change. The Waldorf school, initiated and guided in 1919 by Rudolf Steiner, was conceived with precisely such an end in view. In this passionate, inspiring, and moving book, Peter Selg, speaks from a deep knowledge of Anthroposophy and from his extensive experience as a child psychiatrist. He returns to the original impulses behind the first Waldorf school to show their continuing validity and how they still respond to what we need. From this view, Waldorf education is future-oriented, based on a holistic worldview and cosmology that is humanistic, scientific, and spiritual, and develops through a curriculum and a teacher-student relationship based on love. Its focus is the miracle of the developing human being. Recognizing the equal importance of thinking, feeling, and willing, Waldorf education works through bodily movement and art, as well as through intellect and mind. Waldorf Education is not a theory but a living reality, and Selg brings this reality to life before us through the biography of the first Waldorf school. Thus, we learn to see it in a new way-in its essence, as a healing model of what education might become if the primary relationship, the inner core of a school, is the free relationship between teacher and student. As Steiner wrote: "It is our task as teachers and educators to stand in awe of the individuality of the student and offer our help so that it can follow the laws of its own development. We are merely called upon to remove any obstacles in body or soul that might hinder the individuality from realizing its potential freely." A verse given at the dedication of a building at the Waldorf School in Stuttgart expresses the essence of Waldorf Education in poetic form: May there reign here spirit-strength in love; May there work here spirit-light in goodness; Born from certainty of heart, And from steadfastness of soul, So that we may bring to young human beings Bodily strength for work, inwardness of soul, and clarity of spirit.

"A tone is at the foundation of everything in the physical world." This is one of many astonishing statements made by Rudolf Steiner in this collection of seven lectures on the inner realities of music. These lectures are an unusual treasure as they are the only two groups of lectures that Steiner gave primarily on music, other than the lecture cycle for the tone eurythmy course, Eurythmy as Visible Music. In the first group of three lectures, given in 1906, Steiner explains why music affects the human soul so powerfully. Music has always held a special position among the arts because it is the only art form whose archetype, or source, lies not in the physical world, as with architecture, sculpture, and painting, but purely in the spiritual world-the soul's true home. Music thus directly expresses through tones the innermost essence of the cosmos, and our sense of well-being when we hear music comes from a recognition of our soul's experience in the spiritual world. In the remaining lectures, given in 1922-23, Steiner discusses our experience of musical intervals and shows how it has undergone profound changes during the course of evolution. The religious effects of music in ancient times and the union of music with speech are considered, as well as the origin of musical instruments out of imaginations that accompanied singing. New insights are offered on the nature of the major and minor modes and on future directions of musical development.

These two lecture courses, given just after the beginning of World War I, stand as a kind of unexpected gift. A few months later, once the war became a reality, the possibilities for esoteric work would change and it would become more difficult to do spiritual research. But in the short interval before the true horror of the conflict unfolded, Rudolf Steiner was able to give these lectures, which lay out in the clearest fashion the path of anthroposophic meditation, and its assumptions, language, and consequences.

Mani, the founder of the spiritual movement which has come to be known as Manichaeism, established an influential teaching that spread swiftly across Asia, Africa and parts of Europe but was later brutally suppressed. Little was known about this 'Gnostic religion' until archaeological findings in the twentieth century revealed important aspects of Mani's biography and philosophical thought. Many years before these physical discoveries, Rudolf Steiner provided key esoteric insights, based on his personal spiritual-scientific research, into Mani's life and work. Richard Seddon assembles pieces of the academic and esoteric puzzle, offering a lively and colourful picture of Mani and Manichaeism. He gives a succinct outline of Mani's life, the fundamental aspects of his teachings, and a description of Manichaeism's future spiritual role. Seddon creates an image of a mighty Christian initiate leading a movement with the critical task of transforming, and ultimately redeeming, evil.

In this concise and richly-illustrated work, Olive Whicher introduces a radical new science of living organisms, forms and processes, based on the pioneering work of Rudolf Steiner and his pupil George Adams. If we are to understand fully the laws of living nature, she argues, it is necessary to overcome the one-sided ideas of modern science - ideas that are only adequate to describe material forms and forces. We need to widen our thinking to include the 'etheric formative forces' - forces that are alive in ethereal space or 'counterspace'. Such forces work in plants, for example, by drawing matter upwards in a suctional manner, in contrast to the forces of gravity, which draw downwards, and the forces of an explosion, which work upward and outward. This easily-digestible introduction will be valuable to anybody seeking to comprehend the living world around us.

Are you ready to begin the process of making yourself a new etheric body and individuality? In the last century, Rudolf Steiner issued a challenge for practitioners of western spiritual science. Would it be possible to develop a new form of cognitive, or Michaelic, yoga? In contrast to the eastern yogis of old - who practiced the spiritualization of inhalation and exhalation - such contemporary yogic practice would involve a spiritualization of thinking as well as a transformation of perceptions and sensations. In Cognitive Yoga, Dr Ben-Aharon responds to that call, developing the entire modern yogic process and describing it in remarkable detail. Through the methods presented, committed practitioners of anthroposophy can create a living framework for spiritual research through a fully spiritualized thinking accompanied by a complete renewal of the experiences of perception and sensation as well as of the human body itself.Included in the contents of this extraordinary book is a comprehensive guide to the spiritualization of the senses and how this leads to a transmutation of the deepest and most unconscious bodily processes and functions. Cognitive Yoga culminates in a pioneering description of a completely individualized meeting with the etheric Christ in the etheric world - the most important spiritual and human experience that people can have in our time and over the millennia to come. This seminal work, built on decades of first-hand research, provides tangible evidence that western spiritual schooling is not only alive and well, but also full of potential for future development. Ben-Aharon offers a fully formulated and practical guide to a knowledge of the present revelations of the spiritual world.

'Spiritual knowledge is not given to us as in ancient times. By spiritual means it must be struggled and striven for against a host of demons...We must therefore get to know the powers that would cover up and obscure all spiritual knowledge.' - from the Preface 'The world seems to be standing within a demonic storm that threatens to overwhelm it', states T.H. Meyer at the outset of this rousing call for a wide-ranging, spiritual-scientific knowledge of the world. Appeals to traditional religious belief will no longer pacify this storm, and neither will 'good will' suffice. Building on Rudolf Steiner's anthroposophy, In the Sign of Five tackles the central task of our epoch: the epistemological struggle with evil, and presents the five most important spiritual events since the beginning of the Age of Michael: 1879 - the rise of Michael to the rank of Time Spirit; 1899 - the end of Kali Yuga; 1933 - the appearance of Christ in the Etheric; 1998 - the assault of Sorath, 'one of the greatest ahrimanic demons'; The present - the incarnation of Ahriman. These events are linked to the five main tasks of the Age of Michael, the great challenge of inner knowledge and spiritual consciousness posed by the epoch as a whole. In the light of world history, and within the context of 'the sign of five', we stand today at the fifth place - at the point of the incarnation of Ahriman. Is humanity prepared for this decisive event? Have we recognised the phenomena of evil that surround us on a daily basis? Have the tasks corresponding to the five events been identified, and to what extent have they been carried out? How is evil related to 'the good' that guides the world, and specifically to the Christ impulse? Meyer provides a vital, pithy, aphoristic handbook for our apocalyptic times.

`Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying: "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him."' These words begin a story that will be familiar to many, whether from images on Christmas cards or school nativity plays, or more directly from Christian teaching. As often with images associated with Christmas, they have the power to evoke all kinds of feelings, from joy and hope to sorrow and doubt. But what do we really know of the birth of Jesus, and who were the mysterious wise men that are reported to have visited him? In this freshly-collated anthology of Rudolf Steiner's lectures, complemented with illuminating commentary by editor Margaret Jonas, we are offered solutions to the riddles surrounding Jesus's birth and the seemingly conflicting accounts within Christian scripture. Could there have been two different births - in other words, two infants, both named Jesus, born to two sets of parents? From the mystery of the birth, we are led to a study of the three wise men - who are mentioned in only one of the four Gospel accounts. Who were they, what was their teaching, and what was the meaning of the star they followed? And, why did they offer gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus? The Three Wise Men offers solutions to the enigma of the identity and spiritual backgrounds of these magisterial figures and also provides suggestions as to their possible future roles in the drama of human development. Featuring colour images, this original, thought-provoking book is a wonderful gift for anyone seeking to understand the birth of Jesus and the wise men from the East.

'It is not always right to send someone to the chemist for some medicine when he's ill. Instead we should organize our lives in a way that renders us less susceptible to illness, or alleviates its impact. Disorders will impinge on us less severely if we strengthen the ego's influence on the astral body, the astral body's influence on the etheric and the etheric on the physical.' Nervousness, anxiety and agitation are all common symptoms of our increasingly stressed and pressured society. They manifest in the everyday form that many people experience, or sometimes as serious mental or psychological disorders. In this classic lecture, Rudolf Steiner offers practical advice and spiritual insight for those who wish to heal these proliferating ailments of modern life. He describes simple exercises that strengthen the inner self, with the goal of achieving the calm and centredness necessary to lead a purposeful and healthy life. This audio edition, complete and unabridged, is read by respected actor and speech teacher Peter Bridgmont, author of Liberation of the Actor.

'Those who observe human nature with regard to the smallest things will find that everyday experiences can also lead to an understanding of the greatest actualities...' In a refreshingly practical series of lectures, Rudolf Steiner speaks about the nature of the human soul and how it can be metamorphosed and raised to a higher consciousness. He studies the spiritual significance of various expressions of human nature, including laughing and weeping, sickness and health, error and mental disorder, positivity and negativity, and conscience. Steiner also discusses the nature of prayer, mysticism, the mission of art, and the significance of language. Throughout the talks he refers to many key historical figures, including Zarathustra, Socrates, Plato, Homer, Wagner, Goethe, Hegel and Angelus Silesius. These inspiring lectures form the conclusion to "Transforming the Soul, Volume 1", but can also be read independently.

Rudolf Steiner offered numerous practical methods to enrich and enliven our daily lives. Drawing on these, the texts in this anthology provide a wealth of ideas to strengthen our health through self-education and personal development. The content ranges from tangible and easy-to-practise exercises to relevant observations on human nature.Steiner speaks of memory and forgetting as the basis of education and cultural development, explaining their significance for health and illness. He discusses the influences of the four human temperaments and their relationship to well-being, and the eightfold path in connection with self-education. Finally, he gives specific exercises for inner development to be practised on the various days of the week. The themes of personal resilience and 'salutogenesis' - an approach that focuses on factors that support human health and well-being rather than those that cause disease - are addressed directly by editor Harald Hass in his introductory essay.

The two contradicting genealogies of Jesus in the Gospels have long puzzled biblical scholars. Rudolf Steiner's spiritual research led him to the controversial theological conclusion that historically there existed two Jesus boys, born of two holy families. These two boys, he said, were necessary as part of the spiritual preparation of forming a suitable human body for the incarnation of Christ into the earthly realm. Both apocryphal texts and the writings of the Essenes - as discovered at Qumran by the Dead Sea - now appear to support this conception, with references to Messianic figures from both royal and priestly lines. Various authors have developed Rudolf Steiner's observations - first presented in the early twentieth century - although much of this literature has lacked the rigour of accurate and broad scholarship. The Two Jesus Boys is not simply a derivative rehash of these previous publications. Rather, it offers a fresh investigation of primary sources, coupled with an objective determination to allow the facts to speak for themselves. Christoph Rau thus comes to the unavoidable conclusion that Steiner's presentation of the chronology of the two births needs revision; furthermore, the most recent discoveries and interpretations of Essene scrolls reveal that the Jewish sect expected not one but three Messiahs. Rau quotes from and analyses numerous documents from the landscape of early Christianity and Judaism. His findings provide a secure foundation for the historical existence of two Jesus boys in the prelude to Christ's incarnation on earth, as well as a revelation of the Essenes' long expectation of three Messiahs.

`This little book relates some experiences I had during the spiritual research which was eventually published in my book Cognitive Yoga. Usually I am concerned with communicating the objective results of my research and not what I experienced whilst doing it. But an objective description of what the individual soul undergoes during spiritual research can be valuable to the study of anthroposophy and to those who pursue the spiritual path themselves.' Through faithful inner work, says the author, the path of spiritual science can become a living spiritual being - an intimate friend in the realms of soul and spirit. This being can blossom into an extended spiritual community or school. One can converse and co-create with this spiritual school, including the being of one's teacher, by learning its inner language. In 2012, Yeshayahu Ben-Aharon was confronted with a major obstacle in his research work. After struggling alone, he felt he could not progress without consulting his colleagues in the spiritual world. The intimate soul experiences described in this book took place during such a gathering - a special, festive occasion with an active and engaged community of spiritual beings. `I want to share some aspects of what I experienced during this event, in the more personal and imaginative language of storytelling. It is a kind of new, individual, Christmas nativity tale, about the earthly ripening of a research problem, its heavenly conception, embryonic life, and finally the birth on earth of what becomes a physical book, printed black on white.'

'The spiritual-scientific investigator has...to transform the soul itself into an instrument; then - when his soul is awakened and he can see into a spiritual world - he experiences, on a higher level, a similar great moment as blind people do when, having been operated upon, they look at a world they have not seen before.' In a key series of lectures on personal development, Rudolf Steiner explains that the central mission of spiritual science is to enable people to ascend, in full consciousness, to a knowledge of spiritual realities. But given that the means to achieve spiritual perception are now widely available, there is the danger that some individuals will gain access to the spiritual world whilst harbouring impure motives. This can lead to a distorted understanding and vision of that world. Steiner's emphasis, therefore, is on the preparatory steps - the metamorphosis and purification of the human soul - required for achieving true spiritual enlightenment. Life itself teaches and prepares us for progress, and anthroposophy explains and brings this to consciousness. In some of his most lucid lectures, Steiner describes the missions of anger, truth and reverence, the significance of human character, the meaning of asceticism and illness, and the phenomenon of egoism. He also clarifies the differences between Buddhism and Christianity, describes the goal of spiritual science, and makes some esoteric observations about the moon. Throughout the talks, Steiner refers to many significant historical figures, including St Augustine, Coleridge, Leonardo da Vinci, Madame Blavatsky, Goethe, Homer, and Shakespeare.

Meditative reflection - the strengthening of thinking and feeling through the will - is one of the main methods of experiencing Anthroposophy. 'The best path to this goal', says Sergei Prokofieff, 'is inner work with the Foundation Stone Meditation, because this meditation is the quintessence of the whole of Anthroposophy, given in meditatively inspired form by means of earthly words.' Rudolf Steiner characterized the content of the Foundation Stone Meditation as having been spoken by him 'out of the will of the spiritual world', as 'verses heard from the Cosmic Word'. Due to its spiritual-mantric form, its text represents the characteristics of an archetype, and for that reason is a key to the most diverse areas of world and human existence. Depending on 'which spiritual portal is opened with this key', explains Sergei Prokofieff, 'one arrives at one result or another, and one and the same line of the meditation becomes a reply to the most varied questions'. Prokofieff applies the above method in this impressive work, illuminating various dimensions of spiritual science in the process. His research embraces, among other aspects, the relationship of the Foundation Stone Meditation to the being Anthroposophia, the spiritual hierarchies, human karma, the Rosicrucian, Michaelic and Grail streams, the Mystery of Golgotha, the two Jesus boys, the three spiritual sources of Anthroposophy, and even the Constitution of the Anthroposophical Society.