'I rang the bell, the door opened, and there stood Rudolf Steiner in person. I was so taken aback that I dropped the basket which burst open and all my clothes and underclothes, together with my other belongings, were lying at the feet of the Doctor. A ball of wool got away and rolled between Dr Steiner's feet into the long corridor. Somewhat surprised, but amused, he said: "I have never been greeted in this way."' Anna Samweber (1884-1969), an active coworker in Berlin with Rudolf Steiner and Marie Steiner-von Sivers, presents a lively, homely, and often moving collection of anecdotes and recollections. Recorded by Jacob Streit during an intensive two-day session, this short work offers a warm, illuminating and intimate picture of Rudolf Steiner, the man and his work, during a critical phase in the development of anthroposophy.

This book...will appeal to those who are in touch with their inner creative impulses, or are motivated but do not know how to begin. The aim is to make this spiritual path possible for every person. It can change the way one relates to life and work - at first simply by an attitude shift, as a questioning, caring human being, taking seriously the spiritual forces that manifest in all outer phenomena.' How do adults learn and develop? How can adult learning become a living, growing process? Based on the application of the 'seven life processes', Coenraad van Houten has successfully developed the methods of 'Vocational Learning' (Awakening the Will, 1999) and 'Destiny Learning' (Practising Destiny, 2000). Here, in the culmination of his research trilogy, he presents a new path of adult learning which he calls 'Creative Spiritual Research'. Based on the inner spiritual path of the individual, this is a method that relates to esoteric schooling, thresholds of consciousness and human creativity. Part One of Creative Spiritual Research features guidelines and exercises for individual practice, whilst Part Two focuses on the general schooling path as a preparation or precondition, opening the inner space needed for research as well as a questioning attitude.

The Gospel of John, distinct from the 'synoptic gospels', is the most esoteric and challenging account of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. John, whose identity has been much debated, mysteriously refers to himself as 'the disciple whom Jesus loved'. But didn't Jesus love each of the twelve Apostles? Indeed, did he not love all human beings? However, the Gospel says only of Lazarus that Jesus 'loved him'. In this profound study, Richard Seddon brings together essential but often overlooked quotations from the work of the philosopher and scientist Rudolf Steiner. Steiner made no claim to divine inspiration, but described how - through the vigorous discipline of inner development - the capacity for spiritual-scientific research could be acquired. Rudolf Steiner, who founded anthroposophy, undertook research into many of the incidents recorded in John's Gospel, and reported his results in lectures given across Europe. In compiling Steiner's various statements, The Challenge of Lazarus-John reveals that John's Gospel not only gives a historical account, but also represents a path of personal development or initiation.After the prelude characterizing Creation, the Gospel describes how the Christ being descended into the physical and spiritual constitution of Jesus of Nazareth at the Baptism. Crossing the threshold between physical and spiritual worlds, the Gospel writer places emphasis on the development of the higher self in freedom, on the rebirth of the soul, and on the raising of Lazarus. An interlude considers the significance of the seven events referred to as 'signs', and the seven 'I am' statements in relation to higher stages of cognition. The remainder of the Gospel is seen as an expression of the seven stages of Rosicrucian-Christian initiation and their reformulation in the process of human evolution described in anthroposophy. This culminates in an examination of the spiritual processes that take place in the constitution of Jesus during the Crucifixion and Resurrection. It is Lazarus-John's personal witness of these events that enables him to write his unique Gospel.Drawing together such insights and interpretations, Seddon has produced a comprehensive monograph that supplements existing biblical commentaries and illumines John's enigmatic Gospel as a truly Christian path of modern initiation - a challenge to all human beings that will remain for millennia to come.

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 commentaries examine the underlying laws of reincarnation and karma, and explore in detail the incarnations of specific 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 eighth and final volume of the series, Rudolf Steiner offers insights on a variety of subjects, including Cosmic Christianity, the Michael impulse, the Arthur and Grail streams of wisdom, as well as the individualities of Gregory VII, Haeckel, Swedenborg, Loyola, Haroun al Raschid, Byron, Voltaire and others.

D.N. Dunlop (1868-1935) combined remarkable practical and organizational abilities in industry and commerce with gifted spiritual and esoteric capacities. A personal friend of W.B. Yeats and Rudolf Steiner, Dunlop was responsible for founding the World Power Conference (today the World Energy Council), and played leading roles in the Theosophical Society and later the Anthroposophical Society. In his business life he pioneered a cooperative approach towards the emerging global economy. Meyer's compelling narrative of Dunlop's life begins on the Isle of Arran, where the motherless boy is brought up by his grandfather. In a landscape rich with prehistoric standing stones, the young Dunlop has formative spiritual experiences. When his grandfather dies, he struggles for material survival, but devotedly studies occult literature. The scene moves to Dublin, where Dunlop becomes a friend of W.B. Yeats and the poet-seer A.E., and develops an active interest in Madame Blavatsky's Theosophy. Arriving in London via New York, Dunlop is now a lecturer, writer and the editor of a monthly journal - but alongside his esoteric interests he rises to a foremost position in the British electrical industry, masterminding the first World Power Conference. Dunlop's life is to change forever through his meeting with Rudolf Steiner, which '...brought instant recognition'. He was immediately convinced that Steiner was '...the Knower, the Initiate, the bearer of the Spirit to his age'. Dunlop's close involvement with anthroposophy, leading to his eventual position as Chair of the British Society, is described in detail: from the momentous conferences in Penmaenmawr and Torquay to his transformative relationships with Eleanor Merry, W.J. Stein, Ita Wegman and Ludwig Polzer-Hoditz. Meyer features important material on the Anthroposophical Society's tragic split, that allows for a true evaluation of this difficult period in the organization's history. This second, enlarged edition features substantial additions of new material as well as an Afterword by Owen Barfield.

A second, wiser self guides us through life. Without it we would not go far, for it is what makes us human. In the first years of life -- before memory and ego -- it guides us to stand upright and to learn to speak and think. Then we exchange this wisdom, which is still connected to the spiritual hierarchies, for our ego-consciousness. Yet it remains ever-present, and through meditation we can consciously connect to it.

The Art of Speech presents a dynamic path of practice leading to an experience of the Word as a living, healing and creative power. Helping to deliver Western intellectual speech from what Artaud described as 'shrivelled throats' and 'monstrous talking abstractions', Langman brings to life the spiritual realities out of which a true Art of Speech arises. Inspired by Rudolf Steiner and pioneered initially in the German language by Marie Steiner, this artform is illuminated here through the genius of the English language. Langman builds a bridge between mainstream research into the intrinsic nature of Speech, and the levels of spiritual cognition that led to Rudolf Steiner's insights. Speech and language can no longer be reduced to an arbitrary collection of abstract symbols, she asserts. This book will inspire those working with these disciplines as practitioners (both artistic and therapeutic) as well as those who wish to understand their significance in human evolution, both past and future. Following her first book The Art of Acting, this volume completes a foundation of understanding for an exploration - in the conclusion of Langman's trilogy - of an integrated art of speech and acting. Grounded in the spiritual reality of the human being, Langman presents a systematic methodology with which to explore Rudolf Steiner's Speech and Drama Course.

What is the historical and evolutionary relationship between man and animal? In this classic text, based on the anthroposophical science founded by Rudolf Steiner, Poppelbaum, trained in Biology, compares the outer forms of man and animal, revealing their essential differences and contrasting inner experiences. Drawing a bold and clear delineation between the fundamental nature of man and that of the animal, Poppelbaum argues that human beings are not the accidental outcome of animal development, but the hidden source of evolution itself. He goes on to discuss the true relationship of both man and animal to their environment, and develops a critique of contemporary theories regarding human and animal evolution. He argues that, rather than a simple reflex of the nervous system, the human spirit is a microcosmic reflection of the spiritual macrocosm, and our individual consciousness is a crucial seed for future evolution. 'To be man is to know the animals and all the creatures of the earth; it is to recognize our responsibility towards these beings, once of the same order as ourselves, but now obliged to live beside us in an incompleteness that never ceases its appeal to human beings - warning us to make ourselves worthy of the trust invested in us.' - Hermann Poppelbaum

'Eurythmy is that very thing which dancers with a true idealism have been unconsciously seeking - that inner harmony and balance that was a natural condition of the Greeks, visible in their statues and carved figures, so that, even in a standing pose, movement seems to flow through them.' Eurythmy is an expressive art of movement in which specific gestures relate to the sounds and rhythms of speech, to the tones and rhythms of music and to soul experiences, such as joy and sorrow. In this succinct and accessible booklet, the authors present a clear introduction to this contemporary art form in the context of the impulse of dance today. What is eurythmy, and how does it relate to other arts of movement and dance? What is eurythmy's purpose, and why did Rudolf Steiner create it in the early twentieth century? These and many more questions are answered in this extended essay, supplemented by 35 sketches of eurythmy figures by Rudolf Steiner that illustrate gestures of movement, feeling and character.