Ita Wegman spent the last three years of her life in Tessin, in the Casa Andrea Cristoforo. In this secluded province, largely protected from the destructive events of those years and imbued with certain forces, she developed a great work for the future, gathering, leading, and nurturing people both therapeutically and spiritually, preparing for the war's end with the full intensity of her being. Her last three years were a period of devotion to Rudolf Steiner and his work, as well as to esoteric Christianity-to the forces of the Archangel Michael and to Christ for the present and future. She continued to take a great interest in the difficulties of her time and never ceased to participate in events-taking in refugee children and the homeless, keeping up extensive correspondences with others, struggling with aid organizations and various agencies, caring daily for the afflicted and for patients and colleagues. On March 4, 1943, Ita Wegman passed into the spiritual worlds, well prepared and with all of the spiritual intentions of a Christian initiate. This book contributes to documenting the final phase of Ita Wegman's life, focusing on the forces of the future that emerged in her. It draws on her notebooks from her time in Ascona, as well as from her extensive correspondence and memories of those who lived and worked at Casa Andrea Cristoforo. She remained upstanding, free, and positive with an esoteric Christian orientation and felt that she was obligated only to her conscience and to the spiritual world for which Rudolf Steiner stood and that she served. This book was originally published in German as Die letzten drei Jahre. Ita Wegman in Ascona 1940-1943 (Verlag am Goetheanum, Dornach, Switzerland, 2004).

Some people's path to anthroposophy leads them directly to Rudolf Steiner's early work and The Philosophy of Freedom, and this becomes the philosophical basis for their future exploration. Rudolf Steiner referred to this as a 'safe' approach.But many people's destiny leads them directly to anthroposophy itself, or via one of its practical initiatives, making it difficult sometimes for them to relate to the cognitive basis of anthroposophy. In this unique study Sergei O. Prokofieff offers fresh means of access to Rudolf Steiner's crucially important book, The Philosophy of Freedom. Prokofieff indicates why The Philosophy of Freedom is so important to anthroposophy. It is here that Rudolf Steiner lays the foundations for his method of research. In Steiner's own words: "One who is willing can indeed find the basic principles of anthroposophy in my Philosophy of Freedom". Prokofieff discusses the Christian nature of the anthroposophical method of cognition, and how it is integrally related to freedom and love. This in turn reveals the deeply Christian roots of The Philosophy of Freedom and its importance for modern Christian esotericism. In fact, says Prokofieff, the book holds a 'central position ...in the spiritual history of the Occident'. In considering its multifaceted 'cosmic-human dimension', the author discusses The Philosophy of Freedom in relation to the Mystery of the Resurrection, the Working of the Hierarchies, the Being Anthroposophia, the Fifth Gospel, Rudolf Steiner's Path of Initiation, the Rosicrucian and Michaelic Impulses, the Life Between Death and Rebirth, the Foundation Stone, the Christian Mysteries of Karma and the Science of the Grail.

'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.

As a spiritual teacher, Rudolf Steiner wrote many inspired and beautifully-crafted verses. Often they were given in relation to specific situations or in response to individual requests; sometimes they were offered simply to assist in the process of meditation. Regardless of their origins, they are uniformly powerful in their ability to connect the meditating individual with spiritual archetypes. Thus, the meditations provide valuable tools for developing experience and knowledge of subtle dimensions of reality. Matthew Barton has translated and selected Steiner's verses, sensitively arranging them by theme. In this collection - to promote courage and tranquility - Rudolf Steiner highlights the balancing, harmonizing forces of the heart, which are so much under attack in our cerebral culture. The verses aim to strengthen the heart by warming and enlivening thinking, allowing for genuine peace of mind; by drawing feeling into the dark depths of our will, in order to help develop courage; by nurturing a real sense of peace within the heart; and by helping us to help others. Together they provide a powerful antidote to the stresses and strains of modern life.

Personal instruction from El Morya for spiritual seekers and chelas (students of a master). With the incomparable skill of a Zen master, El Morya points the way for all who aspire to a higher level of consciousness. He teaches us to become who we are, to see beneath the surface of daily life. This book is foundational for those who would not only know their true potential, but fulfil it.

"The being whom we call Christ once walked the earth in flesh and blood at the beginning of our era. He will never again return in a physical body, for that was a unique event and will not be repeated. But He will come again in an etheric form in the period I have mentioned. People will learn to perceive Christ by virtue of growing towards him through this etheric perception." Many contemporaries were unaware of Christ's incarnation on earth at the beginning of the modern era. And today, says Rudolf Steiner, many remain ignorant of the most important event of our time: the appearance of Christ in the etheric - or life - realm of the earth. Fundamentalist and millennial groups await a second physical incarnation, while atheists and materialists deny spirit altogether. Nevertheless, an incisive transformation is taking place in the human soul that will lead to an emerging clairvoyance. Just as Paul perceived Christ at Damascus, so may every human being experience Him today. Also available as an Audio Book

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

This thought-, feeling-, and will-provoking book of reflections by Peter Selg and Sergei Prokofieff on the soul-spiritual, ethical, and medicaltherapeutic issues surrounding physician-assisted suicide (and suicide as such) takes its inspiration from both Rudolf Steiner and the ancient Greek Hippocratic Oath. Peter Selg begins by showing how, for Rudolf Steiner, the principle of life-as immanent spirit and the living medium of the "I" or individuality-is inviolable and wise beyond our reckoning. It is the sacred task of healing always to attend to, honor, and serve life in this sense: to affirm, enhance, and strengthen the life-forces of the sick. As Rudolf Steiner puts it: "The will to heal must always function as therapeutically as possible... even when one thinks the sick person is incurable." Though these words were spoken before the full consummation of materialist, technologically-enhanced medicine, Rudolf Steiner, as Peter Selg demonstrates, was well aware of the dangers of where medicine was heading. Sergei Prokofieff links the initiatory origins of Hippocratic medicine in the Mysteries with the return of the Mystery origin of medicine and healing in Anthroposophical medicine. Turning to Rudolf Steiner's spiritual research, he considers suicide as an "illness" of our time and examines the spiritual consequences of suicide for the after-death experiences of those who have taken their own life: namely, that suicide results in the soul's profound disorientation. He then goes on to show how suicide makes the after-death experience of Christ infinitely more difficult, as it does the "resurrection of the spirit" and the relation to the spiritual world. Far from being a "free" act, he concludes, suicide is quite the opposite. Anyone seeking insight into suicide will find here a profound and esoteric introduction to the problem.

Book Three of the Law of One builds on the information presented in Books One and Two, continuing the exploration of the nature and balancing of the energy centers or chakras, sexual energy transfers, healing, reincarnation, meditation, and Wanderers. The nature of psychic prophecy is explored in Book Three, as are the nature and ramifications of what are usually called psychic attacks. A good deal of information is given on the principles of ritual magic in general and white magic in particular, and a beginning is made in the study of the archetypical mind, which is the mind of the Logos and serves as a kind of blueprint for our evolutionary process and which serves as the foundation concept for each of our individual minds.

Based on many years of medical, artistic, therapeutic and anthroposophical experience, the author presents a concentrated foundation for the development of artistic therapy and the training of therapists. Although written with the painting therapist in mind, this clearly-formulated book - the fundamental work in its field - will also be of interest to those involved in medical and general therapeutic work, as well as to serious students of anthroposophy. It includes fifty full-colour examples from Hauschka's course at the School for Artistic Therapy. MARGARETHE HAUSCHKA (1896-1980) studied Medicine in Munich and worked as a doctor at the Ita Wegman Clinic, where she had responsibility for artistic therapy and helped develop Rhythmical Einreibungen, a method of rhythmical massage. After marrying Rudolf Hauschka, she worked at the Biologischen Hospital in Hollriegelskreuth. From 1950, she devoted herself to course and seminar activity, and in 1962 she founded the School for Artistic Therapy and Massage in Boll, Germany.

The review exercises bring the experiences of our daily lives to full awareness. By directing our attentive gaze to what has happened - whether in a single day or in whole phases of life - we kindle light in our will. Undertaking such a review backwards, in reverse sequence, or from an 'external perspective', requires a huge inner effort as we establish distance between ourselves and our daily experiences. In this essential handbook the editor has drawn together virtually all Rudolf Steiner's statements on the review exercises, supporting them with commentary and notes. Described from different perspectives and approaches, there are a surprising range of suggestions for carrying them out. Individual chapters focus on reviewing the day (transforming the power of memory); reviewing events in your life (awakening the higher self); reviewing the other's perspective (awakening social impulses); exercises in thinking backwards (illuminating the will); and more.

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 second volume of the series. Rudolf Steiner considers individual karmic relationships in history - for example Marx and Engels - as well as surveying karma in human life, the shaping of karma after death, and the "cosmic form" of karma.

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.

In Book Two of The Law of One, the nature of each of the densities or dimensions of this octave of creation is explored in detail with special emphasis given to how evolution for our third density to the fourth density is accomplished. The relationship between the densities of creation and the energy centres of the body is investigated so that each experience can be used as catalyst for growth to balance and crystallise the energy centres of chakras of the student of evolution. Wanderers, sexual energy transfers, the physics of Dewey B. Larson, Polarization in consciousness, ritual magic, and the nature and function of the Higher Self are all explored as they are related to the Law of One. Book Two contains Sessions #27 through to #50.

As a spiritual teacher, Rudolf Steiner wrote many inspired and beautifully-crafted verses. Often they were given in relation to specific situations or in response to individual requests; sometimes they were offered to assist generally in the process of meditation. Regardless of their origins, they are uniformly powerful in their ability to connect the meditating individual with spiritual archetypes. Thus, the meditations provide valuable tools for developing experience and knowledge of subtle dimensions of reality. Matthew Barton has translated and selected Steiner's verses, sensitively arranging them by theme. In this collection - for maintaining a connection to those who have died - Rudolf Steiner offers hope and consolation to the bereaved. The first section features words of wisdom on death and its deeper, spiritual meaning; the second part consists of verses which stress the continued links between the living and the dead, indicating how our thoughts can help those who have departed earthly life. The final section is devoted to verses which express something of what the dead experience in their new existence.

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.

"After Rudolf Steiner had left us in the body, the gifts of the spirit that were offered by him in such overflowing measure could not continue. It must now happen that a community of human beings takes over the results of his spiritual research, takes them in such a way that they remain alive in the community. People must come together in anthroposophic work, united in such a way that Anthroposophy comes into its own." -Carl Unger (lecture in Stuttgart, Oct. 29, 1928) This volume provides perhaps the most comprehensive and profound exegesis of Rudolf Steiner's Anthroposophy, especially his book titled Anthroposophical Leading Thoughts. That book provides Steiner's final and most complete explanation of his Spiritual Science through brief, aphoristic thoughts, or meditations, on the profound esoteric meaning of the modern spiritual path he called Anthroposophy. In The Language of the Consciousness Soul, Carl Unger unfolds and expands Rudolf Steiner's "leading thoughts" to help the reader comprehend the deeper meaning behind the words. Carl Unger lets us see how Rudolf Steiner created a mandala-like image of Anthroposophy, revealing an ever-expanding cosmology and epistemology that goes far beyond mere philosophy or a belief system to a practical path of spiritual investigation and knowledge for modern humankind. Rudolf Steiner had this to say about Carl Unger: Dr. Carl Unger, for many years past, has always been the most industrious and devoted collaborator in the anthroposophic movement.... At an early date, Dr. Unger saw that Anthroposophy, before all, needs a strong foundation of the theory of knowledge. With a deep understanding he took up what I myself, many years ago, was able to give in my books Goethe's Theory of Knowledge, Truth and Knowledge, and Intuitive Thinking as a Spiritual Path: A Philosophy of Freedom, he developed independently what I had intimated. Supported by mental discernment, his goal was to see through the nature of the human process of knowledge in a clear analysis, and from that to form its true picture. Unger is not dialectical but an observer of empirical facts. This is why, through the years, he has been able to give results of the highest value, showing how the process of knowledge in ordinary consciousness produces, always and everywhere, out of itself, the impulses to anthroposophic investigation. Moreover, Unger's method of thinking, trained through technical problems, is free from subjective vagueness, and thus his scientific collaboration in Anthroposophy is the most important that we can have. The Language of the Consciousness Soul is an indispensable guidebook for group study and for individuals who wish to penetrate the depths of Anthroposophy and apply its principles both inwardly and to outer daily life. This volume is a translation by Effie Grace Wilson of Aus der Sprache der Bewusstseinsseele: Unter Zugrundelegung der Leitsatze Rudolf Steiners.

'The great importance of these plays is not that we are given many thoughts to further our understanding of anthroposophy, but that we are shown the transforming power of spiritual striving in individual lives, and especially the development in human relationships through an awareness of the forces of destiny. In this respect the Mystery Plays are unique.' - from the Foreword In writing and producing his Mystery Plays, Rudolf Steiner offered his spiritual observations and concepts from a fresh, artistic perspective. The dramas appeared in the context of the movement of 'Theatrical Realism' - during a period when only a handful of dramatists attempted representations of a spiritual world, and these mostly under the guise of fantasy. In introducing spiritual beings to the stage, and showing their connections with human beings, Steiner was pioneering a drama for the future. Eileen Hutchins' classic work on Steiner's Mystery Plays provides a thoughtful commentary that helps us enter the minds and souls of the characters. Through gaining insights into their relationships and inner lives, and the problems and situations with which they are faced, the characters are brought to life. Gradually, we begin to see possible solutions to the complex web of their difficulties.

In the aftermath of the devastating First World War, Rudolf Steiner gained a reputation as a leading social thinker. One mainstream reviewer of his book Towards Social Renewal referred to it as `... perhaps the most widely read of all books on politics appearing since the war'. Steiner's proposals for the reconstruction of Europe and the rebuilding of society's crumbling social structure were thus publicly discussed as a serious alternative to both Communism and Capitalism. Steiner's `threefold' ideas involved the progressive independence of society's economic, political and cultural institutions. This would be realised through the promotion of human rights and equality in political life, freedom in the cultural realm and associative cooperation in economics or business. In this carefully assembled anthology of Steiner's lectures and writing, Stephen E. Usher gathers key concepts and insights to form a coherent picture of social threefolding. Apart from fundamental lectures on the theme, the volume also features the full content of Steiner's unique Memoranda of 1917. The original texts are complemented with the Editor's introduction, commentary and notes.

Rudolf Steiner wrote his four plays, the Mystery Dramas, to give examples of how individuals go through different experiences as they find their way into the spiritual worlds. Because each of us has a unique biography and unique karma, our journey into the spiritual is also a unique path. The eight lectures presented in this volume were given on the occasion of the first performance of the fourth play, The Souls' Awakening. These lectures count among the most significant of Steiner's insights into the nature of the path to higher knowledge.

Rudolf Steiner, the often undervalued, multifaceted genius of modern times, contributed much to the regeneration of culture. In addition to his philosophical teachings, he provided ideas for the development of many practical activities, including education - both general and special - agriculture, medicine, economics, architecture, science, religion and the arts. Steiner's original contribution to human knowledge was based on his ability to conduct 'spiritual research', the investigation of metaphysical dimensions of existence. With his scientific and philosophical training, he brought a new systematic discipline to the field, allowing for conscious methods and comprehensive results. A natural seer from childhood, he cultivated his spiritual vision to a high degree, enabling him to speak with authority on previously veiled mysteries of life.Samples of Steiner's work are to be found in this introductory reader in which Matthew Barton brings together excerpts from Steiner's many talks and writings on Christmas. The volume also features an editorial introduction, afterword, commentary and notes.

"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. Also available as an Audio Book