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Books > Religion & Spirituality > Alternative belief systems > Syncretist & eclectic religions & belief systems > Post-renaissance syncretist / eclectic systems > Theosophy & Anthroposophy
Usually, motivating ourselves to geth through the demands of daily
life is difficult enough; finding the will to excel is even harder.
Our occupations can become routine and boring, leading us to to
ask: What is the purpose of my work? Is it merely to satisfy the
demands of survival, which in turn simply allows me to keep
working? Or is it a matter of more disposable income and
consumerism? In the end, it can all seem rather pointless. In these
remarkable talks, Rudolf Steiner takes us behind the scenes of the
routine activities of vocation where we are shown how the combined
vocational activity of all humanity affects the higher suprasensory
realms. This activity mobilizes forces that lead to future worlds,
which is the "karma of vocation." It prepares new worlds in which
we will participate. By understanding this deeper aspect of our
daily work, we can bring new meaning to the most insignificant
activities. In fact, we begin to understand that no human work is
insignificant; it all contributes to grand cosmic processes. Such
understanding helps us to bring new enthusiasm to our work and
lives.
Part one, ?A Way of Self-Knowledge, ? contains eight meditations
that take the reader on a journey through human experience.
Beginning with ordinary experience, Steiner offers ways to imagine
and understand the physical body, the elemental (or etheric) body,
the elemental world, the Guardian of the Threshold, the astral
body, the I-body (or thought body), the nature of experience in
suprasensory worlds, and ways of perceiving previous earthly lives.
Part two, ?The Threshold of the Spiritual World, ? contains sixteen
short chapters in which Steiner provides aphoristic thoughts on
trusting one's thinking? cognition of the spiritual world? karma
and reincarnation? the astral body and luciferic beings? how to
recognize suprasensory consciousness; the true nature of love; and
more.
In this third, enlarged edition of Lehrs' classic study, the reader
is led, step by step, to a spiritual-scientific method of
investigation. The author demonstrates how one can transcend the
boundaries of the physical-material world, to the metaphysical
origins of nature and the human being. This is a pioneering new
method of training both the mind and eye, as well as other human
senses, leading to a transformation from our modern 'onlooking'
consciousness to a new kind of 'participative' consciousness. The
beginnings of this method were formulated by Goethe (1749-1832)
more than 200 years ago, but his contemporaries offered little in
the way of fertile ground for his ideas. It was Rudolf Steiner
(1861-1925) who recognized the significance of 'Goetheanism' for
the future development not only of science, but of human culture in
general, and who developed Goethe's work in modern times. Man or
Matter contains the systematic results of the author's work using
the methods of Goethe and Steiner (the latter whom he knew
personally). With this unique study, he addresses himself to anyone
- with or without a specialized scientific training - who is
concerned with developing the human power of cognition in the
present time. This revised edition was edited by Nick Thomas and
Peter Bortoft.
The remarkable discussions in these two volumes took place between
Rudolf Steiner and workers at the Goetheanum, Switzerland, who
chose the varied subject matter. The astonishing nature of his
responses the questions--their insight, knowledge, and spiritual
depth--is testimony to his outstanding ability as a spiritual
initiate and teacher. Accessible and stimulating, the records of
these sessions are both entertaining and profound. In From Crystals
to Crocodiles, Steiner discusses speech and languages;
lefthandedness; dinosaurs; Lemuria; turtles and crocodiles; oxygen
and carbon; ancient giant oysters; the moon, sun, and earth; the
Old Testament; the real nature of Adam; breathing and brain
activity; dreams; sugar; the liver and perception; brain cells and
thinking; illnesses such as cancer and its origin, migraines, and
diabetes; the eyes of animals; Paracelsus; alcohol, and more.
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