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In 1908, an idea arose during a conversation between Dr Felix
Peipers and Rudolf Steiner. Steiner had been lecturing on the
healing nature of the Egyptian Goddess Isis, and drew a parallel to
the Christian Madonna, Mary. From that, Steiner and Peipers started
to formulate a sequence of fifteen Madonna images, primarily by
Raphael, which Dr Peipers used effectively in meditative therapy
with his patients. All fifteen images are included in the book.
This book explores the nature of the Madonna images, addressing
topics ranging from the mystery of seeing, beauty, truth and
goodness, and Sophia, the divine feminine wisdom, to Isis and
Madonna, working with images and Rudolf Steiner's healing mission.
There is a special section on Raphael's Sistine Madonna. This book
is a perfect complement to Raphael's Madonnas (edited by
Christopher Bamford), a beautiful collection of colour Madonna
images.
Practical, clear, and powerful advice from a spiritual master.
The rebirth of the feminine surrounds us in many forms--from the
global movement for women's rights to a renewed interest in
feminine spirituality, the Goddess, and the Divine Mother. What is
the spiritual meaning of this rebirth? What is the feminine divine?
Who is she? The feminine divine has had many names in many
cultures: Ishtar in Babylon, Inanna in Sumeria, Athena, Hera,
Demeter, and Persephone in Greece, Isis in Egypt, Durga, Kali, and
Lakshmi in India. She is the Shekinah of the Cabalists, and the
Sophia of the Gnostics. To Steiner, she is Anthroposophia (or
Divine Wisdom), who descended from the spiritual world and passed
through humanity to become now the goal and archetype of human
wisdom in the cosmos. This book contains most of Steiner's
statements on Sophia. We see him "midwifing" the birth of the
Sophia, the new Isis, and divine feminine wisdom, in human hearts
on earth. Each chapter explores the mystery of the various
relationships of Sophia: Sophia and Isis, Sophia and the Holy
Spirit, Sophia and Mary, the mother of Jesus (and Mary Magdalene),
Sophia and the Gnostic Achamod, and Sophia and the New Isis. Above
all, in a remarkable way, Steiner makes clear the relationship of
Christ and Sophia. Contents: * Introduction by Christopher Bamford
* Prologue: Living Thinking * Thinking Is an Organ of Percpetion *
Thinking Unites Us with the Cosmos * The Holy Spirit and the Christ
in Us * Sophia, the Holy Spirit, Mary, and Mary Magdalene * The
Virgin Sophia and the Holy Spirit * Mary and Mary Magdalene *
Sophia Is the Gospel Itself* Wisdom and Health * The Nature of the
Virgin Sophia and of the Holy Spirit * Isis and Madonna * Wisdom
and Love in Cosmic and Human Evolution * The Being Anthroposophia *
The Gifts of Isis * From the Fifth Gospel * Sophia and Achamoth *
The Legend of the New Isis * The Search for the New Isis * Sophia
and Pistis * Michael, Sophia, and Marduk * A Christmas Study: The
Mystery of the Logos
These seven intimate, aphoristic talks were presented to a small
group on Steiner's final visit to England. Because they were given
to "pioneers" dedicated to opening a new Waldorf school, these
talks are often considered one of the best introductions to Waldorf
education. Steiner shows the necessity for teachers to work on
themselves first, in order to transform their own inherent gifts.
He explains the need to use humor to keep their teaching lively and
imaginative. Above all, he stresses the tremendous importance of
doing everything in the knowledge that children are citizens of
both the spiritual and the earthly worlds. And, throughout these
lectures, he continually returns to the practical value of Waldorf
education. These talks are filled with practical illustrations and
revolve around certain themes-the need for observation in teachers;
the dangers of stressing the intellect too early; children's need
for teaching that is concrete and pictorial; the education of
children's souls through wonder and reverence; the importance of
first presenting the "whole," then the parts, to the children's
imagination. Here is one of the best introductions to Waldorf
education, straight from the man who started it all.
Rudolf Steiner presented these lectures to about 100 German young
people who hoped to bring Waldorf education into the culture of
their time and for the future.
John Scotus Eriugena lived in Ireland during the early ninth
century. Neither monk nor priest but a 'holy sage', he carried the
flower of Celtic Christianity to France. His homily, The Voice of
the Eagle, is a jewel of lyrical mysticism, theology and cosmology,
containing the essence of Celtic Christian wisdom.
"As a general rule, wherever one finds alchemy in the West upon a
Christian basis, the true Rose Cross is not distant. From this
point of view, Rudolf Steiner's anthroposophy, to the extent that
it is Rosicrucian, is alchemical.... Alchemy, in this sense, is ...
the 'resurrection' of matter." - Christopher Bamford During the
early seventeenth century, Europe was suddenly embroiled in
controversy after the publication of the first Rosicrucian texts.
Ever since, Rosicrucianism has been at the center of Western
Christian esotericism. Forced underground by the Thirty Years War,
it was secretly handed down by alchemists, hermeticists, and Masons
to the nineteenth century, when it inspired new spiritual movements
such as Theosophy, the Order of Golden Dawn, and Rudolf Steiner's
spiritual science. The Secret Stream collects all of Steiner's
discussions of the Rosicrucians, answering questions such as Who
are the Rosicrucians? What is Alchemy? What is the Rosicrucian
path? What is the difference between Rosicrucianism and mysticism?
And what does it mean for today? The topics include the Tao and the
Rose Cross; the history and mission of Christian Rosenkreutz; the
nature of Rosicrucian practice and experience; the meaning of The
Chymical Wedding, and Goethe's Rosicrucian poem "The Mysteries."
Rosicrucian meditation is also discussed, including how to meditate
on the Rose Cross itself. This important collection goes to the
spiritual heart of anthroposophy, the essence of which is the
Rosicrucian path. Edited and introduced by Christopher Bamford, The
Secret Stream brings to light the hidden fraternity that has lived
and worked since the fourtheenth century. It reveals the
Rosicrucian path thatis Christian, alchemical, and profoundly
modern.
Today's orthodox notions of science--which is to say, of
knowing--are exceedingly narrow; they posit, implicitly or
otherwise, that the only knowledge possible, if any, is that of the
physical world. But the skeleton key to unlocking the door, behind
which lies the root of the problems and difficulties of our age,
and thus their solution, is to be able to fully answer this
question: What is it to know something? This question lies at the
foundation of spiritual science. Rudolf Steiner had first to solve
it for himself, pointing the way for others to do the same (in, for
example, his Philosophy of Freedom), long before he could give such
lectures as these. Rudolf Steiner's work and words, still largely
undiscovered as compared to their value for humanity, continue to
point the way toward a different path--a way of knowing that
encompasses the fullness, the breadth and depth of life and the
worlds we inhabit. This knowing--which is to say, science--does not
ignore or even contradict the narrower physical sciences of
technologists and other specialists, but offers an expansive
understanding of reality that also includes a deeper engagement
with those aspects of our experience that we are told are beyond
the ken of science. But is truth not accessible through art? Are
poetry and literature, indeed the beauty and wisdom of each human
language, not portals through which we can glimpse truths, every
bit as real (though of a different order) than those we might grasp
through a microscope? These thirteen lectures were given in
Dornach, Switzerland, from January to May 1915, between the fifth
and ninth month of World War I. Given the interrupted, fragmented
nature of this sequence, one might assume that the lectures could
not possibly present a tight, coherent whole. This is not the case.
Rudolf Steiner lays down the framework for the series in a concise
but detailed manner in the first two lectures, and then goes on to
demonstrate in lecture after lecture how, on this basis, many
aspects of life reveal the hidden presence and activities of the
realities--and the approach--he has established in the framework.
In fact, it is humbling to witness Rudolf Steiner's powers of
attention and presence of mind: to see how, after a significant
interval, in the same tone of voice and with seamless continuity,
he can pick up and further develop and interweave his announced
intention: namely, to provide "a detailed look at things we have
been considering for years."
The underlying thesis of these lectures, volume XX in the
"Foundations of Waldorf Education" series, is that true education
must be based on knowledge of the whole human being and that such
knowledge cannot be attained without love. On this basis, Steiner
presents his understanding of every aspect of child
development-bodily, psychological, and spiritual. At the same time,
he shows that, to prove worthy of their calling, teachers must
begin a process of inner development. In Steiner's view, it is
human beings who give value and meaning to the world. Modern
education, however, is gradually undermining this meaning. These
lectures demonstrate that education can heal that lack of meaning
and restore the meaning of humankind for the world. Steiner also
discusses the practical, day-to-day operation of the school. He
talks about styles of teaching, teacher conferences, parent-teacher
meetings, and how Waldorf education is related to the
anthroposophic movement. This book, while serving as a good
introduction to Steiner's ideas on education, also represents the
fruits of four years experience in the Waldorf school.
In these four lectures Rudolf Steiner addresses the evolutionary
task facing contemporary humanity, particularly with regard to
issues of race and racial conflict. He describes the origins of
racial diversity among human beings and vividly describes the
dangers of the ever-widening chasm separating different peoples. To
avert this threat of the fragmentation of our species, we must
strive for an awareness of ourselves and others as spiritual beings
with unique and individual karma. In the past, human souls felt a
strong connection, even union, with the "group soul" - the race or
nation - to which they belonged. Today, all such group soul
characteristics must be stripped off. Therefore, as Steiner writes,
"it is necessary that the anthroposophical movement, in preparing
for the sixth epoch, should shed the character of race and seek to
unite people of all 'races' and nations.'" That such an inward,
spiritual uniting of all human beings in their common humanity can
now come about is the fruit of the cosmic sacrifice of the Mystery
of Golgotha - which made possible a universal human community of
I-beings. From this point of view, as Steiner makes clear in the
last lecture, Christ's deed was for the renewal of the common
spiritual humanity of all peoples and races, divided in the course
of human evolution by the work of Lucifer and Ahriman.
Pythagorean thought, from the civilisation of Ancient Greece, is
still prevalent in religion, poetry, philosophy, music,
architecture and the classical sciences today. This fascinating and
insightful collection of essays by experts in their fields explores
the Pythagorean tradition, drawing out connections in form, number
and geometry as well as light, colour, music and poetry. The
contributors include Robert Lawlor, Keith Critchlow, Kathleen
Raine, Anne Macaulay and Arthur Zajonc. Previously published as
Rediscovering Sacred Science.
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.
Selected lectures and writings on the return of this solar being to
the direction of earthly evolution.
"Our God is the God of Heaven and Earth, of sea and river, of sun
and moon and stars, of the lofty mountain and lowly valley." -- St.
Patrick These words are perhaps the epitome of the Celtic monk's
holy embrace of nature and sense of "ecology." Everywhere in Celtic
Ireland, on rocky promontories and lonely hillsides, in hermitages
and monasteries, we find a holy intimacy of human, natural, and
divine. In this anthology, the stories of the Celtic saints are
interspersed with verses, prayers, and sayings attributed to those
ancient sages -- from Patrick and Brigit, through Brendan and
Columba, to Aidan and Cuthbert. It is uncertain when or how
Christianity first arrived at those westernmost reaches. It seems
always to have been there. Legend tells us that Irish bards
attended the events on Golgotha "in the spirit." In the Celtic
tradition there is a continuity in cosmic process. For the Celt,
Christ's death and resurrection was a healing that allows a
reconciliation between humanity and nature in God. In this sense,
Christianity was always in Ireland, and we seek its historical
beginning in vain. If the Celtic Church had survived, perhaps the
fissure between Christianity and nature, widening through the
centuries, would never have fragmented our Western attitude toward
nature and the universe.
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