Our skin is the visible barrier between what is inside and outside of our bodies. It can respond with sensitivity to tender contact, allowing us to experience pleasure, or, should harmful influences come to bear, it can contract or erupt, causing pain. The increasing prevalence in recent years of various types of skin conditions is an indication of the fact that toxic influences are on the increase.The dermatologist, allergist and physician Lueder Jachens offers wise advice in this helpful and expertly written handbook. His concern is not just to offer understanding of the individual conditions, their causes and how best to treat them, but to give a holistic comprehension of the skin itself - this largest of the human organs - to better enable us to develop health and harmony in the longer term. Jachens' authoritative guide begins with an anatomy of the skin and its relationship to the physical and spiritual levels of existence, and goes on to study various specific conditions and their treatment, including psoriasis, dermatitis, acne, boils, hayfever, alopecia (hair loss), melanoma, abscesses, impetigo, fungal infections, herpes, scabies, head lice, sunburn, and much more.

In an astonishing series of lectures on the science of spiritual knowledge, Rudolf Steiner begins by addressing an audience in Dornach, Switzerland - where, only months earlier, his architectural masterpiece, the first Goetheanum, had been destroyed by fire. He discusses the nature of our planetary system, revealing the planets that are characterised by freedom and those that determine destiny. The spirits of the moon live in seclusion, preserving 'original wisdom' and reflecting powers connected to sexuality, whereas the sun creates harmony. Jupiter is 'the thinker', whilst the spirits on Saturn act as 'living memory'. Speaking in London, Steiner states that the things that happen to people in sleep are more important than anything that occurs during waking hours! Human beings, he says, must learn to see themselves as an image of spirits and spiritual activities on earth. In a break from the theme, and returning to Dornach, Rudolf Steiner reports on his recent visit to England and Wales, where he attended an educational conference in Ilkley, a Summer School in Penmaenmawr and a school for the disadvantaged in the East End of London. Steiner speaks of the particular atmosphere he experienced in West Yorkshire and North Wales, where remnants of Druid spirituality live in the surroundings. The latter theme emerges strongly in the next lectures, which examine the Druid priest's sun initiation and perception of moon spirits. The Druids investigated the secrets of the universe, influencing both social and religious life. Steiner also describes the mythic being of Woden, who signified the birth of intellectuality and the subsequent fear of death - which, he asserts, can be healed by the Mystery of Golgotha. In the final section, Rudolf Steiner discusses: 'The past, present and future development of the human mind'. Again, he references the importance of Druid culture, noting that the ground plans of the stone circles in Penmaenmawr are similar to that of the first Goetheanum. He also points to the crucial roles of the ancient Mysteries and Christ's deed in human development.

'The intention is to take a practical subject and show how our spiritual science with anthroposophical orientation truly can play an effective role in everyday life.' - Rudolf Steiner Following his first major lecture course for medical practitioners, Rudolf Steiner sought to elaborate and deepen his 'extension' of the art of healing from a spiritual-scientific perspective. In this collection of addresses, discussions, question-and-answer sessions and lectures - running parallel to his major medical cycles - Steiner comments on contemporary medicine's emphasis on experimental, materially-based research and its subsequent lack of attention to therapy. Steiner's intention is not to detract from developments in medical science but to build on them with spiritual science - not quackery but a true art of medicine. The medical practitioner has an important task: diseases must be cured, and it is wrong not to intervene and simply to allow 'karma to take its course'. Speaking to audiences ranging from members of the general public to small groups of medical professionals, Steiner offers new insights into our understanding of human organs such as the brain, kidneys and liver, as well as the efficacy of healing substances including arsenic, sulphur, arnica and essential plant oils. He studies a broad range of specific medical conditions, giving advice on cancer, hysteria, rheumatism, gout, skin eruptions, typhoid, diabetes, haemophilia, syphilis, gonorrhoea, asthma, glaucoma, leukaemia, smallpox, insomnia, and childhood diseases such as measles. His commentaries on a raft of contrasting subjects - such as psychiatry, sexual maturity, memory, poisoning and detoxification - present challenging perspectives for patients and medical practitioners. Steiner's surprisingly non-dogmatic advice on vaccination, for example, gives a refreshingly balanced, and perhaps unexpected, point of view. This volume also includes a lecture on eurythmy therapy, a comprehensive introduction, index and notes, and nine full colour plates of Rudolf Steiner's blackboard drawings.

Why is it that certain intervals, scales and tones sound genuine and others false? Is the modern person able to experience a qualitative difference in a tone's pitch? If so, what are the implications for modern concert pitch and how instruments of fixed tuning are tuned? Maria Renold tackles these and many other questions, providing a wealth of scientific data. Her pioneering work is the result of a lifetime's research into Western music's Classical Greek origins, as well as a search for new developments in modern times. She strives to deepen musical understanding through Rudolf Steiner's spiritual-scientific research, and she also elucidates many of Steiner's often puzzling statements about music. The results of her work include the following discoveries: that the octave has two sizes (a 'genuine' sounding octave is bigger than the 'perfect' octave); that there are three sizes of 'perfect' fifths; that an underlying 'form principle' for all scales can be found; and, most importantly, the discovery of a method of tuning the piano which is more satisfactory than equal temperament. She also gives foundation to some of Rudolf Steiner's statements such as: 'c is always prime' and 'c = 128 Hz = Sun'.