"I don't want to be revered! I want to be understood." --Rudolf Steiner, 1915 Whoever follows Rudolf Steiner's life will gain the impression that, from a certain point on, his constant attempt was to awake, in numerous ways, an active, working understanding for Anthroposophy. He used creative imagination to treat particular themes and tasks, ever anew, and in many forms. If we observe the variations of those presentations, we see in them the intentions that guided his whole life. A biography that shows Steiner's intentions and efforts in the context of the times and his life circumstances will not only relate what happened, but also why. His work does not, as in many modern biographies, disappear behind the life story. This is one of the most comprehensive biographies of Rudolf Steiner, tracing his life and development through a profound look at his life and work, which encompassed numerous areas, including his Goethean research, philosophy, esoteric work, pedagogy, medicine, sociology, agriculture, architecture, painting, movement arts, and poetry. This biography, which tracks his divergent activities, shows how Rudolf Steiner was most concerned with bringing a new approach to knowledge through Spiritual Science and to revitalizing the most important areas of human culture and society. Includes 119 photographic reproductions. C O N T E N T S Foreword Introduction 1. The Stranger 2. Learning 3. Student in Vienna 4. The Lonely Wanderer 5. Goethe: A Source of Hope 6. In Need of Special Care 7. Theory of Knowledge 8. Social Life in Vienna 9. The Editor: An Excursion into Politics 10. Aesthetics 11. First Journeys 12. Friedrich Eckstein, Theosophy, and Rosa Mayreder 13. Spirit and Nature: The Foundation of a Spiritual Philosophy 14. Weimar: At the Goethe-Schiller Archive 15. Lonely in the Company of Many Friends -- Images, Part One 16. The Philosophy of Freedom 17. For and against Nietzsche 18. A New World Opens Up 19. The Maelstrom of Berlin 20. Time of Trial 21. Three Attempts at the Turn of the Century 22. The Way into the Theosophical Society 23. The Theosophical Society 24. Establishing the German Section of the Theosophical Society 25. Attempts to Fructify the Art of Living 26. The Three Paths 27. The Munich Congress: A Conference in a Rosicrucian Temple 28. Breadth and Depth 29. The Illumination of the Christian Mysteries 30. The Mystery Plays 31. Separation from the Theosophical Society 32. Surrounded by Artists: 1907-1918 33. Building -- Images, Part Two 34. Wartime in Dornach 35. The Destiny of Central Europe 36. The Idea of the Threefold Human Organism 37. The Threefold Social Movement during the War 38. Preparations for the Postwar Period 39. Struggle for the Threefold Commonwealth 40. The Independent Waldorf School 41. Commercial Ventures 42. The Need to Communicate Impulses for Cultural Renewal 43. A Broader Understanding of Healing 44. Establishing The Christian Community 45. Possibilities--Realities 46. The Goetheanum Fire 47. Stuttgart 1923 48. Spring 1923: The Struggle to Rebuild 49. Summer 1923: England -- Images, Part Three 50. Autumn 1923: The Way to Decision 51. The Christmas Conference of 1923 52. Foundations 53. Spring 1924 54. The Final Intensification: Summer 1924 55. Sickbed and Death Epilogue The Collected Works of Rudolf Steiner Bibliography

'All education is self-education and, as teachers, we can only provide the environment for children's self-education... where children can educate themselves according to their own destinies.' -- Rudolf Steiner This radical book seeks to shift the governance of Steiner-Waldorf schools from a structural to a dynamic approach. Jon McAlice argues that for teachers to help children 'practice the art of self-education', they must themselves model confident, honest self-governance. He shows how this ideal can come about by teachers, parents and students working together. He addresses issues of trust and colleagiality, authenticity, and self-development, and provides the tools and language that schools will need to make progress in this important area.

Is anthroposophy a body of revealed spiritual knowledge, or is it a discipline, a path towards spiritual understanding? Around the globe, individuals are longing for, and seeking, a deeper understanding of themselves and the world we all inhabit and share. Starting from the observation that the path toward spiritual understanding described by Rudolf Steiner, as well as the man himself, are widely and variously misunderstood, A Path of Encounter sheds a wealth of much-needed light on this singular method of self-development, as well as on the human being who first trod it. In a clear, straightforward, and personable style this book introduces and then guides the reader, gently but rigorously, into and through a unique method of spiritual development.