Biodynamic techniques recognize that plant life is intimately bound up with the life of the soil; that the soil itself is alive and vital; and that the degree of vitality has a direct bearing on the health of the crops. Through the nurture and care of the soil you will soon be able to grow quality produce which possesses vitality and has a full flavour. Sharing its principles, methods and techniques with organic farming, biodynamic agriculture additionally acknowledges that the plant's growth is also affected by planetary influences like the waxing and waning of the moon. Whether you are an experienced gardener or not, whether or not you have used permaculture or grown organic produce before, this volume offers tips on: favourable times for planting, harvesting and growing; ways of combating pests and diseases; building soil fertility - crop change and rotation; and how planets and stars affect plant growth.

Maria Thun, a pre-eminent expert in biodynamic cultivation methods - sometimes referred to as "premium organic" - has here compiled over 100 of her best gardening tips based on 50 years' research. Find out: * how to produce abundant and tasty crops; * how special preparations can transform your soil and produce; * how the moon affects planting and growth; * the difference between 'root', 'leaf', 'blossom' and 'fruit' plants; * what the best storage methods are; and much more. Accompany the author on a journey through the seasons and discover lots of new tips and suggestions. There is a wealth of advice here for gardeners seeking to manage nature responsibly and successfully.

Discover the art of eurythmy with this richly illustrated step-by-step guide. Eurythmy is a compelling method of bringing balance and harmony to our body, soul and spirit through a series of rhythmic body movements. For the first time, this unique book captures these gestures visually through dynamic photographs, which clearly demonstrate the core movements of eurythmy therapy. It has long been recognised that we can direct powerful physical and mental changes within ourselves through specific movements of our bodies, as stated by advocates of yoga and tai chi. The authors of this original book are experienced eurythmists, who describe and illustrate the core speech-sound exercises: vowel exercises, consonant exercises and soul exercises, which include love, hope and sympathy. This book is not a replacement for a qualified eurythmy therapist, but is intended as guidance and orientation for patients practising on their own, perhaps after a few initial sessions with a therapist, or for more experienced eurythmists.

Painting and drawing are key artistic expressions which play an important role in children's physical, emotional and spiritual development. This comprehensive teachers' manual provides a complete artistic curriculum for Classes One to Eight in Steiner-Waldorf schools (age six to fourteen). At each stage, the book demonstrates the skills that teachers can help children to develop. There are 280 practical exercises for teachers to use, and over 800 drawings and paintings as inspiring examples of artistic possibilities. The curriculum moves from free drawing, to guided colour exercises, to precise perspective drawing. The exercises draw on elements of the Steiner-Waldorf curriculum at appropriate ages, incorporating themes from fables and legends, the Old Testament, Norse mythology, animals, Ancient Greece and botany. Throughout, the author draws on art theory and shows that art is truly a universal language. The book is also suitable for adult self-study.

Edith Maryon (1872-1924) was a trained sculptor who worked alongside Rudolf Steiner to create the unique sculpture of Christ (the 'Representative of Humanity') at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. One of Steiner's closest collaborators, she was a highly-valued colleague and esoteric pupil. As one of his dearest friends, Maryon kept a busy and detailed correspondence with Rudolf Steiner, in which he confided freely about his personal situation, his lack of true colleagues, difficulties with lecture tours, and the embattled public standing of anthroposophy. Almost invariably, these letters emphasized Steiner's longing for the Dornach studio and their shared work on the Christ statue. Maryon's early death, aged 52 - following fifteen months of illness - shook Rudolf Steiner to the core. He was to die himself less than a year later. With this book, the author's central aim is to illuminate the spiritual signature of Edith Maryon's relationship with Rudolf Steiner and their mutual work in anthroposophy and on the sculpture of Christ. Building on Rex Raab's (1993) biography, Peter Selg's moving study features dozens of photos and facsimiles of letters, utilizing previously unpublished sources from Edith Maryon's and Ita Wegman's literary estates and the Rudolf Steiner Archive in Dornach. -- The most essential and intrinsic quality of her soul ... was not a particular branch of human endeavour, not even art; the most salient of her soul tendencies, her soul intentions, was the striving for spirituality...' - Rudolf Steiner

Children need to experience nature, and gardening is a good way to encourage them to engage with the earth, plants and animals. Gardening classes, as taught in Steiner-Waldorf schools from Class 6 to Class 10, help children develop many important skills, including sensory perception and motor skills, as well as an understanding of ecology and agriculture. How can such a complex subject be taught well and effectively? In a clear structure -- which includes the history of school gardens, aspects of child development, and practical help on teaching methods, lesson planning for different age groups, and maintaining the garden itself -- Birte Kaufmann offers many useful tips and suggestions for new or developing gardening teachers.

Earth and humanity are involved in a fragile interplay of physical and spiritual relationships, the full spectrum of which can only be discerned by higher, finer senses. Based on actual, living discernment rather than dogmatic ideas, Karsten Massei reveals how we can unite with nature, supporting our inner development and everyday lives. We ourselves comprise the path leading to the mysteries of the earth. Through delving into nature's secrets, paradoxically we are brought back to our own being - our soul-gold, our luminosity, but also to our shadow, lower nature. Deep encounters with the earth are thus self-encounters. --- In a series of concise and accessible chapters, Massei illumines human characteristics - our senses, the quality of our listening, our soul wounds and the possibility for transformation. Likewise, he lights up the natural world - plants and animals, but also elemental beings, spirits of trees, and the great being of the earth, Christ. Amongst a wealth of interrelated themes, the author portrays death as the doorway to a new existence, describing the relationship of the dead with the earth and humanity and speaking movingly of the healing social deed of forgiveness. Founded on first-hand research, this book is full of reverence for the hidden aspects of life and their significance for personal growth.

When a child is born parents feel on top of the world, but stress and exhaustion can soon take over, leaving nerves frayed. In this concise, practical book Christiane Kutik highlights twelve simple steps for bringing some peace, composure and enjoyment back into everyday family life. She bases her approach on providing a solid underlying structure to family life, with clear roles, rules, routine and respect. She goes on to show how your family can grow together through incorporating enjoyable rituals, being responsive to your children, giving them the support they need and the space to develop their own abilities. She discusses ways to introduce moments of calm and spiritual connection into everyday life. She also stresses the importance of parents trying to make a little time for themselves to reflect on life and relax. This is a book written specifically for parents with no time and little energy -- short, easy-to-absorb and easy-to-implement steps to quickly improve family life.

Rudolf Steiner's inspiring words provide rich and nourishing thoughts and ideas for self-development and spiritual enlightenment. Daily Contemplations offers a separate passage from Steiner's lectures - a special gift upon which to reflect - to accompany each day of the year. Carefully selected by Jean-Claude Lin, the quotations are sourced from lectures and addresses that Steiner gave on the specific day in question. Thus, the ordering is not arbitrary but arises from the historical fact of the lectures themselves. This unique volume gives us a new way of working with Steiner's research on a daily basis. The short passages encourage us to ponder and delve further in order to make our own creative discoveries. 'Wisdom is the premise, the foundation of love; love is the fruit of wisdom reborn in the I.' These words from Rudolf Steiner are the founding motifs of his immense lecturing activity - to which this book gives manifold entry points. As Lin notes in his introduction, 'wisdom and love are the alpha and omega of the human being who strives for truth and freedom'.

Rudolf Steiner's core mission, repeatedly delayed due to the incapacity of colleagues, was to pursue contemporary spiritual-scientific research into the phenomena of reincarnation and karma. This stimulating book describes the winding biographical path this mission took, and in particular focuses on the mystery of Rudolf Steiner's connection with the influential medieval philosopher and theologian, Thomas Aquinas. Utilizing numerous archival sources and publications, Thomas Meyer reveals many facts relating to Steiner's core mission, and shows the critical roles played by Wilhelm Anton Neumann and Karl Julius Schroer in its genesis and development. Meyer examines how Steiner's pupils responded to his insights into karma, and places this 'most intrinsic mission' into the context of current divisions within the anthroposophic movement. In particular, he highlights the place of spiritual science within culture and history, showing how Steiner developed the great scientific ideas of evolution propounded by Darwin by raising them to the plane of each individual's soul and spiritual development. As Steiner stated in 1903: 'Scientific researchers explain the skull forms of higher animals as a transformation of a lower type of skull. In the same way one should explain a soul's biography through the soul biography which the former evolved from.'

In this thoughtful book, Freya Jaffke describes festival celebrations in relation to child development in the first seven years. She considers in detail the main festivals throughout the year: Easter, Whitsun, St John's, starting school, harvest, Michaelmas, lantern time, birthdays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas, Epiphany and carnival. Drawing on many examples, she shows how we can celebrate festivals with children at home and in kindergarten in a meaningful way. Every festival is prefaced with a deeper contemplation for adults, before considering preparations with children, followed by the actual organisation of the festival -- with games, craft activities and decorations, stories, songs, poems and the seasonal nature table.

How awake are we to our inner being, our true nature? How much self-knowledge do we really have? In relation to our intrinsic self, we can easily feel like a novice. In truth, we face a long journey before we can fully understand ourselves - and we are equally unpractised in relating to our 'shadow' and inner wounds. The path described in this book is an inward one, concerned with strengthening our individuality. Based on life-long research, Karsten Massei has created a valuable workbook for knowing and healing ourselves. In a series of short chapters, he explains the interplay and tensions between the human individual and the nature of our 'inner and cosmic child'. Both are complex entities but are directly related; both are deeply connected with our destiny. Our experiences with our inner child are often still in the earliest stages - but cultivating a relationship with her, noticing her, holding conversations with her, is vital, and offers us ever deepening experiences. As our insights expand, our frailties, deficiencies and inner wounds become apparent. The being of the inner child wants to educate us to become inwardly truthful and authentic. Only honest engagement with the traumas and vulnerabilities of our soul will enable a true picture of ourselves to arise. Child of the Cosmos contains surprising perspectives arising from the author's personal experiences, opening up a clear path of personal development. The text is complemented with seven special meditations to assist us in engaging with the challenges ahead.

'Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.' Rudolf Steiner once called the Lord's Prayer the 'greatest initiation prayer', and he spoke about it many times, also referring to it as the central prayer of Christian experience. This book is, however, the first time that all of Steiner's comments, accounts and perspectives have been brought together in one place, presenting the full scope and depth of his ideas. Along the way, Peter Selg reveals some surprising insights into the spiritual history and mission of Christianity.

Goethe's poem, The Mysteries, and the twelve world views. Kant and world views. The development of Rudolf Steiner's research into Goethe's science, The Philosophy of Freedom, and his lectures on Human and Cosmic Thought,(1914) on the twelve world views. Phenomenalism: Look at and Listen to the World; Sensualism -Human Carnality; Materialism- 'Earth goes on standing firm.'; Mathematism - Measure, Number and weight; Rationalism: 'And behold, it was very good.' Idealism: the Logos that was at the beginning. Psychism: I am an I. Pneumatism : I am the Universe. Spiritualism - The Jacob's Ladder. Monadism - Universal relations. Dynamism - 'I am dynamite'. Realism - The World Scales. Humanus: the new human being in the third millennium. Study and Discussion

`We must draw the slumbering soul away from the darkness of sleep so that it no longer vanishes from its own scrutiny but stands before itself as a being of pure spirit which, in volition, is creatively active through - yet also beyond - the body.' - Rudolf Steiner. According to Rudolf Steiner's independent research, the soul or psyche has a relationship to both the body and the spirit. Psychologists and psychotherapists can only work in a truly healing way, he says, if they take this spiritual fact into account. This expertly-compiled anthology explores the nature of the soul as elaborated by Steiner in his writings and lectures. However, the book comprises more than an account of the psyche and life of the soul, but deals equally with the methodology for comprehending it - the scientific, and above all spiritual-scientific, means of doing so. Steiner questions methods and thought structures that are fundamental to contemporary psychology. Rather than looking backwards to conditions that influence how we are today, he focuses on our further development as beings that think, feel and act with intentionality. Given the soul's close affinity with pictorial images, he elaborates a therapeutically-innovative meditative schooling of the faculty of imagination. As Steiner states here, his methods, `...do not draw only on the rules of the ordinary mind but first prepare in the human soul another kind of consciousness, another state of awareness, with which we then enquire into the psyche... to approach and penetrate realities of the soul.'

'What would we be without love? We would inevitably become isolated and gradually lose all connection with our fellow human beings and our fellow creatures in the natural world.' - Rudolf Steiner In this rich, previously-untranslated collection of lectures, Rudolf Steiner approaches and illumines the figure of Christ from manifold directions and perspectives. Christ, the being of love, is for the body of the Earth what the heart is within our individual organism. Given throughout 1911 - the year before Rudolf Steiner split from the theosophists citing fundamental disagreements over the true nature of Christianity - the lectures reflect Steiner's intensifying emphasis on the central deed of the Christ being in Earth evolution, whilst in tandem demonstrating the truths of reincarnation and karma. He reveals profound vistas of human development and paths of advancement over many lifetimes, in which Christ is to be our steadfast companion and exemplar. Lectures include: 'Faith, Love, Hope'; 'Original Sin and Grace'; 'The Effect of Moral Qualities on Karma'; 'The Importance of Spiritual Enquiry for Moral Action'; 'Wisdom, Prayerfulness and Certainty in Life'; 'The Birth of the Sun Spirit as Earth Spirit'; 'The Threefold Call from the World of Spirit'; 'Christmas - A Festival of Inspiration'; 'The I at Work Upon the Child and How this Relates to the Christ Being'; 'Ossian and Fingal's Cave', and many more. Translated by Matthew Barton, this volume features an introduction, notes and index.

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 - to promote harmony and healing - Rudolf Steiner helps us discover a renewed sense of our true place in the world. The verses show how we can learn to know ourselves by looking outwards to the substances and processes at work in the cosmos, and in contrast to know the world by looking inwards to the microcosmic depths of the human self. By integrating spirit and matter within, we heal divisions in our relationships with others. For modern people, increasingly divorced from a living relationship with nature, these verses help to unfold a world of interconnections.

As the earth's neighbour, the moon affects not only ocean tides but also the growth and development of plants. In this finely illustrated, full-colour book - packed with practical tips for the novice as well as the advanced gardener - Peter Berg offers a clear summary of the basics of lunar and biodynamic gardening, together with in-depth sections on: activating and enlivening the soil; biodynamic preparations; making good compost; crop rotation and green manuring; cultivation work and care of the garden; practical plant protection; rich harvesting; saving your own seed. Building on the the intensive research of his mentor Maria Thun and the teachings of Rudolf Steiner, Berg explains how the subtle influences from the cosmos work on the plant world, distinguishing between 'root', 'leaf', 'blossom' and 'fruit' days in the working calendar. An understanding of such natural processes, in conjunction with the practical knowledge described in this book, can lead to productive, chemical-free gardening, with healthy plants and abundant harvests.

Today, illness is almost universally regarded as either a nuisance or a grave misfortune. In contrast to this conventional thinking, Rudolf Steiner places the suffering caused by disease in a broad vista that includes an understanding of karma and personal metamorphosis. Illness comes to expression in the physical body, but mostly does not originate in it, says Steiner, and thus a key part of the physician's work involves gaining insight into the whole nature of an individual - his essential core being. From this perspective, illness offers us the opportunity for deeper healing. Throughout this volume Rudolf Steiner draws our attention to the greater scope of the smallest phenomena - even a seemingly insignificant headache. He casts vivid light on things we normally take for granted, such as the human capacity to laugh or cry, and in the process broadens our vision of human existence. The apparently mundane human experiences of forgetting and remembering are intrinsic to our humanity, for example, and have unsuspected moral and spiritual dimensions. Steiner's insights are never merely 'lofty' or nebulously 'spiritual' but time and again connect with the minutest realities of everyday life. In these 18 lectures, delivered on a weekly basis as part of an ongoing course covering 'the whole field of spiritual science', Steiner elaborates in detail on the diverse interplay of the human being's constituting aspects (physical body, etheric body, astral body and ego or 'I') in relation to rhythmic processes, developing consciousness, the history of human evolution, and our connection with the cosmos. Within this broad canvas, some of his themes acquire a very distinctive focus - such as vivid accounts of the 'intimate history' of Christianity, 'creating out of nothing', the interior of the earth, and health and illness. Other topics include: the nature of pain, suffering, pleasure and bliss; the four human group souls of lion, bull, eagle and man; the significance of the Ten Commandments; the nature of original sin; the deed of Christ and the adversary powers of Lucifer, Ahriman and the Asuras; evolution and involution; the Atlantean period - and even Friedrich Nietzsche's madness!

The concepts of 'thinking with the heart' or 'emotional intelligence' are often used today, usually in contrast to intellectual thought. When Rudolf Steiner used the phrase 'heart thinking', however, he meant it in a very specific sense. Drawn primarily from his lectures, the compiled texts in this anthology illuminate his perspective - that heart thinking is intimately related to the spiritual faculty of Inspiration. The heart, he says, can become a new organ of thinking through the practice of exercises that work towards the transformation of feeling, shedding its personal and subjective character.The exercise sequences presented here call for two fundamental gestures. Firstly, renunciation, which extends from an extinguishing of images engendered in meditation, through inner silence, to a conscious suppression of sense perception. The second gesture involves the development of new feelings towards natural phenomena as well as to the reports of spiritual-scientific research. By practising these methods, we can attain a kind of thinking that is in harmony with the true nature and reality of what we seek to know.Rudolf Steiner's texts are collected together by Martina Maria Sam, who contributes a lucid introduction and notes.

'The mission of our age is not to reproduce an ancient wisdom, but to engender a new one - a wisdom that points not only to the past but that works prophetically into the future.' - Rudolf Steiner Beginning with ancient Egypt, the pyramids and sphinxes - and a comparison of that epoch with our own - Rudolf Steiner surveys a vast spiritual landscape of human development. In symphonic style, he describes the conquest of the physical plane in post-Atlantean civilizations, the relationships between the various cultural epochs, the human being's connections with the kingdoms of nature and the different planetary bodies, and the relationship of animal forms to 'the physiognomy of human passions'. Through this panoramic vision, we discover how the changed conditions of human consciousness call for a new spiritual understanding today. In her Introduction, Marie Steiner relates the special experience of being a member of Rudolf Steiner's audience for this timeless series of lectures: 'Enormous cosmic pictures were unfolded before the spiritual gaze of the listeners; insights were of such depths of ancient wisdom, views of distant futures of human and world development, that deepest devotion flowed through their hearts...' This new edition features a revised translation, introduction, notes and an index.

In the uncertainty following the end of the First World War, Rudolf Steiner perceived a unique opportunity to establish a healthy social and political constitution. He began lecturing throughout post-war Germany, often to large audiences, about his social ideas. Here, speaking to a more intimate grouping at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland, Steiner seeks to deepen the themes of social threefolding, showing specifically how new social thinking is integral to anthroposophy. Steiner speaks of the superficiality of the materialistic view of history, originating with the economic shift amongst the population at the time of the Reformation. Back in Egyptian-Chaldean times, initiates ruled out of spiritual impulses. Later, in the Greco-Roman period, priests had power over their congregations. Today, homo economicus - or `economic man' - has become the dominant idea, with the capitalist and the banker taking control. But the healing of social relationships can only come about through different modes of thought; the life of spirit must be separated not only from politics but also from economics. True social understanding allows for comprehension of karma - the appreciation of each person's individual destiny. In parallel, says Steiner, we should work towards a global consciousness, as true social ideas are founded on people feeling themselves to be citizens of the world. In an important corollary, Steiner studies the incarnations of three significant spiritual beings in human evolution: Lucifer, Christ and Ahriman. Lucifer incarnated in the third pre-Christian millennium, Christ incarnated at the dawn of a new age, whilst an incarnation of Ahriman in the West is immanent. Ahriman is preparing this incarnation by insidiously promoting various ideas, for example that economic security is sufficient for healthy public life. A new wisdom must be achieved out of free human will, says Steiner, or else we will succumb to Ahriman.