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'Those who observe human nature with regard to the smallest things
will find that everyday experiences can also lead to an
understanding of the greatest actualities...' In a refreshingly
practical series of lectures, Rudolf Steiner speaks about the
nature of the human soul and how it can be metamorphosed and raised
to a higher consciousness. He studies the spiritual significance of
various expressions of human nature, including laughing and
weeping, sickness and health, error and mental disorder, positivity
and negativity, and conscience. Steiner also discusses the nature
of prayer, mysticism, the mission of art, and the significance of
language. Throughout the talks he refers to many key historical
figures, including Zarathustra, Socrates, Plato, Homer, Wagner,
Goethe, Hegel and Angelus Silesius. These inspiring lectures form
the conclusion to "Transforming the Soul, Volume 1", but can also
be read independently.
6 lectures, Berlin, November 16-December 12, 1915 (CW 157a) This is
a fully revised edition of the book previously published as The
Forming of Destiny and Life after Death Rudolf Steiner delivered
these lectures near the end of 1915 and the beginning of World War
I, when the issue of death and destiny weighed on the minds of many
in Europe. He describes, from a spiritual perspective, the process
of crossing the threshold of death to life in the spiritual world;
the soul's experience immediately after death; and the process of
forming one's destiny, or karma, while we remain on Earth and later
in the spirit world. Steiner also discusses the importance of our
connection with those who have died and how love and reverence to
the memory of the dead must be united with our love for the
physical world, and how we can strengthen ourselves through
meditation. In the final lecture, given on December 21, Steiner
stresses the esoteric importance of the thirteen nights of
Christmas and how we can consciously affect our future karma during
that time. This edition includes "The Dream Song of Olaf Asteson,"
a Nordic poem (discussed in lecture 6) that describes in pictorial
language the deep mysteries of the Christmas nights.
It is not uncommon for children's drawings to end up in the
wastepaper basket. Yet these early artistic expressions indicate
how children communicate with their environment. From the first
scratches and scribbles to the detailed sketches of houses and
people, the drawings and paintings of our young ones are
significant manifestations of inner processes, containing important
statements about their development and gradual incarnation into a
physical body. Michaela Strauss's classic work is a pioneer study
that can strengthen observation, understanding and love for the
being of the child, both in the home and the kindergarten. First
issued in 1978, it is republished here with revisions, improved
reproductions, a larger format and more than 40 pages of colour
illustrations. 'In its drawings, the child describes for us
different conditions of consciousness, which are parallel with
those of cultural epochs.' - Michaela Strauss
'By bringing the chosen leaders, prophets or priests to confront
the powers of life and death, to discover the deeper needs and
potential of the human spirit, the Mysteries had kept humanity in
touch with the living foundations of experience. For those who went
through their processes, the attainment of wisdom was the
culmination of an existential struggle...' - Dr Andrew Welburn
Modern scholarship knows little of the mystery schools of
antiquity, offering only hypothetical explanations and external
details. In these expansive lectures based on his personal
spiritual insights, Rudolf Steiner offers a vivid description of
the esoteric experiences gained by people in the ancient mystery
schools, from the mysteries of Artemis in Ephesus, of Hibernia,
Eleusis and Samothrace, to the Middle Ages. He also discusses the
conditions under which initiation can be achieved today. Following
preliminary lectures on the nature and function of the soul,
Steiner presents a panoramic view of human and earthly evolution,
including the roles of plants and animals. He also discusses the
various metals, their curative properties and their connections
with the planets.
11 lectures, Munich, August 16-26, 1910 (CW 122) How was the world
created? From a direct spiritual perception of the facts, Rudolf
Steiner presents a new perspective that transcends the bipolar
arguments of both the creationists and the scientific
reductionists. He affirms that clairvoyant research accords with
the biblical descriptions, but he emphasizes that the text of
Genesis has to be interpreted in a special way. In this
extraordinary document, Steiner speaks of the six days of creation
as a reawakening of the previous phases of the Earth's development.
He describes the work of spiritual hierarchies in the creation of
Earth and clarifies the relationship of the Elohim and the biblical
Jehovah. In addition, Steiner discusses themes of light and
darkness, the meaning of Adam and Eve, the "day of rest" on the
seventh day, the stages of human development on Earth, and the
special character of the Hebrew language. Also featured in this new
edition is a previously unpublished introductory lecture on the
meaning of mystery drama. This book is a translation from German of
Die Geheimnisse der biblischen Schoepfungsgeschichte. Das
Sechtagwerk im 1. Buch Moses (GA 122).
'The Lord's Prayer' stands at the heart of Christianity. Over the
past two millennia, it has been spoken millions of times by
millions of people around the world. Rudolf Steiner affirms the
power of this prayer, given by Jesus Christ himself, and encourages
us to begin to understand it at deeper levels. Such an
understanding, he explains, is now necessary for humanity's further
development. In the four lectures he gave on this subject,
collected here under one cover, Rudolf Steiner penetrates the
esoteric meanings of the Lord's Prayer, relating its seven
petitions to the seven spiritual and physical bodies of the human
being. He also discusses the difference between prayer and
meditation, and shows how true prayer is selfless in nature. This
volume features an introduction by Judith von Halle, whose work is
valued for her experiential knowledge of the Lord's Prayer and the
events of Christ's life.
"There is the possibility of a comparatively quick maturing of
insight into karmic relationships if, for a considerable time, we
try patiently, and with inner energy, to picture with greater and
greater consciousness an experience which would otherwise simply
take its course, without being properly grasped, and fade away in
the course of life..." In this unique lecture, Rudolf Steiner
presents a practical exercise for gaining insight into karma. He
draws our attention to the ordinary events of life, encouraging us
to take an image of a single event and meditate on it. He describes
the method in great detail, and explains how, over several days and
nights, the image becomes incorporated into our various spiritual
bodies. Eventually, this image reaches our physical body in a
transformed state, leading to a perception of a previous earth life
and the cause of the event first pictured in meditation...
'The spiritual-scientific investigator has...to transform the soul
itself into an instrument; then - when his soul is awakened and he
can see into a spiritual world - he experiences, on a higher level,
a similar great moment as blind people do when, having been
operated upon, they look at a world they have not seen before.' In
a key series of lectures on personal development, Rudolf Steiner
explains that the central mission of spiritual science is to enable
people to ascend, in full consciousness, to a knowledge of
spiritual realities. But given that the means to achieve spiritual
perception are now widely available, there is the danger that some
individuals will gain access to the spiritual world whilst
harbouring impure motives. This can lead to a distorted
understanding and vision of that world. Steiner's emphasis,
therefore, is on the preparatory steps - the metamorphosis and
purification of the human soul - required for achieving true
spiritual enlightenment. Life itself teaches and prepares us for
progress, and anthroposophy explains and brings this to
consciousness. In some of his most lucid lectures, Steiner
describes the missions of anger, truth and reverence, the
significance of human character, the meaning of asceticism and
illness, and the phenomenon of egoism. He also clarifies the
differences between Buddhism and Christianity, describes the goal
of spiritual science, and makes some esoteric observations about
the moon. Throughout the talks, Steiner refers to many significant
historical figures, including St Augustine, Coleridge, Leonardo da
Vinci, Madame Blavatsky, Goethe, Homer, and Shakespeare.
Traditional folklore has spoken of guardian angels who guide and
protect us. However, although there are numerous stories of the
miraculous intervention of these beings, some people still write
them off as myth and superstition. Based on his own personal
experience and cognition, Rudolf Steiner spoke of guardian angels
and other spiritual beings as a reality. Their existence, he said,
is a spiritual and scientific fact that can be researched and
studied by clairvoyance. One of his aims was to enable people to
connect again with these spiritual beings not only for their own
benefit, but also for the benefit of the other kingdom of nature
and the whole destiny of the earth's evolution. In his writings and
lectures Steiner intended to lead people from belief to
recognition, knowledge, and understanding of spiritual beings. In
these six specially selected lectures, which until now have lain
hidden away in very early publications or journals, he describes
the role of the guardian angel and discusses our relationship to
the heavenly hierarchies of spiritual beings as a whole and how
they shape our human form as a result of their cosmic activity. As
many people today are awakening to angelic guidance in their daily
lives and are seeking it consciously, these lectures will help them
to understand their experiences and to make their communication
more conscious.
The path of an individual human life - our biography - is something
of a mystery. Despite the abundance of published biographies and
autobiographies of celebrities and historical figures, the
scientific study of human biography remains in its infancy, with
little understanding of the inherent laws in the path of an
individual's life. Yet as Rudolf Steiner shows here, every
biography, regardless of the individual's fame, perceived
importance or outer success, is ruled by archetypal influences,
patterns and laws. This broad-ranging anthology addresses some
critical and as yet unanswered questions: What effects do education
- and in particular contrasting education methods - have on later
life? How do the various periods of life relate to each other? Do
the effects of events on the individual become evident immediately,
or is their true impact delayed - perhaps by decades? To what
extent can an individual shape the stages of his or her biography?
How much freedom of choice do we have, and how much of life is
predetermined? Out of the higher knowledge Rudolf Steiner acquired
from his spiritual research, he described the human individuality
as a being with a continuing existence - before birth and beyond
death. This eternal being experiences many varied conditions and
situations, the effects of which are observable in our biography.
This book addresses these and other issues such as freedom and
destiny, the effects of heredity, illness, and the impact of
education, offering answers based on a profound knowledge of the
human being. Compiled by E. Fucke (Selected lectures, various GAs)
According to the initiate-research of Rudolf Steiner, humanity is
in a continual process of transformation and evolution. Modern-day
consciousness, based as it is on sense perception and abstract
logic, differs considerably from the consciousness of ancient
humanity. At that time, says Steiner, the human being was seen to
be a microcosm, a concentration of the laws and activities of the
cosmos. The loss of such knowledge today has led to the existential
quest for meaning, and even the cul-de-sac of atheism. In these
comprehensive lectures, delivered to an English audience, Rudolf
Steiner indicates how it is possible for people to rediscover their
connection to the cosmos. He describes how one develops higher
faculties of consciousness - what he calls Imagination, Inspiration
and Intuition - and gives a vivid description of life after death
and the individual's progress through the planetary spheres. It is
in these spheres, he explains, where tasks and goals for future
incarnations are prepared in cooperation with the spiritual beings
of the heavenly hierarchies.The lectures culminate in a call for
mankind to take its own destiny in hand through conscious and free
development of spiritual capacities. The new edition of this
fundamental work features a revised translation as well as
previously-unavailable addresses and question-and-answer sessions.
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