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Austrian philosopher, playwright, and artist Rudolf Steiner (1861
1925) is perhaps best known as an educational philosopher and
reformer, the founder of Steiner (or Waldorf) schools located
around the world. These schools' philosophy represents the
priorities Steiner discusses in Theosophy: the development of body,
soul, and spirit. Goethe was an important influence on Steiner, and
he edited the poet's scientific works (1889 1896). Steiner was an
active member and leader of the German branch of Madame Blavatsky's
Theosophical Society, eventually broke away from theosophy, as he
developed his own spiritual philosophy termed 'anthroposophy'; this
philosophical movement asserted the potential of realizing a
spiritual reality through cognition. This 1910 translation by
Elizabeth Douglas Shields is of the book's third German edition; it
was first published in 1904. This work will be of particular
interest to historians of philosophy, of spiritual movements and of
education.
This collection introduces Rudolf Steiner's vision of architecture
as a culmination of the arts. Such an architecture unites
sculpture, painting, and engraving as well as drama, music and
dance -- a vital synthesis of all the arts working in cooperation
out of a common ideal to awaken each human being to his or her
unique self and task in life.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, however, Steiner's ideas did
not remain abstract. Within his lifetime he was able to design and
construct a number of buildings, including his architectural
masterpiece, the Goetheanum -- a center for culture and arts near
Basle, Switzerland. In these lectures Steiner describes, with
reference to the Goetheanum, the importance of an architecturally
coherent and integrated community, and how this in turn affects
social unity and harmony.
Includes eight color plates and 30 black & white
illustrations. A valuable collection for students of architecture,
the arts, social science, or anybody seeking deeper spiritual
understanding.
"Did Rudolf Steiner dream these things? Did he dream them as they
once occurred, at the beginning of all time? They are, for sure,
far more astonishing than the demiurges and serpents and bulls
found in other cosmogonies.' -- Jorge Luis BorgesRudolf Steiner
recorded his view of the world in numerous books. He also gave more
than 5,000 lectures, in which he explained his ideas, using only
minimal notes. When describing especially difficult subjects,
Steiner frequently resorted to illustrating what he was saying with
colored chalk on a large blackboard. After his earlier lectures,
the drawings were erased and irretrievably lost. After the autumn
of 1919, however, thick black paper was used to cover the
blackboards so that the drawings could be rolled up and saved.The
Trustees of Rudolf Steiner's Estate in Dornach, Switzerland,
possess more than a thousand such drawings. A selection of these
drawings was first shown to the general public in 1992, and since
then, exhibitions in Europe, America, and Japan have generated much
interest in Steiner's works.
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Background to the Gospel of St Mark
Rudolf Steiner; Introduction by R. McDermott; Translated by F. Amrine, D.S. Osmond, E.H. Goddard
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‘Christianity was bound at first to be a matter of faith and is
only now beginning, very gradually, to be a matter of knowledge.’
– Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Steiner gave 70 lectures on the four
canonical Gospels, characterizing the distinctive contribution of
each of the evangelists. The Gospel of Mark is a ‘cosmic’ text
that calls for an astronomical as well as a human reading. It is
also critical for understanding the evolution of Christianity,
which depends on knowledge of ‘the Mystery of Golgotha’
(Christ’s crucifixion, resurrection and ascension). ‘We are
only at the beginning of Christian evolution’, Steiner states,
reiterating that its further development will depend on spiritual
knowledge. In order to develop such cognition, ‘most important of
all is reverence for the great truths and the feeling that we can
approach them only with awe and veneration’. Many profound
spiritual truths are indeed revealed in these lectures. Among the
panoply of topics covered are: ‘Mystery Teachings in St Mark’s
Gospel’; ‘The Son of God and the Son of Man’; ‘The Symbolic
Language of the Macrocosm’; ‘The Moon-religion of Yahweh’ and
‘The Penetration of the Buddha-Mercury Stream into
Rosicrucianism’. This thoroughly revised edition includes notes
and appendices by Frederick Amrine and an extensive introduction by
Robert McDermott.
‘As soon as you start thinking about the living sphere, you have
to make the thought itself mobile. The thought must begin to gain
inner mobility through your own power.’ – Rudolf Steiner Rudolf
Steiner divides these absorbing, previously-untranslated lectures
into three sections, opening with ‘The Value of Thinking’.
Here, he discusses the quality of thinking itself, contrasting
‘dead physical cognition’, ‘living imaginative cognition’,
‘inspired cognition’, and the latter’s connection with
previous periods of human and planetary development. He clarifies
how ‘visionary clairvoyance’ can relate to individual
intelligence, and also speaks of the submergence of ideas – the
effects of sad or joyful experiences and feelings – into the
unconscious. These can be ‘life-promoting’ or
‘life-inhibiting’. In the second section he speaks about ‘The
Relationship between Spiritual Science and Natural Science’,
using a contemporary publication as a case study for how texts can
be fruitfully analysed. He characterizes the spiritual-scientific
method as allowing facts or personalities to speak for themselves,
rather than making personal judgements. Finally, he deliberates on
‘Episodic Observations about Space, Time, Movement’ – kinetic
formula and concepts such as the speed of light – introducing,
directly from his spiritual observations, notions such as ‘light
ether’. The lectures are supplemented with an introduction,
comprehensive notes, line drawings and an index.
8 lectures, Koberwitz, June 7-20, 1924 (CW 327) The audio book,
complete and unabridged (10 CD set), is read by respected actor and
speech teacher Peter Bridgmont, author of Liberation of the Actor
When Rudolf Steiner gave these lectures eighty years ago,
industrial farming was on the rise and organic methods were being
replaced in the name of science, efficiency, and technology. With
the widespread alarm over food quality in recent years, and with
the growth of the organic movement and its mainstream acceptance,
perceptions are changing. The qualitative aspect of food is on the
agenda again, and in this context Steiner's only course of lectures
on agriculture is critical to the current debate. With these talks,
Steiner created and launched "biodynamic" farming--a form of
agriculture that has come to be regarded as the best organically
produced food. However, the agriculture Steiner speaks of here is
much more than organic--it involves working with the cosmos, with
the earth, and with spiritual beings. To facilitate this, Steiner
prescribes specific "preparations" for the soil, as well as other
distinct methods born from his profound understanding of the
material and spiritual worlds. He presents a comprehensive picture
of the complex dynamic relationships at work in nature and gives
basic indications of the practical measures needed to bring them
into full play. These lectures are reprinted here in the "classic"
translation made by Rudolf Steiner's English interpreter, George
Adams. This edition also features a preface by Steiner's colleague
the medical doctor Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, as well as eight color
plates. This is the course that began the biodynamic movement.
Rudolf Steiner's Agriculture Course is the essential work for
anyone wanting to understand and use Steiner's methods of food
production. This book is a translation from German of
Geisteswissenschaftliche Grundlagen zum Gedeihen der
Landwirtschaft. Landwirtschaftlicher Kursus (GA 327).
Barely four months after the end of the First World War, with
Europe in chaos and exhausted from years of conflict, Rudolf
Steiner offered these lectures of hope and renewal. Despite
continuing social troubles around the world, he knew that human
beings had an opportunity to organize society in a new way. Steiner
responded to this prospect by giving suggestions for creating
innovative social structures that are in harmony with people’s
inner needs. Humanity as a whole is now facing a great challenge in
that it is ‘crossing the threshold’ to the spiritual world,
says Steiner. This means that an evolutionary separation is taking
place within the human soul between thinking, feeling and will. For
this to happen in a healthy way, the outer make-up of society
should mirror and support our internal evolution. Steiner points to
the urgent need for ‘threefolding’ – a separation between the
workings of culture, economics and politics. This is a subconscious
demand, he asserts – not for thinking up cranky ideas within a
sect, but for shedding light on what is needed universally! These
important lectures cover numerous themes, including the overcoming
of class distinctions, the administration of money, technology and
capitalism, the antisocial tendency of nationalism, and the future
management of international relations.
Speaking during the early stages of the First World War – with
the Western Front just miles away and thousands of young men dying
– Rudolf Steiner focuses on the subject of death. In particular,
he addresses the difficult question of why some people die
prematurely, particularly in youth. Steiner also speaks of the
deaths of three of his acquaintances, having made contact with
their living souls in the afterlife. He voices their own words and
describes the first stages of their journeys after death. Rudolf
Steiner strikes a second chord with the description of the task of
Central Europe in the context of the various ‘Folk-souls’. The
influences of these spiritual entities are reflected in the culture
and life of various peoples, but do not promote nationalism. In
fact, nationalism can only be transcended when we understand and
recognize our differences. This approach is based on phenomenology
rather than value-judgements. The third main theme running through
these lectures relates to understanding the impulses and
connections active in history. Reaching beyond simple notions of
‘fate’, are we able to allow for the workings of the impulse of
Christ? These extraordinary lectures, previously unpublished in
English, are presented here with an introduction, notes and an
index.
Replete with fresh immediacy, rich spiritual content, innovation
and occasional humour, these talks were given at a time when Rudolf
Steiner was preparing for independence from the Theosophical
Society. Alongside the much-loved lectures ‘Nervousness and Ego
Development’ – in which Steiner shares practical exercises for
coping with contemporary life’s challenges – and ‘Love and
Its Significance in the World’, the collection finds a focal
point in descriptions of the ‘Three Soul Paths to Christ’. The
first of these is via the Gospels, the second through ‘Inner
Experience’ and the third ‘Initiation’, which Steiner
characterizes as a path transcending religion. He further
elaborates these themes in a lecture entitled, ‘Mysteries of the
Kingdoms of Heaven in Parables and in Real Form’. Elijah, John
the Baptist, Raphael and Novalis form a golden thread throughout,
appearing as a fourfold herald of a true Christianity of the
future. A moving yet astringent tribute to the founder of
Theosophy, H.P. Blavatsky, on the tenth anniversary of her death,
adds the Christian verities not embraced by Blavatsky during her
lifetime, and two stirring talks that set the mood for
Christmastide – via St Matthew, Eudocia and St Luke – round off
the volume with paeans to Novalis. The lectures are complemented
with an introduction by Margaret Jonas, detailed notes and an
index.
In an absorbing series of lectures, Rudolf Steiner discloses
factors in a person's life on Earth that will influence their
experiences in the spiritual world after their death - and
conversely, factors in the spiritual world that will affect their
next life on Earth. Steiner focuses on the period in the afterlife
when the individual has been through kamaloka - the purgatorial
place where the soul is purified. Once the soul has been cleansed
of its astral sheath, it becomes open to cosmic influences,
expanding into the planetary sphere. Now it can begin preparation
for reincarnation - for a new human life on Earth. Steiner
addresses the vital relationship of the living to the dead - in
particular, how those on Earth can influence the souls of the dead.
He also speaks on themes of 'Sleep and death', 'The seven-year life
cycles of man', and offers a 'Christmas gift' in the form of a
lecture on Christian Rosenkreutz and Gautama Buddha. He ends with a
mighty picture of the Mystery of Golgotha: Jesus Christ's death on
the cross was only seemingly a death; in reality it enabled the
momentous birth of the Earth-Soul. Long out-of-print, the
freshly-revised text of the ten lectures in this new edition is
complemented with an introduction, notes and appendices by
Professor Frederick Amrine, and also features an index. Ten
lectures, Berlin, Nov.-Apr. 1913, GA 141
The Doorway of Initiation – The Trial of the Soul – The
Guardian of the Threshold – The Souls Awaken Rudolf Steiner’s
four modern mystery dramas are powerful portrayals of the complex
laws of reincarnation and karma, transporting us to landscapes of
soul and spirit where supra-sensory beings are visible, active and
influential. Through perception of these hidden worlds, we are
given tools to comprehend the background to the struggles we face
in everyday life – both in human relationships and in our
attempts to practise spiritual development. Written between the
years 1910 and 1913, during periods of intense inner and outer
work, the dramas are powerful testimonies to Steiner’s artistic
creativity. By manifesting soul and spirit forms on stage, they
foreshadow a dramatic art of the future. Rudolf Steiner planned for
all four mystery dramas to be performed in August 1923, but this
was no longer possible because of the burning of the first
Goetheanum on New Year’s Eve, 1922. They were eventually
performed together for the first time in 1930 and since then have
been staged regularly, in many languages, throughout the world.
This fresh rendering into English by Richard Ramsbotham also
features an extensive introduction by him.
Your favourite occupation? Pondering and musing. Your idea of
happiness? Pondering and musing. Your most extreme aversion?
Pedantry and a sense of order. Of what are you afraid? Punctuality.
The above quotations are extracted from a questionnaire filled in
by a young man in his late twenties. That person, Rudolf Steiner,
was later to found the spiritual science of anthroposophy and the
many practical disciplines that arose from it. Eventually, he would
write his Autobiography, although its composition would be
interrupted by his unexpected death. This little volume is an
essential complement to Steiner's unfinished autobiography. It
gathers a wealth of personal testimonies - including lectures,
resumes, notebook entries, a questionnaire, as well as biographical
notes written for Edouard Schure - much of which has not been
previously published in English. The various materials, together
with rare photographs, have been expertly collated and introduced
by Walter Kugler.
In one of his most popular lecture courses - formerly published as
Man as Symphony of the Creative Word - Rudolf Steiner presents an
extraordinary panorama of spiritual knowledge centring on the human
being. We are the harmony of creation - a microcosm - containing
within us 'all the laws and secrets of the world'. Steiner begins
by speaking about our inner relationship to three ancient and
sacred representatives of the animal kingdom - eagle, lion and bul
- and to the forces of the cosmos that form them. He goes on to
deepen these themes by approaching the plant and animal worlds in
the context of planetary and cosmic evolution. A new category is
then introduced: the elemental nature spirits - the metaphysical
beings who work with plants and animals. Steiner gives a unique and
intimate description of them and describes the cooperation they
offer to mankind. Finally, the human being - the 'harmony of the
Creative Word' - is placed at the heart of this spiritual
celebration of life.
This course of lectures was given at a pivotal point in the
development of the anthroposophic movement. Just months before, an
act of arson had caused the destruction of the first Goetheanum,
and its darkened ruins appeared to reflect the fragmentations
within the Anthroposophical Society. Divisions were appearing
amongst members and friends, with individual energies increasingly
routed to external initiatives and practical projects. It became
apparent that a new impetus was needed. In this turbulent context,
Steiner delivers these lectures in a calm, lively and informal
style. In the last decades of the nineteenth century, he says, a
yearning for spiritual nourishment arose within Western culture,
and organizations such as the Theosophical Society gained in
popularity. Despite his direct involvement in these events, Steiner
describes in dispassionate tones how the spiritual movements behind
theosophy and anthroposophy were able to work together
harmoniously, before an unavoidable separation took place.
Steiner's expansive review of the anthroposophic movement is an
important narrative account of the developing Western spiritual
tradition and the history of the Mysteries. These lectures also
offer rare perceptions of the life and philosophy of Rudolf
Steiner. Those who identify with the movement he founded will
discover revelatory insights to its background and possibilities
for its future development within the broader evolution of
humankind.
Reassessing human history in relation to the cosmic-earthly events
of Christ's incarnation, Rudolf Steiner stresses the significance
of both Gnostic spirituality and the legends of the Holy Grail. The
'Christ-Impulse', he tells us, is not a one-time event but a
continuous process, beginning well before Jesus of Nazareth walked
the earth. This mighty impulse is a force that gives impetus to
human development, such as with the extraordinary blossoming of
free thinking of the last two millennia. Surveying this pattern of
evolving human thought, Steiner explains the roles of contrasting
historical figures, for example the great teacher Zarathustra, Joan
of Arc and Johannes Keplar. We are shown the widespread influence
of the clairvoyant prophetesses, the sibyls, who formed a backdrop
to the Greco-Roman world. Steiner contrasts their revelations to
those of the Hebrew prophets. The lectures culminate in the secret
background to the Parzival narrative. Steiner illustrates how it is
possible to experience the Holy Grail by reading the stellar script
in the sky at Easter. Here, he provides a rare personal account of
the processes he utilized to conduct esoteric research. The new
edition of these much-loved lectures features a revised translation
and an introduction, appendices and notes by Frederick Amrine.
During the refounding of the Anthroposophical Society as the
General Anthroposophical Society at Christmas 1923/24, Rudolf
Steiner also reconstituted, as the School of Spiritual Science, the
Esoteric School he had led in three classes from 1904 to 1914, at
the same time extending its scope by adding artistic and scientific
Sections. However, owing to his illness and later death in March
1925, he was only able to make a beginning by establishing the
First Class and the Sections. The actual step from the Esoteric
School to the School of Spiritual Science was nevertheless an
exceptional one. The Esoteric School from Helena Blavatsky's time
had been secret. Its existence was known only to those personally
invited to participate. In contrast, the existence of the School of
Spiritual Science was stated openly in the public statutes of the
General Anthroposophical Society. From the Christmas Conference
onwards, Rudolf Steiner worked within this publicly acknowledged
framework. The Class Lessons comprise a complete spiritual course
of nineteen fundamental lessons given between February and August
1924, several lessons given at other locations, and seven further
lessons from September 1924 which take up the themes of the first
part of the nineteen lessons in a modified form. This authentic,
accurate and high-quality bilingual edition - with English and
German texts printed side by side - is published in conjunction
with the School of Spiritual Science at the Goetheanum. A compact
four-volume clothbound set, it features plates with Rudolf
Steiner's handwritten notes of the mantras and reproductions of his
original colour blackboard drawings. The translations of the
mantric verses have been reworked by a committed group of
translators, linguists and editors, expressing subtleties of
meaning, grammatical accuracy and poetic style whilst retaining the
original sound and metre of the German mantric forms. Three
versions of the existing English translations are also included.
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Results of Spiritual Research (Paperback)
Rudolf Steiner; Introduction by S. Blaxland-de Lange; Translated by S. Blaxland-de Lange
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In a previously-unavailable series of talks to the general public,
Rudolf Steiner builds systematically, lecture by lecture, on the
fundamentals of spiritual science - from the nature of spiritual
knowledge and its relationship to conventional science, the path of
personal development and the task of metaphysical research, to
specific questions on the mystery of death, the meaning of
fairy-tales, the significance of morality and the roles of
individual figures in human evolution, such as Leonardo da Vinci,
Raphael and Jacob Boehme. At the time of these presentations,
Steiner had already worked in Berlin for many years, and thus,
'...could reckon with a regularly returning audience to whom what
mattered was to enter ever more deeply into the areas of knowledge
that were newly opening up to them' (Marie Steiner). As a
consequence - and through 'a series of inter-connecting lectures
whose themes are entwined with one another' - he was able to
communicate a coherent and challenging spiritual perception of
reality, based on his personal research. Presented here with notes,
an index and an introduction by Simon Blaxland-de Lange, the 14
lectures include: 'How is Spiritual Science Refuted?'; 'On What
Foundation is Spiritual Science Based'; 'The Tasks of Spiritual
Research for both Present and Future'; 'Errors of Spiritual
Research'; 'Results of Spiritual Research for Vital Questions and
the Riddle of Death'; The World-Conception of a Cultural Researcher
of the Present, Herman Grimm' and 'The Legacy of the Nineteenth
Century'.
'Suppose you have seen an event, have formed an idea about it, and
you say something that is not true - in other words, something that
is a lie. Then what flows from the object is correct and what flows
from you is false and this collision is a terrible explosion; and
each time you do this, you attach a gruesome being to your karma
which you cannot get rid of again until you have made good what you
lied about.' - Rudolf Steiner In a previously-untranslated volume
of lectures, Rudolf Steiner presents shattering insights regarding
the interaction of human and spiritual beings. He speaks, for
example, about how perfumes can give certain spirits access to
people on earth, or how phantoms, spectres and demons can be
created through human deficiencies - or even how the arts of
architecture, sculpture, painting and music allow 'good' or
'hideous' entities to enter our world. As he states: 'Learning
about the effects of spiritual beings is of much greater help than
moral preaching. A future humanity will know what it is creating
through lies, hypocrisy and slander.' The lectures are divided into
two broad thematic groups: the first relating to the inner path of
knowledge and its relation to the yearly festivals, and the second
focusing on the work of elemental beings in our everyday world. The
18 lectures are complemented with notes, an index and an
introduction by Christian von Arnim.
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The Calendar of the Soul - (Cw 40)
Rudolf Steiner; Introduction by Hans Pusch; Translated by Hans Pusch; Revised by Ruth Pusch; Translated by Ruth Pusch
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'The present age needs to understand that human beings must hold
the balance between the two extremes, between the ahrimanic and the
luciferic poles. People always tend to go in one direction... The
Christ stands in the middle, holding the balance.' - Rudolf Steiner
These eleven lectures were given in post-war Stuttgart against a
backdrop of struggle and uncertainty - not only within society at
large but also within the anthroposophical movement. Rudolf Steiner
and his supporters were working to introduce 'threefold' social
ideas and - given Steiner's public profile - were coming under
increasing personal and sometimes physical attack. Steiner responds
to this turbulent situation by revealing the spiritual background
to the forces of decline working in contemporary civilization. He
speaks of retrogressive powers - spiritual beings referred to as
luciferic or ahrimanic - that work directly into human culture,
manifesting, for example, in what he refers to as the 'initiation
streams' of Western secret societies, the Church-allied impulse of
Jesuitism and the Bolshevik force of Leninism. The spiritual agents
of adversity also encourage polarised thinking and false opposites
such as East verses West, materialism and mysticism, or knowledge
and belief. Only the threefold principle - represented by Christ -
allows us to create a balance in the midst of these existential
conflicts. This freshly-reworked translation is complemented with
notes, an index and an introduction by Matthew Barton.
In this series of previously-untranslated lectures, Rudolf Steiner
describes how myths and legends portray humanity's most ancient
evolutionary and spiritual history. Folklore presents ancient
mystical wisdom in the form of stories - clothed in pictures by
initiates - that enable individuals to understand their content in
a more intellectual form at a later time. Focusing on Greek and
Germanic mythology, the lectures in the first part of this volume
cover the chronicles of Prometheus, Daedalus and Icarus, Parzival
and Lohengrin, the Argonauts and the Odyssey, and the heroic
dragon-slayer Siegfried. From these focal points, Rudolf Steiner
discusses a variety of themes - from the mysteries of the Druids
and the founding of Rome to the esoteric background of Wolfram von
Eschenbach; from good and evil and the unjust death sentence on
Socrates to the significance of marriage. The second part of this
book features lectures on the nature and significance of the
musical dramas of Richard Wagner. Wagner's works, from his earliest
attempts to his most mature opera Parsifal, are discussed from
spiritual viewpoints. Although Wagner did not have a fully
conscious awareness of the deeper meanings of his compositions,
Steiner suggests that his shaping of Germanic legends was driven by
an instinctive, creative and artistic certainty that accords with
deep occult truths.
Rudolf Steiner's original contribution to human knowledge was based
on his ability to conduct 'spiritual research', the investigation
of metaphysical dimensions of existence. Samples of his work are to
be found in this introductory reader in which Beth Usher brings
together excerpts from Steiner's many talks and writings on
Eurythmy. The volume also features an editorial introduction,
commentary and notes. Chapters include: In the beginning, God
created out of movement; School eurythmy - a kind of spiritual
gymnastics; Eurythmy therapy - the word of the heavens is the being
of man; Silent soul: speaking soul; Eurythmy as a performing art;
and How eurythmy arises out of anthroposophy. It is complied with
an introduction, commentary and notes by Beth Usher.
Subjects include: Rediscovering the Goddess Natura Retracing our
Steps - Mediaeval Thought and the School of Chartres The Goddess
Natura in the Ancient Mysteries The Goddess in the Beginning - the
Birth of the Word Esoteric Christianity - the Virgin Sophia The
Search for the New Isis The Renewal of the Mysteries The Modern
Isis, the Divine Sophia
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