Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
ISBN: 1855844087
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 314
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Book Description
‘Let us be courageous and not draw back in fear when realities of the world of spirit that play into human life are unveiled. You see, the future of humanity depends on us learning to live with the world of spirit in the same way that we live with the physical world here on earth.’ – Rudolf Steiner In a wide-ranging series of lectures, Rudolf Steiner demonstrates the integral nature of spirit and matter and their manifold connections. Speaking to audiences in London, Holland, Germany and Switzerland, Steiner explains how, through a process of evolving consciousness, humanity lost its knowledge and direct experience of the spiritual sources of existence, but now needs to reconnect with them. Spirit is the essence and power of life which, in Steiner’s vivid image, ‘strikes a match in our whole being’ when we allow it to inform us fully. Our world cannot be understood only in physical terms but is inseparable from the divine realities continually creating and sustaining it. Reconnecting with the spirit calls upon us to heal the fractures between everyday consciousness and the metaphysical realms in which we are already embedded. In Steiner’s descriptions, there is no end to the numerous reconnections possible: between our past, present and future; between the active, individualizing principle of the ‘I’ and the physical human body it works upon and shapes; between our physical actions and limb movements in one life and the forming or sculpting of our head in a future one; and above all, between the moral actions and insights we develop whilst alive on earth and our developing ‘eye’ for spiritual reality in the life after death, with all that this can mean for the future of human evolution. Taking a truly holistic approach, Rudolf Steiner tackles an eclectic series of subjects throughout these sixteen lectures – all united by the common theme of rediscovering how spirit pervades life. Apart from a focus on education in several lectures, he discusses: experiences during sleep; the human spirit and soul between death and a new birth; how spirit ‘sculpts’ the human organism; Christ from the perspective of anthroposophy; the battle for human nature between luciferic and ahrimanic beings; karma and the creation of conditions for our return to a new life on earth; human experience of the etheric cosmos; and the human being’s faculties of hearing, speaking, singing, walking, and thinking. Together, these lectures offer a cornucopia of spiritual insights and wisdom for the present day.
Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
ISBN: 1855844524
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 314
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Book Description
Rudolf Steiner tackles an eclectic series of subjects united by the common theme of rediscovering how spirit pervades life. Among these, he discusses: experiences during sleep; the human spirit and soul between death and a new birth; how spirit 'sculpts' the human organism; karma and the to a new life on earth; and the human being's faculties of hearing, speaking, singing, walking, and thinking. Together, these lectures offer a cornucopia of spiritual insights and wisdom for the present day.
Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
ISBN: 1855846705
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 322
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Book Description
Speaking just months after the end of the First World War, Rudolf Steiner urges his audience to awaken to the practical relevance of spiritual knowledge. Serious engagement with contemporary spiritual-scientific concepts can awaken healthy forces of the will, which in turn facilitate constructive action in the outer world. Conversely, ideas that are remnants of a previous age – echoed in empty phrases and dogmas – only hinder our ability to think with the consciousness demanded by the times, destroying the potential for true social initiative. The historical context of these lectures was indeed disastrous, with inflation, hunger, homelessness and political extremism all rife. But Steiner advises that social conditions will only get worse if people don’t engage with modern spiritual impulses. Thus – in contrast to the backward phenomenon of nationalism and the contemporary caricature of democracy – he introduces the future-oriented concept of social threefolding. He discusses manifold challenges, such as the decline of the West and the outmoded spiritual impulses of Jesuitism and Freemasonry – but also the positive path for an ascent of Western societies, genuine spiritual medicine, the true message of Easter, and the victory of the Archangel Michael. In several lectures, Rudolf Steiner speaks in some detail about the role and structure of the Catholic Church, the historical use of encyclicals and the doctrine of Papal Infallibility. The first full translation of this course features an introduction by Dorothy Hinkle-Uhlig, notes and an index. Seventeen lectures, Dornach, Mar.–Jul. 1920, GA 198
Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
ISBN: 1855846616
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 416
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Book Description
With the unprecedented global conflict of the First World War as an overarching theme, Rudolf Steiner addresses timeless issues such as the search for harmony between peoples and nations, the development of the human capacity for love, the contemporary presence of Christ, and the questions of reincarnation and life after death. Speaking in the German city of Stuttgart during and after the war years, Steiner discusses the perpetual tension between East and West – particularly in relation to Europe. The war, he says, arose principally out of the Anglo-Saxon peoples’ determination ‘to exercise world-domination’. Knowing that Slavic culture is destined to be the precursor of the sixth cultural epoch, Western national interests resolved to make Eastern Europe – specifically Russia – ‘the field for socialist experiments’. These events were aggravated by the failure of the Central European peoples in their own world-historical task, to ‘rise to a broad sense of vision’ as intermediaries between the two groups. Throughout, Steiner refers to the work of individual Folk Souls, but distinguishes them from the scourge of nationalism – especially when it is based on blood – whilst emphasizing the sovereignty of the individual human being. Although more than a century old, the enduring themes of these previously-untranslated lectures will resonate with many readers today. The main text is supplemented with an introduction by Simon Blaxland-de Lange, editorial notes and an index. Trans. by S. Blaxland-de Lange; Intro. by S. Blaxland-de Lange (Sixteen lectures, Stuttgart, Sept. 1914–March 1921, GA 174b); 412pp; 23.5 x 15.5 cm
Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
ISBN: 1855846667
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 496
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Book Description
One hundred years after Rudolf Steiner presented his lectures on agriculture in 1924, the impact of his words are self-evident. Around the world, biodynamic principles are practised in thousands of thriving farms, vineyards and gardens, and Demeter certification for biodynamic produce is recognized internationally as a mark of quality. Speaking to a modest audience of farmers in a village in modern-day Poland, Steiner launched the first organic agricultural movement. But what has come to be known as ‘biodynamics’ is distinguished by many unique aspects, including the use of herbal and mineral ‘preparations’ (which serve as dynamizing applications for compost and field sprays) and the concept of the farm or garden as a single living organism, encompassing animals, crops, soil and community. This definitive, centenary edition of the influential Agriculture Course has been reedited from primary sources to be as faithful as possible to Steiner’s original meaning. Shorthand reports have been freshly transcribed, archival discoveries added, and fresh commentary and notes inserted. In addition to the original eight lectures and four discussions, this volume features a wealth of new texts, including notes, addresses and resolutions relating to the Experimental Circle – founded contemporaneously to bridge research and practice – comprehensive facsimiles of Rudolf Steiner’s preparatory notes for the course; original programmes and attendee lists; questions sent in advance; written and verbal reports by Steiner, including his address to young people; photos of Koberwitz, and high-quality colour plates of his original blackboard drawings. Eight lectures, four question-and-answer sessions, Koberwitz, June 1924, GA 327
Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
ISBN: 1855846640
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 158
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Book Description
What convinces us of the truth of a point of view? Why do we find it difficult to understand or accept differing perspectives? What are the inner foundations of our knowledge? In these concentrated and aphoristic lectures, Rudolf Steiner speaks of twelve main philosophical standpoints, and the importance of comprehending each one of them. Appreciating the variety of world-views not only sharpens our thinking and makes it more flexible, but helps us to overcome a narrow-minded one sidedness, promoting tolerance of other people and their opinions. The future of philosophy rests not upon defending one single perspective and refuting all others, but in learning to experience the validity of all points of view. Steiner goes on to explain how each philosophical standpoint is coloured by a particular ‘soul mood’, which influences the way we pursue knowledge as individuals. He characterizes the work of several thinkers in this way, throwing light on their unique contributions to human culture. Through such insights into the true nature of human thinking, we are led to understand the quality of cosmic thought, and how the human being is a ‘thought which is thought by the Hierarchies of the cosmos’. This revised translation is complemented with an introduction by Robert McDermott, editorial notes and appendices by Frederick Amrine and an index. Trans. by C. Davy & F. Amrine; Intro. by R. McDermott; Four lectures, Berlin, Jan. 1914, GA 151
Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
ISBN: 1855846683
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 254
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Book Description
‘In the case of a solar eclipse, the evil that has spread over the earth can be carried out into the cosmos to wreak more havoc there, whereas in the case of a lunar eclipse, people who absolutely want to be possessed by evil thoughts can receive them from the cosmos.’ In the first full translation of this lecture course, Rudolf Steiner implores his audience to recognize the connections between the material and spiritual worlds. Eclipses of the sun and moon, for example, are ‘forces at work in the universe, just like those we study today in the clinic or in the chemistry or physics laboratory’. Even everyday thinking can have a strong impact on the outer world. Materialistic thought, he says, can quite literally atomize our surroundings: ‘if all human beings start to think that everything has to be explained in terms of atoms… then the earth will actually turn into atoms… these false ideas create false realities…’ Steiner speaks of the ‘world of will’ as being three-dimensional, the ‘world of feeling’ as two-dimensional, and the ‘world of thinking’ as one-dimensional. The ego itself is dimensionless, and only inner, living thinking can grasp the spiritual-mental. He discusses key cultural figures such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Herman Grimm and Julian the Apostate, and introduces multiple additional topics, including the effect of planetary forces on humans; the healing impacts of metals and other substances; the revitalization of thinking through meditation and concentration; the effects of the separation of science, art and religion; and the necessary transition from philosophy to anthroposophy. Thirteen lectures, Dornach, Jun.–Jul. 1922, GA 213
Author: Jonathan Hilton
Publisher: SteinerBooks
ISBN: 1584208864
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 209
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Book Description
A New Star Wisdom developed by Willi Sucher from the insights of Rudolf Steiner "...the great paradox is that the loss of direct spiritual perception of the gods was necessary in evolution so that human beings could fulfill their great task in world evolution. According to Rudolf Steiner, this task is that we become beings of freedom and of the love that is born out of that freedom. This means that the experience of separation from the divine, unique to humanity among all beings, has the possibility, not the predetermination, to establish something new in the cosmos: a rank of beings who freely choose to participate with the divine plan out of the love born from that freedom." (from the book) Based on the author's comprehensive video course on star wisdom (astrosophy), this book presents a thorough introduction to star wisdom as inaugurated by the spiritual philosopher Rudolf Steiner and the pioneer of astrosophy Willi Sucher, whose work and methods Jonathan Hilton has studied, practiced, and developed for many years. Beginning with the basics, Hilton takes the reader through an introductory course on astrosophy--from understanding and working with the zodiac and planetary spheres to actual chart construction and to the spiritual significance and deeper meaning behind practical astrosophy and its potential for one's own inner development. In the process, he also brings a historical perspective and carefully draws important distinctions between today's popular astrology and the esoteric basis for an approach to star wisdom as viewed and developed through spiritual science. Also included in this course on astrosophy are numerous statements from the works of Rudolf Steiner on our human relationship to the stars, zodiac, and cosmos. This is an essential guide for anyone who wants to begin a study of this discipline and spiritual path through the stars. Liberally illustrated with more than seventy color and black-and-white images.
Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
ISBN: 1855846624
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 324
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Book Description
In a broad-ranging series of lectures, Rudolf Steiner shines new light on the spiritual background to the outbreak of the Great War in Europe. Spiritual entities stand behind the various peoples of the world, he says. He describes how these beings – Folk Souls – relate to the cultural diversity of Europe, America and the East, and speaks of their individual tasks and destinies in relation to the deeper causes of the catastrophic war. Central Europe has the particular mission of mediating between the Western world, the Slavic countries and by extension the East. Steiner alleges that Western secret societies consciously suppressed the spiritual life of this central cultural region through malign activities. These same brotherhoods exploited H. P. Blavatsky’s occult faculties for their own ends. Given in Munich between the years 1914 and 1918 – and appearing in English for the first time – Rudolf Steiner addresses an array of topics in these lectures, including the potential elimination of the soul through specific medicines; intelligence testing as an expression of an ahrimanic trend; the stunted state of inner growth of many people after the age of 27; the effects in the spiritual world of those who die young; how war is an educator of selflessness; and the significance of Michael for the appearance of Christ in the etheric. The volume also features an introduction by Terry Boardman, editorial notes and an index. Trans. by C. Bryan; Intro. by T. Boardman (Twelve lectures, Munich, Dec. 1914–May 1918, GA 174a); 312pp; 23.5 x 15.5 cm
Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
ISBN: 1855846632
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 182
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Book Description
‘When you perform a ritual, it is an appeal to the spiritual powers of the universe, an appeal to the powers that are meant to connect with the earth precisely through what people do…’ – Rudolf Steiner With rituals or cultic forms as his central motif, Rudolf Steiner refers extensively to Indian, Persian and in particular Egyptian initiation rites, and how these enabled people of antiquity to connect with specific spiritual beings. He explains the practical purpose of mummification for the religious life of ancient Egypt, and of the use of ritual in certain secret societies or brotherhoods today as, in turn, a mummification of Egyptian rites. But he also points to the future, describing how truly-formulated rituals have a positive effect on human development. Whilst inhalation exercises were relevant to cultures of the past, the principle of ‘exhalation’ is important for future evolution. On the one hand, these extraordinary lectures relate to Rudolf Steiner’s ceremonial work in the Esoteric School of 1906-1914, but more significantly they were given in parallel to the founding of the Christian Community, for which Rudolf Steiner mediated its sacraments. Today, he states, Christ must be sought through a new access to the spiritual world, and any remaining traditional ritualistic forms should be permeated with the power of the Mystery of Golgotha. The lectures are accompanied with an introduction by Dale Brunsvold, editorial notes and an index. Trans. by P. King; Intro. by D. Brunsvold; Eight lectures, Dornach, Sept.-Oct. 1922, GA 216
