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"Rudolf Steiner's perspectives on technology are manifold and prophetic. He not only critiqued the technology of his day, but foretold new forms of technology that would inevitably arise, technologies that would be connected to the makers' very attitudes of soul, either the good or bad within them--in other words, their deepest motivations. How we, as evolving human beings, approach technology and its development will be instrumental in determining how ultimately human evolution will turn out. Our future as human beings and the future of technology are intimately connected." --Gary LambIlluminating, compelling, challenging, at times staggering in its breadth, A Road to Sacred Creation is above all the definitive text for gaining a hold on Rudolf Steiner's nuanced perspectives on technology. Charting both an inner and outer course--part pilgrimage toward greater perception and knowledge, part dramatic, unfolding plot line of the future of humans and machines, the metaphoric "road" of the title is exactly where humanity finds itself today, though the exact route and destination are still to be determined. The map is not yet drawn, but here is a beginning.Taken together, the relevant concepts, ideas, and insights of Steiner--deftly brought into sequence and dialogue as the editor has done in this book--reveal how the work to arrive at a more spiritually imbued technological future not only involves all domains and fields of spiritual science and anthroposophic work, but has its origins in the very core of our being, fundamentally entwined with our moral progress toward freedom and selfless love.

Though Steiner was born with clairvoyant capacities, it was not until his fortieth year that he could link his inner experiences with the principal figure of Western spirituality, Jesus Christ. After that "solemn festival of knowledge", as he describes it in his autobiography, Steiner received ceaseless revelations about the significance and detailed course of the Christ's incarnation. In lecture cycles spanning two decades, he spoke of the hidden background to all four gospels, the Book of Revelations, and even the "Fifth Gospel" of events that he read directly from the spiritual worlds.This lecture cycle presents the most accessible and illuminating of Steiner's revelations with regard to Christ, and his significance for humanity's spiritual development. He discusses the link between Buddha and the life of Christ, a description that unites Buddhism and Christianity, not in theory but in perceived spiritual deeds of these two figures. Here, too, Steiner describes the relationship of the Greek Mystery traditions to the event at Golgotha: "A 'sign' was to be placed before them as well, a sign now to be enacted before the eyes of all mankind. The 'mystical death' that had been a ceremonial act in the Mystery Temples for hundreds and thousands of years was now to be presented on the great arena of world-history. Everything that had taken place in the secrecy of the Temples of Initiation was brought into the open as a single event on Golgotha".Utilizing a historical overview, revealing the relationship between the great religious traditions, and how they have conspired together for the good of humanity, Steiner never loses sight of the Gospel's great inner meaning, as echoed in theGospel of St. Luke: "The revelation of the spiritual worlds from the Heights and its answering reflection from the hearts of men brings peace to all whose purpose upon the evolving Earth is to unfold good will".

Though Rudolf Steiner is best known for his cultural influence in fields such as education, agriculture, and medicine, it is often forgotten that he made his contribution as a spiritual teacher. What he taught was, above all, a way of spiritual knowledge - a path of inner development to reconnect the spirit in us with the spirit in the universe. This book brings together for the first time a series of fundamental lectures on beginning a path of practice. Since it is by one of the great spiritual masters of the twentieth century, its wisdom and practicality are outstanding. Here readers will find descriptions of various practical exercises to develop the necessary moral qualities and states of consciousness that inner development requires. More advanced practices and techniques are also discussed. This is not just a book for beginners. Wherever you are on the path - whatever path you are on - this book can be a helpful companion.

Describes Steiner's early esoteric work with his most advanced students.

What does it mean to be human? Human development unfolds in a twofold way. On the one hand, there is an ever-more profound incarnation, or "inhabitation," of the physical body. On the other hand, there is the increasing discrimination of the individual objects of the world. Difficulties and obstacles along this path can lead to so-called disabilities. Knig's approach to curative education allows us to see these disabilities as meaningful ways of coping with or resolving the various problems that arise in living in a physical body. From this point of view, "disabilities" are exaggerated forms of ways we all use to cope with life.

"A simple, down-to-earth introduction to the method of biodynamic gardening especially written for the backyard gardener." Long out of print, this classic introduction to biodynamic gardening introduces the gardener to an obvious, often forgotten principle: gardening is about living things, life forces, and life as such. In his introduction, John Philbrick talks of how each morning he was in the habit of meditating and communing in his garden at sunrise, until he gradually realized that the important things at work were "the forces of life"-"life is the key to existence on this planet." He also realized that most gardeners were more concerned with death, with getting rid of things -bugs, weeds, fungi -than with life. Biodynamics is based on the interrelatedness, or the dynamics, of life forces. As Philbrick says: When you become aware of biodynamics, you become aware that everything that is alive is dependent upon everything else that's alive, and it's all a marvelous network of living things which are constantly changing. This book provides a simple and practical guide for the beginning gardener. It deals with planning a vegetable garden: how, when, and where to plant seeds and tools and compost making raised beds crop rotation, mulching, and companion plants harvesting, cooking, and preserving There are also sections on flowers, lawns, and home orchards. GARDENING FOR HEALTH & NUTRITION concludes with a useful chapter on "most frequently asked questions." If you are planning a garden-or need a few tips for the one you have, this is the book for you.

Heaven on Earth balances theoretical understanding of child development with practical ideas, resources, and tips that can transform family life. Readers will learn how to establish the life rhythms that lay the foundation for all learning; how to design indoor play environments that allow children the broadest skills development; and how to create backyard play spaces that encourage vigorous movement and a wide sensory palette. Through art, storytelling, and the festival celebrations, this book is a guide to build a ?family culture? based on the guiding principle of love. Such a culture supports children and allows the free development of each unique soul.

7 lectures, Rotterdam, August 15-22, 1938The focus of this book is the spiritual work in the "school" (or community) of Michael. What does this mean? At the end of the eighteenth century, the Archangel Michael revealed the new mystery that has manifested on Earth as spiritual science--Anthroposophy. Its essence involves the renewal of our knowledge of the mysteries of karma and human destiny. Those who are drawn to this school have a special relationship to the human faculty of thinking--their inner feeling for truth has the strength of iron. This feeling for truth helps them to become companions of Michael at the threshold of the spiritual world.These talks deal with the spiritual path of Anthroposophy in its Christian-Rosicrucian aspect. Tomberg speaks openly and honestly about meditation, the various stages of consciousness (imagination, inspiration, and intuition), the "guardian of the threshold," and the esoteric trials one encounters along the way. He concludes by describing the life of Rudolf Steiner as the life of a Christian initiate.This book was originally published in German as Sieben Vorträge über die innere Entwicklung des Menschen.

5 lectures, Dornach and Bern, November 1-15, 1919 (CW 191, 193)"Human beings are dwellers in two worlds. Our uniqueness amongst the creatures of earth lies in this role that we have as half beast half angel. A dynamic tension exists because of the contrary demands which living in each of these realms places on us. We experience this on a daily basis, an internal tug-of-war, pulling first in one direction, then to the opposite pole. Whenever we are called upon to make a choice, a decision, the earthly and the heavenly draw us one way or the other and often both at once!" --Rudolf SteinerIn these lectures, Steiner focuses on the vital task of developing the proper orientation toward a free spiritual life. With great compassion and understanding, he offers telling examples of how humanity must walk a conscious middle way between the two tempting powers of Lucifer and Ahriman. He describes the incarnation of Lucifer in the third millennium before the Christ event, out of which flowed not just the wisdom of paganism, but also the conscious intellect we enjoy today. Ahriman, on the other hand, is shown approaching human beings through such phenomena as materialism, nationalism, and literalism, all in preparation for his incarnation in the third millennium.Keep in mind, however, that these two powers do not work separately; rather, they are working increasingly together. Our task as human beings is to hold them in balance, continually permeating one with the other. Steiner tells us, "Lucifer and Ahriman must be regarded as two scales of a balance, and it is we who must hold the beam in equipoise. How can we train ourselves to do this? By permeating what takes ahrimanic form within us with a strongly luciferic element."To accomplish this task we need a new, more conscious inner life.Lectures 1, 2, 4, and 5 are translations of lectures 11, 12, 15, and 13 in Soziales Verstandnis aus geisteswissenschaftlichen Erkentnis Die Geistige Hintergründe der Sozialen Frage - Band III (GA 191). Lecture 3 is translated from lecture 10 of Der innere Aspekt des sozialen Rätsels. Luziferische Vergangenheit und ahrimanische Zukunft (GA 193)

A practicing psychotherapist lays the foundation for a truly spiritual psychology and examines the principles of Freud and Jung. Steiner claims that because Freud did not recognize the spirit, the human soul experience was reduced to subjective personal history.

Practical, clear, and powerful advice from a spiritual master.

Although trained as a scientist and a philosopher, Rudolf Steiner always placed a high value on the practice of art and always worked artistically: whatever he did was done with great artistry. Furthermore, as a spiritual teacher, Steiner's ideal was the reunion of science, religion, and art in a new, human sacramental culture. The eleven lectures collected here reveal the many-facetted perspectives Steiner offered regarding the vital role of the visual arts in human affairs. For Steiner, art is above all a way of building a bridge between the spiritual and the physical realms. His views are not abstract theories or utopian ideals, but a constant striving through the inherent qualities of color and form to realize concrete artistic projects in architecture, sculpture, and painting.On first meeting Steiner's radical ideas, many people -- artists as well as non-artists -- wonder what sense they can make of such an approach to art. The introduction by Michael Howard introduces these ideas by recounting one artist's experience of struggling to make Steiner's views and way of doing art his own. Ultimately, however each person must make their own relationship to Steiner's approach, buth the story of how one artist took up the challenge may stimulate others to do the same. The book includes numerous photographs.

Mental illnesses are too often seen only in abstract terms. In keeping with this, mainstream psychology, which seldom acknowledges the psyche or soul, relies increasingly on pharmaceutical treatment. In his unique approach to anthroposophical psychology, or "psychosophy," William Bento views imbalances of the human soul in an experiential and human way. Basing his views on the work of Rudolf Steiner, Bento looks not only at the human body, soul, and spirit, but also at the way the whole environment of physical phenomena, life forces, and spirit beings affects us as individuals. Going well beyond our immediate, earthly surroundings, the author considers the cosmic effects of sun, planets and stars, offering a holistic view of the human soul. This is a valuable addition to the field of anthroposophical psychology and to the study of spiritual science as a whole.

These essays, written just after WWII by a German economist who arrived in the United States in 1940, provide an unexpectedly helpful contribution to an understanding of our present moment, writ large. Today, when the United States is coming to terms with its destiny and its true (as distinct from geopolitical) place in current and world history, seems a propitious time to re-publish these essays, which first saw the light of day in the mid-twentieth century.Bernhard Behrens offers two main contributions: the first is to look at the United States through the eyes of a newly arrived outsider, with all the clarity that can entail. The second is his perspective on history, the perspective that Rudolf Steiner affords us, but not only him; Goethe also. For Goethe, too, had his eyes on the latencies of the US.Updated from the 1950s, the view of the challenges and possibilities that Bernhard Behrens provides remain as perceptive and insightful now as when written, especially in regard to economic life and the nature and future of democracy - both topics that are at risk of coming loose from their moorings in humanity's wider story.Lastly, the editors of these essays are all professionals in finance and well-versed in Rudolf Steiner's work. Moreover, although all are members of the Economics Conference of the Goetheanum - a worldwide research community in associative economics - they are not all Americans. One is Swiss and one is British. Combined with its mix of realism and idealism, this gives to their joint appraisal a welcome international eclecticism.

In 1794, Goethe and Schiller were engaged in a correspondence concerning the connection of the human soul with the world of the senses on one hand and with the suprasensory on the other. While Schiller approached the question in a philosophical way, Goethe embodied his thoughts in a fantasy entitled The Fairy Tale of the Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily. In his fantasy, Lily represents the ideal world of the suprasensory that is separated from the Green Snake, or the sensory, by a river. The goal is to build a bridge across the river that will connect the sensory and the suprasensory realms, and thereby establish a new, conscious spiritual awareness. The other characters in the fairy tale - the Ferryman, the Old Woman, the Youth, the Will-o'-Wisps, and the Old Man with the Lamp represent various aspects of the soul working together to accomplish this mighty task.

11 lectures, Oslo, June 7-17, 1910 (CW 121)"It is particularly important...especially at the present time, to speak about the mission of the individual folk souls...because the destiny of humanity in the near future will bring people together in far greater measure than has hitherto been the case in order to fulfil a mission common to the whole of humanity. But the members of the individual peoples will only be able to offer their proper, free, and positive contributions if they have, above all else, an understanding of their own native origin, an understanding of what we might call the self-knowledge of their people, their folk."-- Rudolf SteinerIn the mythologies of all ancient cultures, humanity is portrayed as intimately interwoven with the activity of lesser and greater gods, spirits, devas, and elemental beings--as members of the grand symphony of creation. Who are these gods, pictured so vividly in various myths and legends? And how are they connected with the mission of humanity as a whole and the diverse peoples of the Earth? In his preface to this lecture course, Steiner argues that a true basis for a "psychology of peoples" cannot be given by the "anthropological, ethnographical, or even historical studies" of conventional science, but requires "a basis...in spiritual reality." It is precisely this spiritual reality--the creative activity of the beings of the hierarchies in connection with the destiny of humanity--that forms the heart of these lectures and of Steiner's view of folk psychology more broadly.These lectures form Rudolf Steiner's most comprehensive and profound account of the mission of folk souls.The Mission of Folk Souls is a translation of Die Mission einzelner Volksseelen im Zusammenhange mit der germanisch-nordischen Mythologie (6th rev, ed.), Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Basel, 2017 (GA 121). Cover image Old Sun. The Awakening of the Archangels, by Zvi Szir.

"The deep aim, or intention, of an introduction (understood esoterically) is a 'living understanding, ' or, as the poet William Blake put it, the ability 'to catch the bird in flight and fly with it.' If successful, this makes it possible for any reader to hear or translate, into his or her own understanding, what Rudolf Steiner is offering, within and beyond his words, in these texts of The Collected Works." --Christopher BamfordRudolf Steiner's writings and lectures comprise a collection of more than 350 volumes, which can overwhelm anyone hoping to gain an understanding of the vast range of their content. Beginning in the 1990s, as editor in chief of Anthroposophic Press (SteinerBooks), Christopher Bamford wrote introductions to more than fifty books in the English translations, each one offering readers significant context and keys to open up many areas of Steiner's works.This volume presents fifteen of those introductions to some of Steiner's most essential books and lectures on anthroposophic practices, Western esoteric streams, religious renewal, and inner development, as well as practical applications of anthroposophic principles for a threefold society and contributions to modern holistic medicine.Taken together, these introductions provide one of the best possible means of encountering Rudolf Steiner by revealing the background, significance, and relevance of his philosophy and insights for humanity today and in the future.This book is for anyone seeking a way into Steiner's worldview, as well as for those who are already familiar with the work of Rudolf Steiner and wish to delve more deeply into the many aspects of the anthroposophic path of knowledge.

"History does not repeat, but it does instruct."-- Timothy Snyder (On Tyranny)Since 2009, Peter Selg, along with Polish historians, has led seminars on medical ethics at the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial for students at Witten / Herdecke University, Germany. This book was created following a public event in 2019 that investigated the "lessons of Auschwitz" for the practice of medicine in society today and in the future.As well as commemorating the individual victims, the Auschwitz event focused on the role of German physicians in the Nazi regime. In this book, Dr. Selg's discussions go far beyond the historical events of the 1930s and '40s. Countering the legacy of Auschwitz-Birkenau and the inhumane medical practices of that time, he presents us with ways to advance forms of medicine today that encourage the most compassionate treatment of one another as human beings."Today, as always in times of crisis, there are symptoms of a return, if not to Nazism, then to a right-wing regime that is strong, with a firm, streamlined order." -- Primo LeviOriginally published in German as Nach Auschwitz. Auseinandersetzungen um die Zukunft der Medizin by Verlag des Ita Wegman Instituts, Stuttgart, 2020.

An Author's Summary, 1888Four Essays Written between 1890 and 1898Eight Lectures between 1909 and 1921 (CW 271)"The challenge of saying something about art was personal for Rudolf Steiner. He experienced it as deeply connected with his biography. It is not for nothing that, in the last lecture of this volume, he points to his repeated attempts to develop a new approach and new forms of expression for speaking about art. We find at least three forms of this attempted approach in this book." --Zvi Szir (from the introduction)The subject, practice, and vital importance of art was a thread that ran through Rudolf Steiner's life, from his early work as a scholar of Goethe, through his time as an editor of a literary and arts journal in Berlin in the 1890s, and to his two and a half decades as a spiritual researcher and teacher. Understanding and articulating the significance of art was a perennial challenge for Rudolf Steiner.This volume of Steiner's Collected Works is unique in that it showcases a survey of both early written works and later lectures to anthroposophic audiences, and in doing so presents a picture of a lifetime of intensive effort to convey something essential about the arts. Beginning with his early philosophical work and literary criticism at the end of the nineteenth century and on into his later lectures, this volume follows Steiner's endeavor to reveal in words the mystery obscured by the vague concept of what "art" is.Viewed as a whole, this volume forms one of the most provocative collections of the twentieth century on the subject of art. It offers a unique analysis of the origin, foundation, and method of the creative process.This book is a translation of Kunst und Kunsterkenntnis: Grundlagen einer neuen Ästhetik, 3rd edition, published by Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach, Switzerland, 2010 (GA 271).

"Originally published in German as Form, Leben und Bewusstsein: Einfèuhrung in die Menschenkunde der Anthroposophischen Medizin (Verlag Freies Geistesleben, Stuttgart, 2015)"-- title page verso.

12 lectures, Dornach, November 26 - December 31, 1922 (CW 219)"Think of the earth with the air around it; farther outward is the cosmic ether, gradually passing over into the spiritual sphere. Here on Earth, we inhale and exhale the air. This is the rhythm of breathing. But out yonder, we pour our being into the cosmos, receiving into ourselves the Logos and the cosmic thoughts. There, we let the world, the universe, speak to us. This, too, takes place in rhythm--in a rhythm determined by the world of the stars.... Out in the universe we live in a cosmic rhythm, in that we breathe in, as it were, the moral-ethereal world; we are then within ourselves. And when we breathe it out again, we are united with the beings of the higher hierarchies." -- Rudolf Steiner (Nov. 26, 1922)The actions of spiritual beings in relation to the rhythm of the course of the year are brought to light in these inspiring lectures, showing how we are challenged to consciously integrate these rhythms into our earthly life. Steiner reveals that the concepts of spiritual science serve as our eyes in the spiritual world after death. He shows that we change the world when we communicate with it out of our spiritual nature, which is the true spiritual communion of humanity.This volume is a translation of Das Verhältnis der Sternwelt zum Menschen und des Menschen zur Sternwelt. Die geistige Kommunion der Menschheit (GA 219).

9 lectures, Dornach, December 24, 1922 - January 6, 1923 (CW 326)"Modern science, and the scientism based on it, so far from being the only possible 'reality principle, ' is merely one way of conceiving the nature of reality; a way moreover that has arisen only recently and that there is no reason to suppose will last forever." -- Owen Barfield (from the introduction) These talks outline the subtle changes in our ideas and feelings in relation to the development of natural science. Through this, Steiner shows the significance of scientific research and the mode of thinking that goes with it. As we look at what technology has brought us, we may have a feeling like the pain we feel over the death of a loved one. According to Steiner, this feeling of loss will eventually become our most important stimulation to seek the spirit. This book is a translation from German of Der Entstehungsmoment der Naturwissenschaft in der Weltgeschichte und ihre seitherige Entwicklung (GA 326).

For more than three centuries, scientists have studied the world as detached observers. In doing so, science has achieved marvelous results, but it has also lost the sense of the whole that earlier cultures possessed. By concentrating on the "text" of the physical world, science has lost the context--the etheric world of life forces.Goethean phenomenology (so named for Goethe's observations) is a scientific method capable of bringing the clarity of natural science to this context of phenomena. Unconsciously, scientific observers have always been using the context to read the text. The phenomenological method involves training observers to look at the activity of thinking itself as it perceives intentionally. It then uses this activity itself as a means of perception. The observer thus becomes conscious that physical nature is indeed a text, and that its meaning derives from the etheric context.Unlike the more common hypothetical and deductive methods--which presupose a detached observer--the phenomenological method is based on active participation by the observer. This eliminates the need to construct speculative hypotheses; the observer's awareness of his or her own intentionality ensures the veracity of the observations. The etheric world is not a new hypothesis; it is, however, a new domain of observation.The authors--Jochen Bockemühl, Christof Lindenau, Georg Maier, Ernst-August Müller, Hermann Poppelbaum, Dietrich Rapp, and Wolfgang Schad--have all written extensively on "participatory" science and related matters. In this ground-breaking collection, they each explore an aspect of the etheric world and its relationship to human thinking. They systematically lead the reader into the "formative movements" of nature and offer genuine insight into the far-reaching mystery of life.