Rudolf Steiner – författare

Our instinctive knowledge of which foods are helpful and which are harmful appears increasingly to be fading. We are bombarded with advice, information and prescriptions as to what we should eat and drink, but the issues surrounding nutrition - questions of health, diet, taste, even ecology and sustainability - remain largely unresolved. Unlike most commentators on this subject, Rudolf Steiner tackles the theme of nutrition in a refreshingly open way. At no point does he try to tell us what we should or should not be putting into our bodies - whether with regard to an omnivorous or vegetarian diet, smoking, drinking alcohol, and so on. The job of the scientist, he says, is to explain how things act and what effect they have; what people do with that information is up to them. However, he emphasizes that our diet not only determines our physical wellbeing, but can also promote or hinder our inner spiritual development. In this carefully collated anthology, with an introduction, commentary and notes by Christian von Arnim, Rudolf Steiner considers nutrition in the light of his spiritual-scientific research.He explains the impact of raw food, vegetarian and meat diets, the effects of protein, fats, carbohydrates and salts, individual foodstuffs such as potatoes, beetroots and radishes, as well as the impact of alcohol and nicotine. His insights are vital to anybody with a serious interest in health, diet and spiritual development.

Are we free, whether we know it or not? Or is our sense of freedom merely an illusion? Rudolf Steiner tackles this age-old problem in a new way. He shows that by taking account of our own activity of thinking, we can know the reasons for our actions. And if these reasons are taken from our world of ideals, then our actions are free, because we alone determine them. But this freedom cannot be settled for us by philosophical argument. It is not simply granted to us. If we want to become free, we have to strive through our own inner activity to overcome our unconscious urges and habits of thought. In order to do this we must reach a point of view that recognises no limits to knowledge, sees through all illusions, and opens the door to an experience of the reality of the spiritual world. Then we can achieve the highest level of evolution. We can recognise ourselves as free spirits. This special reprint, featuring the acclaimed translation by Michael Wilson, is being made available in response to public demand.

This volume is an investigation into secret groups with hidden agendas.

'Our contemporaries - who wish to keep to a narrow-minded and superficial outlook, are annoyed to find that spiritual science continually seeks the whole picture - that it has to create a bridge between the body and the soul, and truly explores how the psyche becomes corporeal and the body becomes psychological.' How do the soul and the spirit live in human physical bodies? In our materialistic age, in which the very existence of the metaphysical is widely rejected, such questions are rarely posed let alone addressed. In this exceptional series of lectures, Rudolf Steiner speaks in scientific detail about the connection of the subtle aspects of human nature - our soul and spirit - to our physical constitution. At the heart of this course are the well-loved 'Bridge' lectures, which appear in English for the first time in their wider context. Steiner discusses the solid, fluid, air and warmth bodies, and how these are connected with the various ethers, the 'I' and human blood.He goes on to describe how ideals and ideas impact the various aspects of the human constitution - how morality is a source of 'world creativity' - with moral thinking imbuing life into substance and will. Moral ideas have a positive effect, he says, whereas theoretical ones have a negative impact. In the realm of the moral, a new natural world comes into being, and thus the moral order and the natural order are intertwined. This volume also features Steiner's classic lecture on the Isis legend and its renewal today as divine wisdom - Sophia. Other themes include the mystery of Christ as the connection between the spiritual and physical sun; the permeation of the life of thought with will (love) and permeation of the life of will with thoughts (wisdom); the path to freedom and love and their importance in the universe; the metamorphosis of head and limbs through successive lives on earth; the threefold nature of the human form (head, thorax, limbs), the threefold nature of the soul (thinking, feeling, will) and the threefold nature of the spirit (waking, dreaming, sleeping).

In Hindu tradition, the concept of kundalini refers to a form of primal energy located at the base of the spine. Through traditional Eastern methods, efforts were made to `awaken’ the kundalini in order to achieve transformed consciousness. Rudolf Steiner offers an entirely new perspective, integrating the kundalini idea into his spiritual philosophy. This anthology contains all relevant comments and notes by Steiner on the theme, highlighting how his thinking evolved. At the same time, it accentuates the differences – and similarities – between Western and Eastern spiritual paths, and in the process reveals what is new and original about Steiner’s esoteric teachings.In contrast to most yoga traditions – which cultivate the energy rising from the lower life centre – the Western path of esoteric schooling starts in our upper centre of consciousness, in thinking and the `I’. From there, the centre of experience is shifted downward, from the head to the heart. After development of the `new heart centre’, as Rudolf Steiner describes it, forces can be guided consciously and, through specific exercises, the `kundalini snake’ can be fully awoken. In his detailed introduction, editor Andreas Meyer distils the perspectives and instructions from Steiner’s complete works, presenting a valuable synopsis for our understanding and practice of meditation today.Chapters include: `The Meaning of Meditation, and the Six Exercises’; `Developing and Cleansing the Lotus Flowers’; `The Snake Symbol’; `The Kundalini Fire’; `The Kundalini Light’; `Developing the New Heart Organ’; `The Reversal in Thinking and Will’; `Specific Aspects of Kundalini Schooling’; `Transforming Physical Love and the Division of the Sexes’; `Breathing, the Light-Soul Process, and the New Yoga Will’; `The Polarity of Light and Love’ and `Transforming the Kundalini Fire into Fraternity’.

'All existence is spirit. Just as ice is water, so matter is also spirit. Mineral, vegetable, animal or human - all are a condensed form of spirit.' - Rudolf Steiner In the two lecture courses featured in this volume, Rudolf Steiner presents a radical new paradigm. Tackling the central dilemma of modern civilization - the polarisation of science and spirituality - he seeks to broaden natural science through a comprehensive spiritual science. Rather than harking back to old spiritual forms or religions, Steiner's approach is based on a conscious and systematic intensification of thinking and perception. Rudolf Steiner approaches this spiritual-scientific task from two perspectives. In Kassel, Germany, he deepens insight into theosophy and Rosicrucianism, showing their relationship to science and religion. Although presented as an 'introduction', Steiner was never interested in simply providing information - not even in the form of new revelations - and his insights are from fresh angles and with new illustrative examples. These lectures deepen and develop key elements found in his fundamental works Occult Science, An Outline and Theosophy.Also featured are the fascinating question-and-answer sessions from the Kassel lectures. In Basel, Switzerland, Rudolf Steiner discusses that most esoteric of the accounts of the life of Christ: the Gospel of John. Whilst the focus is on the gospel, basic tenets of spiritual science, human existence and world evolution are considered, as is the concept of karma and the true nature of Christianity. In both sets of lectures Steiner dwells on the Prologue to the Gospel of John (given in his own translation), which offers a meditative approach to gaining insight into both the gospel and Christianity as a whole. Rather than distancing us from life, each of the lectures in this volume brings us closer to reality. As Rudolf Steiner states: 'Rosicrucian theosophy...does not make us into eccentrics, outsiders, but into friends of existence, for it doesn't look down on everyday life, alienating us from our mission on earth; it brings us closer.'

Selected from the material given by Rudolf S teiner to members of his Esoteric School, this volume featur es exercises, meditations and practices for spiritual develo pment '

Första volymen ur serien Åtta volymer med Rudolf Steiners tidiga verk 1901-1905. Ej tidigare till svenska översatta föredrag hållna av Rudolf Steiner.

Building on the achievements of Goethe in his Theory of Colour, Rudolf Steiner shows how colour affects us in many areas of life, including our health, our sense of well-being, and our feelings. Distinguishing between 'image' and 'lustre' colours, he lays the foundation, based on his spiritual-scientific research, for a practical technique of working with colour that leads to a new direction in artistic creativity. His many penetrating remarks on some of the great painters of the past are supplemented by a deep concern to see a cultural, spiritual renewal emerge in the present time. 'If you realize', he states, 'that art always has a relation to the spirit, you will understand that both in creating and appreciating it, art is something through which one enters the spiritual world.' This volume is the most comprehensive compilation of Rudolf Steiner's insights into the nature of colour, painting and artistic creation. It is an invaluable source of reference and study not only for artists and therapists but for anyone interested in gaining an appreciation of art as a revelation of spiritual realities.

Within the Mystery cultures of ancient history, art, science and religion formed a unity that offered direction and spiritual nourishment to the broader society. Today, art, science and religion can again be reunited. However, as Marie Steiner indicates in her introduction to these lectures, these aspects of our culture need rejuvenation through fresh spiritual understanding and knowledge. Art cannot be renewed through compromise, but only by returning to the spiritual foundations of life. As she says: "The remedy lies in unlocking the wisdom of the Mysteries and presenting it to humanity in a form adapted to contemporary needs." In these wide-ranging lectures, Rudolf Steiner offers spiritual insight for the modern day into a revitalised world of the arts. His themes include: the relation of art to technology, the moral experience of the worlds of colour and music, the legendary Norwegian Dream Song of Olaf Asteson, and the relationship between the various arts of architecture, sculpture, painting, music, poetry, eurythmy and the human being.