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In these lectures Steiner deals with the experiences of the human soul during and after death. On the basis of precise clairvoyant observations, he describes the events experienced during the millennium of the soul's journey within the vast realms of soul and spirit between death and rebirth. Steiner describes the states of consciousness experienced by our deceased loved ones and how we-by considering their new consciousness-can communicate with them and even help them. Reading these descriptions, it becomes clear that excarnated souls need the spiritual support of those presently incarnated, and that those still on earth, in turn, derive enlightenment and support from their former earthly companions.

T he year 1921 was a time of intense activity for Rudolf Steiner. Three years after World War 1, with social ideals and democracy trying to make their way in the Weimar Republic and the disastrous financial collapse just around the corner, he concentrated his efforts on cultural renewal in economics, education, the arts, medicine, theology, and the sciences. Two clinics were opened, two publications appeared. He lectured in Germany and Switzerland, Amsterdam, The Hague, and Oslo, often giving two, sometime three, and occasionally four lectures a day. Anthroposophy was becoming more known with all this activity, but opposition was also growing stronger. "The modern materialistic world conception is a product of fear and anxiety," Steiner said. "This fear lives on in the outer actions of human beings, in the social structure, in the course of history.... Why did people become materialists, why would they admit only the outer, that which is given in material existence? Because they were afraid to descend into the depths of the human being." The mind-body split is the result of this fear to penetrate the inner human being; and our lack of courage rebounds on society, producing the terrible conditions of modern civilization. Healing will only come when we summon the courage to penetrate the hidden mysteries of the inner human being. In the Society itself, Steiner sought to awaken the local groups from their comfortable complacency. Cosmosophy, Vol. 1 is the first part of two lecture courses that he gave in Dornach in the fall of 1921 to members of the Anthroposophical Society on anthroposophy as cosmosophy, the wisdom of the human being as the wisdom of the cosmos, The eleven lectures, which are also part of a wider course of lectures that he gave throughout the years 1920-1921 (GA 201-GA 209 in German), reveal deep mysteries of the human being in relationship with the cosmos, including topics such as the origin of fear in Western civilization; the mystery of evil; sleeping and waking in higher cognition; the Jupiter existence of the earth; past and future karma; the relationship of the human being to the hierarchies in Imagination, Inspiration, and Intuition; foundations of an occult psychology; metamorphosis of the worlds of thought and will in the life after death; preparation of the future from the nature of the will; the conscience; reversal of sense experience in the life after death; the appearance of the senses as a prequisite for freedom; the Mystery of Golgotha as the sense-giving center to historical events, and much more.

n this sequel to the bestselling "Meditations on the Signs of the Zodiac," Beredene Jocelyn sheds valuable new light on the cosmic meaning of existence by charting life's passages in concert with planetary laws. With compassion, authority, and a deep knowledge of spiritual science, the author explores in clear detail such subjects as life's year-by-year unfolding through the stages of child development and adult life, as well as thanatology (the science of death and dying) and the process of passing through the journey from death to rebirth.Beredene Jocelyn presents a far-reaching, holistic perspective on the place of human beings in the universal order-a major effort that recalls the immense achievement in the spiritual research of Rudolf Steiner."Citizens of the Cosmos" meets the growing urgent need for spiritual wisdom and individual responsibility. It will appeal not only to general readers, regardless of occupation or life status, but will be especially relevant for all those interested in spiritual values and our human place in the cosmos.

Written in 1904 (CW 9)Theosophy is a key work for gaining a solid footing in spiritual reality as described by Rudolf Steiner. It is organized into four parts. First, Steiner builds a comprehensive understanding of human nature: physical bodily nature; soul qualities; spirit being, or I-being; and the higher spiritual aspects. This leads us to Steiner's description of the human being as sevenfold:

Material, physical bodyEther body, or body of life forcesSentient soul bodyMind soulSpirit-filled consciousness soulLife spiritSpirit body

In the next section, Steiner offers an extraordinary overview of the laws of reincarnation and the principles of karma, as we pass from one life to the next. This prepares us for the third section, in which he shows the various ways in which we live--during life on earth and after death and in the three worlds of body, soul, and spirit.Finally, we are given a succinct description of the path of knowledge, along which each person can begin to understand the marvelous and harmonious complexity of the psycho-spiritual worlds in their fullness.Contents:

 

Foreword by Michael HoldregePrefaces by Rudolf SteinerChapter 1: The Essential Nature of the Human Being: The Bodily Nature of the Human BeingThe Soul Nature of the Human BeingThe Spirit Nature of the Human BeingBody, Soul, and SpiritChapter 2: Destiny & the Reincarnation of the SpiritChapter 3: The Three Worlds: The Soul WorldThe Soul in the Soul World after DeathThe Country of Spirit BeingsThe Spirit in Spirit Country after DeathThe Physical World and Its Connection to the Worlds of Souls and SpiritsChapter 4: The Path to KnowledgeRelated ReadingIndex

This volume is a translation of Theosophie, Einfuhrung in ubersinnliche Welterkenntnis und Menschenbestimmung (GA 9)

 

Every age, every culture, perhaps every person, have different answers. We can at least agree on one thing, however: dreams are other. Their presence in our lives demonstrates that we are not limited to a single mode of consciousness. The world of sleep is largely a blank for us, an abyss of non-consciousness, yawning between one day and the next, but the very fact that we can dream announces our potential for awareness within that abyss.We spend a third of our life asleep-a fact that dream theorists rarely consider. This startling collection of lectures by Rudolf Steiner, selected and introduced by the psychologist Michael Lipson, provides a truly unique way of approaching dreams, based on an understanding of the spiritual nature of human beings. A radically new view of dreams "as the threshold to spiritual reality" arises, once we acknowledge that physical existence is only the tip of an iceberg hidden largely in the spiritual world. Sleep, death, and meditation are the three realms in which consciousness has the opportunity to deepen its immersion in the divine flow of existence. In principle, we can become infinitely more self-aware in each of them, since human consciousness is not fixed-neither in contents nor in terms of alertness. All day long, the contents of our consciousness change, and during the night, the level changes. These lectures permit readers to glimpse the fantastic depths of experience we normally "sleep through" and to contemplate Steiner's astounding program: to maintain self-aware consciousness through sleep, through death, through all being.

The prevailing attitude in modern medicine is that illness should not exist. Consequently, millions of research dollars pour each year into medical science and technology in the hope of eradicating various sicknesses and diseases. Patients and doctors alike suffer the terrible consequences of this impossible quest for material perfection. Yet, there is an alternate view-that human beings and human evolution are great enough to include "illness" as an essential part of existence. In the first part of Blessed by Illness, the author traces the history of our changing concept of healing, from the so-called temple sleep of ancient Egypt-when spiritual science tells us that human beings still had a living connection with the spiritual hierarchies-through the herbal lore of ancient Greece and the healings of Christ, to the rise of modern medicine, based primarily on treating symptoms. The practice of modern medicine focuses merely on removing discernable symptoms and ailments. The author, however, asserts that this does not really heal at all. Rather, true healing considers the whole human being. And, to do this, doctors must learn the language of our natural, healing life forces, which affect not only the body, but also nature and the greater cosmos. From this perspective, illness is actually a gift, a blessing that urges both patient and doctor to work together with our illnesses for the sake of something infinitely greater-true healing. Blessed by Illness is a powerful introduction to "alternative" methods of healing.

Beginning at the turn of the century, Rudolf Steiner began to express a passionate interest in Christianity. For him, the event he called the "Mystery of Golgotha" is more than the central event of Christianity; it is, in fact, the turning point in time for all human and earthly evolution. In his Autobiography, Steiner clarified his views on Christianity: "Some of what I said and wrote during that period [1890s] seems to contradict the way I described Christianity later on. This is because, when I wrote the word Christianity, I was referring to the teachings of a "world beyond" that was active in all Christian doctrines at the time. The whole meaning of religious experiences pointed to a world of spirit, one that was supposed to be unattainable by human intellect. Whatever religion might have to say and whatever precepts for moral life it might offer arise from what is revealed to human beings from outside. My own direct, inner perception of spirit objected to this; it wanted to experience the worlds of both spirit and the physical in perceptions of the human being and nature. And my ethical individualism objected to this. It rejected the external support of commandments for morality; such support came instead as the result of spiritual soul development within the human being, where divinity lives. That was a trying time for my soul as I looked at Christianity. This period lasted from the time I left the Weimar work until I wrote my book Christianity as Mystical Fact. These kinds of tests are obstacles, placed in one's path by destiny (or karma), and they must be overcome through spiritual development. In these talks, Rudolf Steiner offers his profound insights into the essential truths behind the Christ event, as well as the historic and prehistoric events-on Earth and in the spiritual worlds-leading up to the turning point in time. He shows that the ancient mysteries of the East, the Persians, the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the streams behind those impulses-going back to Atlantis and Lemuria-all lead to the event of Christ's incarnation and the Mystery of Golgotha, through which the Earth became the body of Christ. Further, Steiner talks about what those events mean for the future of humanity and the Earth."The Gospel of St. John and Its Relation to the Other Gospels is an essential document in the literature of Christology and for understanding the central place of esoteric Christianity in Anthroposophy.

The art of eurythmy strives to make the invisible visible in a harmonious and disciplined play of color, form, sound, and motion.During the early years of the twentieth century when eurythmy was young and little known, Rudolf Steiner's introductory talks prepared nearly 300 audiences for their encounters with this wholly new way of presenting drama, poetry, and music through human movement.Full of life and creativity, these talks illuminate the richness underlying the spiritual laws of this new art form.Sixteen of Steiner's talks have been carefully selected and are presented here as an introduction to the aesthetic, pedagogical, and therapeutic secrets of this developing art.