Daily Contemplations: Wisdom and Love. An Almanac for the Soul

“When the human being warm in love
gives himself as soul to the world,
when our being in bright and clear reflection
takes to itself the spirit from the world,
then in spirit-illumined soul,
in spirit that is soul-sustained,
our spiritual being will truly be revealed
within our bodily being.”
―Rudolf Steiner, Berlin, Dec. 10, 1915

Rudolf Steiner’s inspiring words provide rich and nourishing thoughts and ideas for self-development and spiritual enlightenment. Daily Contemplations offers a special passage from Steiner’s lectures―a special gift for reflection―to accompany each day of the year. Carefully selected by Jean-Claude Lin, these quotations are taken from Steiner’s lectures and addresses given on each specific day of the year. Thus, the order of the texts is not arbitrary but arises from the historical fact of the lectures themselves.

This unique volume offers the reader a new way of working on a daily basis with Rudolf Steiner’s spiritual research. The aphoristic passages encourage us to ponder and delve further into Steiner’s work and to make our own creative discoveries.

“Wisdom is the premise, the foundation of love; love is the fruit of wisdom reborn in the ‘I.’” These words from Steiner are the founding motifs of his immense lecturing activity―to which this book gives manifold entry points. As Jean-Claude Lin notes in his introduction, “Wisdom and love are the alpha and omega of the human being who strives for truth and freedom.”

Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) was born in the small village of Kraljevec, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in Croatia), where he grew up. As a young man, he lived in Weimar and Berlin, where he became a well-published scientific, literary, and philosophical scholar, known especially for his work with Goethe's scientific writings. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he began to develop his early philosophical principles into an approach to systematic research into psychological and spiritual phenomena. Formally beginning his spiritual teaching career under the auspices of the Theosophical Society, Steiner came to use the term Anthroposophy (and spiritual science) for his philosophy, spiritual research, and findings. The influence of Steiner's multifaceted genius has led to innovative and holistic approaches in medicine, various therapies, philosophy, religious renewal, Waldorf education, education for special needs, threefold economics, biodynamic agriculture, Goethean science, architecture, and the arts of drama, speech, and eurythmy. In 1924, Rudolf Steiner founded the General Anthroposophical Society, which today has branches throughout the world. He died in Dornach, Switzerland.

Matthew Barton is a translator, editor, teacher, and poet, and taught kindergarten for many years at the Bristol Waldorf School. His first collection of poems was Learning To Row (1999). He has won numerous prizes for his work, including an Arts Council Writer's Award and a Hawthornden Fellowship.