Evolution of Consciousness

Humanity is in a continual process of transformation and evolution. Today's consciousness, based on primarily on sensory perception and abastract logic, differs considerably from the consciousness of ancient human beings, who saw themselves as microsmic mirrors of the cosmos. The loss of such knowledge means that people today are confronted by the enigma of their own being.

In this book, Steiner speaks in a direct, comprehensive way about the development of the higher faculties of Imagination, Inspiration, and Intuition. He gives a particularly vivid description of life after death and the progress of the individual through the planetary spheres, where tasks and goals for future incarnations are prepared in cooperation with spiritual beings. The lectures culminate in the call for human beings to gradually take their destiny in hand through the conscious and free development of spiritual capacities.

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.