Language of the Consciousness Soul : A Guide to Rudolf Steiner's "Leading Thoughts"

“After Rudolf Steiner had left us in the body, the gifts of the spirit that were offered by him in such overflowing measure could not continue. It must now happen that a community of human beings takes over the results of his spiritual research, takes them in such a way that they remain alive in the community. People must come together in anthroposophic work, united in such a way that Anthroposophy comes into its own.” ― Carl Unger, Oct. 29, 1928

This volume provides perhaps the most comprehensive and profound exegesis of Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophy, especially his book titled Anthroposophical Leading Thoughts. That book provides Steiner’s final and most complete explanation of his Spiritual Science through brief, aphoristic thoughts, or meditations, on the profound esoteric meaning of the modern spiritual path he called Anthroposophy.

In The Language of the Consciousness Soul, Carl Unger unfolds and expands Rudolf Steiner’s “leading thoughts” in 78 brief, meditative chapters to help the reader comprehend the deeper meaning behind the Leading Thoughts. Unger helps us see how Steiner created a mandala-like “image” of Anthroposophy, revealing an ever-expanding cosmology and epistemology that goes far beyond mere philosophy or a belief system to a practical path of spiritual investigation and knowledge for modern humankind.

Rudolf Steiner had this to say about Carl Unger:

“Dr. Carl Unger, for many years past, has always been the most industrious and devoted collaborator in the anthroposophic movement. . . . At an early date, Dr. Unger saw that Anthroposophy, before all, needs a strong foundation of the theory of knowledge. With a deep understanding, he took up what I myself, many years ago, was able to give in my books . . . he developed independently what I had intimated . . . . Dr. Unger is not dialectical but an observer of empirical facts. This is why, through the years, he has been able to give results of the highest value, showing how the process of knowledge in ordinary consciousness produces, always and everywhere, out of itself, the impulses to anthroposophic investigation.”

The Language of the Consciousness Soul is an indispensable guidebook for group study and for individuals who wish to penetrate the depths of Anthroposophy and apply its principles both inwardly and to daily life.

This volume is an edited translation by Effie Grace Wilson of Aus der Sprache der Bewusstseinsseele: Unter Zugrundelegung der Leitsätze Rudolf Steiners.

Carl Unger (1878-1929) was born near Stuttgart. His family provided him with a strong background in science and mathematics, which led him to become an engineer and manufacturer. In 1904, he met Rudolf Steiner and soon became a personal student, lecturing extensively on Anthroposophy from 1907 until 1914, when the Goetheanum building began and, as member of the board of the Anthroposophical Society, he assumed the task of overseeing the construction of the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland, until he was prevented by World War I. He resumed his extensive lecturing until he was killed by a gunman in Nuremberg. He was the author of several books on Spiritual Science, including The Language of the Consciousness Soul, a concise study guide to Steiner's "Leading Thoughts"; Steiner's Theosophy: Notes on the book "Theosophy"; and Principles of Spiritual Science.

Wilson, Effie Grace