Rhythms of the Week: And Other Explorations of Time

The week has a remarkable rhythm that does not fit exactly with either the month or the year. Yet most of humanity keeps faith with this sevenfold rhythm. Why did the seven-day week triumph over the many other ways that existed of subdividing the month in ancient times? The answer, as Wolfgang Held shows, is rooted in the human being. Just as activity and passivity alternate during the course of a day, the human soul resonates from day to day in seven differing moods. Deepening our understanding of the characteristic weekly rhythm can give us strength and inspiration for the way we live our lives.

Why is the present always also informed by the future? When are we best able to discover new questions? Why do we grow a little weary every four hours? How long can we concentrate for? Why does it make a difference whether we think about something in the evening or the morning?

Wolfgang Held introduces us to the diverse rhythms at work in our lives: from tiny seconds to the great cosmic divisions of the Platonic year. Just as we have learned to orient ourselves in space, so we can develop our potential through a conscious relationship with time.

This practical and inspirational book contains discussions from two separate German editions, Der siebenfache Flügelschlag der Seele (The Soul's Sevenfold Wingbeat) and Vier Minuten Sternenzeit (Four Minutes of Star Time), offering us fascinating insights into how we can live in harmony with time.

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.