steinerbooks inc great barrington ma (154 results)

Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Mellon, Nancy; Lieberherr, Ruth (illustrator). The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. 1 Lecture, Cologne, December 25, 1907 In this lecture, given on Christmas day, Rudolf Steiner reflects on the deep mysteries of the events surrounding Christ's incarnation, death, and resurrection on Earth. The foundation of his message was the three magi from the East and Goethe's poem "The Mysteries," told from the perspective of a kind of archetypal pilgrim of esoteric Christianity: "Here, in Goethe's poem, we have a wonderful phenomenon. We encounter a person who, in the simplest childlike words, not spoken out of his intellect and formed ideas, imparts to us the highest wisdom, the fruits, of his previous cognitions. He has transformed these cognitions into feelings and sentiments, and has, therefore, been called to lead others who may even have learned more conceptually. Such a pilgrim with a mature soul who has transformed into immediate feeling and sentiment much of what he had collected as knowledge in prior incarnations.such a pilgrim do we have before us in the person of Brother Marcus. As a member of a secret Brotherhood he is sent out with an important mission to another secret Brotherhood."Die and be born - overcome what has been given to you originally in your three lower bodies. Kill it off, but don't kill it to wish death, but to purify what exists in the three bodies, so that you can conquer in the 'I' the power to reach more and more perfection. By killing off what has been given in the three lower bodies, the 'I' gains the power of perfecting. In the 'I' the Christ shall, within the Christ principle, take up the power of perfecting, even into the blood. Even into the blood shall the power be effective." This lecture was translated from Natur- und Geisteswesen - ihr Wirken in unserer sichtbaren Welt (CW 98) Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. "We live in [a time when] human beings must become independent. But on what does this depend? It depends on people's ability.to become self-assertive, to not allow themselves to be put to sleep [in their thinking]. It is the antisocial forces that require development in this time, for consciousness to be present. It would not be possible for humanity in the present to accomplish its task if.these antisocial forces did not become ever more powerful; they are indeed the pillars on which personal independence rests. At present humanity has no idea how much more powerful antisocial impulses must become." -- Rudolf Steiner (Dec. 12, 1918)Rudolf Steiner's profound and practical insights and indications concerning what happens when human beings meet and interact with one another are scarcely known and studied seriously by few. But, despite having been worked with but scantly in the last hundred years, these indications and insights could easily provide the basis for a widescale reawakening of our own, perhaps latent, capacities to listen, speak, and understand one another at a higher level, as beings of soul and spirit. This volume, edited and compiled by Gary Lamb, provides a succinct yet thorough overview of Steiner's many remarks and insights into the mysteries of social encounter, as well as offering helpful commentary and contextualization. Using Steiner's words, and his own thread of commentary running throughout, Lamb shows how spiritualized conversations and interpersonal dynamics attained through rigorous self-development practices provide the necessary soul-spiritual substance and forces necessary for the overcoming of evil in modern life. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. Are you finding it difficult to understand your child? Do you feel frustrated because you often end up in an argument but not sure about how you got there? Authentic Parenting can help. By gaining insight into how your temperament and your child's temperament could be in conflict with each other, you can lean how to work with both yourself and your child to head off misunderstandings, explosive emotions, and sulking. With descriptions of how to identify your child's temperament, tips for tailoring disciplinary techniques so your child really hears you, as well as suggestions for helping your boy or girl feel safe and secure, Authentic Parenting is a valuable resource for bringing our the best in both our children and ourselves. The authors have provided an invaluable resource for all parents and educators. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Hardcover. Condition: new. Hardcover. Written 1912 (CW 40)"You will find meditative verses for the individual weeks of the year. You should take these meditations quite particularly into your hearts, for they contain what can make the soul alive and what really corresponds to a living relationship of the soul forces to the forces of the macrocosm." -- Rudolf SteinerRudolf Steiner's collection of fifty-two meditative verses--presented here in both English and German--were first published in 1925, shortly after Steiner's death. These verses, representing the fifty-two weeks of the year, begin with Easter week and offer thoughts that help one find a deeper relationship with the spiritual forces at work throughout the year.Each verse in this volume appears alongside the corresponding verse for the week that represents a kind of opposite, or "compensating," force during the year.This durable, pocket-size hardcover volume includes a short introduction by Hans Pusch, describing a unique and useful way to approach and use The Calendar of the Soul.The Calendar of the Soul is a translation from German of "Anthroposophischer Seelenkalender," in Wahrspruchworte (GA 40). Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. "When thousands are in the initial vanguard of a movement, these thousands have a higher, more potentized obligation.they have the obligation to practice, in every detail, greater courage, greater energy, greater patience, greater tolerance, and above all greater truthfulness in all things." -- Rudolf Steiner (Dornach, June 16, 1923)In light of the centenary of the Christmas Conference 1923/24, Peter Selg has written the four essays published here, which deal, each in its own way, with the past, present, and future of the Anthroposophical Society and its School for Spiritual Science. Selg outlines important historical background to the Christmas Conference, shedding light on the origins of the re-founding of the Society, what necessitated it, and what Rudolf Steiner was hoping to achieve.Though much good work has been done over the past hundred years, many of the issues that hindered the Society and movement in Steiner's time still persist today. This book is intended as a call to self-knowledge for members of the Anthroposophical Society, a call to actively take up the work of "furthering the development of the task-centered worldwide Society that Steiner made so clearly visible in 1923."Rudolf Steiner's words, spoken one hundred years ago, retain their power and urgency today: "Try to grow together with the world! That will be the best, the most significant 'program.' That cannot be put in our statutes--but we should be able to take it as a flame into our hearts."This book is a translation of Die anthroposophische Weltgesellschaft und ihre Hochschule, originally published in German by Verlag am Goetheanum (Dornach, 2023) in collaboration with the General Anthroposophical Section of the School for Spiritual Science. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. "We, the people of the fifth post-Atlantean period.we have to resolve, to the greatest extent possible and in a way that is filled with the power of life, the problem that one can call the problem of evil. I ask you to think about this in some depth. The fact that evil, which will approach the human being of the fifth post-Atlantean period in every possible form and will do this in such a way that the human being will have to resolve the very nature and being of evil scientifically, will have to come to grips, in all his or her loving and hating, with everything that stems from evil, and battle and wrestle with evil's resistance to impulses of the will; all this belongs to the task of the fifth post-Atlantean period." -- Rudolf Steiner, Goethe's Faust in the Light of Anthroposophy, p. 85)The two essays published here were written on the basis of lectures given to members of the School for Spiritual Science. Their content therefore deals directly with the path of inner development outlined in the lessons of the First Class of the School.In the first essay, Selg address the necessary confrontation with the powers of evil as they appear in the Class Lessons and in our time more broadly. Only through confronting and overcoming these powers are we able to find the path to our true humanity.The second essay deals with the figure of the Guardian of the Threshold as a Michaelic teacher and guide along the soul's path into the spiritual world. This figure, Selg argues, is far too little understood in our time. He is a spiritual being of great significance who offers help to all earnest seekers.This book represents an ongoing effort on the part of Peter Selg and the leaders of the General Anthroposophical Section at the Goetheanum to deepen and internalize the work with the Class Lessons for all members of the School for Spiritual Science.This book is comprised of translations of texts originally published in German by Verlag des Ita Wegman Instituts: Die Auseinandersetzung mit dem Bsen: Zur Schulung der Ersten Klasse . Hochschulvortrge Band 1 (2019); Die Sprache des Hters: Zur Schulung der Ersten Klasse . Hochschulvortrge Band 2 (2020). Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. "The profound thought that lies in this is that the kingdom of darkness has to be overcome by the kingdom of light, not by means of punishment, but through mildness; not by resisting evil, but by uniting with it in order to redeem evil as such. Because a part of the light enters into evil, the evil itself is overcome." - Rudolf Steiner (The Temple Legend, Nov. 11, 1904) For many centuries, the teaching of Mani was hidden behind the distorted picture that had been created by the adversaries of Manichaeism in East and West. In the course of the twentieth century, new light was shed on Manichaeism by the discovery of several Manichaean scriptures. These have shown that Manichaeism was a true, distinct world religion that, in the question of good and evil, for instance, offers insights that complement and deepen Christianity. Also in the twentieth century, Rudolf Steiner brought Anthro-posophy, Spiritual Science, which is a continuation of a stream of esoteric Christianity that has run through human history ever since the resurrection of Christ.Anthroposophy is centered on a new, deepened idea of Christianity that, as indicated by Rudolf Steiner, is so great and all-encompassing that it can be understood in its full depth only gradually.In this book, Christine Gruwez explores the essence of Mani's revelation and then shows what Rudolf Steiner has communicated regarding Mani and his teaching. This generates an image of two spiritual streams that, each from its own beginning, are moving toward a future when a Christianity of the deed shall become reality. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. In two related studies, Peter Selg tracks the groundbreaking of the first Goetheanum on September 20, 1913, in the context of what is known as the "Michael movement," the primary active impulse brought by Rudolf Steiner in 1924, which explicitly indicates the anthroposophic movement and its official society. The author shows the fundamental importance of this beginning in Dornach. He illuminates the fateful goal of the "School for Spiritual Science" through Rudolf Steiner's karma lectures, not only providentially in the sense that it involved individualities, but also with regard to the future development of human civilization. This monograph builds on Peter Selg's book Rudolf Steiner's Foundation Stone Meditation: And the Destruction of the Twentieth Century and Sergei O. Prokofieff's Rudolf Steiner's Sculptural Group: A Revelation of the Spiritual Purpose of Humanity and the Earth. Originally published in German as Grundstein zur Zukunft. Vom Schicksal der Michael-Gemeinschaft (Verlag des Ita Wegman Instituts, 2013). "Originally published in German as: Grundstein zur Zukunft. Vom Schicksal der Michael-Gemeinschaft"--Title page verso. This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. Rudolf Steiner (1861-1924) spoke many times about the need for more than an intellectual understanding of what he taught as the spiritual path of Anthroposophy, or Spiritual Science, and to this end provided numerous meditations and exercises for his esoteric students during the first three decades of the twentieth century. He always emphasized the need for self-development through the regular practice of meditations and exercises to strengthen and clarify one's thinking, feeling, and will. Steiner saw such efforts as means not only to develop spiritual sight, but also to protect oneself inwardly from the various dangers inherent to inner development, including egoism and mistaking fantasy for spiritual realities.This handbook offers verses, exercises, and original instructions from Steiner, along with commentary, suggestions, and context from Gertrude Reif Hughes, a student of Anthroposophy for much of her life. Having meditated Steiner's verses and their meanings for decades, she describes how the content of these inspiring meditations can create far-reaching effects for one's life on Earth as well as for one's eventual life in the spiritual world.More Radiant than the Sun will be a valuable companion for anyone who is serious about deepening the practice of Anthroposophy. Gertrude Reif Hughes, an anthroposophist of many years, offers her insights for practicing important exercises, verses, and meditations given by Rudolf Steiner to his esoteric students. This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. On 1 June 1914, Rudolf Steiner spoke in Basel for the last time before the outbreak of World War I, and for the last time ever in all his lectures and writings about the Nathan soul and its relationship with the Mystery of Golgotha. This internal lecture, given only for members of the Anthroposophical Society, concluded a series of profound Christological reflections begun on September 20, 1913, at the laying of the foundation stone for the St. John's building (the first Goetheanum) in nearby Dornach and culminating (four weeks before the Sarajevo assassination that sparked the Great War) in the motif of "selflessness," whose importance for the future Steiner stressed with great and unmistakable emphasis. This study by Peter Selg-appearing on the centennial of the beginning of that war-focuses on the development of key motifs in Steiner's lectures in the immediate prewar period: the "Fifth Gospel," the Nathan soul, and Christ's act of sacrifice. Also contained here is the entire text of Rudolf Steiner's lecture in Basel on June 1, 1914, whose important words of introduction have appeared only once before, in the Goetheanum newsletter in 1936.This book was originally published in German as Die Leiden der nathanischen Seele: Anthroposophische Christologie am Vorabend des Ersten Weltkriegs (Verlag des Ita Wegman Instituts, Arlesheim, Switzerland, 2014). This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. Ita Wegman is not only an inspiring genius of Anthroposophy, but she is also a healing genius of anthroposophic medicine. Perseverance, courage, greatness mark her being. --Emanuel Zeylmans van Emmichoven With great empathy, delicacy, and directness, Peter Selg recounts, in three lectures, the moving story of Ita Wegman and her relationship with Rudolf Steiner in the context of the development of anthroposophic medicine and the formation of the Medical Section of the School for Spiritual Science. Steiner had suffered patiently until the right person--Ita Wegman--arrived to guide spiritual science's healing mission into the medical field. In the fall of 1920, Ita Wegman founded a medical clinic in Arlesheim. From then on, she and Steiner worked together, both medically and spiritually, gradually unveiling a karmic working relationship unique in Steiner's life. Thus the stage is set. "By taking in the war-traumatized children we will not lose sight of our task in curative education, on the contrary, it is the actual realization of this task, and if one cannot see that, one is not going forward with the big strides of time.I assure you that I will not fall into small steps; I want to stay with the big strides."--Ita Wegman, (August 20, 1942)The second lecture focuses on anthroposophic curative, or therapeutic, education: "the social center, the heart even, of Ita Wegman's 'Medical Section'; To make a commitment to children with severe obstacles in their incarnation, out of spiritual insight into the human being and the wider karmic context, and to make this commitment as a group of people working out of a Christian-religious impulse" this was for Ita Wegman the true anthroposophic medicine." Dr. Selg then describes Dr. Wegman's heroic efforts to create a true community of physicians working anthroposophically out of Steiner's indications and in the spirit of Christ; how she looked after her colleagues, always seeking to wake them up "to the destiny of their own being." She also tried to resist all that was happening in Nazi Germany, never forgetting Steiner's warning: "In the future, the Anthroposophical Society will be faced with the crucial decision of whether responsibilities will be met or not." This is the heart of this wonderful book--the inner struggle to make love responsible. Originally published in German as: "Ich bin fur Fortschreiten": Ita Wegman und die Medizinische Sektion. Natur Verlag im Verlag am Goetheanum. c2002. This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. Following Rudolf Steiner's death, the mysteries cannot be revealed further at the present time, but we must continue to cultivate a living, not only rational but also ritual, continuity of the mystery contents he has given, passing them to people who did not know Rudolf Steiner and yet seek to connect with him esoterically and not just intellectually. --Ludwig Count Polzer-Hoditz Since Rudolf Steiner's death in 1925, little has been written about the "First Class" of the School for Spiritual Science in Dornach. The Class continues as an esoteric institution in the hearts of its disciples and in the mantras and meditations. This meditative work is hidden from view, yet, behind the scenes, it lives on in the inner striving for development of soul and spirit that is part of any mystery school. Rudolf Steiner himself guarded the content of the Class Lessons strictly, only intimating to members of the General Society that his esoteric school existed and how it worked. In this book, Peter Selg provides a context for the "reading" of the Class Lessons, the School for Spiritual Science itself, as well as for Rudolf Steiner's intentions for such an esoteric undertaking.The School for Spiritual Science was the work of an initiate, and through the esoteric collaboration of Rudolf Steiner and those who worked with him a Christian mystery center began to unfold. But Steiner's aim has not yet been achieved. Intense work is still needed for its realization--unwavering efforts with awareness of the foundations Rudolf Steiner laid down and consciousness of the mystery dimension of the endeavor. As an aspect of that wider mystery dimension, Peter Selg also looks back to Ita Wegman as Rudolf Steiner's "helper" in the First Class. He seeks to leave behind the conflicts of the 1920s and 1930s as Ita Wegman herself left them behind her. As Ita Wegman said, "For me the matter is settled. There are so many misunderstandings that I consider it better to leave things well alone. We all thought we were doing the right thing. Looking forward is more important now than looking back." In its exploration of the First Class, Rudolf Steiner and the School for Spiritual Science provides a much-needed perspective on what ought to be at the very heart of Anthroposophy and the movement for Spiritual Science that Rudolf Steiner brought into the world. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. "[In February 1904] Dr. Steiner began his lecture tours. Meanwhile, his book Theosophy was published, and I threw myself into it with the greatest enthusiasm, wrestling with it for months with every page, every sentence, and many words. When I had the foundation for a judgment, which I had somewhat carelessly expressed after my visit to Berlin, I would follow this man blindfolded. For now I had learned to follow with open eyes." - Carl Unger In part one, Carl Unger outlines and unlocks one of Rudolf Steiner's most essential works, Theosophy: An Introduction to the Spiritual Processes in Human Life and in the Cosmos (CW 9). As a close personal student of Rudolf Steiner and a member of his esoteric school, Carl Unger gained deep understanding of Steiner's most profound works, especially Theosophy. For those who want to "crack" this book and are willing to work, Carl Unger's commentary will prove enlightening and help the reader penetrate beyond an intellectual understanding of Steiner's seminal work. In part two, the author guides the reader through the essential principles that underlay anthroposophic Spiritual Science.In his foreword to its earlier publication, Alan Howard wrote, "This little volume, though not the only work from Unger's hand, is the essence of what he did in this field. It is not everybody's book, nor, even for those who decide to take it up, an easy book. Each sentence builds closely on all that precede it; each is essential to all that follow. For those students, however, who seek a secure foundation in pure thought for the suprasensory realities of which Steiner speaks, and are willing to give it the study it deserves, this book will be a continuing reward and delight." ________________________________________ "[You will] sense that there is great benefit when intentions surface within the Anthroposophical Society that strive toward an elaboration of epistemological principles in the best of all epistemological senses. And since we have a worker of extraordinary significance in this area (Dr. Carl Unger) right here in Stuttgart, this should be seen as a beneficial stream within our Movement." - Rudolf Steiner (Aug. 17, 1908) Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condition: new. Gibb, Ingrid (illustrator). Paperback. "Fairy tales and sagas are comparable to a good angel, granted human beings as a companion from birth on their life's wanderings, to be a trustworthy comrade throughout - offering comradeship, and making life inwardly into a truly ensouled fairy tale!" - Rudolf Steiner (quoting Karl Julius Schroer) "There is a big difference in whether or not one has a child grow up with fairy tales. The soul-stirring nature of fairy-tale pictures becomes evident only later on. If fairy tales have not been given, this shows itself in later years as weariness of life and boredom. Indeed, it even comes to expression physically; fairy tales can help counter illnesses. What is absorbed little by little by means of fairy tales emerges subsequently as joy in life, in the meaning of life - it comes to light in the ability to cope with life, even into old age. Children must experience the power inherent in fairy tales while young, when they can still do so. Whoever is incapable of living with ideas that have no reality for the physical plane 'dies' for the spiritual world." - Rudolf Steiner Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. Neill Reilly presents portraits, rather than biographies, of five remarkable individuals in short, subjective, affectionate sketches. He relates fond remembrances of five departed souls in deeply personal portraits that are nevertheless meaningful even for those who have never heard of these people who chose a life of service. Readers can test the facts presented here and determine their usefulness as inspiration for living a better life. If the author seems too fond of his subjects, he readily pleads guilty as charged. The term Michaelic refers to the qualities expressed by the Archangel Michael, who fights the dark forces that work to suppress human hope, goodness, loving kindness, and true community. Michael is often depicted as armored and resolute, giving no quarter to evil. He is intimately connected with Christ as Earth's guiding light. Each of these five individuals represents a well-lived, Michaelic lives. As in the front cover image on this book, the Archangel Michael assumes a balanced stance, with one foot restraining the head of Satan and his sword at the ready. Such balance and focus is critical to all human endeavors, especially those connected with one's spiritual life and contributions to education and society. These five brief portraits offer inspiration to all those who aspire to live a more Michaelic life, one that pours much-needed loving kindness and selfless service into our world for the future. This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. Letters to Anthroposophical Society members and "Guidelines" (CW 26)From the time of the Foundation Meeting of the Anthroposophical Society (Dornach, Christmas to the New Year, 1923-24) until his death shortly before Easter 1925, Rudolf Steiner wrote a weekly letter addressed to the members of the Anthroposophical Society. The letters were printed in the members' supplement to the Goetheanum Weekly and in its English edition, Anthroposophical Movement.This book represents the second part of the volume containing Rudolf Steiner's letters and guidelines. The earlier letters speak of the character and aims of the Anthroposophical Society and the social tasks arising in the anthroposophic movement. They deal with the problems encountered in the common study of spiritual science (Anthroposophy) and in its presentation to the world at large, relating it to the prevailing science and civilization of the time.With the exception of the first two letters (issued in August 1924 while he was in England), those in this volume were written by Rudolf Steiner from his sickbed during his final illness. During those final six months of his life, the letters--always written in the very early hours of the morning--arrived with unfailing regularity. The last of these letters was not published until two weeks after his death. These letters form a continuous series and were given the appropriate collective title The Michael Mystery. As such, they constitute an invaluable addition to the great teacher's fundamental works on spiritual science.GUIDELINES, MARCH 8, 19251. At the beginning of the consciousness-soul age, a dimming of the sense of belonging to the world beyond the earth took place. On the other hand, a feeling of belonging to the earth in experiencing sensory impressions grew so strong, particularly in scientific circles, that it amounted to a state of bedazzlement.2. The ahrimanic powers have an especially dangerous influence in this condition, because people live under the illusion that a bedazzled experience of sensory impressions is good and right and represents a real advance in evolution.3. Man must develop the strength to illumine his world of ideas and to experience it as light-filled, even in cases where the ideas involved are not based on the bedazzling world of the senses. An awareness of belonging to the cosmic realm beyond the earth will awaken in experiencing the independent and independently illumined world of ideas. The basis for Michaelic festivals will grow out of this feeling.This volume is a translation of the final nineteen letters from Anthroposophische Leitsaetze, Der Erkenntnisweg der Anthroposophie--Das Michael-Mysterium (GA 26). Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. A congress of the Federation of European Sections of the Theosophical Society was held in Paris in May 1906. Rudolf Steiner attended with a number of students and presented a series of lectures to a small circle of friends, mostly society members. Edouard Schure was present and made succinct notes of those talks, the result of which is An Esoteric Cosmology: Evolution, Christ, and Modern Spirituality. In is foreword, Schure describes his initial impressions of Rudolf Steiner and the force of his vision: "These priceless lectures mark a significant phase of Rudolf Steiner's thought-that of the spontaneous burst of his genius and its first crystallization." Indeed, his notes record perhaps the first general outline and summary of what would become Anthroposophy, or spiritual science. At the time of these lectures, most members viewed Theosophy as a kind of Europeanized Indian philosophy. Thus, one purpose of these lectures was to outline Steiner's Christ-centered spiritual science in contrast to the more Eastern orientation of Theosophy.He carefully connected the essence of spiritual science to the role of the Christ in human evolution, as well as to the Rosicrucian and Christian mystery traditions, the primary carriers of the esoteric Christian stream.To accomplish this, Steiner presented the roots of Christianity in the ancient mysteries and in the evolution of the whole universe itself. The miracle of these lectures, perhaps, is that Steiner was able to condense such a grand cosmology into these eighteen lectures, and that Edouard Schure was able to capture their essence in the relatively brief notes that constitute this book. A few years later, the substance of these lectures were expanded and presented in Rudolf Steiner's Outline of Esoteric Science. These lecture notes will prove invaluable for all those who wish to better understand that book, as well as Rudolf Steiner's Christian cosmology and perspective on esoteric Christianity and the Christian mysteries. The main purpose of these lectures was to outline Steiners Christ-centered spiritual science in contrast to the more Eastern orientation of Theosophy. He carefully connected the essence of spiritual science to the role of the Christ in human evolution, as well as to the Rosicrucian and Christian mystery traditions, the primary carriers of the esoteric Christian stream. To accomplish this, Steiner presented the roots of Christianity in the ancient mysteries and in the evolution of the whole universe itself. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. 7 lectures, Dornach, January 4-13, 1918 (CW 180); 1 lecture, December 24, 1920 (CW 202)"In the course of my recent public lectures in Switzerland, I have repeatedly said that the knowledge, the way of thinking currently prevailing and indeed deeply rooted in the human soul, is ill suited to deal with social and moral life. Present conditions can be restored to a healthy state only if people are able to find their way back to a thinking, a grasp of the universe, that will give what lives in the soul a direct link with reality." -- Rudolf Steiner (Jan. 4, 1918)Ancient myths are an expression of great truths about the nature of the universe and human development. Through mysterious, lively images, they describe knowledge of a people's origin, their place in the cosmos, and their unique state of consciousness. Because modern consciousness has become so abstract, such stories challenge us to exercise a different kind of consciousness to experience their truths and reunite with the realities they describe. In these eight lectures, Steiner looks at Egyptian, Greek, and Hebrew myths, illustrating how they express people's consciousness then. He views in the Osiris-Isis story an expression of the loss of direct perception of the invisible, suprasensory realm. He shows the connection between that loss and the challenge we face today in bringing new life to our abstract thinking and understanding the world. Steiner offers remarkable a new Isis legend. In the Egyptian myth, the veiled Isis says, "I am the All. I am the Past, the Present, and the Future. No mortal has yet lifted my veil." In the New Isis legend, as told by Rudolf Steiner, the Isis figure states, "I am the Human Being. I am the Past, the Present, and the Future. Every mortal should lift my veil." This extraordinary story challenges modern humanity to awake to a new consciousness of the spiritual forces that work in our lives and in society. We are to bear this new spirit within us with increasing understanding and a fresh sense of responsibility. This book offers tremendous inspiration to transform our head knowledge into heart knowledge and to lift the veil to spirit and know our place and purpose in the past, present, and future.Ancient Myths and the New Isis Mystery is a translation from German of 7 (of 16) lectures from Mysterienwahrheiten und Weihnachtsimpulse. Alte Mythen und ihre Bedeutung. Geistige Wesen und Ihre Wirkung Band IV (GA 180) and one lecture from Der Mensch in Zusammenhang mit dem Kosmos 2: Die Bruecke zwischen der Weltgeistigkeit und dem Physischen des Menschen. Die Suche nach der neuen Isis, der goettlichen Sophia (GA 202). Cover image The Goddess Isis stretching her winged arms in a protective gesture (from the tomb of Seti, 19th Dynasty). 8 lectures in Dornach, January 4-13, 1918 & December 24, 1920. This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. 7 lectures in Dornach, Switzerland, March 11-23, 1923 (CW 222)"Historical happenings on Earth can be understood in their reality only when we see them as reflections of what is being enacted in the supersensible, spiritual world between the beings of the higher hierarchies." -- Rudolf Steiner (March 17, 1923)What is the qualitative difference between the utterance of true and untrue words? Is there one? How about between living and dead thoughts? What is the origin of war and strife among peoples on Earth? How can humanity find a right relationship to the beings of the spiritual world? These are among the compelling questions addressed by Rudolf Steiner in this concise yet powerful series of lectures given in March 1923, comprising this volume of "The Collected Works of Rudolf Steiner."In these lectures, Steiner portrays, among other things, the work of various hierarchical beings--both in collaboration and sometimes in opposition to one another--whose activity and strife in the spiritual world is mirrored in the migrations of and wars among peoples on Earth. The clashes between East and West, for example, are thus seen in an entirely new light, heralding a sea change in the approach to history. No longer should events on Earth be viewed as isolated within themselves, but rather as interwoven in a grand, vibrant tapestry formed from the threads that connect humanity on Earth with the activity and aims of exalted spiritual beings.Humanity has profound potential--for both good and evil. The question is whether we will be able to rise to a renewed form of cognition through which we can once again grasp living spiritual reality, or we will persist in the dead, intellectualized thinking so common today, thinking that (as Steiner points out in the final lecture of this volume), if not transformed, will lead to the gradual destruction of Earth itself.These lectures are a tour de force that should not be neglected by any serious student of history or the future of humanity and human life more broadly.Includes 10 color platesThis volume is a translation from German of Die Impulsierung des weltgeschichtlichen Geschehens durch geistige Mchte, Rudolf Steiner Verlag, 1989 (GA 222). Cover Image: Naval Battle of Le Panto (1571), by Luca Cambiasi (1521-1585); at the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. This volume begins with Thomas Meyer's assessment of Anthroposophy's evolution since Rudolf Steiner's death and its future prospects. He offers an overview of the eighty-seven years of the development of the anthroposophic movement and the Anthroposophical Society, the worldwide organization headquartered in Dornach, Switzerland, since the death of its founder. The Society went through a very difficult and controversial period in the ten years following Steiner's death, which culminated at its Annual Meeting in 1935. The result was the expulsion from the Society of two members appointed by Rudolf Steiner to its Executive Board (Vorstand) - Ita Wegman and Elizabeth Vreede - as well as the British and Dutch branches of the Society and many important anthroposophists who opposed the expulsions. Meyer - whose many books include Rudolf Steiner's Core Mission - reveals the extraordinary concordance of four November 17 dates highly significant in the development of Anthroposophy.On November 17, 1901, the anniversary of the founding of the Theosophical Society in 1875, Marie von Sivers asked Rudolf Steiner to create an esoteric path suited to the Western mind, which set Steiner on his mission. On November 17, 1923, Ita Wegman urged Steiner to establish a new Society, with Steiner himself joining as both a member and its president. Twelve years later, on November 17, 1935, the remaining three individuals of the Executive Board wrote to Adolf Hitler to plea for the Society's continued existence in Germany after being banned in Germany by the Nazi regime. Profound connections underlie these events. Four appendices supplement the present volume. Appendix 1 presents a Chronology that denotes, by year and day, significant episodes in Steiner's life and in the development of Anthroposophy. The remaining appendices feature, for the first time in English in one volume, significant documents pertinent to the Anthroposophical Society's Easter 1935 Annual Meeting. Appendix 2 contains the "Memorandum," written by supporters of Marie Steiner, setting forth a list of grievances in support of the expulsion motions adopted at the 1935 Annual Meeting.Appendix 3 records Ludwig Polzer-Hoditz's address in response to the 1935 Annual Meeting, counseling against the expulsion measures. Appendix 4 contains the letter (in English and German) written by the Society's Executive Board to Adolf Hitler. This important book offers profound insights into the struggles for individual freedom and voice during the early years of the Anthroposophical Society. Seeing the dynamics of that struggle can help us today to overcome differences to work toward common purpose, both in the context of our everyday lives and within a spiritually oriented community. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. "I believe a time will come when greater distance makes the conflicts in the Anthroposophical Society--which at first sight seem so ugly--appear as part of the struggle for Anthroposophy in the twentieth century. When this future dawns, it will be important to be able to reach back to an historical documentation of what happened." --Emmanuel ZeylmansFollowing the reestablishment of the Anthroposophical Society at the Christmas Foundation Meeting in 1923, Ita Wegman--Rudolf Steiner's closest collaborator at the end of his life--became the object of intense opposition, systematic exclusion, and misunderstanding. This ostracism and misinformation continued even after her death, kept alive by prejudice and untruths that created an atmosphere that prevented a clear and unbiased view of her role in Anthroposophy. Because no real biography existed, even those who were open-minded and impartial found it difficult to make an informed assessment of the situation. This lack has been filled by Emanuel Zeylmans's three-volume work, Who Was Ita Wegman? In writing it, he had access to 100 undated notebooks, 2,000 manuscript pages, and 6,000 letters. Sifting these was an enormous project.It took Zeylmans twelve years to reach the esoteric heart of the "Wegman question," and what he found was extraordinary and extremely important to anyone interested in Anthroposophy and the divisive karma of its history. Ita Wegman and Anthroposophy consists of interviews with Emmanuel Zeylmans by Wolfgang Weirauch of the German journal, Flensburger Heft. Speaking candidly about the deepest aspects of his revelatory findings, Zeylmans describes how his passionate need to understand what happened to Ita Wegman and Anthroposophy unfolded. He talks of meetings with those who knew her intimately. He tells of her collaboration with Rudolf Steiner and her fraught relations with Maria Steiner and Edith Maryon, both of whom also claimed a special relationship with Rudolf Steiner. Zeylmans also describes the Christmas Foundation Meeting and the conflicts that followed Steiner's death, leading to Ita Wegman's expulsion from the Executive Council of the Anthroposophical Society. Those interested in understanding the karma of the Anthroposophical Society will find this book illuminating.It would be a mistake, however, to consider it a book about the only past; it is also a book about the future of Anthroposophy. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Hardcover. Condition: new. Murray-Lafrenz, Elsa (illustrator). Hardcover. Once upon a time there lived a girl named Sky and a boy named Bilko, who loved to dance and play tag with the butterflies in the fields. When they were asked how many butterflies and ants they saw, they could not say .Gloria Kemp and Elsa Murray-Lafrenz have produced a book that helps children learn to count and helps teachers and parents teach numbers to them in a living and fun way. Waldorf teachers, especially, will find this book helpful in bringing numbers to their young students in a way that lives all around them in the natural world. A story which brings numbers to young children by drawing on the natural world around them. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. With this major work our author Edward Reaugh Smith concludes his singular series on the Bible and Anthroposophy. Understanding Revelation presents the ultimate challenge to those who wish to penetrate its deepest meaning--a spiritual mountain whose summit has remained beyond reach. Paradoxically, in spite of its name, Revelation is the most veiled and mysterious book in the Bible. A century ago, Rudolf Steiner opened a route to that summit. The present book is the first extensive application of that priceless resource to Revelation's full text. The substance of what Steiner tells us about John's Revelation derives from the individuality who had that Apocalyptic Vision. He was a seer and visionary, and his account is esoteric and open only to such a seer. Smith presents Steiner as a seer who, for the first time since John wrote his Revelation, has penetrated the obscuring veil of this text. The scope of John's vision and Steiner's exposition covers the vast stretch of our human journey. Our ongoing involvement in that journey is not optional. We are each in it from beginning to end. This book is for those who would awake to it. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. In these eight lectures, Dr. Scharff offers a profound overview of biodynamic methods, including the philosophy and esoteric foundations, as well as the most practical matters. In lecture 5, for example, he delves deeply into the biodynamic preparations discussed by Rudolf Steiner in his Agriculture Course, exploring each one individually: 500 - manure placed in the sheath of a horn 501 - silica placed in the sheath of a horn 502 - yarrow placed in the sheath of a bladder 503 - chamomile placed in the sheath of an intestine 504 - nettle placed in the sheath of peat-earth 505 - oak bark placed in the sheath of a skull 506 - dandelion placed in the sheath of the mesentery 507 - valerian scattered in the sheath of the air For those who are interested in or are wish to practice biodynamic farming or gardening methods, this collection of eight lectures by Dr. Paul Scharff will become an invaluable companion and guide. FROM THE BOOK: "Let us turn to the first lecture [of the Agriculture Course]. For a long time, I rather puzzled about the introduction. Rudolf Steiner begins by talking about the being of Anthroposophia. He indicates that what he is giving is actually a gift of this being. Most think of Anthroposophy as a body of knowledge, not as a spiritual being who imparts knowledge. The course thereby seems to be a product of the exchange between Rudolf Steiner and a spiritual being who gives the anthroposophical content out of the spiritual world. Who is the being who carries the wisdom of the human being, can share this with initiates such as Rudolf Steiner, and then help us to understand the task of working with the earth, enculturating the earth? How can this being help evolve a new agriculture?" (lecture 1) "As we open the Agriculture Course to contemplate the earth, we immediately come upon the problem of economics. We can close the course by contemplating the cancer of the human organism and the cancer of the economic process, the unfolding of useless production and overproduction. On the one hand, there is overproduction and cancer. Such is the northern evolving economic world. On the other hand, in the third world and undeveloped countries there is stagnation, a dreaming, an unfolding of dream-heads that cannot unfold the earth. The intellect of the West, the potato head, will try to go to the undeveloped countries to unfold new economic processes. The problem will be that there will be a tendency to use the same type of intellect and the same type of economic thinking that will lead to an overproduction and a wasting and draining of the earth's resources that have not been developed. We see this already with the destruction of the rainforests, and the introduction of high-tech agriculture in third-world countries. Fortunately, a few are waking to the problem. Hopefully in what is given in this course we can find a way for a proper unfolding in the third world countries." (lecture 8) Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. 10 Lectures in Copenhagen and Norrkping, May 23-30, 1912, July 12-16, 1914 (CW 155)"Spiritual science does not want to replace Christianity; rather, it aims to be the instrument through which the meaning of Christianity can be grasped. And one thing that will become particularly clear through spiritual science is that the being whom we call Christ must be recognized as the center of life on earth, and that what we call the Christian faith is the ultimate religion, the eternal religion for the future of the earth." -- Rudolf Steiner (July 13, 1914)This collection of lectures from 1912 and 1914 offers a deepened understanding of the being of Christ, the divine Logos, in his connection with individual human souls. From religious gures such as John the Baptist and Saint Francis to the twentieth-century poet Christian Morgenstern, these lectures reveal how Christ works with and through all who seek him. The Pauline statement, "Not I, but Christ in me," becomes an inner guide by which each human soul can nd a way to intimate union with the Christ being. It is he who has the power to make our ideals and goals in life--if they are worthy--into true seeds of future reality.The time of faith has come and gone. Christ needs our conscious striving, our effort to understand, within the heart's deep core, his ongoing presence and activity in the further evolution of our spiritual Earth and in our journey toward humanness. These lectures are a comfort and a signpost for the soul to walk the inner path of communion with Christ for the healing and redemption of the earth. We may be able, in the end, to redeem the karma accrued by our own individual souls, but for our spiritual work to be fruitful for all humanity it must be brought into connection with Christ. "What we take into ourselves in such a way that it is done from the perspective of 'Not I'-- this is what Christ makes into a common possession for all humanity" (July 14, 1914)."To know Christ means to undergo the school of selflessness. Under the influence of materialism, the selflessness of humanity was lost in a way, as will be understood in future ages of humanity. However, through absorption in the Mystery of Golgotha, the penetration of the knowledge of the Mystery of Golgotha with our whole feeling and soul being, we can once again acquire a culture of selflessness. We can come to understand that what Christ did for the development of the Earth is contained in the fundamental impulse of selflessness, and that what he can become for the conscious development of the human soul is the school of selflessness!" -- Rudolf Steiner (June 1, 1914)To read these lectures is to strike out on the heart's path of fellowship with the living Christ.This book is a translation from German of Christus und die Menschliche Seele. ber den Sinn des Lebens - Theosophische Moral - Anthroposophie und Christentum (GA 155, 3rd ed.), Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach, Switzerland, 1994. Cover image Salvator Mundi (1499-1510) by Leonardo da Vinci. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. 10 lectures at the Second International Congress of the Anthroposophical Movement, Vienna, June 1-12, 1922 (CW 83)In ordinary consciousness, we combine our thoughts logically and thus make use of thinking to know the external sensory world. Now, however, we allow thinking to enter into a kind of musical element, but one that is undoubtedly a knowledge element; we become aware of a spiritual rhythm underlying all things; we penetrate into the world by beginning to perceive it in the spirit. From abstract, dead thinking, from mere image-thinking, our thinking becomes a thinking enlivened in itself. This is the significant transition that can be made from abstract and merely logical thinking to a living thinking about which we have the feeling it is capable of shaping a reality, just as we recognize our process of growth as a living reality. -- Rudolf SteinerThis demanding set of lectures attempts to lift the veil from modern social and spiritual problems as experienced in the contrasts between East and West. By ascribing only vague and subjective validity to human thinking, modern science tries to invalidate the very faculty that gives us our human dignity. However, such "unreality" of thought images makes possible the inner freedom that scientific doctrine tends to deny in principle. The need arises from these contradictions to extend the limits of ordinary scientific thinking toward new investigative capacities.In part one, "Anthroposophy and the Sciences," Rudolf Steiner explains that this can be achieved in a healthy way through two kinds of meditative exercises very different from yoga and asceticism and ancient paths to higher knowledge. These disciplines lead to the discovery of a paradoxical truth: "If you would know yourself, look into the world. If you would know the world, look into your self." The spiritual-scientific philosophy thus presented provides a framework through which the second half of the book, "Anthroposophy and Sociology," considers how a healthy social life can be understood and formed. Today the old social instincts of humanity have grown uncertain, and the rational intellect is proving unsuited to comprehend and foster a truly human social life. While admitting that we are only beginning to discover the right relationship between individual and community, Steiner describes how a conscious spiritual life offers the same social certainties as did the earlier, "instinctual" human life. He explains how we may find a way from our highly developed sense of a personal self toward the global social organism.When the riddles of existence concern the human soul, they become not only great problems in life but life itself. They become the happiness or sorrow of human existence. And not a passing happiness or sorrow only, but one we must carry for a time through life, so that by this experience of happiness or sorrow we become fit or unfit for life. -- Rudolf SteinerThis book is a translation from German of Westliche und stliche Weltgegenstzlichkeit. Wege zu ihrer Verstndigung durch Anthroposophie (GA 83, 3rd ed.), Rudolf Steiner Verlag, 1981. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. "First, one might ask: Why not just read the first three books? After all, Rudolf Steiner wrote them in such a way that the very act of reading them can awaken new faculties. Who could ever duplicate that? It might even seem presumptuous to select passages from books that were constructed by an initiate. To those who have these and other objections, I have the following response: My hope is that the pages in this book serve as an invitation, so that those who work with this material will then be motivated to go to the original texts and work with them more intensively." -Torin Finser This book guides the reader through foundational works of Rudolf Steiner, while asking questions along the way that provoke thought and insight. In part 1, Torin Finser focuses on three essential works: How to Know Higher Worlds: A Modern Path of Initiation (CW 10) Intuitive Thinking as a Spiritual Path: A Philosophy of Freedom (CW 4); and Theosophy: An Introduction to the Spiritual Processes in Human Life and in the Cosmos (CW 9). In addition, three lectures are included: "Overcoming Nervousness"; "The Four Temperaments"; and "Practical Training in Thought."These offer invaluable insight and guidance in helping the reader prepare inwardly to undertake effectively the exercises and practices outlined in the appendices. In part 2, the author outlines the essential worldview and approach of Spiritual Science. As he tells us, "Sometimes, we have questions that cannot be answered by conventional means, such as the news media or the internet. There are situations when a person can feel an inner stirring-a longing for real answers that go beyond ordinary, informational knowledge. Sometimes this search can intensify and become burning questions about human nature, the origin of the universe, or the basis of healthy relationships. When this occurs, Anthroposophy can provide a sound path of knowledge that connects the spiritual in the seeker with the spiritual in the universe, the individual with the multidimensional." The appendices provide an accessible and systematic guide to the all-important practical aspects of Anthroposophy. Steiner emphasized that Spiritual Science is not a doctrine or merely an intellectual exercise but a path of knowledge-ultimately, knowledge of the spiritual worlds.To this end, regular practice-including the "six exercises" and meditation-is absolutely essential. For those who are new to Anthroposophy, this book will be a helpful companion and guide to understanding the essentials of the spiritual-scientific worldview and path of inner development. For those who have been studying Anthroposophy for many years, Guided Self-Study serves to stimulate the "beginner's mind" that sees the world with fresh vision and enthusiasm. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. What does a healthy, successful school look like? Is it all about measurable outcomes, test scores, and pass/fail grades set by the government? Can learning be quantified in short-term measurements or does real learning take years to manifest in a career or biography. All seem to agree that a healthy school is also a community and that community depends on the quality of relationships - chiefly the relationships among students, teachers, and parents. This book features a comprehensive examination of the parent - teacher relationship in all its dimensions, from parent evenings and conferences to communication, conflict, and the life-cycle of parent involvement in their school. In between the chapters on practical advice are sections that consider the issues from a deeper, spiritual dimension. This book is intended to stimulate conversation, self-reflection, and relational practices that awaken community life in and around our schools. ________________________________________ "The world of parent - teacher relations has grown more complex over the years and at its worst can feel like a minefield.Torin de-mines and demystifies the experience with information, insights, stories, and warmth, creating a safe passage for teachers and parents." - Joan Almon, Waldorf educator and cofounder of Alliance for Childhood "Readers of my books will appreciate Torin's approach to parent - teacher relations. He looks at the key issues through various lenses and gives both practical and spiritual advice to all who seek to build healthy relationships around our school-age children. I highly recommend this new book!" - Thomas Moore, bestselling author of Care of the Soul "What Torin has so sensitively crafted here will give you greater simplicity and spaciousness in school community life. I highly recommend this book to all parents and teachers, but especially to those connected to Waldorf schools." - Kim John Payne, M.Ed., author of Simplicity Parenting and Beyond Winning "This book is a call for parents and teachers to work more effectively together on behalf of our children. Torin uses a variety of approaches to stimulate conversation and help us strengthen the communities around our schools. I highly recommend this provocative book!"- David Sobel, author of Place-Based Education: Connecting Classrooms and Communities Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.