The Work of the Angel in Our Astral Body


Book Description

A great deal is happening all the time in world evolution; and it falls to human beings, particularly those of our own time, to acquire real understanding of the world events in which they are involved. In this popular lecture Rudolf Steiner reveals that the angels - the spirits closest to human beings - are seeking to create images in human astral bodies. These images are given with the intention of bringing about 'definite conditions in the social life of the future' related to brotherhood, religious freedom, and conscious spirituality. Other spiritual beings, however, are working against the angels. If, as a consequence of their disruption, humanity sleeps though the angels' spiritual revelation, the consequences will be dire, and aberrations connected to sexuality, the misuse of medicine, and the misapplication of mechanical forces will begin to manifest.







Angels


Book Description

Religious and spiritual writings have always made reference to beings from the spiritual hierarchies, especially those known in Christian tradition as Angels. These spirits are the closest to human beings and act as our invisible guides and companions. They influence the life of the individual as well as the evolution of humanity and the cosmos.From his own clairvoyant vision Rudolf Steiner confirmed the existence of such spiritual beings, and showed how modern minds could gain access to their world. As he explains in these inspiring lectures, it is important for us to understand and cooperate with the work of the Angels today as this is crucial for the further development of humanity.




Anthroposophy A-Z


Book Description

Rudolf Steiner's spiritual philosophy is the inspiration for many successful initiatives in the world today, from the international Steiner Waldorf school movement to biodynamic agriculture and its increasingly popular produce. Steiner developed his philosophy in dozens of books and many thousands of lectures. His teaching contains dozens of new concepts and ideas, and as a result he had often to create his own vocabulary. In this practical volume - a companion to his Anthroposophy, A Concise Introduction - Henk van Oort gives concise definitions of many terms and concepts in Steiner's worldview, from the most commonplace to the more obscure. Anthroposophy A-Z can be used as a reference guide, but also as a gateway into Rudolf Steiner's manifold world of spiritual ideas and concepts. Anthroposophy can be seen to be a new language - a language that can lead to the world of the spirit. It was with this awareness that Henk van Oort took the initiative to write this glossary. Ultimately, he has written the sort of inspiring handbook that he wished had existed when he first became acquainted with anthroposophy over 40 years ago. HENK VAN OORT, born in 1943, trained as a primary teacher before taking a Masters degree in English at the Amsterdam University. He has taught for 40 years in primary and secondary education, including class teaching in a Steiner school, teaching English, and running educational courses and seminars for teachers and parents. His interest in literature and poetry has led to his appearance at storytelling and poetry seminars, and his introductory courses to anthroposophy have proved to be highly successful. Based in Bergen N.H. in the Netherlands, Henk van Oort is married and the father of three grown-up children. He is the author of Anthroposophy, A Concise Introduction.




Freemasonry and Rudolf Steiner


Book Description

Today some six million Freemasons around the world continue to perform their rituals regularly – an enormous legacy of spiritual endeavour, kept largely in secret. In Britain alone there are over 7,000 lodges, with a quarter of a million members. What is this wealth, this appeal, and how did the philosopher and spiritual scientist Rudolf Steiner reinterpret or reconstruct Freemasonry’s time-worn legacy? Unless one is a Freemason, the masonic world, with its arcane conventions and language, remains largely unknown: an obscurity that is almost impossible to fathom. Yet understanding its traditions and style are invaluable when approaching Goethe, Mozart, Herder, Lessing and Novalis – as well as Rudolf Steiner. Steiner himself renewed the ‘Royal Art’ of Freemasonry from 1906 to 1914 through his ritual work known as Mystica Æterna. When Steiner invigorated education, medicine, the social order and religion, he fully intended that committed and professional individuals should assume responsibility for the new initiatives. But this was not the case with the Masonic Order he founded, whose leadership he took upon himself. Even the celebration of his passing in 1925, led by Marie Steiner, was entirely Masonic in character. In the context of continuing resistance and misrepresentation, N.V.P. Franklin uncovers the living heart of Freemasonry and reveals why it was – and still is – immensely relevant to anthroposophy. With profound research into its older rituals and teachings, this detailed and conscientious study is a unique contribution to comprehending freemasonry and anthroposophy – both historically and in the present day.




Joy Is an Inside Job


Book Description

You've just picked up the book that can transform your life - joyfully! Most of us are looking for happiness in all the wrong places. We look outside ourselves for things that will make us happy. True happiness is JOY, and JOY is an inside job! Do you feel as happy or joyful as you want to be? Are you as healthy, wealthy and enthusiastic as you would like? Do you feel great about yourself? The good news is that you can be joyful right now! This book shows you how to unwrap and master all 12 of your secret gifts with simple daily JOY-ercises. It's your guidebook to creating the life you want - and are meant to have. Whether you read this book by yourself, with your family or a tribe of JOY buddies, these are just some of the things you will learn from the 12 secrets - how to: Feel great about yourself - all the time! Have the relationship of your dreams Radiate health, abundance and success Discover great parenting skills Live a life full of energy and vitality Feel a sense of purpose, meaning and fulfillment Find inner peace Become fear free and confident Have a sense of connection and belonging In other words, how you can feel truly alive, JOYful and in love with your life! How you feel about yourself is the most important thing in life. When you feel great about yourself - you are full of JOY and everything else flows.




Our Eternal Existence


Book Description

Our Eternal Existence takes the many disparate scientific, religious, and metaphysical principles into account and answers the questions: Who are we? Where are we? and Why are we here? In so doing, it provides a much-needed ethical philosophy to guide mankind - and a personal methodology to improve our lives.




Developing the Self


Book Description

At the foundation of Western esoteric studies is an understanding of the evolution of consciousness. Anthroposophically based esoteric training focuses on strengthening the human soul. Ancient and modern practices are reenlivened to meet humanity’s evolving needs and to fulfill our present task of cultivating freedom and love to its highest degree. Individual efforts toward developing the higher self is essential for genuine progress on the inner work path. The clear insights and exercises outlined in this book reveal the meaning and necessity of this essential effort in the present age of the consciousness soul, contributing to simultaneously enlivening both our inner and outer work. The path of developing the self and our work in the world are not separated but united through our practices and their results.




How Do I Find the Christ?


Book Description

"Once one has passed through powerlessness and refinds oneself, one also finds Christ. Before we can gain access to the Christ Impulse we must plumb the depths of our own feelings of insignificance, and this can only happen when we view our strengths and capacities without any pride."How does one find the Christ today? Rudolf Steiner emphasizes the importance of striving for self-knowledge, the significance of experiencing powerlessness, and the eventual resurrection from powerlessness. In this important lecture he also speaks about the ancient Academy of Gondishapur, the significance of the year 666, the mission of Islam, as well as the crucial consequences of the Ecumenical Council of 869.




Universe, Earth, Human Being


Book Description

‘The mission of our age is not to reproduce an ancient wisdom, but to engender a new one – a wisdom that points not only to the past but that works prophetically into the future.’ – Rudolf Steiner Beginning with ancient Egypt, the pyramids and sphinxes – and a comparison of that epoch with our own – Rudolf Steiner surveys a vast spiritual landscape of human development. In symphonic style, he describes the conquest of the physical plane in post-Atlantean civilizations, the relationships between the various cultural epochs, the human being’s connections with the kingdoms of nature and the different planetary bodies, and the relationship of animal forms to ‘the physiognomy of human passions’. Through this panoramic vision, we discover how the changed conditions of human consciousness call for a new spiritual understanding today. In her Introduction, Marie Steiner relates the special experience of being a member of Rudolf Steiner’s audience for this timeless series of lectures: ‘Enormous cosmic pictures were unfolded before the spiritual gaze of the listeners; insights were of such depths of ancient wisdom, views of distant futures of human and world development, that deepest devotion flowed through their hearts…’ This new edition features a revised translation, introduction, notes and an index.