Books by Rudolf Steiner

In counterbalance to today's increasing intellectualization, the meditative exercises featured in this book connect with the perceptive activity of the human being's sensory organs. They could also be understood as exercises for developing empathy, helping to make our relationship with the world around us more conscious and intense.

When Rudolf Steiner used the phrase 'heart thinking', he meant it in a very specific sense. Drawn primarily from his lectures, the compiled texts in this anthology illuminate his perspective - that heart thinking is intimately related to the spiritual faculty of Inspiration.

Rudolf Steiner offered numerous practical methods to enrich and enliven our daily lives. Drawing on these, the texts in this anthology provide a wealth of ideas to strengthen our health through self-education and personal development. The content ranges from tangible and easy-to-practise exercises to relevant observations on human nature.

What is true happiness? This perennial question preoccupies many experts, including biologists, psychologists, sociologists and theologians, but their findings usually confirm what we already knew: that happiness is one of the most sought-after but elusive commodities.

"Five lectures given in Dornach, Switzerland, October 10-25, 1914."

An introductory lecture with slides, Bern, Switzerland, June 29, 1921 (CW 290)Rudolf Steiner gave thousands of lectures in his lifetime, usually without notes, and, with very few exceptions, with nothing more than chalk and a blackboard if he chose to accompany his speech with some kind of visual illustration. A notable exception is the presentation that constitutes the main part of this book. Given in June 1921, in Bern just eighteen months before its tragic destruction by fire, this lecture and slide show (consisting of a hundred slides) is both the closest thing we have to a guided tour of the original Goetheanum by its architect and a profound statement of artistic purpose.In addition to the lecture and slide show that comprise the main content of this volume, the introduction by John Kettle serves to place Steiner's artistic contribution to architecture in the context of early twentieth-century Expressionism and Organicism. Frederick Amrine's thorough bibliographic essay highlights the most important secondary literature on Steiner's architecture and provides a sound entry to further exploration and study.This book is translated from the 3rd revised German edition, Das Goetheanum als Gesamtkunstwerk: Rudolf Steiner, Der Baugedanke des Goetheanum: Einleitender Vortrag mit Erklärungen zu den Lichtbildern des Goetheanum-Baues gehalten in Bern am 29. Juni 1921, Verlag am Goetheanum, 1986.

Based on knowledge attained through his highly-trained clairvoyance, Rudolf Steiner contends that folk traditions regarding nature spirits are based on spiritual reality. He describes how people possessed a natural spiritual vision in ancient times, enabling them to commune with nature spirits. These entities - which are also referred to as elemental beings - became immortalised as fairies and gnomes in myth, legend and children's stories. Today, says Steiner, the instinctive understanding that humanity once had for these elemental beings should be transformed into clear scientific knowledge. He even asserts that humanity will not be able to reconnect with the spiritual world if it cannot develop a new relationship to the elementals. The nature spirits themselves want to be of great assistance to us, acting as 'emissaries of higher divine spiritual beings'.

Translation of: Die Verbindung zwischen Lebenden und Toten. Dornach, Switzerland: Rudolf Steiner Verlag, 1995. Based on transcripts not reviewed by the speaker.

In an astonishing series of lectures on the science of spiritual knowledge, Rudolf Steiner begins by addressing an audience in Dornach, Switzerland - where, only months earlier, his architectural masterpiece, the first Goetheanum, had been destroyed by fire.

How are we connected to the world around us? This question, says Rudolf Steiner, is one that lives subliminally, drawing us into the depths of the psyche. There, our candle of consciousness tends to flicker and go out. But spiritual schooling can relight it, so that we learn to perceive realms of our being beyond the restricted self.

The heart of this volume comprises Rudolf Steiner's commentary on the elemental forces that are responsible for our earthly nature as human beings - forces that influence us through our membership of a national or geographical group. When such elemental forces are not recognised and understood, he states, they cause conflict and chaos.

The Rose Cross meditation is central to the western - Rosicrucian - path of personal development as presented by Rudolf Steiner. Steiner repeatedly referred to the meditation as a 'symbol of human development' that illustrates the transformation of the human being's instincts and desires. These work unconsciously in the soul, and in thought, feeling and will. Through personal development, the 'I' - the essential self - can gain mastery over these unconscious forces of the soul. The Rose Cross meditation features the red rose as an image to which the student, via specific means, aspires. To the plant is added the black cross which, pointing to the mystery of death and resurrection, provides a symbol of the higher development of the human I. The metamorphosis of the roses and the cross into the symbol of the Rose Cross is brought about by the student's inner efforts, creating an entirely new image. This becomes the starting point for further steps along the meditative path.The Rose Cross meditation is the only pictorial meditation whose content and structure Steiner described in such detail. In this invaluable book, the editor has drawn together virtually all Rudolf Steiner's statements on the subject, arranging them chronologically within the motif of each chapter. His words are supported by commentary and notes.

'Our neurosensory system is inwardly configured music, and we experience music as an artistic quality to the degree that a piece of music is in tune with the mystery of our own musical structure.' - Rudolf SteinerWhat is music? Rudolf Steiner regards the essence of music as something spiritual, inaudible to the senses. The world of tones, borne on the vibrations of air, is not the essential element. 'The true nature of music, the spiritual element in music', he says, 'is found between the tones, lies in the intervals as an inaudible quality.'Rudolf Steiner spoke repeatedly about music as something inherent both in the cosmos and the human being. It played an important role in many forms of ritual and worship, and people once perceived a link between music and the world of stars, which was seen as the dwelling place of the gods. Nowadays our view of music is divorced from such religious outlooks, but research repeatedly demonstrates the profound effect it continues to have on us. In this unique anthology of texts, compiled with a commentary and notes by Michael Kurtz, Steiner describes the realm of the spiritually-resonating harmonies of the spheres and our intrinsic connection to this cosmic music. He also explores the phenomenon of musical listening and experience, as well as Goethe's approach to music.

'Large temptations will emanate from these machine-animals, produced by people themselves, and it will be the task of a spiritual science that explores the cosmos to ensure all these temptations do not exert any damaging influence on human beings.'In an increasingly digitised world, where both work and play are more and more taking place online and via screens, Rudolf Steiner's dramatic statements from 1917 appear prophetic. Speaking of 'intelligent machines' that would appear in the future, Steiner presents a broad context that illustrates the multitude of challenges human beings will face. If humanity and the Earth are to continue to evolve together with the cosmos, and not be cut off from it entirely, we will need to work consciously and spiritually to create a counterweight to such phenomena.In the lectures gathered here, edited with commentary and notes by Andreas Neider, Rudolf Steiner addresses a topic that he was never to speak of again: the secret of the 'geographical' or the 'ahrimanic' doppelganger. The human nervous system houses an entity that does not belong to its constitution, he states. This is an ahrimanic being which enters the body shortly before birth and leaves at death, providing the basis for all electrical currents that are needed to process and coordinate sense perceptions and react to them.Based on his spiritual research, Rudolf Steiner discusses this doppelganger or 'double' in the wider context of historic occult events relating to 'spirits of darkness'. Specific brotherhoods seek to keep such knowledge to themselves in order to exert power and spread materialism. But this knowledge is critical, says Steiner, if the geographical doppelganger and its challenges are to be understood.

'Like so much of Renaissance Art, Shakespeare's work bears an open secret. The esoteric spiritual content is undisguised, though it may be unexpected and not always immediately recognized. And, like all the great artistic achievements...this work remains incomplete until we recognize and respond to its open invitation that we become active participants.' - from the IntroductionThe perennial universal appeal of Shakespeare's work is well established. His core themes explore the challenges of the human condition whilst celebrating the potential of human beings to achieve and develop in earthly life. But what is it that enables Shakespeare's characters to live and breathe beyond the confines of their written roles, some 400 years after the plays were first performed? In these collected lectures, edited with an extensive introduction by Andrew Wolpert, Rudolf Steiner throws new light on the Bard's work, describing the on-going life that flows from it, and the profound spiritual origins of Shakespeare's inspirations. He shows how Shakespeare can enliven us in our longing for contemporary ideals and truths; indeed, in our goal of becoming fully human. Our engagement with the plays, not just as actors and directors, but also as students and members of an audience, can thus become a co-creative participation in the redemptive potential of Shakespeare's enduring legacy. Steiner speaks about Shakespeare in connection with the evolution of the arts of poetry and drama, and the transitions between cultural epochs. He reminds us of the sources and characteristics of classical Greek drama, recalling Aristotle's definition of drama as catharsis, and pointing to Shakespeare's connection to these cultural and historical wellsprings.

'Whatever turbulent outward events occur in the world, whatever form is taken by things seeking to work their way out of the depths of human evolution, we only really hearken to the true, underlying nature of these events ... if we observe the world from a spiritual perspective.' - Rudolf Steiner. In seeking to heal the many social crises of our time, Rudolf Steiner urges us to turn away from 'fixed principles, theories or social dogmas' and to rediscover the real nature of the human being. This inner reality - that cannot be understood in materialistic or deterministic ways - is the only basis on which society can truly be founded. But it is not sufficient to speak of well-meaning ideas, he says, unless we are also active in working for change; change that begins with each of us. In 1919, a year marked by strong social and political upheavals, Steiner was deeply concerned with questions relating to society. Having published a book on the subject (Towards Social Renewal), he embarked on a major campaign to publicize his 'threefold' social ideas. In addition to public lectures, however, Steiner sought to deepen the subject in a series of talks to members of the Anthroposophical Society. These lectures, gathered in this volume, reveal the 'inner' or 'esoteric' aspects of the social question. They complement Steiner's very practical efforts to realize threefolding in the historical context of his time. Whilst Steiner's suggestions for social change may not seem self-evident to pragmatic thinking, they will strike a resonant chord in many who seek deeper answers to the social problems of our times - problems that politicians seem unable to remedy. Amidst the many themes tackled here, Steiner addresses the issue of nationalism as a retrograde tendency; the tasks of Central Europe and Britain in relation to the East; the incarnation of Ahriman in the West, and the historical incarnation of Lucifer in the third millennium BC.

"The translation is based on the 2nd edition (1980) of volume 277, Eurythmie: Die Offenbarung der sprechenden Seele, of the German-language Gesamtausgabe ... published by Rudolf Steiner-Nachlassverwaltung, Dornach. Additional materials from other volumes ... have been included as indicated in the Notes and Introduction"--Title page verso.

10 lectures, Stuttgart and Dornach, January 23 - March 4, 1923 (CW 257)"We are firmly in our understanding of things of the spirit only when we do not rest content with abstract spiritual concepts and a capacity to express them theoretically, but instead grow into a sure belief that higher beings are present with us in a community of spirit when we engage in spiritual study. No external measures can bring about anthroposophical community-building. You have to call it forth from the profoundest depths of human consciousness."-- Rudolf SteinerSteiner presented these lectures right after the fire that destroyed the first Goetheanum. Given during the year before the Anthroposophical Society was reestablished, they form an important part of the history of the anthroposophic movement.Steiner calls for a "searching of conscience." He explains that in anthroposophic communities we can experience our first awakening to the spirit in our encounters with others, and he describes how the reversed cultus" forms the foundation for a new community life.

In what has been referred to as 'the most advanced course in anthroposophy', Rudolf Steiner addresses one of the great questions of our time: the role of evil in human development. He speaks of the year 666, when three time streams intersected - the familiar linear stream and two 'lateral' streams - and the reoccurrence of the 666-year rhythm in history. At the heart of this mystery is the being Sorat ('the beast'), who attempted to flood humanity with premature spiritual knowledge by inspiring the scholars of the ancient Academy of Gondishapur. Although responsible for the saving of Aristotle's works, Steiner describes how the Academy generated tremendous but dangerous gnostic wisdom, which eventually spread through the Christian monasteries and inspired Western scientific thought. Its immediate negative impact, however, had to be counteracted by the Prophet Muhammad and the founding of Islam. In contrast to the 666-year rhythm in history, the 333-year rhythm is connected to the healing forces of the Mystery of Golgotha. The year 333 was a central point in the post-Atlantean age, but also a pivotal moment in establishing the Christ Impulse and the new equilibrium it brought to humanity, allowing people to gain wisdom through their own efforts. Such wisdom enables insight into three key areas: supersensible knowledge of birth and death; understanding of an individual's life; and the ability consciously to confront the adversarial beings of Lucifer and Ahriman. Steiner addresses a host of additional themes, including occult Freemasonry in Anglo-American countries; materialism in the Roman Catholic Church; prophetic and apocalyptic vision; dualism and fatalism in pre-Christian times; and the delusion of time and space. Seeking to awaken his listeners to the urgency of the tasks ahead of them, he urges that spiritual understanding be enlivened with enthusiasm, fire and warmth of heart.

'To live in truth, to wish to be true in one's whole being, will be the watchword of the future.' - Rudolf Steiner. In the midst of the lies and propaganda of the Great War, Rudolf Steiner struggled to convey the truths of the human spirit. The 'truth' asserted by partisan interests, he suggested, was invariably tinged with dishonesty - whether the outright mendacities of politicians and rulers (Steiner refers here to the machinations of the British Empire), or the manipulative techniques of secret societies, intent on securing and shoring up their own power. In relation to the latter, Rudolf Steiner highlights how, whilst we tend to reject overt authority nowadays, we succumb more easily to its covert forms in the 'received wisdoms' we often unthinkingly adopt. In seeking to help his audiences discern the spiritual struggle unfolding behind outer events, Steiner describes how the intrigues that led to the war were based on intentional deceit, which served hidden aims of which the public was mostly kept in the dark. In contrast to the divisiveness of untruth, truth is based on a realization of the interconnectedness of all things - of interdependence between the realms 'below' and 'above' us. The 'I', upon which all evolution on earth is predicated, signifies an overcoming of egotism and narrow interests, together with the imaginative embrace of all beings. Its spiritual reality - that descends to us from non-material worlds and towards which we evolve through earthly lives - is the epitome of truth. Amidst many other topics covered here, Rudolf Steiner speaks about The Qur'an and the Mystery of Golgotha; Henry VIII, Thomas More and the Church of England; the Jesuits and their State in Paraguay; Freemasons, esoteric symbols, and handshakes; Madame Blavatsky's occult imprisonment by Anglo-Saxon brotherhoods; Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov; and the occult literature of Papus and Levi.

'...This will generate a struggle covering the face of the whole earth. The one and only remedy for this nonsense being made of human evolution will be the path that can lead humanity to the spirit - the path of Michael, which finds its continuation in the path of Christ.' - Rudolf Steiner. Speaking in the aftermath of the Great War, Rudolf Steiner presents a series of extraordinary lectures on the power and mission of the Archangel Michael. He paints on a broad canvas - in the context of cosmic and human evolution - revealing Michael's tasks in the past, present and future. Originally the countenance of Yahweh, Michael has metamorphosed from a 'night spirit' to a 'day spirit'. As 'the Countenance of Christ', Michael helps us find a balance between 'luciferic' and 'ahrimanic' tendencies. The old 'dualism' (such as good versus evil), says Steiner, needs to be replaced by the trinity of Lucifer-Christ-Ahriman. Filling our heart with the Christ Impulse creates an equilibrium between the luciferic influence that imbues our head and the ahrimanic influence at work in our limbs. Rudolf Steiner describes how humanity faces three dangers in the social sphere: spiritual life could flow into the 'pit of mendacity' ruled by Ahriman, individual rights might descend into the 'pit of selfishness' (Lucifer), and economics into cultural sickness and death (Asuras). In order to prevent European-American culture from perishing, it will be necessary to turn towards contemporary 'threefold' social ideas. Steiner also speaks about the principle of metamorphosis in connection with evolution and devolution, as evident in the design of the pillars in the newly-built Goetheanum. Architectural styles are an expression of human evolution, as can be seen in Greek temples, gothic Cathedrals, the Grail temple and the building at Dornach. Amidst many other themes, Rudolf Steiner addresses the problem of natural necessity and freedom, and the abolition of the trichotomy of body, soul and spirit at the Council of Constantinople in AD 869.