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The laying of the Foundation Stone, lectures and addresses, discussion of the Statutes, Dornach, Dec. 24, 1923 - Jan. 1, 1924 (CW 260)"This anthroposophic movement is not an earthly service. This anthroposophic movement in its entirety, in all its details, is a service of the gods, a divine service." --Rudolf SteinerDuring Christmastime 1923, one year after the fiery destruction of the first Goetheanum, in a wooden carpentry shop overlooking the charred ruins Rudolf Steiner established the General Anthroposophical Society, to which he joined his destiny. This volume documents that occasion. Readers will find the complete proceedings of the conference, as well as Steiner's in-depth description of the structure and organization of the new Society. Discussions of the statutes are also recorded in detail. The laying of the Foundation Stone into the hearts of the members is at the center of this book. The foundation Stone Verse (or mantra) is reproduced in the different forms in which Steiner gave it each day of the conference along with his commentary on its different rhythms.Also included is Rudolf Steiner's lecture on plans for the second Goetheanum, illuminating the spiritual significance of its architecture, as well as his talk on the burning of the temple at Ephesus. This edition features a foreword and conclusion by Marie Steiner. The text is complemented by a list and biographical data of the members mentioned and reproductions of handwritten notes and blackboard sketches.This volume is a translation from German of Die Weihnachtstagung zur Begründung der Allgemeinen Anthroposophischen Gesellschaft (GA 260).

12 lectures, Hamburg, May 18-31, 1908 (CW 103)"It was Steiner's intention in these lectures to establish the ways in which this Gospel and its author, Lazarus-John, the one Christ called the beloved disciple, provided one of the surest paths to an understanding of the profound relationship of Christ to each human person and to Earth.... He leads his audience, and us readers, to an understanding of Lazarus-John unknown even to the other three primary evangelists--Matthew, Mark, and Luke--who wrote their Gospels several decades before Lazarus-John." -- Robert McDermott (from the introduction)In these twelve profound lectures, Rudolf Steiner uncovers and reclaims the essential truths of Christianity, illuminating the Gospel of John in all its majesty, power, and far-reaching significance.Foremost among the revelations to be found here is the identity of the writer of John's Gospel--the risen Lazarus, the disciple whom the Lord loved. Lazarus-John, the first to be initiated by Christ Himself, wrote his Gospel out of the deepest wellsprings of knowledge, implanting within it vital spiritual forces. As Steiner states in the final lecture of this volume, "This Gospel is not a textbook but a force that can work within our souls." It is this force living in the words and rhythms of John's Gospel that purifies the soul, transforming it--in the language of esoteric Christianity--into the Virgin Sophia, receptive to the Holy Spirit.Along this path, we come to recognize that Christianity, far from being a codified system of beliefs, is a living power within the evolution of humanity, a power that is only at the beginning of its activity. What Steiner calls the Mystery of Golgotha--the death and resurrection of Christ--stands as the turning point of time, the event through which the Earth receives its meaning. The effects of this event, and the further activity of Christ as the Spirit of the Earth, will continue to evolve from year to year, century to century, until one day in the distant future, Christianity will fulfill its mission. This cannot happen, however, until Christianity is understood "in its true, spiritual form."This lecture cycle is an essential guide to understanding the true mission of Christianity, a guide to spiritualizing the Earth, transforming the Cosmos of Wisdom into the Cosmos of Love. As with all great books, The Gospel of John not only imparts knowledge--it can also change you."Our lectures on the Gospel of John will have a double purpose. One will be the deepening of the concepts of anthroposophy themselves and their expansion in many directions, and the other will be to make this great document itself comprehensible by means of the thoughts that will arise in our souls in consequence of these deepened and expanded concepts. I beg you to hold clearly in mind that it is the intention of these lectures to proceed in these two directions. It should not be simply a question of arguments about this Gospel, but rather that by means of the latter we shall penetrate into the deep mysteries of existence. We should hold very clearly in mind how the perspective of anthroposophy must be developed when we are dealing with any of the great historical records handed down to us by the different religions of the world. -- Rudolf Steiner (lecture 1)This volume is a translation from German of Das Johannes-Evangelium (GA 103). Cover image: The Raising of Lazarus, by William Blake (1757-1827). Pencil, pen, ink, and watercolor on paper, 11.6" x 16". Aberdeen Art Gallery, Scotland.

17 lectures, Berlin, May 29 - September 25, 1917 (CW 176)"When faced with the way events are depicted in history, we should sense how necessary it is to rethink them. We should sense that today's difficult time, which has brought such misery upon humanity, is the karmic effect of distorted, superficial thinking. We should sense that the painful experiences we are going through are in many respects the karma of materialism."--Rudolf SteinerWe read in modern history books about external events isolated within themselves or subject to the random, blind working of mechanistically conceived causes and effects. But is it possible to view the events of our times--pandemics, war, political upheaval, etc.--as symptoms of an underlying disease, karmic consequences of humanity's fall into materialism? In these lectures, given in the midst of World War I, Rudolf Steiner addresses this question with insight, nuance, and a deep love for humanity and the collective spiritual mission of our Earth.Science--which should not be a set of beliefs or dogmas but a method and practice of inquiry--has become wedded, especially since the nineteenth century, to the worldview of materialism. This problematic union is most dangerous when erroneous concepts and lines of thought are extended beyond the domain of theory into the sphere of practical life. In these lectures, Steiner implores his audience "to become conscious of where humanity will be led if what today calls itself science is allowed to set the tone and to insinuate itself into realms where concepts become realities." Although given more than one hundred years ago, the message of these lectures is more urgent today than ever before.This volume is a translation of Menschliche und menschheitlicheEntwicklungswahrheiten. Das Karma des Materialismus, 2nd edition, Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach, Switzerland, 1982 (GA 176). Cover image: Materia by Umberto Boccioni (1882-1916).

In this extraordinary series of lectures, Rudolf Steiner throws light on hidden aspects of world affairs. The new edition of this classic work features a revised translation, notes and extensive appendices by editor Frederick Amrine, plus a new introduction by Christopher Schaefer.

11 lectures, Oslo, June 7-17, 1910 (CW 121)"It is particularly important...especially at the present time, to speak about the mission of the individual folk souls...because the destiny of humanity in the near future will bring people together in far greater measure than has hitherto been the case in order to fulfil a mission common to the whole of humanity. But the members of the individual peoples will only be able to offer their proper, free, and positive contributions if they have, above all else, an understanding of their own native origin, an understanding of what we might call the self-knowledge of their people, their folk."-- Rudolf SteinerIn the mythologies of all ancient cultures, humanity is portrayed as intimately interwoven with the activity of lesser and greater gods, spirits, devas, and elemental beings--as members of the grand symphony of creation. Who are these gods, pictured so vividly in various myths and legends? And how are they connected with the mission of humanity as a whole and the diverse peoples of the Earth? In his preface to this lecture course, Steiner argues that a true basis for a "psychology of peoples" cannot be given by the "anthropological, ethnographical, or even historical studies" of conventional science, but requires "a basis...in spiritual reality." It is precisely this spiritual reality--the creative activity of the beings of the hierarchies in connection with the destiny of humanity--that forms the heart of these lectures and of Steiner's view of folk psychology more broadly.These lectures form Rudolf Steiner's most comprehensive and profound account of the mission of folk souls.The Mission of Folk Souls is a translation of Die Mission einzelner Volksseelen im Zusammenhange mit der germanisch-nordischen Mythologie (6th rev, ed.), Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Basel, 2017 (GA 121). Cover image Old Sun. The Awakening of the Archangels, by Zvi Szir.

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 Mächte, 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.

10 Lectures in Copenhagen and Norrköping, 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 figures 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 find 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. Über 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.