How was the world created? Battle lines are currently drawn between two dogmatic camps: the fundamentalist 'Creationists' who believe that creation took place in six days, and the scientific reductionists who expound theories of 'big bangs' and so on. From a direct spiritual perception of the facts, Rudolf Steiner presents a new perspective which transcends these bipolar arguments. He affirms that clairvoyant research accords with the biblical descriptions, but he emphasizes that the text ...

The Lord's Prayer stands at the heart of Christianity. Over the past two millennia it has been spoken millions of times by millions of people around the world. Rudolf Steiner affirms the power of this prayer, given by Jesus Christ himself, and encourages us to begin to understand it at deeper levels. Such an understanding, he explains, is now necessary for humanity's further development. In the four lectures he gave on this subject, collected here under one cover, Rudolf Steiner penetrates...

Building on the achievements of Goethe in his Theory of Colour, Rudolf Steiner shows how colour affects us in many areas of life, including our health, our sense of well-being, and our feelings. Distinguishing between 'image' and 'lustre' colours, he lays the foundation, based on his spiritual-scientific research, for a practical technique of working with colour that leads to a new direction in artistic creativity. His many penetrating remarks on some of the great painters of the past are ...

The spiritual-scientific investigator has ... to transform the soul itself into an instrument; then - when his soul is awakened and he can see into a spiritual world - he experiences, on a higher level, a similar great moment as blind people do when, having been operated upon, they look at a world they have not seen before. In a key series of lectures on personal development, Rudolf Steiner explains that the central mission of spiritual science is to enable people to ascend, in full consci...

Although recent years have seen major advances in science and technology, the social aspect of life still presents major problems for western societies. The general increase in destructive, antisocial behaviour over past decades has raised the profile of social issues, yet effective ideas to tackle the difficulties are often nowhere to be found. Many decades ago, Rudolf Steiner suggested new ways of organizing society and engaging with social questions. This book presents his inner, esoter...

According to the initiate-research of Rudolf Steiner, humanity is in a continual process of transformation and evolution. Modern-day consciousness, based as it is on sense perception and abstract logic, differs considerably from the consciousness of ancient humanity. At that time, says Steiner, the human being was seen to be a microcosm, a concentration of the laws and activities of the cosmos. The loss of such knowledge today has led to the existential quest for meaning, and even the cul-...

These profound studies of the cosmic forces behind the four great festivals of the year provide a wealth of material for fruitful meditation. Rudolf Steiner presents great imaginative pictures which unite the heavens and the earth through a portrayal of the activities of the archangels Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel. In the course of the lectures he offers spiritual wisdom on subjects which include the alchemical processes of sulphur, mercury and salt in the cosmos, man and the plant,...

Those who observe human nature with regard to the smallest things will find that everyday experiences can also lead to an understanding of the greatest actualities...' In a refreshingly practical series of lectures, Rudolf Steiner speaks about the nature of the human soul and how it can be metamorphosed and raised to a higher consciousness. He studies the spiritual significance of various expressions of human nature, including laughing and weeping, sickness and health, error and mental dis...

Within the Mystery cultures of ancient history, art, science and religion formed a unity that offered direction and spiritual nourishment to the broader society. Today, art, science and religion can again be reunited. However, as Marie Steiner indicates in her introduction to these lectures, these aspects of our culture need rejuvenation through fresh spiritual understanding and knowledge. Art cannot be renewed through compromise, but only by returning to the spiritual foundations of life....

Rudolf Steiner gives a penetrating description - from his spiritual research into the evolution and history of the human being, earth and cosmos - of the experiences people gained through the ancient mysteries. With an Introduction by Dr A. Welburn

Throughout the ages, traditional folklore has spoken of guardian angels as spirits who guide and protect human beings. In modern times, however, their existence has largely been written off as myth and superstition.Based on his personal experience and cognition, Rudolf Steiner speaks of guardian angels and other spiritual beings as a reality. Their existence, he says, is a spiritual and scientific fact which can be fruitfully researched and studied through clairvoyant means. Furthermore, w...

There is the possibility of a comparatively quick maturing of insight into karmic relationships if, for a considerable time, we try patiently, and with inner energy, to picture with greater and greater consciousness an experience which would otherwise simply take its course, without being properly grasped, and fade away in the course of life...In this unique lecture, Rudolf Steiner presents a practical exercise for gaining insight into karma. He draws our attention to the ordinary events o...