Bøger udgivet af Rudolf Steiner Press

Samples of Steiner's work are to be found in this book of edited texts, which brings together excerpts from his many talks and writings on the subject of the Druids. This volume also features an editorial introduction, commentary and notes by Dr Andrew Welburn.

This thoroughly revised edition of Background to the Gospel of St Mark by Rudolf Steiner, includes notes and appendices by Frederick Amrine and an extensive introduction by Robert McDermott.

Rudolf Steiner's four modern mystery dramas are powerful portrayals of the complex laws of reincarnation and karma, transporting us to landscapes of soul and spirit where supra-sensory beings are visible, active and influential.

Barely four months after the end of the First World War, with Europe in chaos and exhausted from years of conflict, Rudolf Steiner offered these lectures of hope and renewal. Despite continuing social troubles around the world, he knew that human beings had an opportunity to organize society in a new way.

Speaking during the early stages of the First World War - with the Western Front just miles away and thousands of young men dying - Rudolf Steiner focuses on the subject of death. These extraordinary lectures, previously unpublished in English, are presented here with an introduction, notes and an index.

Steiner divides these absorbing, previously-untranslated lectures into three sections, opening with 'The Value of Thinking'. He discusses the quality of thinking itself, contrasting 'dead physical cognition', 'living imaginative cognition', 'inspired cognition', and the latter's connection with previous periods of human and planetary development.

Replete with fresh immediacy, rich spiritual content, innovation and occasional humour, these talks were given at a time when Rudolf Steiner was preparing for independence from the Theosophical Society. The lectures are complemented with an introduction by Margaret Jonas, detailed notes and an index.

Hilde Raske, an artist and eurythmist, worked and experimented for many years to understand Rudolf Steiner's art and use of color. Raske grew so familiar with his unique works that she could vividly and clearly describe every detail. She referred to Steiner's artworks as 'events' in color and light-and-dark, with living colors that 'spoke' to her.

'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 SteinerBeginning 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.

Reassessing human history in relation to the cosmic-earthly events of Christ's incarnation, Rudolf Steiner stresses the significance of both Gnostic spirituality and the legends of the Holy Grail. The 'Christ-Impulse', he tells us, is not a one-time event but a continuous process, beginning well before Jesus of Nazareth walked the earth. This mighty impulse is a force that gives impetus to human development, such as with the extraordinary blossoming of free thinking of the last two millennia. Surveying this pattern of evolving human thought, Steiner explains the roles of contrasting historical figures, for example the great teacher Zarathustra, Joan of Arc and Johannes Keplar. We are shown the widespread influence of the clairvoyant prophetesses, the sibyls, who formed a backdrop to the Greco-Roman world. Steiner contrasts their revelations to those of the Hebrew prophets.The lectures culminate in the secret background to the Parzival narrative. Steiner illustrates how it is possible to experience the Holy Grail by reading the stellar script in the sky at Easter. Here, he provides a rare personal account of the processes he utilized to conduct esoteric research. The new edition of these much-loved lectures features a revised translation and an introduction, appendices and notes by Frederick Amrine.

14 lectures, Dornach, September 29 - October 28, 1917 (CW 177) Speaking toward the end of the catastrophic World War I, Rudolf Steiner reveals the spiritual roots of the crises of today. Since 1879, human minds have been influenced by backward angels, he says, "spirits of darkness," who--following their defeat in battle with Archangel Michael--were forced out of the heavens and "fell" to earth. That war in the spiritual worlds has had consequences, and it is essential for us today to become sufficiently awake to the retrogressive influences surrounding us. In a positive sense, we can choose freely to engage with the spirits of light, who seek to emancipate humankind from bonds of race, nation, and blood. In this extraordinary series of lectures, Steiner sheds light on hidden aspects of world affairs. The Bolshevik Revolution was a recent event when he discussed events in Russia and humanity's attempts to build a theoretically ideal social order. Steiner also speaks in these lectures about the roles and spiritual backgrounds of significant individuals, including Johann Valentin Andreae, Vladimir Solovyov, Louis Claude de Saint-Martin, and American and British politicians Woodrow Wilson and Lloyd George, as well as world-renown figures such as Charles Darwin and Goethe."In earlier times, the elemental spirits of birth and death essentially served the divine spirits who guided the world; since our day--and this has been going on for some time now--the elemental spirits of birth and death are serving technology, industry, and human commerce. It is important to let this disturbing truth enter our souls with all its power and intensity." -- Rudolf Steiner (lecture 4)This new edition of features a revised translation, notes, and extensive appendices by Frederick Amrine and a new introduction by Christopher Schaefer.This volume is a translation from German of Die spirituellen Hintergründe der äußeren Welt. Der Sturz der Geister der Finsternis. Geistige Wesen und Ihre Wirkung, Band I, Dornach, 1999 (GA 177). Cover image San Michele sconfigge gli angeli ribelli (ca.1666), by Luca Giordano (1660-1665), Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

"Sixteen lectures given in Berlin, Cologne and Nuremberg in 1904, 1905 and 1907 (from audience notes)" -- title page.

In an absorbing series of lectures, Rudolf Steiner discloses factors in a person's life on Earth that will influence their experiences in the spiritual world after their death - and conversely, factors in the spiritual world that will affect their next life on Earth. Steiner focuses on the period in the afterlife when the individual has been through kamaloka - the purgatorial place where the soul is purified. Once the soul has been cleansed of its astral sheath, it becomes open to cosmic influences, expanding into the planetary sphere. Now it can begin preparation for reincarnation - for a new human life on Earth. Steiner addresses the vital relationship of the living to the dead - in particular, how those on Earth can influence the souls of the dead. He also speaks on themes of 'Sleep and death', 'The seven-year life cycles of man', and offers a 'Christmas gift' in the form of a lecture on Christian Rosenkreutz and Gautama Buddha. He ends with a mighty picture of the Mystery of Golgotha: Jesus Christ's death on the cross was only seemingly a death; in reality it enabled the momentous birth of the Earth-Soul.Long out-of-print, the freshly-revised text of the ten lectures in this new edition is complemented with an introduction, notes and appendices by Professor Frederick Amrine, and also features an index.

In this landmark series of lectures, Rudolf Steiner challenges the notion that human consciousness has in essence remained the same throughout history. On the contrary, we can only see the past in its true light when we study the differences in human souls during the various historical eras. Consciousness, he says, evolves constantly and we can only comprehend the present by understanding its origin in the past.Delivered in the evenings during the course of the 'mystery act' of the Christmas Foundation Meeting - when Rudolf Steiner not only re-founded the Anthroposophical Society but for the first time took a formal role within it - these lectures study world history in parallel with the ancient mysteries of initiation, showing how they are intimately linked. Steiner describes consciousness in the ancient East and follows the initiation principle from Babylonia to Greece, up to its influences in present-day spiritual life. He also discusses Gilgamesh and Eabani, the mysteries of Ephesus and Hibernia, and the occult relationship between the destruction by fire of the Temple of Artemis and the burning of the first Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland.Published for the first time with colour plates of Steiner's blackboard drawings, the freshly-revised text is complemented with an introduction, notes and appendices by Professor Frederick Amrine and an index.

Rudolf Steiner shows how deeply and intimately human beings, the microcosm, are related to the macrocosm. But for Steiner the macrocosm is more than just the physical universe. It includes many hidden realms - like the world of Elements and the world of Archetypes - which lie behind outer manifestations such as our physical body. The macrocosm works within us continuously - in the daily alternation between sleeping and waking and in the great cyclical interchange between incarnation on earth and our time between death and rebirth. Steiner discusses the various paths of self-development that lead across the threshold to spiritual dimensions, transforming human soul-forces into organs of higher perception. In future we will even have the capacity to evolve a form of thinking that is higher than the intellect - the thinking of the heart. In this classic series of lectures, now retranslated and featuring a previously-unavailable public address, Rudolf Steiner also discusses: the planets and their connection with our sleeping and waking life; the inner path of the mystic; the 'greater' and 'lesser' guardians of the threshold; the Egyptian mysteries of Osiris and Isis; initiation in the Northern mysteries; The four spheres of the higher worlds; mirror-images of the macrocosm in man; the strengthening powers of sleep; the symbol of the Rose Cross; reading the Akashic Record; four-dimensional space; the development of future human capacities, and much more. The volume includes an introduction, notes and index.

Rudolf Steiner's inspiring words provide rich and nourishing thoughts and ideas for self-development and spiritual enlightenment. Daily Contemplations offers a separate passage from Steiner's lectures - a special gift upon which to reflect - to accompany each day of the year. Carefully selected by Jean-Claude Lin, the quotations are sourced from lectures and addresses that Steiner gave on the specific day in question. Thus, the ordering is not arbitrary but arises from the historical fact of the lectures themselves. This unique volume gives us a new way of working with Steiner's research on a daily basis. The short passages encourage us to ponder and delve further in order to make our own creative discoveries.'Wisdom is the premise, the foundation of love; love is the fruit of wisdom reborn in the I.' These words from Rudolf Steiner are the founding motifs of his immense lecturing activity - to which this book gives manifold entry points. As Lin notes in his introduction, 'wisdom and love are the alpha and omega of the human being who strives for truth and freedom'.

'The present age needs to understand that human beings must hold the balance between the two extremes, between the ahrimanic and the luciferic poles. People always tend to go in one direction... The Christ stands in the middle, holding the balance.'- Rudolf SteinerThese eleven lectures were given in post-war Stuttgart against a backdrop of struggle and uncertainty - not only within society at large but also within the anthroposophical movement. Rudolf Steiner and his supporters were working to introduce 'threefold' social ideas and - given Steiner's public profile - were coming under increasing personal and sometimes physical attack.Steiner responds to this turbulent situation by revealing the spiritual background to the forces of decline working in contemporary civilization. He speaks of retrogressive powers - spiritual beings referred to as luciferic or ahrimanic - that work directly into human culture, manifesting, for example, in what he refers to as the 'initiation streams' of Western secret societies, the Church-allied impulse of Jesuitism and the Bolshevik force of Leninism. The spiritual agents of adversity also encourage polarised thinking and false opposites such as East verses West, materialism and mysticism, or knowledge and belief. Only the threefold principle - represented by Christ - allows us to create a balance in the midst of these existential conflicts.This freshly-reworked translation is complemented with notes, an index and an introduction by Matthew Barton.

'Suppose you have seen an event, have formed an idea about it, and you say something that is not true - in other words, something that is a lie. Then what flows from the object is correct and what flows from you is false and this collision is a terrible explosion; and each time you do this, you attach a gruesome being to your karma which you cannot get rid of again until you have made good what you lied about.' - Rudolf SteinerIn a previously-untranslated volume of lectures, Rudolf Steiner presents shattering insights regarding the interaction of human and spiritual beings. He speaks, for example, about how perfumes can give certain spirits access to people on earth, or how phantoms, spectres and demons can be created through human deficiencies - or even how the arts of architecture, sculpture, painting and music allow 'good' or 'hideous' entities to enter our world. As he states: 'Learning about the effects of spiritual beings is of much greater help than moral preaching. A future humanity willknowwhat it is creating through lies, hypocrisy and slander.'The lectures are divided into two broad thematic groups: the first relating to the inner path of knowledge and its relation to the yearly festivals, and the second focusing on the work of elemental beings in our everyday world. The 18 lectures are complemented with notes, an index and an introduction by Christian von Arnim.

In a previously-unavailable series of talks to the general public, Rudolf Steiner builds systematically, lecture by lecture, on the fundamentals of spiritual science - from the nature of spiritual knowledge and its relationship to conventional science, the path of personal development and the task of metaphysical research, to specific questions on the mystery of death, the meaning of fairy-tales, the significance of morality and the roles of individual figures in human evolution, such as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Jacob Boehme.At the time of these presentations, Steiner had already worked in Berlin for many years, and thus, 'could reckon with a regularly returning audience to whom what mattered was to enter ever more deeply into the areas of knowledge that were newly opening up to them' (Marie Steiner). As a consequence - and through 'a series of inter-connecting lectures whose themes are entwined with one another' - he was able to communicate a coherent and challenging spiritual perception of reality, based on his personal research. Presented here with notes, an index and an introduction by Simon Blaxland-de Lange, the 14 lectures include: 'How is Spiritual Science Refuted?'; 'On What Foundation is Spiritual Science Based'; 'The Tasks of Spiritual Research for both Present and Future'; 'Errors of Spiritual Research'; 'Results of Spiritual Research for Vital Questions and the Riddle of Death'; The World-Conception of a Cultural Researcher of the Present, Herman Grimm' and 'The Legacy of the Nineteenth Century'.

How might we improve the way we organize society, so that human beings can live in greater peace, dignity and justice?Against a background of chronic discontent and social conflict around the globe, Richard Masters presents a comprehensive survey of Rudolf Steiner's work on societal reform, sifting through and summarizing the content of dozens of books, lectures and discussions. Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) is not known today for his social thinking, but he wrote and spoke at length on such issues during and after WWI, engaging with audiences ranging from royalty, politicians and business owners to illiterate, dispossessed factory workers. Central to his ideas was his 'threefold' approach to politics, economics and culture, arguing that their roles should be clarified and the three spheres allowed to thrive independently.Drawing on the full range of source material - including much not yet available in English - the author reveals the continuing relevance of Steiner's work to our contemporary situation. With an emphasis on accessibility, he builds up the subject methodically, studying the main ideas from differing perspectives. He also provides candid reflections on the degree to which Steiner's proposals are still applicable to current policy and practice. Authoritative and yet jargon-free,Rudolf Steiner and Social Reformoffers innovative and stimulating ideas for anyone concerned with the state of our world.

The philosopher and educationalist Rudolf Steiner was also a radical dramatist who wrote four lengthy and complex plays. The first of these, The Portal of Initiation, is rich in content and artistically presented, but leaves us with questions: Why is the first scene so long and many speeches so lengthy? Why are our usual expectations of drama not met? Was Steiner really a competent dramatist?In this essential guide, Trevor Dance suggests that the first step to appreciatingThe Portal of Initiationis to understand Steiner's methods. The play belongs to the tradition of Mystery Dramas from ancient times - artistic works intended as vehicles for inner development. Steiner thus combines aspects of Goethe's alchemical fableThe Green Snake and the Beautiful Lilywith the spiritual growth of contemporary individuals - all in the broader context of reincarnation and karma. With accessibility in mind, the author provides a clear synopsis of each scene and introduces us to the characters - a collection of rustics, sophisticates, hierophants and spiritual entities. Their dilemmas and challenges take place on many layers of reality: from a room in Sophia's house to the exalted Sun Temple.Revealing the enigmas behind the creation and content ofThe Portal of Initiation, Dance enables us not only toenjoythe play, but also toloveit. His lucid guide - the first of its kind - is an ideal introduction for both individual readers and study groups.

Following on from the book of essays Perspectives and Initiatives in the Times of Coronavirus, key figures from the School of Spiritual Science at the Goetheanum assess critical societal issues in a series of striking lectures. In the context of the continuing Covid-19 pandemic.

A Life with Colour is the first complete survey of Gerard Wagner's biography and his artistic intentions, featuring dozens of illustrations and more than 120 colour plates. The life and work of Gerard Wagner (1906-1999) were closely aligned to the artistic-spiritual stream connected with the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland.

Previously untranslated, this collection of twelve lectures represents a middle point in Rudolf Steiner's unique exposition of the Christian gospels - his momentous courses on St John and St Luke had already been delivered, whilst his lectures on the Matthew and Mark gospels were yet to follow.