Search results for ""Author M. Barton""

In one of his most popular lecture courses - formerly published as Man as Symphony of the Creative Word - Rudolf Steiner presents an extraordinary panorama of spiritual knowledge centring on the human being. We are the harmony of creation - a microcosm - containing within us 'all the laws and secrets of the world'. Steiner begins by speaking about our inner relationship to three ancient and sacred representatives of the animal kingdom - eagle, lion and bul - and to the forces of the cosmos that form them. He goes on to deepen these themes by approaching the plant and animal worlds in the context of planetary and cosmic evolution. A new category is then introduced: the elemental nature spirits - the metaphysical beings who work with plants and animals. Steiner gives a unique and intimate description of them and describes the cooperation they offer to mankind. Finally, the human being - the 'harmony of the Creative Word' - is placed at the heart of this spiritual celebration of life.

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What is the principal secret of the universe? The ancient mystery saying called on the human being to 'Know Yourself!' Rudolf Steiner explains that this maxim is not asking us to study subjectively our own personal character, but rather to come to a knowledge of our true, archetypal human nature-and with it the position we occupy in the universe. In these eloquent lectures - formerly published as Man, Hieroglyph of the Universe - Rudolf Steiner speaks of the human being as the model of creation, the primary focus of the cosmos. In an extensive exposition he talks of the constellation of cosmic forces, zodiac and planets amongst which we find ourselves situated. Only a true knowledge of our human nature and the spiritual forces which surround us - the microcosm within the greater macrocosm - can enable humanity to progress, he says. This book is an important contribution to that goal: the development of a contemporary spiritual science of the human being.

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'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.

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Today we face an increasing number of challenges connected to our environment - from climate change and extreme weather patterns to deforestation, threats to animal species and ongoing crises in farming. Hardly a day goes by without further alarming reports. How are we to respond - particularly if we wish to take a broader, spiritual view of these events? Today we face an increasing number of challenges connected to our environment - from climate change and extreme weather patterns to deforestation, threats to animal species and ongoing crises in farming. Hardly a day goes by without further alarming reports. How are we to respond - particularly if we wish to take a broader, spiritual view of these events? In the extracts compiled in this volume, presented here with commentary and notes by Matthew Barton, Steiner speaks about human perception, the earth, water, plants, animals, insects, agriculture and natural catastrophes. Spiritual Ecology offers a wealth of original thought and spiritual insight for anyone who cares about the future of the earth and humanity.

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While we know of Ahriman from Persian mythology, Rudolf Steiner spoke of him as an actual, living spiritual entity. This being, he said, works to embed people firmly into physicality, encouraging dull, materialistic attitudes and a philistine, dry intellect. In these extraordinary lectures Steiner, in rare prophetic mode, talks about an actual incarnation of Ahriman on the earth and the potential consequences. Just as Christ incarnated in a physical body, so would Ahriman incarnate in the Western world - before 'a part' of the third millennium had passed. Steiner places this incarnation in the context of a 'cosmic triad' - Lucifer, Christ and Ahriman. Ahriman will incarnate as a counterpoint to the physical incarnation of Lucifer in the East in the third millennium BC, with the incarnation of Jesus Christ in Palestine as the balancing point between the two. Over the period during which Steiner developed anthroposophy - a speaking career that spanned two decades and more than six thousand lectures - he referred to the idea of Ahriman's incarnation only six times. These six lectures, together with an additional supporting excerpt, are reproduced in their entirety, and under one cover, for the first time.

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'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 Steiner These 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.

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'Let us be courageous and not draw back in fear when realities of the world of spirit that play into human life are unveiled. You see, the future of humanity depends on us learning to live with the world of spirit in the same way that we live with the physical world here on earth.' - Rudolf Steiner In a wide-ranging series of lectures, Rudolf Steiner demonstrates the integral nature of spirit and matter and their manifold connections. Speaking to audiences in London, Holland, Germany and Switzerland, Steiner explains how, through a process of evolving consciousness, humanity lost its knowledge and direct experience of the spiritual sources of existence, but now needs to reconnect with them. Spirit is the essence and power of life which, in Steiner's vivid image, 'strikes a match in our whole being' when we allow it to inform us fully. Our world cannot be understood only in physical terms but is inseparable from the divine realities continually creating and sustaining it. Reconnecting with the spirit calls upon us to heal the fractures between everyday consciousness and the metaphysical realms in which we are already embedded. In Steiner's descriptions, there is no end to the numerous reconnections possible: between our past, present and future; between the active, individualizing principle of the 'I' and the physical human body it works upon and shapes; between our physical actions and limb movements in one life and the forming or sculpting of our head in a future one; and above all, between the moral actions and insights we develop whilst alive on earth and our developing 'eye' for spiritual reality in the life after death, with all that this can mean for the future of human evolution. Taking a truly holistic approach, Rudolf Steiner tackles an eclectic series of subjects throughout these sixteen lectures - all united by the common theme of rediscovering how spirit pervades life. Apart from a focus on education in several lectures, he discusses: experiences during sleep; the human spirit and soul between death and a new birth; how spirit 'sculpts' the human organism; Christ from the perspective of anthroposophy; the battle for human nature between luciferic and ahrimanic beings; karma and the creation of conditions for our return to a new life on earth; human experience of the etheric cosmos; and the human being's faculties of hearing, speaking, singing, walking, and thinking. Together, these lectures offer a cornucopia of spiritual insights and wisdom for the present day. 16 lectures, various cities, 1922, CW 218

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'Our contemporaries - who wish to keep to a narrow-minded and superficial outlook, are annoyed to find that spiritual science continually seeks the whole picture - that it has to create a bridge between the body and the soul, and truly explores how the psyche becomes corporeal and the body becomes psychological.' How do the soul and the spirit live in human physical bodies? In our materialistic age, in which the very existence of the metaphysical is widely rejected, such questions are rarely posed let alone addressed. In this exceptional series of lectures, Rudolf Steiner speaks in scientific detail about the connection of the subtle aspects of human nature - our soul and spirit - to our physical constitution. At the heart of this course are the well-loved 'Bridge' lectures, which appear in English for the first time in their wider context. Steiner discusses the solid, fluid, air and warmth bodies, and how these are connected with the various ethers, the 'I' and human blood. He goes on to describe how ideals and ideas impact the various aspects of the human constitution - how morality is a source of 'world creativity' - with moral thinking imbuing life into substance and will. Moral ideas have a positive effect, he says, whereas theoretical ones have a negative impact. In the realm of the moral, a new natural world comes into being, and thus the moral order and the natural order are intertwined. This volume also features Steiner's classic lecture on the Isis legend and its renewal today as divine wisdom - Sophia. Other themes include the mystery of Christ as the connection between the spiritual and physical sun; the permeation of the life of thought with will (love) and permeation of the life of will with thoughts (wisdom); the path to freedom and love and their importance in the universe; the metamorphosis of head and limbs through successive lives on earth; the threefold nature of the human form (head, thorax, limbs), the threefold nature of the soul (thinking, feeling, will) and the threefold nature of the spirit (waking, dreaming, sleeping).

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Rudolf Steiner, the often undervalued, multifaceted genius of modern times, contributed much to the regeneration of culture. In addition to his philosophical teachings, he provided ideas for the development of many practical activities, including education - both general and special - agriculture, medicine, economics, architecture, science, religion and the arts. Steiner's original contribution to human knowledge was based on his ability to conduct 'spiritual research', the investigation of metaphysical dimensions of existence. With his scientific and philosophical training, he brought a new systematic discipline to the field, allowing for conscious methods and comprehensive results. A natural seer from childhood, he cultivated his spiritual vision to a high degree, enabling him to speak with authority on previously veiled mysteries of life.Samples of Steiner's work are to be found in this introductory reader in which Matthew Barton brings together excerpts from Steiner's many talks and writings on Christmas. The volume also features an editorial introduction, afterword, commentary and notes.

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Rudolf Steiner, the often undervalued, multifaceted genius of modern times, contributed much to the regeneration of culture. In addition to his philosophical teachings, he provided ideas for the development of many practical activities, including education - both general and special - agriculture, medicine, economics, architecture, science, religion and the arts. Steiner's original contribution to human knowledge was based on his ability to conduct 'spiritual research', the investigation of metaphysical dimensions of existence. With his scientific and philosophical training, he brought a new systematic discipline to the field, allowing for conscious methods and comprehensive results. A natural seer from childhood, he cultivated his spiritual vision to a high degree, enabling him to speak with authority on previously veiled mysteries of life. Samples of Steiner's work are to be found in this introductory reader in which Matthew Barton brings together excerpts from Steiner's many talks and writings on the festivals of Whitsun and Ascension. The volume also features an editorial introduction, afterword, commentary and notes.

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Rudolf Steiner, the often undervalued, multifaceted genius of modern times, contributed much to the regeneration of culture. In addition to his philosophical teachings, he provided ideas for the development of many practical activities, including education - both general and special - agriculture, medicine, economics, architecture, science, religion and the arts. Steiner's original contribution to human knowledge was based on his ability to conduct 'spiritual research', the investigation of metaphysical dimensions of existence. With his scientific and philosophical training, he brought a new systematic discipline to the field, allowing for conscious methods and comprehensive results. A natural seer from childhood, he cultivated his spiritual vision to a high degree, enabling him to speak with authority on previously veiled mysteries of life. Samples of Steiner's work are to be found in this introductory reader in which Matthew Barton brings together excerpts from Steiner's many talks and writings on Easter. The volume also features an editorial introduction, afterword, commentary and notes.

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In addition to the outer manifestation of Christianity as we know it from history, there exists a second, hidden stream of Christian thought and development, sometimes referred to as 'esoteric Christianity' or 'Rosicrucian Christianity'. Displaying an intimate knowledge of his subject, Rudolf Steiner throws light on this once secret, spiritual movement. But rather than relying on historical tradition or teaching, he presents wisdom and insight directly from the original metaphysical sources of esoteric Christianity. In these dynamic lectures, Steiner describes the influence of Christ's power throughout history, the workings of karma, the role of the Buddha and the Bodhisattvas, as well as the vital work of Christian Rosenkreutz, Jeshu ben Pandira and other key historical figures. This new edition - indispensable for serious students of esotericism - contains all 23 lectures and addresses of the original German collection. It features previously scattered, classic lectures such as 'The Etherisation of the Blood', 'Faith, Love, Hope' and 'Cosmic Ego and Human Ego'.

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Rudolf Steiner, the often undervalued, multifaceted genius of modern times, contributed much to the regeneration of culture. In addition to his philosophical teachings, he provided ideas for the development of many practical activities, including education - both general and special - agriculture, medicine, economics, architecture, science, religion and the arts. Steiner's original contribution to human knowledge was based on his ability to conduct 'spiritual research', the investigation of metaphysical dimensions of existence. With his scientific and philosophical training, he brought a new systematic discipline to the field, allowing for conscious methods and comprehensive results. A natural seer from childhood, he cultivated his spiritual vision to a high degree, enabling him to speak with authority on previously veiled mysteries of life.Samples of Steiner's work are to be found in this introductory reader in which Matthew Barton brings together excerpts from Steiner's many talks and writings on Michaelmas. The volume also features an editorial introduction, afterword, commentary and notes.

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Pension plans around the world are in a state of crisis. U.S. plans alone are facing a total accrued liability funding deficit of almost $4 trillion (of the same order of magnitude as the federal debt), a potential financial catastrophe that ranks among the largest ever seen. It has become clear that many government, corporate, and multi-employer pension sponsors will not be able to cope with this crippling debt and may default on promised benefits. And many of those sponsors that might be able to cope are exasperated by continuous, ongoing negative surprises-large unexpected deficits and higher-than-expected required contributions and pension expense-and are choosing to terminate their plans. But it need not be so. Pension Finance: Putting the Risks and Costs of Defined Benefit Plans Back under Your Control walks the reader through the conventional actuarial and accounting approaches to financing pension benefits and investing plan assets, showing that the problems described happen as a natural consequence of the dated methods still in use. It shows in detail how modern methods based on market value will easily minimize these risks: Pension plans can in fact be comfortable for employers to sponsor and safe for employees to contribute todepend on for their retirement needs. This book is must-read for defined benefit pension plan sponsors and employee representatives, plan executives, board members, accountants, fund managers, consultants, and regulators., Research sponsored by the CFA Institute, this book demystifies pension finance, previously accessible only to actuaries. It teaches the topic in lay terms by drawing complete analogies to ordinary transactions such as paying off a mortgage or saving for college. Armed with this book, anyone comfortable with finance and investments in any other context can be comfortable with pension finance and pension investment policy. And further armed with a handheld financial calculator, any layperson can quickly estimate the contributions needed to keep a given plan comfortably solvent, giving them a powerful tool for oversight.

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'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.

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