Wonders of the World: Trials of the Soul and Revelations of the Spirit, Steiner Rudolf

In these exciting lectures given in 1922, Rudolf Steiner explores the practical consequences of Christian theological spiritual facts as they unfold in human consciousness. Starting with the early Gnostic understanding of the Christ event from within, Steiner shows how medieval theology reached an exoteric view of the spiritual world. It was this view that, coupled with the rise of abstract intellectuality, led to the separation of faith and knowledge that denied humanity access to suprasensory worlds. Using examples from Dionsyius the Areopagite, John Scotus Eriugena, Paracelsus, and Goethe, Steiner then lays the foundations for a path to the suprasensory that would unite faith and knowledge, through the spirit, in a full trinitarian understanding of the human being and the cosmos.

Part two consists of lectures given in England that deepen our understanding of the Trinity as this may be known through the spirit. The first lecture deals in a remarkable way with practice and stages of meditation. On the basis of such meditation, Steiner shows how we can begin to understand the cosmic origin of the human being and the meaning of The Mystery of Golgotha for humanity and the cosmos. Above all, he stresses, meditation will allow us to realize the foundations of true knowledge: Ex deo nascimur (We are born of God); In Christo morimur (In Christ we die); Per spiritum sanctum reviscimus (Through the Holy Spirit we are reborn).

This work is a translation of lectures 1 to 4 and 8 to 11 of Das Geheimnis der Trinit t: Der Mensch und sein Verh ltnis zur Geisteswelt im Wandel der Zeiten (GA 214).

These accounts by Hella Wiesberger (1920-2014) offer an overview of the nature, background, and history of Rudolf Steiner's esoteric teaching activity. This book is the result of her lifelong study of this aspect of Steiner's work, including documents she oversaw as an editor of Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works. Wiesberger's collegial relationships with certain esoteric students also helped her shine a light on some of Steiner's less accessible documents.

Hella Wiesberger's writings were published over two decades as introductions and commentaries in relevant volumes of Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works, placing them in biographical and historical context. The essays were edited in various degrees for this volume in consideration of more recent context, insights, and knowledge. Also included are commentaries and contributions related to the Esoteric School from Rudolf Steiner, Marie Steiner, and Adolf Arenson, as well as several letters to and from Rudolf Steiner.

We are fortunate to have these records from a devoted and diligent student of Rudolf Steiner and Anthroposophy. They provide valuable insights into the story and substance of Spiritual Science and its esoteric school and teaching.

CONTENTS

Introduction

1. Rudolf Steiner in the History of the Esoteric Movement
2. Rudolf Steiner as a Teacher of Esotericism
3. Research into Occult History
4. Rudolf Steiner on the First Section of the Esoteric School, 1904-1914
5. The Structure of the Esoteric School
6. The Movement, the Esoteric School, and the Society
7. Separation of the Esoteric School from the Theosophical Society
8. The Second Section of the Esoteric School, 1904-1914
9. Establishing the Cognitive-Ritual Section
10. Ritual in Rudolf Steiner's Esoteric Work
11. The Meaning and Spiritual Origin of the Cognitive Ritual
12. Esoteric Research into the Hiram-John Individuality
13. Was Rudolf Steiner a Freemason?
14. Clarifying Rudolf Steiner's Connection with Theodor Reuss
15. The Esoteric School and a New Beginning after the War
16. Adolf Arenson: A Circular to the Members and a Letter to Albert Steffen
17. Concluding Remarks

Today's schools fill children's heads with information instead of helping them develop their natural human faculties and capacities. They place too much stress on memory, leading to inner exhaustion instead of real learning for a healthy, fulfilling life.

The important lectures in this volume were given in Dornach, Switzerland, to leading educators, including many from England. As a result, he was invited to Oxford to expand on some ot the themes presented in these talks.

Steiner begins by placing Anthroposophy as the foundation for understanding the principles behind Waldorf education. In what follows, he describes an education based on the human as a continually developing being of body, soul, and spirit. From this perspective, Waldorf education depends on the teacher's ability to observe and respond to each stage of a child's development. Steiner shows how Waldorf education emphasizes the efficient use of children's inner energies and how children can be nurtured through their natural stages of development by giving them just what they need at the right time--an approach that Steiner calls "soul economy."

These detailed and accessible lectures give parents and teachers the keys to a much-needed renewal of education for our children and their future.

C O N T E N T S

Editor's Introduction
Introductory Note by Rudolf Steiner

1. The Three Phases of the Anthroposophic Movement (December 23, 1921)
2. Education Based on Knowledge of the Human Being, part 1 (December 24, 1921)
3. Education Based on Knowledge of the Human Being, part 2 (December 25, 1921)
4. Education Based on Knowledge of the Human Being, part 3 (December 26, 1921)
5. Health and Illness, part 1 (December 27, 1921)
6. Health and Illness, part 2 (December 28, 1921)
7. Children before the Seventh Year (December 29, 1921)
8. The Waldorf School (December 30, 1921)
9. Children from the Seventh to the Tenth Years (December 31, 1921)
10. Children in the Tenth Year (January 1, 1922)
11. Children from the Tenth to the Fourteenth Years, part 1 (January 2, 1922)
12. Children from the Tenth to the Fourteenth Years, part 2 (January 3, 1922)
13. Adolescents after the Fourteenth Year (January 4, 1922)
14. Esthetic Education (January 5, 1922)
15. Physical Education (January 6, 1922)
16. Religious & Moral Education (January 7, 1922)

Appendix: Questions & Answers
The Foundations of Waldorf Education
Rudolf Steiner's Lectures and Writings on Education
Index

German source: Erziehung und Unterricht aus Menschenwesens. Eine Einf hrung in die anthroposophische P dagogik und Didaktik. Weihnachtskurs f r Lehrer (GA 303).