The Influences of Lucifer and Ahriman

Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: SteinerBooks
ISBN: 9780880103756
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 100

Book Description
In these lectures, Steiner focuses on the vital task of developing the proper orientation toward a free spiritual life. With great compassion and understanding, he offers telling examples of how humanity must walk a conscious middle way between the two tempting powers of Lucifer and Ahriman. He describes the incarnation of Lucifer in the third millennium before the Christ event, out of which flowed not just the wisdom of paganism, but also the conscious intellect we enjoy today. Ahriman, on the other hand, is shown approaching human beings through such phenomena as materialism, nationalism, and literalism, all in preparation for his incarnation in the third millennium. Keep in mind, however, that these two powers do not work separately; rather, they are working increasingly together. Our task as human beings is to hold them in balance, continually permeating one with the other. Steiner tells us that "Lucifer and Ahriman must be regarded as two scales of a balance, and it is we who must hold the beam in equipoise. How can we train ourselves to do this? By permeating what takes ahrimanic form within us with a strongly luciferic element." To accomplish this task we need a new, more conscious inner life.

The Balance in the World and Man, Lucifer and Ahriman

Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: North Vancouver, B.C. : Steiner Book Centre
ISBN: 9780919924055
Category : Anthroposophy
Languages : en
Pages : 45

Book Description

The Influences of Lucifer and Ahriman

Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: SteinerBooks
ISBN: 088010919X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 100

The Incarnation of Ahriman

Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
ISBN: 1855842785
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 132

Book Description
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.

The Fall of the Spirits of Darkness

Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
ISBN: 9781855840102
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 244

Book Description
Speaking at a time of intense war in Europe, Rudolf Steiner reveals the spiritual roots of the crises of our times and the means by which we can overcome them. Since 1879, Steiner tells us that "backward" angels, or "spirits of darkness"--who were forced out of the heavens and made their abode on Earth following their defeat in a forty-year battle with the Archangel Michael--have influenced human minds. It is now possible for human beings to awaken more consciously to the truth of these profound changes and thus inwardly counter the fallen spirits' influences. We can come to the realization that definite spiritual causes lie behind earthly events in our rapidly changing times. In these fourteen lectures, given at the end of 1917 following four years of war in Europe, Steiner speaks on the complex spiritual forces behind the World War I, humanity's attempts to build theoretically perfect social orders, and the many divisions and disruptions that would continue on Earth into our own time. Humanity in general was asleep to the fact that fallen spirits, cast from the spiritual worlds, had become intensely active on Earth. This manifested mainly in human thinking and perception of the surrounding world. However, the defeat and fall of these spirits also ensured that a science of the spirit would always be available to humanity.

The Four Sacrifices of Christ

Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: SteinerBooks
ISBN: 0880108258
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 20

Book Description
Before the sacrifice of the Mystery of Golgotha, the Christ being performed three great sacrifices in the spiritual world. Those sacrificial acts made possible the selflessness of the senses, the body's physical organs, and the human capacities of thought, feeling, and volition. This is an essential lecture for a deeper understanding of Rudolf Steiner's Christology and what he terms the "turning point in time"--Christ's incarnation and the Mystery of Golgotha.

Manifestations of Karma

Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
ISBN: 1855840588
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Book Description
Why do people have such differing events and circumstances to deal with in their lives? What are the meanings of diseases, illnesses, accidents, and natural disasters? From his clairvoyant spiritual research, Rudolf Steiner speaks of karma, or destiny, as a reality -- an actual scientific phenomenon that can and should be understood today. He shows how, through a comprehension of karma, a person can begin to answer the inevitable questions that arise when they begin seriously to seek the meaning and purpose of life.

The Ahrimanic Deception

Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Rudolph Steiner Press
ISBN: 9780880101462
Category : Animal communication
Languages : en
Pages : 20

Book Description
This is a lecture on the signs of the times. Steiner speaks of the incarnation of Lucifer, and the imminent incarnation of Ahriman.

Approaching the Mystery of Golgotha

Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: SteinerBooks
ISBN: 0880107057
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 289

Book Description
"Truths cannot be transmitted simply as stable dogmas. Truths are always of a given moment and, at each moment, must be grasped anew. This demands at each moment a renewed activity in relation to the human gift of understanding." -- Jörgen Smit (from the foreword) The goal of this study is to cultivate the experience of living, intuitive thinking, such as we experience with every new understanding. As Kühlewind puts it, this unique contribution to practice of anthroposophy has a twofold purpose: "to stimulate working with spiritual science through exercises, and to stimulate independent new formulations of its content on the basis of experience." Working with Anthroposophy will help guide beginning students and inspire longtime students of the path opened up by Rudolf Steiner. As with all of Kühlewind's works, this book opens new insights with each reading.

Dementia

Author: Judith von Halle
Publisher: Temple Lodge Publishing
ISBN: 1912230593
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 85

Book Description
‘Those involved with this illness professionally or as a relative can learn much from this study, which motivates them to a deepening of anthroposophy. They will also be inspired by how the author brings the illness into the realm of the living impulse of Christ.’ – Michaela Glöckler Dementia, a broad category of brain diseases including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, affects millions of people worldwide. Although its impact is primarily focused on populations of Western countries, orthodox medicine has not been able to discover the causes of dementia, let alone develop successful treatments or a cure. Given this situation, there are good reasons to investigate the psycho-spiritual factors connected to the outbreak of the illness. As the author states in her Preface: ‘The conception of man that is given priority today by the scientific world hardly takes into account that in addition to the physical-material component, for which certain degenerative or pathological processes can be determined with the help of technical apparatus, there are other components of his being to be taken into account which cannot be investigated in that way. So long as the cause of an illness is not sought in connection with those spiritual components of the human being, a successful treatment of the patient cannot be assured.’ Developing successful methods of treatment requires a full understanding of the human being. This can not be achieved through observation with the outer senses only, but increasingly calls for spiritual-scientific perception. Through this method, as founded by Rudolf Steiner, great service can be rendered to humanity, including precise research into the causes of ill-health. The factors involved in the eruption of modern afflictions, such as dementia, can be determined by careful consideration of humanity’s – as well as the individual’s – destiny. In this succinct but rich study, Judith von Halle describes her investigations into the phenomenon of dementia, beginning with a general outline of the anthroposophical conception of the human being and society, and applying that knowledge to what today is increasingly referred to as an epidemic. This book does not demand medical expertise, but requires an effort to engage with the psycho-spiritual conditions of dementia sufferers. It provides a wealth of insights and guidance to approaching one of the greatest challenges of our time.