That Good May Become :

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1 Initiating Our Second Century That Good May Become : Meeting Our Spiritual Destinies in America A Special Section The following pages are offered as a preparation and means of participation in this year s annual conference. Its concern is to discern and shape the future direction of the Anthroposophical Society in America. Included are: Looking Toward August from the conference organizing committee, p. 37 Notice the Annual General Meeting, p. 37 Taking Stock of Our Situation reviewing studies from 1994 forward, p. 39 Confidence in the Human Being: Stating Our Intentions a working draft from the General Council, p.40 Participation and Human Warmth exploring questions of our movement s scope and our ways of meeting each other, p. 40 Financial Participation funding the Society s activity with understanding for our different circumstances, p. 42 Synergy and Mutual Empowerment overcoming individual isolation and making best use of the Society s resources, p. 42 Feedback addresses and a coupon to share your experience and perspectives, p. 43 A Special Appeal inviting support for transformative work going forward at the Rudolf Steiner Library, p. 44 Toward a Future Worthy of the Human Being from a recent public talk in Philadelphia by General Secretary Torin Finser, p. 45 To Be a Thinker techniques for clarity from conference co-facilitator Jane Lorand, p. 46 The Work of the Angels in Our Astral Body selections from a particularly significant lecture by Rudolf Steiner in 1918, p. 49 There are many practical questions to consider, but first this fundamental question of what we are, who we are destined to be, and how we need to present ourselves to best serve the emerging soul and spirit of humanity needs to be wrestled into consciousness. Do we have the strength and courage for this initial struggle? [from p. 38, first column] Looking Toward August From the Conference Committee: Dennis Dietzel, Beth Dunn-Fox, Marian Leon, Leslie Loy We are in a dramatic stream of anniversaries that began in 2010, when we commemorated the hundredth year of anthroposophical group work in the United States. We continued into 2011, celebrating Rudolf Steiner s 150th birthday, and in 2011/2012 we honor the hundredth anniversary of eurythmy and of the Calendar of the Soul. The end of this year marks the centennial of the founding of the original Anthroposophical Society. These anniversaries give members of the Anthroposophical Society and friends of Rudolf Steiner a wonderful opportunity to reflect, and to share in carrying these great impulses into the future. For this summer the Society is planning a major conference: That Good May Become : Meeting Our Spiritual Destinies in America, to take place in Ann Arbor, Michigan, August 9 12, on the campus of the University of Michigan. The General Council is pleased to welcome individuals from the Executive Council at the Goetheanum to work with us as we consider the future of anthroposophy on this continent. We are also delighted to announce that Jonathan Stedall will join us to discuss his new film, n o t i c e o f m e e t i n g The 2012 Annual Members Meeting of the Anthroposophical Society in America will be held on Sunday, August 12 at the Michigan League, 911 N. University Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan. The meeting will begin at 10:30 a.m. and conclude at 2:30 p.m. Members are invited to submit proposals to be considered for the meeting. Items for consideration may be addressed to the General Council and must be submitted in writing and sent via first-class mail postmarked by June 12, 2012 at the latest. Send your request to the Society office at 1923 Geddes Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan Thank you. spring issue

2 Initiating Our Second Century The Challenge of Rudolf Steiner. The participation of Eurythmy Spring Valley in planning the conference means that the arts will have an important role in our deliberations, and ensure that each day of the conference will flow artistically and hygienically. The intention of this expanded version of our annual conference and AGM is to help deepen our understanding of anthroposophy and the purpose of the Anthroposophical Society, particularly in America, and to strengthen our collaboration. This has led the conference planners to ask an additional question: What are the new ways in which we are meeting one another and this work? This is leading to several new opportunities for engagement, including the decision to hold the conference in August to make it accessible to as many members as possible. Start Preparing Now On the next few pages you will find material to help you prepare for and participate in the conference, whether or not you can physically attend. For everyone, conference calls with groups and branches, study guides from the Rudolf Steiner Library, and special pages for posting thoughts and questions on anthroposophy.org will help us focus our thoughts as a national community. We want to be hearing everyone s voice! Work of the Angels Anticipating the conference, in January the General Council began studying Rudolf Steiner s The Work of the Angels in Our Astral Body. Excerpts are included here along with some leading questions that can help us begin to relate its remarkable images with the circumstances of THE AMERICAN or THREEFOLD VERSE sent by Rudolf Steiner to Ralph Courtney for the Threefold Group in New York City, which later established the Threefold Community in Spring Valley (now Chestnut Ridge), NY. May our feeling penetrate Into the center of our heart. And seek, in love, to unite itself With the human beings seeking the same goal With the spirit beings who, bearing grace Strengthening us from the realms of light And illuminating our love, Are gazing down on our earnest, heartfelt striving. North America. We hope that individually or in groups you will take up a study of the lecture. The full text is posted online; type conference.anthroposophy.org into your browser or purchase a copy from SteinerBooks. In this lecture, Rudolf Steiner describes how angels are creating pictures in human consciousness that are meant to make their way into full awareness. These include three transformative perceptions: that every human being is a spiritual being, formed in the divine image; that the suffering of others will be felt more and more to be just as urgent as any bodily injury of my own; and that a new, comprehensive spiritual truth and lawfulness is beginning to be recognized, allowing each human being to experience the reality of spirit through clear, conscious thinking. Do we experience any or all of these images becoming conscious today in America? How do they manifest in our own life and work? Can they be seen in the values emerging in our Society? Are they visible in the relationships that people are forming with each other? How are they being expressed? Are these images clear in the foundations of anthroposophical initiatives? Do you see them illuminating other social and cultural initiatives? The council has chosen this lecture, along with the Foundation Stone Meditation and the Threefold or American Verse, as foundations for the conference work. Over the course of these months leading up to the conference, we invite members to share their thoughts and questions concerning the special character and destiny of America and the role our society and movement can play in furthering that destiny. At conference.anthroposophy.org you can find links to all the resources. In your local group or branch, please assist those without internet access. 38 being human

3 Taking Stock of Our Situation In June 2005 the Rudolf Steiner Foundation (now RSF Social Finance) commissioned a review and summary of a series of studies and reports relating to membership and membership issues of the Anthroposophical Society in America. The studies had been undertaken between 1994 and 2000, so that the 2005 review had an eleven-year perspective including the fact that in the Society had had to make major cutbacks in staff and budget. The review and summary was carried out by RSF founder and board member Siegfried Finser, a former treasurer of the Society, corporate executive and consultant, president of the Threefold Educational Foundation, and a Waldorf schoolteacher. Finser wrote in his 2005 cover letter that... the purpose of this work was to try to be of assistance to the leadership of the Society as it prepared itself to improve its current financial and social situation. The reports stemming from these earlier studies were remarkably clear and articulate. The recommendations seemed highly suitable given the information derived through questionnaires and focus group discussions. I have come to the conclusion that [if] the Anthroposophical Society really... wishes to accomplish its mission as clearly indicated by Rudolf Steiner in 1923, and become the world movement it has the potential to become, no superficial measures are sufficient. A really fundamental reforming is required and anything short of that is helpful and useful, but will in the end fall short of what is expected of us by the spiritual world active in our time. Could it be that the problem is not with the conclusions in the studies, but in finding a course of action, making decisions, and finding the support for moving ahead? Are we, perhaps, a little afraid to step forward because our history has shown us that anyone stepping forward in a decisive way will be chopped to bits? Are we a community of human beings that can think and feel along one set of values, but we act individually and collectively around a different, defensive set of values? Are we having trouble practicing anthroposophy? Is it possible that we need to confront something in ourselves if we wish to accomplish our purposes during the coming century? The report was reviewed in the next year or two by the General Council and no doubt contributed to the mandate of the 2008 publications/communications task force. Meeting in January 2012, toward the end of Rudolf Steiner s 150th Birthday year which saw many fresh and hopeful initiatives across this country and internationally, the present General Council reviewed the report again and spent an evening in conversation with its author. With an August leadership colloquium and national conference already taking shape, and with the supportive spiritual rhythm of 100 years since some of Rudolf Steiner s most important accomplishments, it seemed timely to explore the Society s challenges and possibilities as fully and frankly as possible with the members. Taken together, the conclusions of the studies were grouped into these areas: Mission Confusion Why Join the Anthroposophical Society What Do the Dues Support The Name, Anthroposophical Society in America Reinventing the Anthroposophical Society in America Recommendations of the Studies The reviewer offered several observations in conclusion (his emphasis): We may need to fundamentally alter how we perceive our mission and how we present ourselves as a social organism. This basic decision is probably the one we, as an organization need to make. It stands before us as an unanswered question. Do we want to confront our shortcomings, articulate a mission and transform ourselves to accomplish it? If the answer to this question is yes, here s what seems to be necessary. The Anthroposophical Society must change from being a society that pretends to benefit its members to a society that opens its heart to all striving human beings regardless of their religious, scientific and artistic beliefs. Any dogmatic coloring must fade from our image and only our warmth of soul, our empathy for all human striving, and our openness to the soul and spirit in human nature must be revealed in our words, attitudes and actions. Such a Society can become public in the true sense of the word. The Anthroposophical Society could become a social organism that supports the spirit emerging ever more in all human beings. The Society is a mirror image, an organizational reflection of what is happening in the evolution of the human being. Just as the spirit in humanity is emerging daily, so the spirit in the Society is also slowly emerging. The spirit emerging in the spring issue

4 Initiating Our Second Century Society is nurtured in the School for Spiritual Science. The School for Spiritual Science was placed into a caring warmth body called the Anthroposophical Society which in the past 80 years has gradually become cold and self absorbed. The Society was clearly intended to provide human warmth, openness, and encouragement for all the striving in human beings, not just the few who share certain beliefs. If it continues as it presently exists, the Anthroposophical Society may have to become increasingly defensive. It will be a fortress for a small minority espousing little understood views. It will be forced more and more to defend its right to exist. The Anthroposophical Society in the end may be a modern re-enactment of the final years of the Templars. We wonder whether our present condition is all due to our misunderstanding the social form Rudolf Steiner created in 1923 and our inability to realize it in practice. How can nearly 4,000 people who are members in the Society in America envision a different social role? Certainly not easily and not quickly. We will want to retain all our individual uniqueness, our foundations in human freedom, and still begin forming a new view of the Society and in what way we become members or participants. We will need to be organized to recognize the soul and spirit in others, not bring it to them. We will need to support the School for Spiritual Science to bring it to them, while the Society generates warmth and encouragement for all who strive to fulfill their human social potential. This differentiates the role of the Society from the role of the School and integrates the two into a purposeful organism. There are many practical questions to consider, but first this fundamental question of what we are, who we are destined to be, and how we need to present ourselves to best serve the emerging soul and spirit of humanity needs to be wrestled into consciousness. Do we have the strength and courage for this initial struggle? I m sure if we can agree on our true mission as Society (not the School) we will undoubtedly be able to harness the great capacities of our members and find all the ways and means to accomplish our mission. The General Council took up these questions as fully as their meeting time permitted, and mandated that key questions be put before members and friends here in being human and at anthroposophy.org in the months leading up to our August national conference in Ann Arbor. Confidence in the Human Being: Stating Our Intentions Wrestling with the question of mission confusion, the General Council worked on the draft of a concise statement of intention: We intend to develop an active, dynamic, vibrant ASA that supports each participant in becoming more fully and consciously human; and by manifesting our humanity, we collectively work toward social transformation. We aim to do this through ASA activities and programs that bring people together. Immediate ways of carrying out this intention include the August conference and possible co-sponsored conferences in future years; publications both in print and online, including a viewbook which will clearly connect core anthroposophical concepts with the major initiatives; and programs both direct and co-sponsored. Budget priorities will be aligned to above. Participation & Human Warmth In the above-mentioned review of studies and reports from 1994 to 2005, a central question for the Society can be described as participation. The studies had found that, In general, there are many people who do feel that anthroposophy is right for them, but whose experience of the Society and its membership keeps them out. Rudolf Steiner understood the situation of someone who is seeking fellowship but is not met by others. As described in his autobiography, his first public decades in the 1880 s and 1890 s were spent appreciating the views of others but without any real reciprocation. He was beginning his fifth decade before he found receptiveness for his deeper insights. A number of the statues of the General Anthroposophical Society adopted at the Christmas Foundation Conference point to questions of openness, participation, and truly meeting other human beings. The Society is to be an association of people whose will it is to nurture the life of the soul, both in the individual and in human society, on the basis of a true knowledge of the spiritual world (statute 1, emphasis added throughout). The Soci- 40 being human

5 ety will cultivate a genuine science of the spiritual world together with all that results from this for brotherhood in human relationships and for the moral and religious as well as the artistic and cultural life (statute 2). Statute 3 affirms the view of the original Executive Council led by Rudolf Steiner, that Anthroposophy, as fostered at the Goetheanum, leads to results which can serve every human being as a stimulus to spiritual life, whatever his nation, social standing or religion. They can lead to a social life genuinely built on brotherly love. And no special degree of academic learning is required to make them one s own and to found one s life upon them, but only an openminded human nature. A dogmatic stand in any field whatsoever is to be excluded from the Anthroposophical Society (statute 9) and members may join together in smaller or larger groups on any basis of locality or subject (statute 11). Returning to the studies done for the Anthroposophical Society in America, key points include that: The members seem to be both the greatest asset and the greatest deterrent in the process of applying for membership. Having a good mentor, someone really interested in them, often draws individuals into the Society. Negative first impressions formed in early encounters with members often turn away those having an interest in anthroposophy. A person interested in anthroposophy rarely finds among the members anyone really interested in them. The great readiness to convert frequently drives away the very people for whom the Anthroposophical Society was established. The Anthroposophical Society is not perceived by others as being a truly public society. It has the aura of something exclusive and not easy to join. Therefore its members are generally perceived as representing the Society, and many members act as though they represent the Society. Joining the Society is felt to require a high level of commitment to certain beliefs and therefore to non-members it seems to entail giving up their spiritual freedom. Rudolf Steiner had already had to address such problems in the year leading up to the Christmas Foundation Conference, as described in the lectures in Awakening to Community. In the February 13, 1923 lecture in Stuttgart he described how in three stages one becomes an anthroposophist. First, the heart recognizes that conditions in the world are not right, and one s will normally turned outward to meet the world is reversed and turned inward. Second, one then seeks for higher knowledge to answer the questions that arise from the heart s perceptions. Third, one takes the knowledge gained and turns back with the intention to do one s part in making things right in the world. Steiner points out as a key source of conflict that established members in the second and third stages (knowledge-seeking and taking action) too often forget the character of the first stage in meeting newcomers, and so meet them from the head, critically, rather than from the heart. Certainly this is often not the case, and a new person finds interest and warmth and support. However, the problem has perhaps evolved. With the wide dissemination of esoteric knowledge since Rudolf Steiner s time, many who approach anthroposophy, or might be approached by us as colleagues in the vast effort of the renewal of culture, already have spiritual insights and perspectives. Some of these views will be new since Rudolf Steiner s time. Some will surely be erroneous. And still others will be unfamiliar to us because we have not encountered or have not recognized them in Steiner s vast work. Rudolf Steiner often observed that his own research could appear contradictory, because spiritual realities especially can and should be observed from many different viewpoints. (Cosmic and Human Thought, GA/CW 151, gives an extensive treatment of the legitimate diversity of perspectives and experiential relationships toward what we casually call reality!) Today there should also be persons who have already experienced anthroposophy in Rudolf Steiner s lifetime and have reincarnated quickly, as he indicated. What transformations will anthroposophy have undergone in such a soul? What kind of perspectives and impulses may they be bringing? Anthroposophists are learning to work with the challenge of difference in parts of the world where European culture is not native. Here in North America it s complicated. Superficially our national culture may appear to be European, but even that element has evolved separately now for centuries. The mysteries of the first nations are still active, and streams from Africa and Asia are woven into the whole. Fundamental conditions of spirit, culture, and the earth are quite different here, and Rudolf Steiner was rarely asked about these. The lecture The Work of the Angels in Our Astral Body, excerpted at the end of this section, speaks profoundly to these questions. spring issue

6 Initiating Our Second Century Financial Participation At the January 2012 meeting, the ASA s General Council also determined to explore the question of financial participation. How do we gather the funds needed for our work (including our support of the Goetheanum s work) without creating further barriers economic barriers to membership? The letter from Marian León that is now going out with membership renewal requests invites a conversation on this topic: It is no secret that many national anthroposophical societies including the U.S., and the General Anthroposophical Society in Dornach, are facing financial challenges. Here in the United States our treasurer, Jerry Kruse, has been stressing for several years that the Society s operating income, from dues and programs, should cover our basic operating expenditures, so that special gifts and legacies can support growth and new initiatives. Again in 2012 we are tightening our belts, but we need resources to grow. The success of our 150th anniversary year activities, and the world situation, tell us how much anthroposophy is needed. Thank you to the large number of members who have raised their annual membership contribution to $15/ month or $180 for the year. As Jerry has previously noted, this is the average level which would allow the U.S. Society to balance its regular operating budget with our present number of members and our current level of gifts. While more than half of the members contribute at this level, it is the average membership donation which needs to reach $180. Several dozens of members have made five-year commitments of $1000 or more per year through the Michael Support Circle. And a number of friends have stepped forward to contribute at a higher rate to compensate for those who are temporarily unable to give a minimum of $40, which is the amount we send, on each member s behalf, to support the work at the Goetheanum. Still, as Rudolf Steiner said at the Christmas Foundation meeting, dues are an awkward business like a man reaching with his right hand into the left trouser pocket! The General Council discussed this situation at its January meeting, and reviewed studies that have been held over a number of years which indicate that the present level of participation in the life of the Society is substantially lower than should be possible. The central question we face is how to manifest the heartfelt welcome and the warm human relationships valued in anthroposophy so that all of the thousands of people who are involved with and touched by anthroposophy in this country can participate, collaborate, and strengthen our movement. As part of that conversation and review, the Council came to the understanding that it would be healthy for members and the Society to begin speaking in terms of financial participation rather than dues. Some individuals stretch to give $10 quarterly, just covering our dues payment to the Goetheanum, while giving constantly in other ways. Some are blessed with more abundant resources and gladly give $100 per month in order to see the entire movement and Society flourish. So setting one fixed dues amount asks too little participation of some members and too much of others. In the spirit of the human and spiritual community we strive to foster, wouldn t it be better to recognize this? The concept of financial participation in the Society requires further development, and so the General Council has asked that we once again send out dues forms much as we have in the past. They invite you to be generous according to your ability. Above all, we want to hear from you about participation, about difficulties you may face in making any financial contribution this year, about ways to continue the momentum of Steiner 150. The staff is working on new ways to support your learning, engagement, and striving toward that future worthy of the human being that Rudolf Steiner spoke of. Please let us know how you feel about moving from dues to participation, financial and otherwise, and make a payment of commitment as you are able to do so. You will not have received this letter if your renewal date has not yet arrived, but your thoughts are welcome now! Synergy & Mutual Empowerment The special term synergy (Greek: working together ) was popularized by Buckminster Fuller in his 1960s book Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth. It indicates the property of a whole that a true whole is more than the sum of its parts. This fundamental concept of holistic thinking stands opposed to the notion that all of reality can be found in the minimum parts and particles. Anthroposophy is truly and intensively holistic, which is part of its challenge. Many, many perspectives can and should be brought together to describe a real spiritual truth, and this is an important aspect of the work of the School for Spiritual Science. 42 being human

7 There is also a social dimension of synergy. About 3500 individuals are presently members of the Anthroposophical Society in America, with perhaps several times that many friends, readers, and independent students of Rudolf Steiner s work. Even among the members a very large part feel isolated. Either they are geographically distant from any group or branch in this huge country, or nearby groups have different interests or social styles. In this isolation there lies a great potential for future synergies. Alone or in groups, people studying and working out of anthroposophy are typically more interested and awake than is usual today. They are knowledgeable, artistically engaged, inclined to self-reliance, and motivated. If biodynamic farmers tend to consider their words before speaking, the experience and insight they reveal is remarkably grounded, imaginative, and well-informed. From kindergarten to high school, Waldorf teachers are also highly observant, creative, resourceful people, and able to engage. The same is commonly true not only in Steiner-inspired initiatives, but among parents, CSA members, patients, and study group members. You really can t engage anthroposophy to any great degree without beginning a process of waking up beyond the level of attention and insight generally expected today. What a tragedy it is, then, if this personal and human evolution unfolds in isolation from others! A very special cultural synergy that should result from genuine e association and whole-hearted collaboration is lost. But what an opportunity if we can overcome this isolation! Whatever the reasons for this individual isolation in the culture of the anthroposophical movement, the strength of anthroposophy in the world grows tremendously to whatever extent we can convert isolation into synergies. Within the tiny staff of the Anthroposophical Society in America we are stretching to initiate some breakthroughs in this area. A really crucial step is the modernization of our records system that is, the updating of our membership database. This is a computerized system, but its capacities have not really progressed in a decade, since the budget and staff cutback. Technology has progressed rapidly in the meantime. The present system allows for us to keep track of your address, dues payments, special gifts, and membership status. We have only the barest sketch of you! And when information changes, you have to send it and we enter it. The system soon to come online can be updated directly by you if you have an internet connection, as the vast majority of members and friends now do (including many of the oldest members). It will be able to take in a much fuller picture of your interests, associations, contacts with the society, and professional activity and expertise. We will be able to communicate with you in much more specific ways. Collaboration and sharing is now familiar on the social internet. So we can begin, thoughtfully and for mutual empowerment, to cultivate such links. And we ll be able to receive much fuller feedback than we can handle by mail and phone alone. This new system will also allow us to manage more events including phone and internet conferences and conversations. It could allow volunteer projects supporting the Society and movement to be distributed across the country and connect eventually with members in other countries. This synergy initiative within our operation will allow us to support you in making new, focused, human connections for mentoring, study, research, and initiatives, nearby or at a distance. And it will help the Rudolf Steiner Library provide new resources and draw on your expertise. Details on that are on the next page! Look for more on all these efforts in the next issue of being human where we expect to start the process of working together with this new resource. F E E D B A C K! The 2012 Annual Members Meeting of the Please Anthroposophical clip and return Society this in coupon America will with be held brief on comments Sunday, on ideas August and 12 at questions the Michigan raised League, in this section, 911 or N. University marian@anthroposophy.org Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan. or The write meeting and will send begin by at 10:30 mail a.m. to: Marian and conclude Leon, at 2:30 p.m. Anthroposophical Members are invited Society to submit in America, proposals 1923 to be Geddes considered Ave., for Ann the meeting. Arbor, Items MI for consideration Thank you! may be addressed to the General Council and must be submitted in writing and sent via first-class mail postmarked by June 12, 2012 at the latest. Send your request to the Society office at 1923 Geddes Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan Thank you. spring issue

8 Initiating Our Second Century Appeal: Evolving the Rudolf Steiner Library We re excited about some new developments, and would like to share them with you. We at the Rudolf Steiner Library have been working with the Society s staff in Ann Arbor to improve the integration of library resources with all the activities of the Anthroposophical Society in America. Combining new initiatives in member services and communications with continuing innovations in the library is a major step that will benefit all our members and friends. To keep moving forward, we need your financial support. Here s a glimpse of what s ahead: Demand for the library s outstanding resources is growing! More people now use the library s online public access catalog, and many ask for content that can be transmitted electronically. There are treasures in the library s collection waiting to be unearthed and shared, and new technologies make this possible. With help L I B R A R Y A P P E A L! YES! I would like to make a special gift in the amount of $ to the Society for evolving the Rudolf Steiner Library. (To pay online: at use the top navigation to go to Library/Library Donation) Name: Address: City/ST/ZIP Phone: I enclose my gift by: Check (Payable to: Anthroposophical Society in America, send to 1923 Geddes Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48104; Memo: Library) MasterCard/VISA: Expiration / Card # Thank you! from a grant, we have started to digitize back issues of the society s Journal for Anthroposophy, and will post the content, which will be searchable, online. Free Deeds, The Forerunner, the Society s News for Members these vintage American anthroposophical publications all deserve wide exposure, and we hope to be able to digitize them before too long. We recently launched an newsletter, featuring news, new books, your research questions, and interesting links. The Anthroposophical Society s lively website will soon be interactive, featuring study guides, facilitated group studies, webinars, and new ways for members to communicate and share with one another. We will help create bibliographies for these endeavors and supply participants with study materials both physical and electronic. These initiatives will create new possibilities for engagement: with Rudolf Steiner s work; with the works of kindred others, past and present; and with one another. The library is home to a living conversation, and your participation is crucial. Do you have books to recommend? Reviews and links to share? Research results and questions? Your voice keeps the conversation lively! Please join us with a gift of $50, $100, $500 or more. Your special gifts, in addition to your already generous support of the society s programs, will make it possible to continue developing the Rudolf Steiner Library into the multidimensional, 21st-century resource it can become. We appreciate your active interest, your ideas, your enthusiasm, and your participation we know that all of these are at the heart of each gift. With warm greetings, Judith Soleil Library Director PS: We are not forgetting our friends who prefer to contact the library by telephone or postal mail: we are happy to serve you, as always! Editor s Note: the Rudolf Steiner Library Newsletter, edited by Fred Dennehy, has been folded into this publication since RSLN material includes book reviews (pp ), plus library news and annotations about new books added to the collection (pp ). 44 being human

9 Toward a Future Worthy of the Human Being by Torin Finser, General Secretary, Anthroposophical Society in America Talk given in Philadelphia to members and friends on Jan. 24, 2012 Many people today feel disconnection, alienation from the conditions of the existing world. This may happen when one turns on CNN, listens to political debates, or considers the economic crisis. Nowadays one often feels: Here is little me versus all that stuff going on in the world over which I have no control. How can I ever make a difference given all these big issues? Perhaps I am just a speck in a large, seething mass of seismic events, a tsunami of forces much greater than I am. We then throw ourselves into daily external tasks, pouring our will into work, scheduled events, shopping for groceries etc. We use our will forces to do the things in front of us, hoping to get through the day and have at least something to show for it. But then there are moments, sometimes just fleeting moments, when one looks within. This can happen unexpectedly in the space inbetween appointments, or when one is delayed and has to wait in traffic or sit in the waiting room of a doctor s office. Sometimes the glance within becomes stronger when faced with a crisis, or when one is on a trip and the geographical landscape has changed. In any case, it happens that occasionally our externally directed will is turned within, and when that happens one inevitably discovers longings of the soul. Many things try and conspire to cover over, or only partially satisfy, these longings of the soul: turning on the radio, flipping through a magazine in the doctor s office, going through s... But over time, if one is honest with oneself, one discovers that these longings are real. One cannot escape them, they hover within us, waiting, asking to be embraced. These longings tell us that we want to be seen for who we are, recognized, accepted as a striving, growing person, perhaps even loved. Once one taps into these realities, one cannot flee from them, they become companions on the journey of life. Then out of these longings of the soul there can develop a growing thirst for supersensible knowledge, a more comprehensive view of the human being, evolution, relationships, art. This thirst can lead to picking up a book on self development, or enrolling in a retreat! Many people explore different spiritual paths, and as a response to the thirst thus described, they are all valid. We need to embrace one another in our shared striving. For some years now I have changed the opening of my Evolving Consciousness classes at Antioch University. Rather than just reciting a verse, I have taken up a twelve session process of helping the group learn to work with the teacher s meditations given by Rudolf Steiner. After experiencing silence for a few moments, I read one of the meditations as a start. Then I ask the group to ponder a question, such as, How can one characterize the difference between beholding and touching? They are asked to carry that question for seven days and then return to share aphoristic impressions that have arisen. Then I share the meditation again and poise a new question. This is repeated week after week. The point is not that we all become initiated (at least not in that class!), but that we learn to share our striving and our meditative experiences. For human beings today, sharing is a basic need, just as is eating or drinking. This sharing of experiences of supersensible striving can lead to a stronger sense of one s own destiny: I have tasks on the earth. This is my time to be on the earth. I am here for a reason. And when one comes to this growing sense of one s destiny, one feels at the same time a new kinship for others who share this time on the earth, our sisters and brothers. There are others who have the same questions! We have much to talk about! I am not alone! This shared experience gives us a deep feeling for our humanness. So now I finally come to a word I have not yet spoken in this talk: anthroposophy, which one could say is the consciousness of one s humanity. One can become a student of anthroposophy (in name or not) by traveling the modern path described above. And if one wants to do so with others, finding support, encouragement, and companionship along the way, one can look to the vehicle designed by Rudolf Steiner for such purposes, the Anthroposophical Society. To quote from a lecture given by Rudolf Steiner in Stuttgart on February 13, 1923: The path that leads into the Society consists firstly, then, in changing the direction of one s will; secondly, in experiencing supersensible knowledge; lastly, in participating in the destiny of one s time to a point where it becomes one s personal destiny. One feels oneself sharing mankind s evolution in the act of reversing one s will and experiencing the supersensible nature of all spring issue

10 Initiating Our Second Century truth. Sharing the experience of the time s true significance is what gives us our first real feeling for the fact of our humanness. At a recent meeting of the Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America, I presented three aspects of our work: Advocacy, for spirit matters. I love the quote from Gandhi: Let us fight the world s strongest empire with the power of the spirit. So we can say today, Let us counter our present materialism with the truth of the spirit. Dialogue, for we want to awaken to community. Marshall Rosenberg, in speaking of the heart in nonverbal communication says: What I want in my life is compassion, a flow between myself and others based on a mutual giving from the heart (p.1, Non-violent Communications). There are many people on this earth who want to have new conversations... Service, for we aim to help others and thereby promote change. Peter Senge in his Fifth Discipline describes applying leverage to do things that can have a maximum effect: seeing where actions and changes in structures can lead to significant, enduring improvements (p. 114). The anthroposophical movement, through Camphill, Waldorf schools, medical work, the arts, biodynamics, publishing, etc., is full of examples of service. But we need to show how we are all working out of the same impulse, and that the Society is a vessel that can encompass the whole. As an Anthroposophical Society we are currently at an inflection point, a moment in time when we can either bumble along into obscurity fed by internal preoccupations and self absorption, or we can become a Society known for supporting initiative (see talk at the Portland AGM in being human, winter 2011). The conference and colloquium in Ann Arbor planned for August 8-12, 2012 is an important moment for us to address our common tasks and the future of our work. So is the chance to work in separate groups all over the country on the content of Rudolf Steiner s lecture The Work of the Angels in Our Astral Body. In preparing together, and through greater and greater engagement in the substance of spiritual science, we can find the answers to all the riddles and challenges we face, not just as a Society but as human beings. Together we can affirm that spirit matters and that it is possible to forge a future that is truly worthy of the human being. To Be a Thinker by Jane Lorand, J.D., M.A. Jane Lorand is Director of the new Center for Systemic Leadership at Rudolf Steiner College. An elementary educator, tax attorney and entrepreneur, in she developed the three Fort Baker Leadership Summits for California, developing a Vision and Guidelines for a Sustainable Future for California using Reasoned- Judgment Methodology that is the foundation of the GreenMBA at Dominican University of California. She and colleagues Bruce McKenzie and Leslie Loy will be facilitating the Leadership Colloquium, August 8-9, 2012, for the Anthroposophical Society in America. To live fully in what Rudolf Steiner calls the consciousness soul, we approach truth through thinking. But what kind of thinking activity? How do we optimize the personal intelligence of man to work out of freedom.to be a thinker on behalf of the plight of humanity? Rudolf Steiner, in 1924, elaborates on what it means to be a thinker. One must be self-possessed, clear thinking, working in full freedom out of ordinary waking consciousness that is not dampened. A thinker is grasping and spiritualizing his earthly intelligence in total freedom of will. 1 This is a tall order in today s cluttered and complex context. It is so easy to give over to what I call the Veil of the Moment s Outer Framing of Reality. Ahriman both throws up these veils and also benefits by the ambiguity humans experience. Our work is to reclaim our human spirit s capacity to recognize what is happening and intervene. Our work is to redirect our life forces in line with a consciously chosen and designed Inner Frame of Reality. This frame can hold and manage the outer activities within a chosen time window. In this way, we work with the courage of our convictions, because we know what those convictions are and why we find them compelling. At Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, California, there is a new Center for Systemic Leadership where Critical Thinking that is, discerning and disciplined reasoning, is the focus of the work. Critical thinking and Complexity Management underpin new forms of thought, leadership, and the development of new social forms that we need to build in this era of the consciousness soul. Our work is to bring experiences to individuals who want to be working out of freedom and rigorous, dis- 1 Steiner, Rudolf. Karmic Relationships, Vol. 6, 19th July, 1924 Rudolf Steiner Press, London being human

11 ciplined, and effective thinking. This work supplements our daily effectiveness and our spiritual development. 2 Let s look at an example of our work. How do I know if my idea is a good idea? This seems like a basic question that all of us should be able to answer. Yet, it stops most people in their tracks. I want to take initiative yet how do I know if my idea is a good idea? We can derive help based on the Archetype of Reasoning. Am I willing to extract the subjective elements of my personal preference 3 and submit the idea to a rigorous testing methodology? Although the answer to the question cannot be quantified, there is an objective Reasoned-Judgment Methodology that I can use. The methodology is based on the Archetype of Reasoning itself. This reasoning process will enhance the quality of my initial idea and open it up for others to explore it and consider it. The method has a dual gesture: sorting out essential elements of thought, and bringing them together by coherently optimizing reasoning, imagination, discipline and clarity. Inference, Implications Points of View Information and Interprtation Assumtions After two decades of working with the Archetype and this Reasoned-Judgment Methodology, I believe it is as powerful for human progress as the scientific method. Unlike the scientific method, it is applicable to questions/problems/opportunities where the answer cannot be quantified. 4 Such questions remain as a matter of judgment, and our goal is to develop Well-Reasoned Judgments using a rigorous, non-linear yet objective method. Of course, depending on the underlying values, there can be multiple Well-Reasoned Judgments about a single question. Ironically, this is not a source of conflict but a pathway forward. The Reasoned-Judgment Methodolgy enables us to Higher Purposes Opportunity, Problem, or Question of Issue Tentative Conclusions Core Concepts Archetype of a Well-Reasoned Judgment Is my idea a good idea? Have I been comprehensive in my reasoning? sort poorly-reasoned judgments from well-reasoned judgments using intellectual standards. The Reasoned-Judgment Methodology based on the Archetype is content neutral and transferable to any question or issue or problem. If we invest in learning the method, we can practice it in every aspect of our lives, every day. The clarity of thought from this method supports appropriate and valuable feelings. 5 The visual represents an imagination of the elements that form part of the Reasoned- Judgment Methodology, which is non-linear and iterative. The methodology can be done effectively in groups as well as individually. This methodology is also a foundation of effective collaboration. 6 Disciplined reasoning is humbling, but we now have elements to help structure our conversations and questions. It takes time, but we can prepare individually before coming together, optimizing shared time for true conversation. Questions are prompted by each of the elements. Relevant skills and practices can be taught as part of effective critical thinking courses. Let s take an example from real life and use the flower (left) as a visualization of the flow of the inquiry that is part of this Reasoned Judgment Methodology. To be comprehensive in our reasoning, we need to address each of the flower s petals. Situation: I m having a conversation with an old friend, Alan, whose young-adult son is being asked by his parents to move out for the third time. There is no communication and I feel ill-at-ease when I come home from work and he is there. I need privacy and 2 Anyone who, from the beginning, does not consider making a healthy judgment the foundation of his spiritual training will develop in himself supersensible faculties with which he perceives the spiritual world inexactly and incorrectly. Steiner, Rudolf. Occult Science, An Outline, p.292. Anthroposophic Press, Steiner, Rudolf. Theosophy, p. 46 Anthroposophic Press, Data/Information is part of a Well-Reasoned Judgment, under this Reasoned-Judgment Methodology, however it is simply one of the informing elements. As with the scientific method, its relevance, accuracy, and quality need to be explored, as well as its consistency and coherence. 5 No feeling and no enthusiasm on earth can compare with the sensations of warmth, beauty, and exaltation that are enkindled by pure, crystal-clear thoughts relating to higher worlds. Our loftiest feelings are not the ones that happen by themselves, but the ones achieved through strenuous and energetic thinking. Theosophy, p Without these tools of personal intelligence that we use out of freedom, our attempts at collaboration often collapse into a set of competing preferences, power, personality and politics. Questions that need to be asked are perceived as attacks as we wallow among subjective opinions. We end up frustrated and isolated, without seeing Ahrimanic forces at work. spring issue

12 Initiating Our Second Century we are enabling him to avoid coming to terms with reality. I ve been hearing this dilemma from Alan for several years, yet he is still unsettled about the whole situation. opportunity: Should I introduce the idea of karma, from my anthroposophical background, to help Alan to try a different perspective and begin to ask different questions? Is it a good idea? Here are some of the questions I ve been asking myself, to help me decide. What is my Higher Purpose for introducing the concept of karma? What, exactly, is the Opportunity? Would other anthroposophical concepts be more useful? Am I the best person to initiate this? Is this the best time? In person or in writing? The Core Concept karma is complex: can I do it justice in explaining it? What Assumptions am I making about Alan, the situation, and my relationship with him? What additional Information do I need, and how should I interpret all that I already know? What Points of View should I consider? What Inferences, Implications and Consequences do I need to consider? For example, if I bring it up, will it adversely affect our friendship? What Tentative Conclusion can I draw, and am I prepared to identify its strengths and limitations equally? This vignette is real and I believe we anthroposophists often struggle in deciding if or how to bring insights from our spiritual understandings to our friends. It is an issue calling for judgment, thus the Archetype and the Reasoned-Judgment Methodology based on it are there to serve me, if I seek to use them. If we think through the elements, reflecting on the questions we need to ask ourselves to feel confident, we will engage more courage to act, because we are more deeply knowledgeable about our convictions and our intent. Of course, we need to be willing to be honest with ourselves, yet my experience is that people generally are they are disabled more often because they are not sure that they have thought it through. If we don t have our own Inner Frame of Reality and Reference, based on what we believe and why we believe it, the Ahrimanic and Luciferic forces are more than willing to provide one for us. Theirs will erode our freedom and our self-possessed clear thinking. In my view, we need to focus on builder-basics of a Culture of Clear Thinking in organizations, and on the role of intellectual humility and perseverance. In Applied Critical Thinking courses, experiential learning is essential. 7 Cold, abstract intellectual thinking is not what we are about. Yet, we need living and disciplined methods and frameworks to cut through all of the information clutter and twisted framing of today s daily life. We are striving to be clear, free thinkers taking action on the edge, relying on our Inner Frames of Reality and Reference so as not to be blown back by the conventional, materialistic opinions so common today. The political implications of the Archetype of Reason and Reasoned-Judgment Methodology are staggering. It is a Trojan Horse, and a revolution in the making. Its effect is no less than to level the intellectual playing field, to give self-educating people, young and old, everywhere, the tools to do an end-run around costly, formal higher education. With the internet, this generic, teachable basis for all critical thinking will likely be discovered and mastered by those who are unwilling or unable to go into deep debt in these uncertain economic times. Universities who want to add value will pick it up and use it to weave coherent curriculum for students across the life of learning they offer. However, it is a complete re-tooling and in my experience, most insulated university faculty are simply not up for the challenge. In the next being human, a follow-on essay will identify principles and additional applications in systemic thinking and complexity management, as they fit together with critical thinking the precise work that the Center for Systemic Leadership at Rudolf Steiner College is offering. We are grateful to be a part of an institution bearing Dr. Steiner s name and to be pioneering global transformation through thinking. (916) For teachers, at any level, the Reasoned-Judgment Methodology is at the heart of what students need. The veils can be seen as the content areas: the economics veil, the marketing veil, the literature veil, the history veil, etc. The Reasoned-Judgment Methodology sits behind the veil, and it is the teacher s job to make the veil translucent. Thus, all schooling is mutually supportive and linked. If the veil is opaque, the bits from each course remain just that, unrelated bits to be forgotten. With our help, students can emerge with transferable skills that they practice daily and develop mastery. It also enables them to move from I think to We think. Collaboration is then possible. The Center offers special courses for educators. 48 being human

13 The Work of the Angels In Our Astral Body Selections from a lecture by Rudolf Steiner Given in Zurich, 9th October, 1918, GA 182; translated in 1960 by D. S. Osmond with the help of Owen Barfield. Rudolf Steiner begins by announcing his concern with the living and effective character of anthroposophy: Anthroposophical understanding of the spirit must not be a merely theoretical view of the world, but a leaven, an actual power in life. Only when we manage to investigate this view of the world so fundamentally that it really comes alive in us does it properly fulfill its mission. For by linking our souls with this anthroposophical conception of the spirit we have become custodians, as it were, of very definite and significant processes in the evolution of humanity. Another basic concern follows immediately: that we recognize thoughts and ideas as having reality in world evolution, and not just when they may be carried into physical action: Whatever their view of the world, men are generally convinced that thoughts and ideas have no status in it except as the contents of their own souls. Those who hold such views believe that thoughts and mental pictures are ideals which will be embodied in the world only to the extent that man succeeds in ratifying them by his physical deeds. The anthroposophical attitude posits the conviction that our thoughts and ideas must find other ways of taking effect besides the way through our deeds in the physical world. Recognition of this essential principle implies that the anthroposophist must play his part in watching out for the signs of the times. A very great deal is happening all the time in the evolution of the world; and it is incumbent upon men, particularly the men of our own time, to acquire real understanding of what is going on in the evolutionary process in which they themselves are placed. And then Rudolf Steiner challenges the rarely questioned notion that human beings of different periods of history were pretty much as we are now: In the case of an individual human being, everybody knows that account must be taken of his stage of development, not only of the outer facts and occurrences around him.... Outer, physical happenings are going on around human beings of five, ten, twenty, thirty, fifty, seventy years of age. But nobody in his senses will expect the same reaction to these happenings from the five-year-olds, the ten-year-olds, the twenty-year-olds, the fifty-year-olds, the seventy-year-olds!... Everybody will admit this in the case of the individual....so too are the powers and faculties possessed by humanity in general constantly changing in the course of evolution. Not to take account of the fact that the character of humanity is different in the 20th century from what it was in the 15th century, let alone before and at the time of the Mystery of Golgotha, is to sleep through the process of world-evolution.... The paramount force in human evolution from the 15th century until the beginning of the third millennium, is the Spiritual Soul. But in true Spiritual Science we must never stop at generalizations and abstractions; everywhere and at all times it must be our endeavor to grasp concrete facts.... Concrete knowledge of the reality of the human being is essential, including the central role of the Ego, self, or I : To arrive at a clear conception of these things, we must above all consider in greater detail the nature of man himself. In the sense of Spiritual Science, the members of man s being, beginning from above downwards, are: I, astral body, etheric body which latterly I have also called the body of formative forces and physical body. The I is the only one of these members in which we live and function as beings of spirit-and-soul. The I has been implanted in us by the Earth-evolution and the Spirits of Form who direct it. Fundamentally speaking, everything that enters into our consciousness enters it through our I. And unless the I, as it unfolds itself, can remain connected connected through the bodies with the outer world, we have as little consciousness as we have during sleep. It is the I that connects us with our environment; the astral body is the legacy of the Moon-evolution, the etheric body of the Sunevolution, the physical body, in its first rudiments, of the Saturn-evolution. Rudolf Steiner described the human bodies in An Outline of Occult Science, along with the creative activity of higher beings (from the Angels up to the Seraphim) through prior planetary incarnations (!) back to a point before which one cannot really speak of time. This picture of cosmic-human evolution is extremely complex. Where in that awesome process can we take hold of concrete questions to enliven our insights into our times?... It is necessary to investigate the facts themselves, in order to get the answer to a question such as: What spring issue

14 Initiating Our Second Century is the task of the Spirits of Wisdom or of the Thrones in the etheric body of man during the present cycle of evolution? Only, this latter kind of question is indescribably complex and we can never do more than make an approach to the domains where such questions arise....roughly speaking, it is the prospects nearest to us those that directly concern us of which we can get a clear view. But such a view we must get, if we are not to remain asleep at our stations in the evolution of humanity. And so a modest question we can appropriately ask: What are the Angels the spiritual Beings nearest to men doing in the human astral body in the present cycle of evolution? The astral body is the member nearest to the I ; obviously, therefore, the answer to this question will vitally concern us.... These Beings of the Hierarchy of the Angels... form pictures in man s astral body. Under the guidance of the Spirits of Form (Exousiai) the Angels form pictures... accessible to thinking that has become clairvoyant. If we are able to scrutinize these pictures, it becomes evident that they are woven in accordance with quite definite impulses and principles. Forces for the future evolution of mankind are contained in them.... And indeed in forming these pictures the Angels work on a definite principle, namely, that in the future no human being is to find peace in the enjoyment of happiness if others beside him are unhappy. An impulse of Brotherhood in the absolute sense, unification of the human race in Brotherhood rightly understood this is to be the governing principle of the social conditions in physical existence. 1 But there is a second impulse in the work of the Angels... in connection with... man s life of soul. Through the pictures they inculcate into the astral body their aim is that in future time every human being shall see in each and all of his fellow-men a hidden divinity.... Neither in theory nor in practice shall we look only at man s physical qualities, regarding him as a more highly developed animal, but we must confront every human being with the full realization that in him something is revealing itself from the divine foundations of the world, revealing itself through flesh and blood. To conceive man as a picture revealed from the spiritual world, to conceive this with all the earnestness, all the strength and all the insight at our command this is the impulse laid by the Angels into the pictures.... When that time comes there will be no need for any religious coercion; for then every meeting between one man and another will of itself be in the nature of 1 Compare the report on social initiatives by Truus Geraets on page 56. a religious rite, a sacrament, and nobody will need a special church with institutions on the physical plane to sustain the religious life. If the church understands itself truly, its one aim must be to render itself unnecessary on the physical plane, as the whole of life becomes the expression of the supersensible. The bestowal on man of complete freedom in the religious life this underlies the impulses, at least, of the work of the Angels. And there is a third objective: To make it possible for men to reach the Spirit through thinking, to cross the abyss and through thinking to experience the reality of the Spirit. 2 Spiritual Science for the spirit, freedom of religious life for the soul, brotherhood for the bodily life this resounds like cosmic music through the work wrought by the Angels in the astral bodies of men. All that is necessary is to raise our consciousness to a different level and we shall feel ourselves transported to this wonderful site of the work done by the Angels in the human astral body. Rudolf Steiner then shares insights into the research by means of which he is able to report these findings. Where are we to look for this work of the Angels? It is still to be discovered in man while he is sleeping, in the conditions prevailing between the moments of falling asleep and waking also in somnolent waking states. I have often said that although men are awake, they actually sleep through the most important concerns in life.... Such things proceed in a way which must necessarily seem highly enigmatic and paradoxical. A man may be considered entirely unworthy of having any connections at all with the spiritual world. But the truth about such a man may well be that in this incarnation he is just a terrible dormouse who sleeps through everything that goes on around him. Yet one of the choir of the Angels is working in his astral body at the future of mankind. Observation of his astral body shows that it is being made use of, in spite of these conditions. What really matters, however, is that men shall become conscious of these things. The Spiritual Soul must rise to the level where it is able to recognize what can be discovered only in this way. As he observed at the beginning, living thoughts and ideas have consequences. Knowledge of the angels activity will have consequences. 2 Compare Fred Amrine s article in this issue, Gilles Deleuze s Philosophy of Freedom, as well as Anthroposophy and Contemporary Philosophy by Y. Ben-Aharon in the Fall 2011 issue. 50 being human

15 ... Purely through the Spiritual Soul, purely through their conscious thinking, men must reach the point of actually perceiving what the Angels are doing to prepare the future of humanity. The teachings of Spiritual Science in this domain must become practical wisdom in the life of humanity... But the progress of the human race towards freedom has already gone so far that it depends upon man himself whether he will sleep through this event or face it with fully wide-awake consciousness. What would this entail? To face this event with wide-awake consciousness would entail the study of Spiritual Science. Indeed nothing else is really necessary. The practice of meditations of various kinds and attention to the guidance given in the book Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and its Attainment, will be an additional help. But the essential step has already been taken when Spiritual Science is studied and really consciously understood. Spiritual Science can be studied to-day without developing clairvoyant faculties. Everyone can do so, who does not bar his own way with his prejudices. And if people study Spiritual Science more and more thoroughly, if they assimilate its concepts and ideas, their consciousness will become so alert that instead of sleeping through certain events, they will be fully aware of them. These events can be characterized in greater detail, for to know what the Angel is doing is only the preparatory stage. The essential point is that at a definite time depending, as I have said, upon the attitude men themselves adopt it will be earlier or later or at worst not at all a threefold truth will be revealed to mankind by the Angels. Firstly, it will be shown how his own genuine interest will enable man to understand the deeper side of human nature. A time will come and it must not pass unnoticed when out of the spiritual world men will receive through their Angel an impulse that will kindle a far deeper interest in every individual human being than we are inclined to have to-day. This enhanced interest in our fellow-men will not unfold in the subjective, leisurely way that people would prefer, but by a sudden impetus a certain secret will be inspired into man from the spiritual side, namely, what the other man really is. By this I mean something quite concrete not any kind of theoretical consideration. Men will learn something whereby their interest in every individual can be kindled. That is the one point and that is what will particularly affect the social life. Secondly: From the spiritual world the Angel will reveal to man that, in addition to everything else, the Christ Impulse postulates complete freedom in matters of religious life, that the only true Christianity is the Christianity which makes possible absolute freedom in the religious life. And thirdly: Unquestionable insight into the spiritual nature of the world. As I have said, this event ought to take place in such a way that the Spiritual Soul in man participates in it. This is impending in the evolution of humanity, for the Angel is working to this end through the pictures woven in man s astral body. Along with these evolutionary steps comes the possibility of not taking them. Other spiritual beings push us in that direction, with dire consequences. If man were to follow the dictates of his own proper nature, he could not very well fail to perceive what the Angel is unfolding in his astral body; but the aim of the Luciferic beings is to tear men away from insight into the work of the Angels. And they set about doing this by curbing man s free will. They try to cloud his understanding of the exercise of his free will. True, they desire to make him good for from the aspect of which I am now speaking, Lucifer desires that there shall be goodness, spirituality, in man but automatic goodness, automatic spirituality without free will. Lucifer desires that man shall be led automatically, in accordance with perfectly good principles, to clairvoyance but he wants to deprive him of his free will, to remove from him the possibility of evil-doing. Lucifer wants to make man into a being who, it is true, acts out of the spirit, but acts as a reflection, as an automaton, without free will.... Thereby on the one side the danger would arise that prematurely, before his Spiritual Soul is in full function, man would become a being whose actions are those of a spiritual puppet and he would sleep through the impending revelation. But the Ahrimanic beings too are working to obscure this revelation. They are not at pains to make man particularly spiritual, but rather to kill out in him the consciousness of his own spirituality. They endeavor to instill into him the conviction that he is nothing but a completely developed animal. Ahriman is in truth the teacher par excellence of materialistic Darwinism. He is also the great teacher of all those technical and practical pursuits in Earth-evolution where there is refusal to acknowledge the validity of anything except the external life of the senses, where the only desire is for a widespread technology, so that with somewhat greater refinement, men shall satisfy their hunger, thirst and other needs in the same way as the animal. To kill, to spring issue