Guidance in Esoteric Training

by Rudolf Steiner

Overview

Selected lectures and writings from 1903 to 1922 (CW 245)

Selected from material given by Rudolf Steiner to members of his Esoteric School (1904-1914), this volume features exercises, meditations, and practices for spiritual self-development. In contrast to Eastern methods of inner development, these arise from the Western, Rosicrucian stream, adapted fully to modern consciousness.

Various exercises are given--for morning and evening, for the days of the week, and for the months of the year. Also included are numerous explanations that can deepen and enhance meditative work, including several articles on inner development and the obstacles one faces on the way to true self-awareness.

This enlarged edition contains additional clarification of the exercises, descriptions of future world and human evolution, and advice that Steiner gave later in his life on the nature of breathing exercises and ancient and modern methods of initiation.

This is an invaluable resource for all those who are serious about inner development, regardless of one's chosen path.

This volume is a translation from German of the book Anweisungen für eine esoterische Schulung (GA 245).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781855840768
Publisher:	SteinerBooks, Incorporated
Publication date:	12/28/1998
Edition description:	3rd Revised ed.
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Rudolf Steiner (b. Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner, 1861-1925) was born in the small village of Kraljevec, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in Croatia), where he grew up. As a young man, he lived in Weimar and Berlin, where he became a well-published scientific, literary, and philosophical scholar, known especially for his work with Goethe's scientific writings. Steiner termed his spiritual philosophy anthroposophy, meaning "wisdom of the human being." As an exceptionally developed seer, he based his work on direct knowledge and perception of spiritual dimensions. He initiated a modern, universal "spiritual science" that is accessible to anyone willing to exercise clear and unbiased thinking. From his spiritual investigations, Steiner provided suggestions for the renewal of numerous activities, including education (general and for special needs), agriculture, medicine, economics, architecture, science, philosophy, Christianity, and the arts. There are currently thousands of schools, clinics, farms, and initiatives in other fields that involve practical work based on the principles Steiner developed. His many published works feature his research into the spiritual nature of human beings, the evolution of the world and humanity, and methods for personal development. He wrote some thirty books and delivered more than six thousand lectures throughout much of Europe. In 1924, Steiner founded the General Anthroposophical Society, which today has branches around the world.

Owen Barfield (1898-1997), the British philosopher and critic, has been called the "First and Last Inkling," because of his influence and enduring role in the group known as the Oxford Inklings. The Inklings included C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams. It was Barfield who first advanced the ideas about language, myth, and belief that became identified with the thinking and art of the Inklings. He is the author of numerous books, including Poetic Diction: A Study in Meaning; Romanticism Comes of Age; Unancestoral Voice; History in English Words; and Worlds Apart: A Dialogue of the 1960s. His history of the evolution of human consciousness, Saving the Appearances: A Study in Idolatry, achieved a place in the list of the "100 Best Spiritual Books of the Century."

Virginia Sease was born in Pennsylvania and earned her doctorate in German from the University of Southern California. She taught in a university and a waldorf school in Los Angeles and has been a member of the Executive Council of the Goetheanum since 1984. She directs the English language Anthroposophical Studies Program at the Goetheanum.

Matthew Barton is a translator, editor, teacher, and poet, and taught kindergarten for many years at the Bristol Waldorf School. His first collection of poems was Learning To Row (1999). He has won numerous prizes for his work, including an Arts Council Writer's Award and a Hawthornden Fellowship.

Table of Contents

1. General Requirements (subsidiary exercises)
2. Main Exercise
3. Mantras
4. Explanations given in Esoteric Classes
5. The Gospel of Knowledge and Its Prayer
6. Exegesis to Light on the Path by Mabel Collins
7. Modern and Ancient Spiritual Exercises & Advice on Meditation Given by Rudolf Steiner