14 lectures, Dornach, Jun 30 - Sept 24, 1924 (CW 354)
The remarkable discussions in this volume took place between Rudolf Steiner and workers at the first Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. At Rudolf Steiner's instigation, the varied subjects were chosen by his audience. He took their questions and usually gave immediate answers. The astonishing nature of these responses--their insight, knowledge, and spiritual depth--is testimony to Steiner's outstanding ability as a spiritual initiate and profound thinker. Accessible, entertaining and stimulating, the records of these sessions will be a delight to anyone with an open mind.
Here, Steiner discusses Lemuria and Atlantis; vegetarianism; children's nutrition; manure and soil; hardening of the arteries; the sense of smell; weather and its causes; origin of the human being; Darwinism; earth strata and fossils; Biela's comet; lightning; volcanoes; and much more.
This volume is a translation from German of Die Sch�pfung der Welt und des Menschen. Erdenleben und Sternenwirken (GA 354).
Author Biography:
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. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he began to develop his early philosophical principles into an approach to systematic research into psychological and spiritual phenomena. Formally beginning his spiritual teaching career under the auspices of the Theosophical Society, Steiner came to use the term Anthroposophy (and spiritual science) for his philosophy, spiritual research, and findings. The influence of Steiner's multifaceted genius has led to innovative and holistic approaches in medicine, various therapies, philosophy, religious renewal, Waldorf education, education for special needs, threefold economics, biodynamic agriculture, Goethean science, architecture, and the arts of drama, speech, and eurythmy. In 1924, Rudolf Steiner founded the General Anthroposophical Society, which today has branches throughout the world. He died in Dornach, Switzerland. Sevak Gulbekian was born in London in 1964. A publisher and writer, he is presently chief editor of Clairview Books, Temple Lodge Publishing, and Rudolf Steiner Press. His spiritual outlook is informed by the ancient heritage of his Armenian ancestry, the more modern esoteric research of Rudolf Steiner, as well as the many contemporary accounts of spiritual experience available today. Over the past decade he has sought to find ways of relating spirituality to present-day culture, a path he has elaborated through essays, talks, workshops, and, finally, in this volume. In his professional work he publishes books that challenge the "received wisdoms" of the media and the materialistic dogmas of the age. Sevak is also a qualified and registered homeopath. He lives in Sussex, England. 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.
