Today, Dear Friends – on this eve of the New Moon, 30 March 2022, we mark the 97th anniversary of Rudolf Steiner’s rebirth into the Spiritual World.
After the burning of the 1st Goetheanum 100 years ago this year, at the Christmas Conference in 1923, when Rudolf Steiner re-founded & joined the Anthroposophical Society with the ‘movement’ ie. the good spirits working thru Anthroposophia, he also took on the karma of all its members. Starting just after that Dr. Steiner showed signs of illness. Yet he continued to lecture & travel like never before. He was often giving 4 lectures a day for the various courses taking place concurrently. Many of these focused on practical anthroposophy, such as education, agriculture, medicine & the Christian Community. He gave his last in-person lecture on Michaelmas September 1924. Yet even after that, Rudolf Steiner continued to work on his autobiography & the Leading Thoughts during the last months of his life until he died on 30 March 1925 with the Sun in Pisces & the Moon in Taurus.
From “The Life and Work of Rudolf Steiner’ by Guenther Wachsmuth: “Even the last weeks in March 1925, during which he had to endure unspeakable suffering, were devoted in the most intense concentration to spiritual research, creative work, & bestowal…
…the beginning of his shared anthroposophical work with Marie von Sivers stood before his inner eye. It had not been easy for Marie Steiner to live with the increasing intense collaboration between Rudolf Steiner & Ita Wegman over the course of the last few years. Ita Wegman was so entirely different than she was. Now she was forced to deny herself the opportunity to care for the person she loved the most. Trouble with her legs inhibited her from doing this. That they had spoken about this with each other is evident from a letter he wrote her in Berlin on his official birthday:
“I write you these lines at about the same time that you would usually be sitting at my side. Thinking about how beautiful it is to listen to you speck about your activities & to speak with you about various aspects of your work moves me deeply. And when I know that you have now & again been able to read my Autobiography the description of our shared work, I feel deeply how closely connected we are. That destiny has brought other people close to me is simply the way destiny works. And my sickness has shown just how incisive this destiny can be. But you found the way to understanding; this is a blessing for me. To feel the unity of feeling & thinking in discernment is something I can do only with you. That I was not able to show you the last pages of the Steffen article before it went to the printer was a hardship for me. Then for myself, I find inner competence only in your judgement. Through you art is raised into the realms of the hierarchies. I gaze with wonder upon everything you achieve & with such devotion. In my thoughts I am with you” ~RS
Shielded under the devoted care of Dr. Ita Wegman, he still communicated many a spiritual message received, & he had us to report to him what was occurring on the hill of Dornach. He loved the living noise of hammering & scaffold-building which penetrated from the building place of the Goetheanum into the quiet of his sickroom, announcing the building in the process of coming into being. He was united through his council & help with this work to his last breath & beyond death.
“March 1925 was cold and foggy. It became quite windy in the last week of the month, and then the storms began. From the South and the West, the rain whipped against the walls of the studio. On March 29th, Rudolf Steiner awoke in pain. “No work was done that morning. It was the 1st time. We spoke at length about the pain. There was no reason to be worried. The pains disappeared in the course of the day. He was extraordinarily still and patient that day and gave new suggestions for his care” (Wegman and Nachrichtenblatt 1925)
Albert Steffen, who visited Rudolf Steiner regularly throughout his illness, recalled this time: “I visited him March 28th at 5 pm in his studio, where he lay in his sickbed. It was a tall room with skylights. Nothing of the earth looks in: no tree, no mountain, no house, only the light of the heavens. Sculptural and architectural models that he has made himself stand on the shelves along with some busts he has sculpted; at the foot of his bed, the noble statue of Christ, carved by his own hand, soars high above him. All around him are tables covered with books and manuscripts…Up to the last day of his life, his interest was for the entire world. In his studio, which he had not left for half the year, he had collected an entire library”
Rudolf Steiner was writing his “Letters to the Members” up to a few days before he died! The last missive is like a preview of what was to come in the 21st Century. It is titled “From Nature to Sub-Nature.” In it, Rudolf Steiner characterizes the dangers of the technological age & the task that has arisen for humanity thru greed driven technological developments, which rob human beings of a direct experience with nature, placing the artificial there instead. At 4 pm on March 29th, the pain returned. Yet Rudolf Steiner asked again if the adjoining studio was ready for him to work on the model for the 2nd Goetheanum. Both doctors, Wegman & Noll, kept watch throughout the night.
In his recollections of Rudolf Steiner D.N.Dunlop recalled, “A few weeks before his final illness, during the summer conference in Torquay, I spoke to him about my concerns for his physical health. He drew me aside, vigorously but with infinite friendliness, and made me aware that his situation could not be explained in terms of our usual notions of disease”.
It has been publicly stated that he died of stomach cancer. But one of Ita Wegman’s closest colleagues, Dr. Margarete Kirchner-Bockholt vehemently rejected this conjecture. And Dr. Ita Wegman had reported that Rudolf Steiner’s etheric body was no longer able to work in the digestive organs in the appropriate manner. “The result was that these organs were subjected too strongly to the physical forces, which are forces of degeneration.” (Wegman and Nachrichtenblatt 1925)
The last moments in his earthly life were free from all struggle with the physical entity, free from all uncertainty such as characterizes the death of so many human beings; his countenance spoke of peace, grace, inner certitude, spiritual vision. He folded his hands over his breast; his eyes were shiningly & strongly directed into worlds with which in vision he was united. As he drew his last breath, he himself closed his eyes; but this filled the room not with the experience of an end, but with that of a most sublime spiritual action. An exalted, transfigured wakefulness spoke out of his countenance, out of the praying strength of the hands. As the great artists of the Middle Ages gave to the pictures of the knights resting upon the sarcophagus the expression indicating that their closed eyes were still beholding, their resting form was still able to stride forward, so did the figure here resting speak of a super-terrestrial wakefulness, of a striding forward into the spheres of the spirit.
The forward striding figure of the Christ statue, pointing into the expanses of the universe, which he himself had created & at whose feet he now lay, spoke for the eye of those left behind on earth what was taking place for the spirit of a great human being who had dedicated his life to the annunciation of the Christ. Even in dying, Rudolf Steiner bestowed upon humanity the most sublime gift of consolation: the certitude that death is a waking entrance into worlds of life & action.
From Friedrich Rittelmeyer speaking about his death: “None of us had expected that Rudolf Steiner would succumb to the illness. The mortal sheath, just abandoned by the spirit setting out on its far journey, was resting on the death-bed at the foot of the Christ statue which stood there almost completed. Those who looked at the face of the dead could see what the spirit can make of the body in the life of a truly great man on earth. The sublimity and purity of his features was equal to every test and unsurpassed. Perhaps the death mask, if it is ever reproduced as a picture, will be a means of convincing many. Again and again one’s gaze turned from the forsaken earthly body to the great Christ figure which points with compelling gesture into the future. The disciple had fallen at the feet of the Master. It was as if Christ were taking the disciple to Himself with sheltering arms while He Himself went forward with unceasing step towards the future of the world. The disciple’s mission was fulfilled. The Master’s brow was radiant with the light of divine world-purposes. When, at the wish of Frau Dr. Steiner, and in the solemnly decorated hall where Dr. Steiner had given most of his great lectures, I was performing the burial service according to the ritual of The Christian Community, a drop of the sprinkled water fell in the centre of the forehead and shone there through the whole service like a sparkling diamond. The light of many candles was reflected in this glittering star – even as the revelations of light from higher worlds had been reflected in his spirit. Thus adorned, the body sank into the coffin. To me it was as if higher Spirits had indicated in an earthly picture what it had been our lot to experience. When the service was at an end, one impression lived mightily within my soul: “This work is now completed. Like a great question it stands there before mankind. If all who belong to that work dedicate their powers to it with single purpose, it will prevail!”
According to Ita Wegman’s report right before he crossed the threshold, Rudolf Steiner was very still sad & silent. She recalled, “It seemed to me as though he had a very difficult problem to solve. The forces of light in his eyes appeared weaker than usual”.
From Ita Wegman Nachrichtenblatt 1925: “At 3 am, I noticed a slight change in his breathing. I approached his bed; he was awake. He looked at me & asked whether I was tired. This question touched me. His pulse was not as strong as it had been, but much faster. I called Dr. Noll in order to speak with him about what ought to be done. Herr Steiner was not astonished to see him there in the middle of the night & greeted him amiably. “I don’t feel too bad” he said “I just can’t sleep.” We turned the light out again. At 4 am, he called me because the pain had reappeared. He said, “As soon as the day comes, we want to continue the treatment that I suggested”…Naturally, we didn’t wait for the day to come but did what was necessary. But then the situation changed quickly – his pulse grew weaker, his breathing more rapid. And we had to experience how his life was gradually extinguished…He went as though it were the obvious thing to do. It seemed to me as though the dice had been thrown for a last decision. When they fell, there was no struggle, no attempt to remain upon the earth any longer. He gazed calmly into the space before him for a time, said a couple of tender words to me, consciously closed his eyes & folded his hands”
Again from “The Life and Work of Rudolf Steiner’ by Guenther Wachsmuth: In the lofty darkened space of the studio stood the bier of him who had completed this earthly life, surrounded by a sea of flowers, by the light of candles, the death watch by his side day & night. Many hundreds of persons came in soundless silence for the last visit, went back into life comforted, trusting, having received in their affliction assurance of the virtuousness of the Spirit, of rebirth. On the 3rd day the body was brought into the great workshop, to lie in state finally in the lecture hall, at the place from which he had for decades proclaimed the knowledge of the spirit. At the request of Frau Marie Steiner, Fredrich Rittelmeyer conducted the funeral service which was the gift of Rudolf Steiner to the Christian Community.
The next morning the coffin was carried away for cremation. When it was passing by the newly erected structure of the new Goetheanum, the workers at the building stood still on the scaffolding & greeted the master builder & friend. At the cremation ritual, Albert Steffen united us with our beloved teacher in a picture of his being which only the artist could draw in such shining perfection. He spoke of “the friend of God and leader of humanity”. And what has come into being in us earthly persons through the leadership & schooling of Rudolf Steiner as a certitude, what we are called upon to do in his spirit, he summarized in the following words:
“He has again showed the world to us in such a way that we know it has come forth out of god. He has died in such a way that we feel: Christ lives in this death. May his immortal Spirit be resurrected in our deeds. We will, as well as we can, make them holy.”
“His last thoughts were of the work to which he had in love dedicated himself” ~Rudolf Steiner, from the last act of the 4th Mystery Drama.
“To create centres of peace & love in which the Christ can resurrect.”
~written on the urn that holds the ashes of Rudolf Steiner
What a blessing to receive the teachings of this great initiate. May we continue our connection with him in the spiritual worlds & ever enliven our Michaelic work with The Christ & the Being of Anthroposophia.
The recapitulation of the burning of Ephesus, really sums up the climate of Steiner’s last days. Rather now, Man has a full conscious choice whether they want to act on behalf of the Jealous Gods, or on behalf of the stream which chooses to exalt our fellow beings – Christ. The drama and turmoil between humans now is an enactment of the jealousy that adversarial forces (or Gods) have of Christ. Steiner realised, and took it his task (if I may say so), to tell us all that the cards are in our hands… and we really need to feel the same sense of urgency that he felt, to be the best we can be and encourage each other.
So true…Yes, a very astute way of putting it, thank you…
Hi Hazel,
In relation to Steiner’s book, “Christianity As Mystical Fact”, you said something very important. Your Jewish husband found a condolence in reading it. It likely enabled his conversion to Christianity. Yet, the Jewish world today still largely rejects Christianity. Why that is *is* still largely a mystery today. You wrote:
“That was the 1st Steiner book my Jewish husband ever read & it changed his life. It’s interesting that many intellectual types don’t resonate to it because it is really an overview of the ancient mysteries which all lead of course to the turning point of time & Christ’s deed on Golgotha, which is really not the focus of the book, for that we read the 5th Gospel, my personal fav.”
Hazel, according to the several gospels, the Jewish world was, indeed, converted to Christianity at the time that Christ incarnated. As such, He grew the multitudes, as indicated. Only later did Paul make the effort to convert the Gentiles. So, the Jews were originally supposed to receive the incarnation of the Messiah, and they did. This is fully documented in the four Gospels. Then, something took place. The plot of Caiaphas was put forth, as documented in chapter 11 of the Gospel of St. John. As such, Caiaphas had the idea that the Messiah must die for the Jewish nation. Not for All, of course, but only for the Jews. This is important today for understanding the Jewish position. Christ was and is for the world. As such, He represents the Fullness. The Jewish nation today still refuses to believe, except for the few, like Chuck. I like Chuck very much. Why? Because you talk about him. Otherwise, I would have no clue, just like with you. We talk in order to engage.
I have to say I have a lot of moon karma that brings much suffering in this life, but I am lucky in Love. The Chuckster is a Mensch & my daughter – my biggest initiator & brightest light…
And of course Spiritual Science brings me my destiny…
Hi Hazel,
Thanks for this awesome response to my little discourse that A & A had one final incarnation together at the time of Christ. You wrote:
“Sorry, I can’t site the references, but Yes, Steiner clearly tells us in the karma lectures that there are 2 streams…One that was in the Sun Sphere when Christ was on Earth – the young souls – the Aristotelians – the Northern Stream connected to Michael & Manu – & Arthur – the Kings. AND the Southern Stream – the old souls – the Priests – connected to Christian Rosenkreutz – Yes, it’s true that Steiner incarnated again in the Parzival drama where he was able to begin as Christ did to marry the 2 streams – the shepherds & the Kings within himself – to meet the Christ impulse. That’s why the Christ Revelation in Steiner’s Biography is so revealing.”
Yes. Steiner is revealing his own biographical narrative, rather than a teaching. This is what is so important about Reverend Kennedy’s discourse on March 30th. Maverick kindly sent me this video, and I can see how Steiner’s own biography is really a revelation of personal experience. I have read Steiner’s autobiography several times over the years since 1987, and each time gives more the revealing. Chapter 26 in the first English edition, which is by now chapter 57, according to Kennedy, does indicate a fundamental change of position in the life of Rudolf Steiner. He finds himself at the Cross on Golgotha, c. 1900. This would make sense, considering all that he would bring forth at the outset of the 20th century. Kennedy knows the compass of the first quarter of that century in the mind of Rudolf Steiner. He gives a good presentation.
In every human biography there is some sort of turning point that happens. To stand in consciousness to meet the mystery of Christ is the greatest revelation we can receive…To hear how this then formed & informed Steiner’s destiny is illuminating…
Thank you Hazel for the remembrances of Dr. Rudolf Steiner.
Every ending is a new Beginning!
xox
Hi Hazel,
Two things stand out in this accolade to the passing of Rudolf Steiner. The first is where Ita Wegman makes this observation:
“According to Ita Wegman’s report right before he crossed the threshold, Rudolf Steiner was very still sad & silent. She recalled, “It seemed to me as though he had a very difficult problem to solve. The forces of light in his eyes appeared weaker than usual”.
Now, this makes me wonder if Rudolf Steiner was considering that he was dying with eight years of unfulfilled karma, or whether he would continue to work from the other side in order to see the fulfillment of the CC of 1923. We know that the latter was not the case because his death only began the period of decline that we are still experiencing today. Yet, if the CC of 1923 was a Third Call from the Spiritual World, then Steiner’s crossing the threshold on March 30, 1925 should have enabled his direct continued working for the good of the refounding. His taking on the karma of the anthroposophical movement could certainly have continued from the outside, much like the Being Anthroposophia. Yet, what happened seems to have been his agreed exclusion.
The other item of note is Guenther Wachsmuth’s book, The Life and Work of Rudolf Steiner. Now, according to Wachsmuth, Steiner is lying in bed and hearing the builders working on the 2nd Goetheanum. According to another anecdote, on March 29th, he was hoping to get to work again on his model for the 2nd Goetheanum. This is how hagiographies are written. The Second Goetheanum, built of molded concrete, was not finished until 1928. Steiner made a big issue in the CC of 1923 not to rush too quickly into rebuilding the ‘building’. He said that many other issues, which are reflected in the paragraphs and statutes, were far more important than just rushing into the rebuilding of the Goetheanum. Thus, Wachsmuth’s dating of the rebuilding in 1925 is way out of line with the actual occurrence.
The real issue is whether Steiner worked from out of the spiritual worlds after his death, or went to Shamballa for a nice long rest, like Saint Germaine wanted to do. Please remember, Saint Germaine died on February 27, 1784, exactly 77 years before the birth of Rudolf Steiner. Saint Germaine was also a duly recognized incarnation of Christian Rosenkreutz. So, I think that Steiner did his time, and was exhausted. Lazarus is also noted for spending a long time in the spiritual worlds after his sacrifice for Christ.
The picture I hold is that Steiner was seeing a picture of the future & that the difficult problem that he was striving to solve continued after his birth into the spiritual world. And that his vow to come back quickly would not allow him a ‘nice long rest’.
I too see this picture of a ‘nice long rest’ being averted again, and yet it is definitely possible that Steiner’s demise, rather than recovery, which he did hold out hope for over the course of the six months from October 1924 to March 1925 caused him to go to Shamballa, instead of returning by the end of the 20th century. This is why we have no evidence that he is here today, and even in America as an expatriate of the GAS. I thought that was a very audacious and very refreshing statement you made the other day about Steiner reincarnating in America and having nothing to do with the GAS. Did you get any flack for that? You are now on the CRC of the ASiA, and this could appear as a controversial statement. I give it high regards.
Good one, thanks.
Many lives connected & ever striving thru the offerings of our dear Doctor.
My own striving is small and as constant as my weaknesses will allow. So I accept the wreath of “great” on my brow, as “Maverick” denotes. What I know with certainty is that my weaknesses are sustained by blogs such as Hazel’s, her works and that of her many colleagues who put themselves before all of us to recognize the particular colors of “Great” that live in each individuality.
The sounding of that choir renews and uplifts my soul to increased urgency that sustains my offering.
We are all part of a mosaic living through dark and light, giving thanks for our part in resistances that meet another’s service, that with spiritual help is strengthened thereby.
Quite a circle! I am grateful to be in that circle with all and each of you, met each night in a weaving braiding of Eternal Thought.
Wow, thank you dear sister, these poetic words are flowing out with such grace & working deeply into my soul, thank you…Our circle is indeed swelling & adding to the wellspring that continually gives birth to Anthroposophia in us all…
Wow, so nice to read your words Catherine, and to feel their warmth and inspiration in our souls. It sounds like you’ve experienced for yourself that great truth which Paul expressed as “When I am weak, then I am strong”. This is a lesson we’d all do well to learn. It was something Steiner himself learned. Rev. Kennedy, in his presentation on Dr. Steiner last evening, told us of Steiner’s early strivings to know himself, and finding he just couldn’t complete that riddle – UNTIL he stood at the foot of the Mystery of Golgotha. There, he realized his own weakness, but found strength in Christ’s finished work. From that “ceremony of knowledge” which he participated in, so much strength flowed forth that he was able to leave us a vast source of what Steiner was able to “narrate” (those who heard the talk will recall Rev. Kennedy’s early mention of Steiner’s words that he didn’t teach, but rather narrated).
Steiner’s striving, and realization of his own weakness, actually goes back to Jacob wrestling with an angel (Genesis 32:22-32). This was Jacob’s great turning-point in his life, the point at which he was re-named “Israel”, he who wrestles with God. Israel, or one who wrestles with God, is actually a predecessor of the true Anthroposophist, for we all must acknowledge our weakness at finding our true “I”, in order to be awakened to our true selves, as Steiner was, in the Mystery of Golgotha’s impulse. Our wills need to be touched by an angel, like Jacob’s, who after this incident, always walked with a limp, to remind him that going forward, it’d be not his own will, but God’s will on earth, as it is in heaven.
Thank you Maverick for joining your thoughts here with Catherine’s.
I will work with this truth “When I am weak, then I am strong”.
As a woman who has had to struggle so hard to become strong, it is a big leap to trust that this will not diminish but replenish the strength that grows from wrestling with my angel.
This is just an intuitive thought on what Paul said, but should we see the first “I” mentioned as our lower self, and the second “I” as our higher self? So that when our lower self has been weakened, our higher self takes that position of strength? From that place of strength can flow “living waters”, as they did from Steiner, and can do from us if we’re willing to be channels of blessings to others? Don’t know for certain, but wonder if that’s what Paul was trying to “narrate”. (You can tell from this how much I’m enjoying learning about “intuitive thinking”, and also this idea that Rev. Kennedy mentioned, about “narrating” vs. “teaching”. Narrating recognizes the higher source of the information, as in “My Spirit bears witness with your spirit” – Romans 8:16).
Yes, That is how I have envisioned the 2 “I”s.
I also love this term narrate, as opposed to channeling which implies an unconsciousness.
Yes, let me clear up what I meant by being a channel. It wasn’t meant in an unconscious manner. With the image of the flow of living waters of Spirit, the thought was more of choosing to be a conduit for that flow. Much like how they channel a river’s flow for purposes of irrigation; so directing it to where it’s needed from its source. That’s a conscious decision; it’s also a conscious decision to shape one’s life in such a manner that there’s no, or very little, blockages in that channel that might slow the flow, blockages such as personal issues.
I understand Anthro’s dislike for unconscious sources. There’s good reason for that, since an unconscious person can be susceptible to illusions and fantasies, possibly even evil forces. The only problem I have with that sort of judgment – what if a higher being wants to use an unconscious person? For obvious reasons this isn’t going to happen in Anthroposophical circles, but if it were to happen on rare occasions, what opportunities might be lost by claiming that it should never happen? Just one example came to mind recently – as I read of the two doctors attending to Dr. Steiner, I thought of how much a reading from Edgar Cayce might have helped. Cayce was able to see the insides of a person’s body – things which are just today coming to light for medical science. How many times, when working on plumbing issues, I wished I could see inside the walls or ceilings of a house to determine the exact location of a problem. Instead, I had to remove large sections to get to the issue. Cayce had the ability to see inside the human body, along with his ability to connect with the Akashic records to determine what might have happened in a person’s past to have caused an injury or illness showing up at a later date. This is well-documented in the book There Is a River (Thomas Sugrue) – so well that when I read it I couldn’t deny the truths I was reading. It’s also been quite amazing for me to discover how closely Steiner’s and Cayce’s insights into the Akashic records align. Steiner has a different perspective, but the basic truths are the same, especially in reference to the central figure of human evolution being the descent of the Christ into humanity. If someone I knew and cared about had an issue, I would explore all possibilities, and not be so close-minded that I’d dictate how a higher being should perform its work.
The unconscious is not something to be feared, but rather something to be treated with the utmost respect for its potential. What we call our subconscious, which is the unconscious part of our memories, will someday become our consciousness, as we evolve into a higher form of human being. The only reason it’s unconscious for us now is that our finite minds wouldn’t be able to deal with the sheer expanse of information it contains. Steiner actually began to unfold some of this in his Karmic Relationships – there he touches on some of those memories that have been kept a mystery to us, but he did it in such a manner that we were able to handle it. He wanted to reveal some of it earlier, but knew that his audience wasn’t yet ready for such an unveiling.
So true that what is unconscious will, if we make it our intention, become conscious.
Thanks for this article on this day of remembrance.
Blessings on the continued journey of this beautiful soul…
With the spirit of reverence which this blog article presents, I add my appreciation for the teachings of this man, teachings which have helped many in their own life’s journey. I note that many call him “great” – a great initiate, a great teacher, etc. But are we not all great in our unique way?
“I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”” Luke 7:28
We have some great people among us right now, people who are building on the work that men like Steiner carried through; people like yourself, Hazel, who help others through your writings and webinars, and people like your daughter, Ultra Violet, who’s exploring new dimensions of music, and communicating those to us so that we can better understand the “harmony of the spheres” that’s always sounding in the chemical-ether realm. Yes, we’re all great beings – and illness, deformities, handicaps and even death are an undeniable factor in our existence here on Earth. We should see every brother and sister as equal, and never show partiality or favor one over another. To do otherwise is to practice a subtle form of eugenics, such as we are faced with daily in our crazed world, where those who are deemed “good-looking” or “successful” are posted on magazine covers or exalted in film.
Yes, thank you you share a wonderful perspective supporting every striving human being.
Yes, I think that what Maverick is extolling here is how we each have our own spiritual biography to tell. We are all individually special. Yet, only when it comes into a particular framework does it become the especial magic we can speak about. Thus, we can acquaint with those here. The Luke reference is very important. Maverick does this all the time with scripture.
And our biographies are all interwoven
A wonderful truth to be reminded of Hazel, thank you. Not only are our biographies interwoven, but we often (perhaps not always, yet) are motivated by the same impulse. As true Anthroposophists, we’ve stood at the foot of the Mystery of Golgotha in the way that Steiner described, and have shared in that wonderful ceremony of knowledge that Rev. Kennedy described so well as a diamond, with its many facets to be explored. Like Steiner, we’ve discovered that that place of wonder is the only way for us to fully know ourselves. Now, that impulse we act from is best described in those favorite words of Steiner’s: “Not I, but Christ in me”.
To ever deepen in this mystery – To bring it out in our every thought, word & deed – to see the Christ not only within but in the other…
And to bring it to light in the world
Hi Maverick,
This is almost becoming a discussion board, and I apologize for getting a late start today, which is actually now April 1st. I suspect that Reverend Kennedy was referring to Rudolf Steiner’s own admission of close proximity to the Mystery of Golgotha in chapter 26 of his autobiography here:
https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA028/English/APC1928/GA028_c26.html
For me, this assertion has for many years now been a direct karmic indication that Rudolf Steiner lived at the time of Christ. For most of us, I don’t think that is beyond the realm of possibility. No one in modern occultism has extolled the greatness of what Paul experienced in his transformation on the road to Damascus as has Rudolf Steiner, who I perceive within the discipleship. What keeps coming to mind is what the Gospel of John says in chapter 19, around verse 25. Those who stood by the Cross.
Steiner is clear that Aristotle & Alexander were in the Sun Sphere when the Christ was incarnated on earth. I think that is why he is so tuned into the Christ as the Being of the Sun connected to Michael – Christ as the Sun Spirit – The Word works thru him…
Yes, hopefully Hazel’s alright with our ramblings. The chapter 26 you gave touches only briefly on what Steiner experienced, but I notice he mentions several times his book Christianity as Mystical Fact. Apparently his whole struggle and entrance into freedom is described in more detail there – a book I haven’t read yet, but am now intrigued by. I recall Rev. Kennedy saying it’s all laid out in that book.
The way Patrick described it, as I understood it, is that for the first time in Steiner’s life, he was able to say “I” on looking at someone outside of himself; so this was the first time he was able to see himself as percept. This helped him immensely in his striving to know himself. I hope the Washington, D.C. group will make the recording of Rev. Kennedy’s message available for everyone – it was enlightening. Kennedy went through the same struggle I’ve experienced – as a young seminary student in Stuttgart he pored over books trying to determine who this man Steiner was – what was his biography? That was a stage I went through myself shortly after being introduced to his work.
That was the 1st Steiner book my Jewish husband ever read & it changed his life. It’s interesting that many intellectual types don’t resonate to it because it is really an overview of the ancient mysteries which all lead of course to the turning point of time & Christ’s deed on Golgotha, which is really not the focus of the book, for that we read the 5th Gospel, my personal fav.
Now you’ve got me even more curious about this book (C.as M.F.). Just glancing over the contents of the 5th Gospel, and I wonder if it isn’t more instructions for Anthroposophists on the proper understanding of the Mystery of Golgotha, along with additional details not found in the other Gospel accounts? I haven’t read C.as M.F. yet, but maybe it has more of Steiner’s personal encounter with the work of the Mystery, along with all that ancient mystery information you mentioned?
5th Gospel is the secret teaching from the Akashic record of the life of Christ…it reads like a novel…incredible.
CasM.F is more like a history book outlining the progression thru the ancient mysteries
Steiner is not clear at all that Aristotle and Alexander were in the Sun Sphere when Christ incarnated. Rather, he holds out for a final incarnation together at the time or Christ. This is shown in volume four of the KR, GA 238, lecture four. They had one final incarnation together in the early Christian centuries, in a district not without importance to the anthroposphical movement. I see this as occurring at the time of Christ, and why Steiner can attest to being at the foot of the Cross on Golgotha. This leads to a whole new realization of these two at the time of Christ.
Sorry, I can’t site the references, but Yes, Steiner clearly tells us in the karma lectures that there are 2 streams…One that was in the Sun Sphere when Christ was on Earth – the young souls – the Aristotelians – the Northern Stream connected to Michael & Manu – & Arthur – the Kings. AND the Southern Stream – the old souls – the Priests – connected to Christian Rosenkreutz – Yes, it’s true that Steiner incarnated again in the Parzival drama where he was able to begin as Christ did to marry the 2 streams – the shepherds & the Kings within himself – to meet the Christ impulse. That’s why the Christ Revelation in Steiner’s Biography is so revealing.
So very moving to hear these words.
Thank you for sharing, Hazel.
I really the aura of this cosmic & earthly milestone hovering in the ethers this year more than ever…