What do you think?
Rate this book
Harmony of the Creative Word: The Human Being & the Elemental, Animal, Plant, and Mineral Kingdoms
12 lectures, October 19 – November 11, 1923 (CW 230) This is one of Steiner's most popular lecture courses. He presents an extraordinary panorama of spiritual knowledge that focuses on the human being as a microcosm containing all the laws and secrets of the cosmos. Steiner speaks of our inner relationship to three ancient and sacred representatives of the animal kingdom―eagle, lion, and bull―and our connection with the cosmic forces that form them. He deepens these themes by approaching the plant and animal worlds within the context of planetary and cosmic evolution. He then introduces us to the elemental nature spirits―the metaphysical beings that work with plants and animals―and gives us unique and intimate descriptions of them, describing the cooperation they offer to humankind. Finally, the human being―the “harmony of the Creative Word”―is placed at the heart of this spiritual celebration of life. These are important lectures for understanding Steiner’s view of humankind within the context of cosmic and earthly evolution Harmony of the Creative Word is a translation from German of Der Mensch als Zusammenklang des schaffenden, bildenden und gestaltenden Weltenwortes (GA 230). A previous edition was published as Man As Symphony of the Creative Word.
244 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2001
7 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Rudolf Steiner
4,285 books1,087 followersAuthor also wrote under the name Rudolph Steiner.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as a literary critic and published works including The Philosophy of Freedom. At the beginning of the twentieth century he founded an esoteric spiritual movement, anthroposophy, with roots in German idealist philosophy and theosophy. His teachings are influenced by Christian Gnosticism or neognosticism. Many of his ideas are pseudoscientific. He was also prone to pseudohistory.
In the first, more philosophically oriented phase of this movement, Steiner attempted to find a synthesis between science and spirituality. His philosophical work of these years, which he termed "spiritual science", sought to apply what he saw as the clarity of thinking characteristic of Western philosophy to spiritual questions, differentiating this approach from what he considered to be vaguer approaches to mysticism. In a second phase, beginning around 1907, he began working collaboratively in a variety of artistic media, including drama, dance and architecture, culminating in the building of the Goetheanum, a cultural centre to house all the arts. In the third phase of his work, beginning after World War I, Steiner worked on various ostensibly applied projects, including Waldorf education, biodynamic agriculture, and anthroposophical medicine.
Steiner advocated a form of ethical individualism, to which he later brought a more explicitly spiritual approach. He based his epistemology on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's world view in which "thinking…is no more and no less an organ of perception than the eye or ear. Just as the eye perceives colours and the ear sounds, so thinking perceives ideas." A consistent thread that runs through his work is the goal of demonstrating that there are no limits to human knowledge.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as a literary critic and published works including The Philosophy of Freedom. At the beginning of the twentieth century he founded an esoteric spiritual movement, anthroposophy, with roots in German idealist philosophy and theosophy. His teachings are influenced by Christian Gnosticism or neognosticism. Many of his ideas are pseudoscientific. He was also prone to pseudohistory.
In the first, more philosophically oriented phase of this movement, Steiner attempted to find a synthesis between science and spirituality. His philosophical work of these years, which he termed "spiritual science", sought to apply what he saw as the clarity of thinking characteristic of Western philosophy to spiritual questions, differentiating this approach from what he considered to be vaguer approaches to mysticism. In a second phase, beginning around 1907, he began working collaboratively in a variety of artistic media, including drama, dance and architecture, culminating in the building of the Goetheanum, a cultural centre to house all the arts. In the third phase of his work, beginning after World War I, Steiner worked on various ostensibly applied projects, including Waldorf education, biodynamic agriculture, and anthroposophical medicine.
Steiner advocated a form of ethical individualism, to which he later brought a more explicitly spiritual approach. He based his epistemology on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's world view in which "thinking…is no more and no less an organ of perception than the eye or ear. Just as the eye perceives colours and the ear sounds, so thinking perceives ideas." A consistent thread that runs through his work is the goal of demonstrating that there are no limits to human knowledge.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 19, 2021
Mind Blowing!
Reading this I feel like I am venturing beyond normal understanding into a brave new world. It’s exciting to read. I can’t say I understand all of the concepts described but I want to. This is the second time I’m reading these lectures and I doubt it will be the last. Powerful stuff!
Reading this I feel like I am venturing beyond normal understanding into a brave new world. It’s exciting to read. I can’t say I understand all of the concepts described but I want to. This is the second time I’m reading these lectures and I doubt it will be the last. Powerful stuff!
Displaying 1 of 1 review