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“This book cannot be read the way people ordinarily read books in this day and age. In some respects, its readers will have to work their way through each page, and even each single sentence, the hard way. This was done deliberately; it is the only way this book can become what it is intended to be for the reader. Simply reading it through is as good as not reading it at all. The spiritual scientific truths it contains must be experienced; that is the only way they can be of value.” —Rudolf Steiner Theosophy is a key work for gaining a solid footing in spiritual reality as described by Rudolf Steiner. It is organized into four parts. First, Steiner builds a comprehensive understanding of human nature: physical bodily nature; soul qualities; spirit being, or I-being; and the higher spiritual aspects. This leads us to Steiner’s description of the human being as sevenfold:
- Material, physical body
- Ether body, or body of life forces
- Sentient soul body
- Mind soul
- Spirit-filled consciousness soul
- Life spirit
- Spirit body
In the next section, Steiner offers an extraordinary overview of the laws of reincarnation and the principles of karma, as we pass from one life to the next. This prepares us for the third section, in which he shows the various ways in which we live—during life on earth and after death and in the three worlds of body, soul, and spirit.
Finally, we are given a succinct description of the path of knowledge, along which each person can begin to understand the marvelous and harmonious complexity of the psycho-spiritual worlds in their fullness.
Contents:
- Foreword by Michael Holdrege
- Prefaces by Rudolf Steiner
- Chapter 1: The Essential Nature of the Human Being:
- The Bodily Nature of the Human Being
- The Soul Nature of the Human Being
- The Spirit Nature of the Human Being
- Body, Soul, and Spirit
- Chapter 2: Destiny & the Reincarnation of the Spirit
- Chapter 3: The Three Worlds:
- The Soul World
- The Soul in the Soul World after Death
- The Country of Spirit Beings
- The Spirit in Spirit Country after Death
- The Physical World and Its Connection to the Worlds of Souls and Spirits
- Chapter 4: The Path to Knowledge
- Related Reading
- Index
German edition: « Theosophie, Einführung in übersinnliche Welterkenntnis und Menschenbestimmung »
 Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925) was born in Kraljevic, Austria, where he grew up the son of a railroad station chief. As a young man, he lived in Weimar and Berlin, where he became a respected and 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 earlier 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 its results. The influence of Steiner’s multifaceted genius has led to innovative and holistic approaches in medicine and therapies, philosophy, religious renewal, Waldorf education, education for special needs (including the Camphill Village movement), 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.
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