Another name for Anthroposophy is the Science of the Spirit. Founded by Dr Rudolf Steiner (1861 - 1925) it seeks to discover and observe that which lies behind physical phenomena. Through research into the spirit, Rudolf Steiner was able to give clear insights about the human being, the physical world, cultural and physical evolution and humanity’s unique role therein.

Rudolf Steiner is among the visionaries who assert that in the last two millennia it has been impossible to discover the divine directly through nature. ‘The Macrocosmic Threshold to the Spiritual World is now closed. Only the Microcosmic Threshold is still open.’ This “microcosmic threshold” is crossed by developing an understanding of the entire human being. This means not just the body and soul but also the embryonic spiritual; by coming to a modern understanding of the mantram of the Eleusian Mysteries: “O Man, know thyself!”

Dr Steiner points out that while modern scientific study and techniques are extremely valuable, they are mostly focused on physical nature and therefore applied to a non-productive area. He uses the analogy of a profound piece of writing that an erudite materialistic scientist tries to understand by studying the letters that form the words. It is very important to him to discover how the ‘a’ is formed, and even more important to realize that there are more ‘a’s in one sentence than another, but none of this deep research makes an iota of difference in illuminating the meaning of the piece. It is the relationship of one word to another that gives the piece meaning, and in order to see this, one needs to look at the piece as a whole and then the relationships within it. Discovering the composition of the oil paint used in a portrait does not throw light on the character who is painted. One needs to step back to see the subject properly and contemplate the visage.

In order to make advances in understanding human beings and the world we need the input of the spiritual record of each life and the world, which is known as the Akashic Record. Just as a non-traveler needs the information of a traveler to find out about a distant land, so the non-clairvoyant human being needs the input of the initiate and the clairvoyant to learn about the spiritual world.

However, every human being has their own experiences, and they can evaluate the truth of what is told to them by their own inner experiences. We are all travelers on the road to spiritual development, whether we are aware of it or not.

This is clearly delineated in an additional gift Rudolf Steiner gave, which is his book called “How to Know Higher Worlds”. Through study of this text, anyone can have awareness and direct experience of the spiritual world.

~ John Miles, Winter 2004