The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Afterword to the New Edition (1918)

[ 1 ] It may already be clear from the explanations in the second of these "Meditations" and will be even clearer from the following ones that the path of the soul spoken of in this writing rejects in the most decisive manner all so-called "clairvoyance" based on pathological or abnormal bodily conditions. Anything visionary or mediumistic that arises from such conditions is excluded from this path of the soul. Such soul contents emerge from a constitution of the human inner being, compared to which sensory perception and the thinking based on it represent a higher realm. With this perception and this thinking one lives more in the supersensible realm and with it one is more independent of the body than is the case when an irregular body organization deludes the soul with a content that arises from processes that should actually serve the body and that stray in a pathological way from their natural task and lead to ideas that have their basis neither in a perception from outside nor in an own activity of the will.

[ 2 ] Among the mental processes present in ordinary consciousness, it is only thought that can detach itself from perception and lead to independent activity that is not conditioned by abnormal bodily manifestations. What is meant here as clairvoyant seeing does not descend below the state of the soul that goes deeper into the organic processes, but rather ascends into areas that begin with thinking that is inwardly illuminated by the soul and dominated by self-will. From this self-controlled thinking the soul develops the clairvoyant seeing meant here. Thinking is the model for seeing. However, what is described in the "Meditations" as such seeing is very different from mere thinking. And it leads into supersensible world experiences into which this thinking cannot penetrate. But the life that the soul unfolds in this seeing must be no other than that developed in thinking. With the same awareness with which the soul lives in one thought, with which it passes from one thought to another, it must live in the visions, in the illuminations.

[ 3 ] The relationship of the soul to these visions is, however, essentially different from that to ordinary thoughts. Even if the soul's relationship of a vision to the reality corresponding to it is similar to the relationship of an idea of memory to the experienced reality of which it is a reminder, a significant aspect of vision is precisely that during its activity the power of memory is not effective in the soul at all. What one has once imagined can be remembered, even if the imagination is a mere fantasy. What one has experienced in clairvoyant vision disappears from consciousness the moment the vision ceases, if one has not developed the other power in addition to the psychic power of vision, namely, to re-establish in the soul the same conditions of vision which led to this vision. One can remember these conditions and thereby repeat the vision; but one cannot remember the vision directly. Whoever has gained the necessary insight into these things has a means of recognizing as such the reality that corresponds to his vision. Just as one can remember a perception, an experience, but with this memory the experience, the perception itself is not experienced, so what remains with the vision for the memory does not contain the real content of this vision. It can be seen from this that just as real perception is not a mere illusion in the sensory field, neither is the supersensible reality corresponding to the vision. People who have not familiarized themselves sufficiently with the nature of the vision meant here and who judge what is presented about it only from the outside, according to their preconceived opinions, fall into error in this respect. They believe that what occurs in clairvoyant consciousness can be based on a play of the imagination or a weaving of ideas that flood up from the subconscious depths of the soul like unclear memories. Such judges do not know that the truly clairvoyant consciousness lives only in such contents of the soul which can never submerge as such into the organic depths, which already resist the fate of being seized by any power of memory when they arise.

[ 4 ] Another peculiarity of clairvoyant life is that its course differs in important characteristics from that of the ordinary life of the soul. In the latter, exercise and habituation play a fruitful role in human life. Whoever repeatedly performs a certain activity increases his ability to perform this activity in a skillful manner. How would progress in life, in art, how would any learning be possible at all if such a gain in human skill could not be achieved through practice? The same does not apply to the acquisition of clairvoyant vision. Whoever has had a psychic experience has not thereby become more adept at having it a second time. If he has had it once, this is a reason why it strives away from him. It seeks to flee from him, as it were. And he must take recourse to special soul practices which, for a repeated experience, endow his soul with a stronger power than that which enabled him to have the experience the first time. For beginners on the supersensible path of the soul, this fact is often a source of serious disappointment. It is relatively easy to have one's first supersensible experiences with appropriate exercises that lead to soul strengthening in the sense indicated in this book. You will then be delighted with the progress you have made. But you will soon realize that the same experiences are not repeated. You will then feel as if your soul is empty in the face of the supersensible. What comes into consideration is that one must realize that the same efforts that led to the result the first time do not work a second time, but stronger, often quite different ones. - One must come to the realization that the laws of supersensible experience are in many cases different, often opposite to the physical ones. But one must also be careful not to draw the conclusion that one can know anything about the supersensible experience by thinking of its processes as a reversal of corresponding sensory ones. How things stand in each individual case must be seen through in each individual case through supersensible experience.

[ 5 ] A third characteristic of supersensible experience is that the visions hardly light up before the clairvoyant consciousness for a measurable period of time. One can say: the moment they appear, they have already fled again. This means that only quick reflection, quick attunement of the attention leads to the realization of true visions. He who does not develop such quick reflection and attentiveness among his soul faculties may have visions; he does not attain knowledge of them. This is the reason why people deny the supersensible world to such a great extent as is the case. The supersensible experience is really much more widespread than is usually thought. Man's contact with the spiritual world is basically something quite common to mankind. But the ability to follow this communication with a rapidly acting power of consciousness must be laboriously acquired. One can make oneself suitable for this ability in ordinary life if one practises making a decision to act in certain life situations from a quick overview of what is present. Whoever in such situations in life becomes accustomed to a recurring reversal of the decision, to a dithering that leads to nothing but loss of time: "Should I, should I not", will only be able to prepare himself in a bad way for the observation of the spiritual world out of this ordinary life. He who comes to develop presence of mind already in this life, when it is appropriate, will be able to carry it into the supersensible experience, in which it is an absolute necessity. - If man, as he is in ordinary life, lacked the faculties of supersensible experience, he would be incapable of his task in the sensory world. He can only attain supersensible abilities in a wholesome way if he develops them from a healthy life in sensual reality. Anyone who believes that he can come close to the supersensible world by turning away from this life, through eccentric qualities, is on the wrong path. True clairvoyant vision relates to the healthy activities of the ordinary consciousness in the same way as the latter relates to the consciousness of sleep, the contents of which appear before the soul in dreams. But just as the ordinary consciousness is disturbed and undermined by an unhealthy sleeping life, so no healthy clairvoyant vision can develop on the basis of a hostile, impractical attitude in ordinary reality. The more firmly a person stands in life, the more sympathetic he is to the tasks of ordinary intellectual, emotional, moral and social existence, the healthier he will be able to allow the soul faculties to emerge from such a way of life which will enable him to experience the supersensible worlds. - The preceding "Meditations" are intended to speak of such healthy clairvoyant vision. Anything pathological, visionary or fantastic in the worst sense is not to be found on the path they describe, which leads to the recognition of the supersensible world.