Anthroposophical Leading Thoughts
GA 26
How the Leading Thoughts are to be Used
[ 1 ] Those who want to take an active part in the Movement may find in the Leading Thoughts that are given out from the Goetheanum, an impulse and stimulus that shall enable them to bring unity and wholeness into all anthroposophical activity.
They will find in them, as they receive them week by week, guidance for deepening their understanding of the material that is already at hand in the Lecture-Courses and for putting it forward in the Group meetings with a certain order and harmony.
[ 2 ] It would without doubt be more desirable for the lectures given in Dornach to be carried at once in all directions to the individual Groups. But one has to remember what complicated technical arrangements such a course would necessitate. The Executive at the Goetheanum are making every possible effort in this direction, and still more will be done in the future. But we must reckon with the possibilities that exist. The aims that found expression at the Christmas Meeting will be realised. But we need time.
[ 3 ] For the present those Groups that have members who visit the Goetheanum, hear the lectures there and can bring back the substance of them into the Group meetings, have an advantage. And Groups should recognise that the sending of members to the Goetheanum in this way is a very good thing to do. On the other hand, however, the work that has already been achieved within the Anthroposophical Society and that is embodied in the printed Courses and Lectures, should not be undervalued. If you take up these Courses and call to mind from the titles what is contained in this one and in that, and then turn to the Leading Thoughts, you will find that you meet with one thing in one Course, another in another, that explains the Leading Thoughts more fully. By reading together passages that are found separated in different Courses, you will discover the right points of view for expounding and elaborating the Leading Thoughts.
[ 4 ] We in the Anthroposophical Society are wasting opportunities all the time if we leave the printed Courses quite untouched and only want always to hear ‘the latest’ from the Goetheanum. And it will readily be understood that all possibility of printing the Courses would gradually cease if they were not widely made use of.
[ 5 ] Another point of view also comes into consideration. In spreading the contents of Anthroposophy, a strong sense of responsibility is necessary in the first place. What is said about the spiritual world must be brought into a form such that the pictures of spiritual facts and beings which are given are not exposed to misunderstanding. Anyone who hears a lecture at the Goetheanum will receive an immediate and direct impression. If he repeats the contents of what he heard, this impression can echo from him; and he is able so to formulate them that they can be rightly understood. But if they are repeated at second or third hand, the possibility of inaccuracies creeping in becomes greater and greater. All these things should be borne in mind.
[ 6 ] The following point of view is, however, probably the most important. The point is not that Anthroposophy should be simply listened to or read, but that it should be received into the living soul. It is essential that what has been received should be worked upon in thought and carried into the feelings; and the Leading Thoughts are really intended to suggest this with regard to the Courses already printed and in circulation. If this point of view is not sufficiently considered, then the nature of Anthroposophy will be constantly hindered from manifesting itself through the Anthroposophical Society. People say, though only with apparent justice: ‘What use is it to me to hear all these things about the spiritual worlds if I cannot look into those worlds for myself?’ One who speaks thus does not realise that such vision is promoted when the working out of anthroposophical ideas is thought of in the manner indicated above. The lectures at the Goetheanum are so given that their contents can live on and work freely in the minds of the hearers. The same applies also to the contents of the Courses. These do not contain dead material to be imparted externally, but material which, when viewed from different aspects, stimulates the vision for spiritual worlds. It should not be thought that one hears the contents of the lectures and that the knowledge of the spiritual world is acquired separately by means of meditation. In that way one will never make real progress. Both must act together in the soul. And to think out anthroposophical ideas and allow them to live on in the feelings is also an exercise of the soul. A person grows into the spiritual world with open eyes if he uses Anthroposophy in the manner we have described.
[ 7 ] Far too little attention is paid in the Anthroposophical Society to the fact that Anthroposophy should not be abstract theory but real life. Real life, that is its nature; and if it is made into abstract theory this is often not at all a better but a worse theory than others. But it becomes theory only when it is made such—i.e. when one kills it. It is still not sufficiently realised that Anthroposophy is not only a conception of the world, different from others, but that it must also be received differently. Its nature is recognised and experienced only when one receives it in this different way.
[ 8 ] The Goetheanum should be looked upon as the necessary centre of anthroposophical work and activity, but one ought not to lose sight of the fact that the anthroposophical material which has been worked out should also be made use of in the Groups. What is worked out at the Goetheanum can be obtained gradually by the whole Anthroposophical Society in a full and living sense, when as many members as possible come from the Groups to the Goetheanum itself and participate as much as possible in its activities.
[ 9 ] But all this must be worked out with heart and mind; the mere imparting of the contents of the lectures each week is useless. The Executive at the Goetheanum will need time and will have to meet with sympathetic understanding on the part of the members. It will then be able to work in accordance with the intention of the Christmas Meeting.
Further Leading Thoughts issued from the Goetheanum for the Anthroposophical Society
[ 10 ] 76. To call forth an idea of the First Hierarchy (Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones) we must try to create pictures in which the Spiritual—i.e. that which can be beheld only in the Supersensible—reveals its working, in forms that come to manifestation in the world of sense. Spiritual being, portrayed in sense-perceptible imagery: such must be the content of our thoughts about the First Hierarchy.
[ 14 ] 77. To call forth an idea of the Second Hierarchy (Kyriotetes, Dynamis, Exusiai) we must try to create pictures in which the Spiritual reveals itself—not in sense-perceptible forms—but in a purely spiritual way. Spiritual being, portrayed not in sense-perceptible but in purely spiritual imagery: such must be the content of our thoughts about the Second Hierarchy.
[ 12 ] 78. To call forth an idea of the Third Hierarchy (Archai, Archangeloi, Angeloi) we must try to create pictures in which the Spiritual reveals itself not in sense-perceptible forms, nor yet in a purely spiritual way, but in the way in which Thinking, Feeling and Willing come to expression in the human soul. Spiritual being, portrayed in the imagery of a life of soul: such must be the content of our thoughts about the Third Hierarchy.
Wie die Leitsätze anzuwenden sind
[ 1 ] In den Leitsätzen, die vom Goetheanum ausgegeben werden, soll die Anregung für die tätig sein wollenden Mitglieder gegeben sein, den Inhalt des anthroposophischen Wirkens einheitlich zu gestalten. Man wird finden, wenn man an diese Sätze jede Woche herantritt, daß sie eine Anleitung dazu geben, sich in den vorhandenen Stoff der Zyklen zu vertiefen und diesen in einer gewissen Anordnung in den Zweigversammlungen vorzubringen.
[ 2 ] Es wäre ja gewiß wünschenswerter, wenn jede Woche sogleich die Vorträge, die in Dornach gehalten werden, in allen Richtungen an die einzelnen Zweige gebracht werden könnten. Allein man sollte auch bedenken, welch komplizierte technische Einrichtungen dazu nötig sind. Es wird gewiß von Seite des Vorstandes am Goetheanum nach dieser Richtung alles Mögliche angestrebt und noch getan werden. Aber man muß mit den vorhandenen Möglichkeiten rechnen. Die Absichten, die auf der Weihnachtstagung geäußert worden sind, werden verwirklicht werden. Aber wir brauchen Zeit.
[ 3 ] Vorläufig sind diejenigen Zweige im Vorteil, welche Mitglieder in sich haben, die das Goetheanum besuchen, da die Vorträge hören und deren Inhalt in den Zweigversammlungen vorbringen können. Und es sollte von den Zweigen erkannt werden, daß die Entsendung solcher Mitglieder an das Goetheanum eine Wohltat ist. Aber man sollte auch nicht die Arbeit, die in der Anthroposophischen Gesellschaft schon geleistet ist und die in den gedruckten Zyklen und Vorträgen vorliegt, allzu sehr unterschätzen. Wer diese Zyklen vornimmt, sich nach den Titeln erinnert, welcher Stoff in diesem oder jenem enthalten ist, und dann an die Leitsätze herantritt, der wird finden, daß er in dem einen Zyklus das eine und in dem anderen ein anderes findet, das den Leitsatz weiter ausführt. Aus dem Zusammenlesen dessen, was in den einzelnen Zyklen getrennt steht, können die Gesichtspunkte gefunden werden, von denen aus in Anlehnung an die Leitsätze gesprochen werden kann.
[ 4 ] Wir wirken in der Anthroposophischen Gesellschaft wie rechte Verschwender, wenn wir die gedruckten Zyklen ganz unbenutzt lassen und immer nur «das Neueste» vom Goetheanum empfangen wollen. Es ist doch auch leicht begreiflich, daß allmählich jede Möglichkeit, die Zyklen zu drucken, aufhören müßte, wenn diese nicht ausgiebig benützt würden.
[ 5 ] Es kommt noch ein anderer Gesichtspunkt in Frage. Bei der Verbreitung des Inhaltes der Anthroposophie ist Gewissenhaftigkeit und Verantwortlichkeitsgefühl in allererster Linie notwendig. Man muß das, was über die geistige Welt gesagt wird, in eine Form bringen, daß die Bilder der geistigen Tatsachen und Wesenheiten, die gegeben werden, nicht Mißverständnissen ausgesetzt werden. Wer am Goetheanum einen Vortrag hört, kann einen unmittelbaren Eindruck haben. Wenn er dessen Inhalt wiedergibt, so kann bei ihm dieser Eindruck nachklingen, und er ist imstande, die Dinge so zu formulieren, daß sie richtig verstanden werden können. Wird aber ein Zweiter, Dritter der Vermittler, so wird die Wahrscheinlichkeit immer größer, daß sich Ungenauigkeiten einschleichen. Alle diese Dinge sollten bedacht werden.
[ 6 ] Und ein weiterer Gesichtspunkt ist ja wohl der allerwichtigste. Es handelt sich ja nicht darum, daß der anthroposophische Inhalt nur äußerlich angehört oder gelesen werde, sondern daß er in das lebendige Seelenwesen aufgenommen werde. Im Fortdenken und Fortfühlen des Aufgenommenen liegt ein Wesentliches. Das aber soll mit Bezug auf die schon vorliegenden gedruckten Zyklen gerade durch die Leitsätze angeregt werden. Wird dieser Gesichtspunkt zu wenig berücksichtigt, so wird es fortdauernd daran fehlen, daß das Wesen der Anthroposophie durch die Anthroposophische Gesellschaft sich offenbaren könne. Man sagt nur mit scheinbarem Recht: was nützt es mir, noch soviel von geistigen Welten zu hören, wenn ich nicht selbst in solche Welten hineinschauen kann. Man berücksichtigt dabei nicht, daß dieses Hineinschauen gefördert wird, wenn über die Verarbeitung des anthroposophischen Inhaltes so gedacht wird, wie es hier angedeutet ist. Die Vorträge am Goetheanum sind so gehalten, daß ihr Inhalt lebendig und frei in den Gemütern der Zuhörer fortwirken kann. Und so ist auch der Inhalt der Zyklen. Da ist kein totes Material zur bloßen äußeren Mitteilung; da ist Stoff, der unter verschiedene Gesichtspunkte gerückt das Schauen in geistige Welten anregt. Man sollte nicht glauben: den Inhalt der Vorträge höre ich an; die Erkenntnis der geistigen Welt eigne ich mir durch Meditation an. So wird man nie im wahren Sinne weiterkommen. Beides muß in der Seele zusammenwirken. Und das Fortdenken und Fortfühlen des anthroposophischen Inhaltes ist auch Seelenübung. Man lebt sich in die geistige Welt schauend hinein, wenn man so, wie es hier gesagt ist, mit diesem Inhalt verfährt.
[ 7 ] Es wird eben doch in der Anthroposophischen Gesellschaft viel zu wenig darauf gesehen, daß Anthroposophie nicht graue Theorie, sondern wahres Leben sein soll. Wahres Leben, das ist ihr Wesen; und wird sie zur grauen Theorie gemacht, dann ist sie oft gar nicht eine bessere, sondern eine schlechtere Theorie als andere. Aber sie wird eben erst Theorie, wenn man sie dazu macht, wenn man sie tötet. Das wird noch viel zu wenig gesehen, daß Anthroposophie nicht nur eine andere Weltanschauung ist als andere, sondern daß sie auch anders aufgenommen werden muß. Man erkennt und erlebt ihr Wesen erst in dieser anderen Art des Aufnehmens.
[ 8 ] Das Goetheanum sollte als der notwendige Mittelpunkt des anthroposophischen Arbeitens und Wirkens angesehen werden; aber man sollte nicht aus dem Auge verlieren, daß in den Zweigen der anthroposophische Stoff, der erarbeitet worden ist, auch zur Geltung komme. Was am Goetheanum gewirkt wird, das kann im vollen lebendigen Sinne die ganze Anthroposophische Gesellschaft nach und nach haben, wenn möglichst viele Mitglieder aus dem Leben der Zweige heraus an das Goetheanum selbst herankommen und, soviel ihnen möglich ist, an seinem lebendigen Wirken teilnehmen. Das alles aber muß mit Innerlichkeit gestaltet werden; mit dem äußerlichen «Mitteilen» des Inhaltes von jeder Woche geht es nicht. Der Vorstand am Goetheanum wird Zeit brauchen und bei den Mitgliedern Verständnis finden müssen. Dann wird er im Sinne der Weihnachtstagung wirken können.
Weitere Leitsätze, die für die Anthroposophische Gesellschaft vom Goetheanum ausgesendet werden
[ 9 ] 76. Will man eine Vorstellung der ersten Hierarchie (Seraphim, Cherubim und Throne) hervorrufen, so wird man darnach suchen müssen, Bilder zu gestalten, in denen Geistiges (nur übersinnlich Schaubares) in den Formen sich wirkend offenbart, die in der Sinnenwelt zur Erscheinung kommen. Geistiges in sinnenfälliger Bildlichkeit muß Inhalt der Gedanken über die erste Hierarchie sein.
[ 10 ] 77. Will man eine Vorstellung der zweiten Hierarchie (Kyriotetes, Dynameis, Exusiai) hervorrufen, so wird man darnach suchen müssen, Bilder zu gestalten, in denen Geistiges nicht in sinnenfälligen Formen, sondern auf rein geistige Art sich offenbart. Geistiges in nicht sinnenfälliger, sondern rein geistiger Bildlichkeit muß der Inhalt der Gedanken über die zweite Hierarchie sein.
[ 11 ] 78. Will man eine Vorstellung der dritten Hierarchie (Archai, Archangeloi, Angeloi) hervorrufen, so wird man darnach suchen müssen, Bilder zu gestalten, in denen Geistiges nicht in sinnenfälligen Formen, aber auch nicht auf rein geistige Art, sondern so sich offenbart, wie Denken, Fühlen und Wollen in der menschlichen Seele sich darleben. Geistiges in seelenhafter Bildlichkeit muß der Inhalt der Gedanken über eine dritte Hierarchie sein.
How to apply the Guidelines
[ 1 ] The guiding principles issued by the Goetheanum are intended to encourage members who wish to be active to organize the content of anthroposophical work in a uniform way. If one approaches these principles each week, one will find that they provide a guide for delving into the existing material of the cycles and presenting it in a certain order in the branch meetings.
[ 2 ] It would certainly be more desirable if every week the lectures given in Dornach could be brought to the individual branches in all directions. But one should also consider what complicated technical facilities are required for this. The Goetheanum Board will certainly make every possible effort in this direction and will continue to do so. But one must reckon with the existing possibilities. The intentions expressed at the Christmas Conference will be realized. But we need time.
[ 3 ] For the time being, those branches that have members in them who visit the Goetheanum have an advantage because they can listen to the lectures and present their content at the branch meetings. And it should be recognized by the branches that sending such members to the Goetheanum is a benefit. But one should also not underestimate too much the work that has already been done in the Anthroposophical Society and that is available in the printed cycles and lectures. Anyone who looks at these cycles, remembers by the titles what material is contained in this or that, and then approaches the guiding principles, will find that in one cycle he will find one thing and in another another that develops the guiding principle further. By reading together what is written separately in the individual cycles, one can find the points of view from which one can speak in accordance with the guiding principles.
[ 4 ] We in the Anthroposophical Society seem like real wasters if we leave the printed cycles completely unused and only ever want to receive "the latest" from the Goetheanum. It is also easy to understand that any possibility of printing the cycles would gradually have to cease if they were not used extensively.
[ 5 ] There is another aspect to consider. In the dissemination of the content of anthroposophy, conscientiousness and a sense of responsibility are first and foremost necessary. What is said about the spiritual world must be put into a form that does not expose the images of spiritual facts and beings that are given to misunderstanding. Whoever hears a lecture at the Goetheanum can have an immediate impression. If he reproduces its content, this impression can resonate with him, and he is able to formulate things in such a way that they can be understood correctly. However, if a second or third person becomes the mediator, the likelihood of inaccuracies creeping in increases. All of these things should be considered.
[ 6 ] And another aspect is probably the most important. It is not that the anthroposophical content is only listened to or read externally, but that it is absorbed into the living soul being. There is something essential in continuing to think and feel what has been absorbed. With reference to the printed cycles already available, however, this should be stimulated precisely by the guiding principles. If too little attention is paid to this point of view, the Anthroposophical Society will continue to fail to reveal the essence of Anthroposophy. It is said with apparent justification: what good is it for me to hear so much about spiritual worlds if I cannot see into such worlds myself? This does not take into account the fact that this insight is promoted when the processing of anthroposophical content is thought of in the way indicated here. The lectures at the Goetheanum are given in such a way that their content can continue to work vividly and freely in the minds of the listeners. And so is the content of the cycles. There is no dead material for mere external communication; there is material which, when placed under different points of view, stimulates vision into spiritual worlds. One should not believe: I listen to the content of the lectures; I acquire knowledge of the spiritual world through meditation. In this way one will never progress in the true sense. Both must work together in the soul. And continuing to think and feel the anthroposophical content is also an exercise for the soul. One lives oneself into the spiritual world seeing when one deals with this content in the way described here.
[ 7 ] In the Anthroposophical Society, far too little attention is paid to the fact that anthroposophy should not be gray theory, but true life. True life, that is its essence; and if it is made into a gray theory, then it is often not a better but a worse theory than others. But it only becomes a theory when you make it one, when you kill it. This is still seen far too little, that anthroposophy is not only a different worldview from others, but that it must also be received differently. One only recognizes and experiences its essence in this different way of receiving it.
[ 8 ] The Goetheanum should be regarded as the necessary center of anthroposophical work and activity; but one should not lose sight of the fact that the anthroposophical material that has been worked out also comes into its own in the branches. What is worked at the Goetheanum can have the full living meaning of the whole Anthroposophical Society by and by if as many members as possible come to the Goetheanum itself from the life of the branches and participate as much as they can in its living work. But all this must be organized with inwardness; it is not possible to "communicate" the content of each week externally. The Board at the Goetheanum will need time and will have to find understanding among the members. Then it will be able to work in the spirit of the Christmas Conference.
Further guiding principles sent out by the Goetheanum for the Anthroposophical Society
[ 9 ] 76. If one wishes to evoke an idea of the first hierarchy (seraphim, cherubim and thrones), one will have to seek to form images in which the spiritual (only supersensibly visible) reveals itself in the forms that appear in the world of the senses. Spirituality in sensuous imagery must be the content of thoughts about the first hierarchy.
[ 10 ] 77 If one wishes to evoke an idea of the second hierarchy (Kyriotetes, Dynameis, Exusiai), one will have to seek to form images in which the spiritual is not revealed in sensuous forms, but in a purely spiritual way. Spirituality, not in sensual but in purely spiritual imagery, must be the content of thoughts about the second hierarchy.
[ 11 ] 78 If one wishes to evoke a conception of the third Hierarchy (Archai, Archangeloi, Angeloi), one will have to seek to form images in which the spiritual is revealed not in sensuous forms, but also not in a purely spiritual way, but in the way in which thinking, feeling and willing are manifested in the human soul. Spirituality in soul-like imagery must be the content of thoughts about a third hierarchy.