The Rudolf Steiner Archive

1. Occult Science and Occult Development: Initiation

[ 1 ] It gives me great pleasure to welcome our friends here in this country for the first time today. I regret that I cannot speak to you in your own language, but to overcome this difficulty, our friend Baron Walleen will translate my remarks sentence by sentence today, and tomorrow I will deliver the lecture without interruption, and Baron Walleen will be kind enough to provide a summary in English.

[ 2 ] Our dear friends in this country, who have often visited us on the continent, have forged a beautiful inner bond between our friends here and those on the other side. The lovely home in which we are gathered today is proof of the deep inner feeling with which our friends in this country unite with us to work for the spread of anthroposophy. And those who have come over from the continent to visit our English friends will truly rejoice to find in this branch such a beautiful setting for that which is so dear to our hearts, that which is so deeply rooted in our souls.

[ 3 ] With that deep inner sense of unity that is part of anthroposophy—in which all human beings on Earth should unite, regardless of race, color, or the like—it is with this feeling that I ask your permission to speak to you today for the first time and to extend my warmest greetings. And it should be a good guarantee for our work in the future that we have found friends who have taken on the work here in this country with such great inner enthusiasm.

[ 4 ] The topic we wish to discuss today immediately takes us into a realm that belongs to all of humanity, regardless of any differences.

[ 5 ] First, we must speak of that realm of human endeavor which, in its true form, cannot be described in any human language, but in its original form exists only in the language of thought: this is the realm of occult science.

[ 6 ] Through his human faculties, man strives for occult knowledge and is also capable of attaining it. But occult knowledge has a greater significance for the world than the significance it holds solely within the human soul. In the world around us, we can distinguish various substances and materials through which its various phenomena and manifestations are expressed. All creatures, all things on Earth, and all worlds are rooted in that primal principle, which can scarcely be expressed in human language. But in the physical world, the individual differentiations of this first principle are expressed in the substances of earth, water, air, fire, ether, and so on.

[ 7 ] One of the most subtle substances still accessible to human endeavor is called Akasha. And the manifestations of beings and phenomena in the Akashic substance are the most subtle of all those accessible to human beings. What a person acquires through occult knowledge dwells not only in their soul, but is also imprinted into the Akashic substance of the world. When we bring a thought of occult science to life in our soul, it is immediately inscribed into the Akashic substance, and it is significant for the general development of the world that such imprints are made in the Akashic substance, for these imprints, which can be made by humanity and which we describe as occult science, can be inscribed into the Akashic substance by no other being in the entire world except for human beings.

[ 8 ] It is important for us to note a characteristic of the Akashic substance, namely that between death and rebirth, human beings live in the Akashic substance in the spiritual world, just as we, for example, live within the atmosphere here on Earth.

[ 9 ] If a seer were to use the means at his disposal to enter into contact with human souls living between death and rebirth, he would be able to observe the following. A person who, in the present cycle of development here on Earth—this was different in the past—is never able to stir up thoughts and ideas from Spiritual Science within themselves cannot be observed or seen, even if they are present, by a human soul living between death and new birth. When a person living here on Earth stirs up a thought or idea from Spiritual Science within themselves so that it can be inscribed into the Akashic substance, they become visible to the other souls living between death and rebirth. A seer who has patiently prepared himself for the gift of clairvoyance can, when he enters into contact with souls who have passed through the gate of death, receive deeply moving impressions. I will give you a specific example of such a case.

[ 10 ] A seer encountered a man who had passed through the gates of death, leaving behind his wife, whom he loved dearly, and his children, whom he loved no less. This man and his family were kind, good people, but they had no inclination to absorb spiritual insights into their souls, and they had not outgrown the religious traditions through which certain souls still feel connected to the spiritual world today.

[ 11 ] And some time after he had passed through the gate of death, this man said to himself: I have left my dear wife and children behind on earth, who were the sunshine of my life; but with my spiritual vision I cannot reach them. I have only the memory of the time I spent with them on earth.

[ 12 ] A completely different picture can be seen when a soul that is still on earth forms clear, strong spiritual thoughts and ideas. When another soul, living between death and rebirth, looks down upon this soul it has left behind, it can follow its soul life in the present time, because this soul life is inscribed in the Akashic substance.

[ 13 ] Here we touch upon a point that shows us how the anthroposophical teaching will bridge the gap between the so-called living and the so-called dead. And even in the present day, we can see how people who have an understanding of the spiritual realm can be a great blessing to the so-called dead by reading the truths of Spiritual Science to them in thought. When we follow in thought—either aloud or reading to ourselves—the ideas and concepts of Spiritual Science, and at the same time sense that one or more who have passed through the gate of death are sitting before us as we read, then this reading—because such thoughts are inscribed into the Akashic substance—will become something very real for them. And this reading can be of the greatest benefit not only to those beyond death who, while on earth, engaged in the study of Spiritual Science, but also to those who, while they were here, wanted nothing to do with it.

[ 14 ] One might ask: Since the dead live on in the spiritual world, do they really need such a reading? There are many who believe that one need only pass through the gate of death to experience everything that on Earth can be attained only with great effort through Spiritual Science. Such people also believe that one need only die to acquire all occult knowledge after death, because one will then be in the spiritual world. But this is not the case.

[ 15 ] Just as there are beings other than humans here on Earth—such as animals, for example, which can see everything that humans can perceive through their senses, yet are unable to form concepts or ideas about it— so it is with the souls living in the supersensible worlds, who, although they see the beings and facts of the higher spiritual world, cannot form concepts and ideas about them unless humans here on Earth inscribe such concepts and ideas into the Akashic Records.

[ 16 ] The mission of human life on Earth is not without significance; on the contrary, it is of great significance. If human souls had never lived on Earth, the spiritual worlds would still exist, but there would be no occult knowledge of these spiritual worlds. In the course of the world’s evolution, the Earth has reached a point where Spiritual Science can be developed by spiritual beings who are organized and constituted in the same way as human beings on Earth. And what has been inscribed into the Akashic substance through Spiritual Science would never have been there if Spiritual Science had not existed on Earth.

[ 17 ] If someone attempts to examine their inner life on Earth, they will first discover that, during our present age, they have used their efforts to acquire knowledge for purposes other than the pursuit of Spiritual Science. These human capacities for learning have been used to acquire knowledge brought into being by the senses and by the intellect, which is bound to the human brain. Thus we have two kinds of human knowledge: one kind belongs solely to the experience acquired through the senses, which the organ of the intellect needs to transform into knowledge; the other kind is Spiritual Science. The knowledge that belongs solely to the sensory world forms one stream; the other consists of what people inscribe into the Akashic Records through Spiritual Science. For Spiritual Science develops ideas and concepts that then remain inscribed eternally in the Akashic Records.

[ 18 ] All knowledge and insight pertaining to sensory experiences, technical matters, and the commercial and industrial life of humanity has such an effect when inscribed into the Akashic substance that the Akashic substance expels this conglomeration of ideas and concepts; in other words, they are erased. If one views the facts just mentioned through the eyes of a seer, one can observe that a conflict is taking place in the Akashic substance between the impressions imprinted there by human occult science—which are eternal—and those based on sensory perceptions, which are only temporary. This conflict arises from the fact that when human beings first began to inhabit the Earth as humans—that is, in the ancient Lemurian epoch—they were already destined by high spiritual beings to acquire Spiritual Science.

[ 19 ] But through what we call the Luciferic influence—through the intervention of Luciferic beings—humanity diverted its power of thought and other spiritual faculties, which it would otherwise have devoted solely to the acquisition of occult ideas and concepts, toward the study of things that belong solely to the physical world.

[ 20 ] Many people now say that while conventional science is open to everyone, Spiritual Science can only be made accessible to those who are able to perceive the spiritual worlds.

[ 21 ] This is a fundamental error, for within the depths of their own soul, every human being possesses the ability and the power to recognize the truths of Spiritual Science, even before becoming a seer. It is true that occult truths can be discovered only by the seer; but once they have been discovered and expressed in the ordinary, normal language of human reason, they can be understood by every human soul that is willing to remove the obstacles to such understanding from within itself.

[ 22 ] As a result of the Luciferic impulses, it later became possible for another being, whom we call Ahriman, to exert influence over human souls in the course of Earth’s evolution. And only when the capacity for understanding Spiritual Science is held back in the soul by Ahrimanic influences does this understanding of Spiritual Science remain out of reach. If the being we call Ahriman did not work within every human soul, if our souls were free from his influence, then an idea or a thought of Spiritual Science would need only be spoken, and a human soul would feel the following in its innermost being through its subconscious relationship to this truth: This idea, this assertion of Spiritual Science, is true. — In every human soul there is a life that understands everyday consciousness and of which it can give an account, and a subconscious soul life that lies buried as in the depths of the ocean and is brought to light only from time to time. Among the depths of the soul is, for example, that fear present in every human being: the fear of the purely spiritual. This fear is the result of Ahriman’s influence and would not exist had Ahriman not gained power over the souls of humanity. The reason why human beings are usually unaware of such a fear lies in the fact that it works in the deepest recesses of the soul and plays no role in what they can account for with their everyday consciousness.

[ 23 ] At times, this fear knocks at the door of a person’s ordinary consciousness without them knowing what it is that troubles them from the depths of their soul, and then they seek something with a numbing effect to dull their sense of fear—a fear they do not want to acknowledge. He finds this anesthetic in materialistic thoughts, theories, and ideas. Materialistic theories are not invented for logical reasons, although one might believe that to be the case; rather, they are devised out of a fear of the spiritual, which is the result of Ahriman’s influence on the soul. Therefore, the prerequisite for the direct understanding of spiritual truths is far less a knowledge of physical science than an education of the soul in the virtue of moral courage, of inner spiritual courage. And that is why we can say that occult knowledge must be explored by the seer, but it can then be understood by every human soul, provided that this soul is willing to liberate within itself all the moral courage it possesses, so that it can remove the obstacles arising from Ahriman.

[ 24 ] If anyone wishes to understand the occult truths through the original moral forces of their soul, they may try the following. They can allow Spiritual Science to take effect on their mind without first telling themselves: I agree with this or I do not agree with this. — They can take in the ideas and concepts of Spiritual Science given by the seer and allow them to work upon their soul. And if they have then received the occult knowledge with inner enthusiasm and not out of mere curiosity, they will experience something that can be compared to a physical floating with no ground beneath their feet, with a feeling as if they were floating in the air.

[ 25 ] This experiment will produce a completely different effect depending on whether it is performed by someone with religious, reverent inclinations toward the spiritual life or by someone accustomed to thinking materialistically. Someone who possesses no occult knowledge, but whose inclinations and feelings toward the spiritual world are of a religious nature, may feel somewhat unsettled as a result of this experiment, but far less so than a materialist who feels no attraction to the spiritual world. The latter will experience a strong sense of fear, of unsettled limbo. Through this experience, the materialist may become convinced that occult ideas and concepts affect him in such a way as to evoke fear and dread. And through such an experience, the materialist may realize how full of fear he still is, and may say to himself: This proves to me not only that I am filled with fear of this realm, but that fear is one of my fundamental inclinations.

[ 26 ] If, for example, Ernst Haeckel or Herbert Spencer had made this attempt, they would have convinced themselves not only that occult knowledge is not contradictory and cannot possibly be believed, but that they were filled with fear in the innermost depths of their souls. And they would, so to speak, soon have forgotten all doubt and disbelief regarding what they used to regard as the fantasies of spiritual teachings, and would have admitted to themselves that it was of great importance to overcome this fear. And once they had made this confession to themselves, they would soon have abandoned their resistance to the fantasies of spiritual teachings. They would have said to themselves: I must try to strengthen the moral courage within me. — And then they might have taken their self-education into their own hands. And if they had succeeded in overcoming this fear, they would have said: Now that we have become stronger souls, we no longer have any doubts about the truth of Spiritual Science. — This experience, brought about by the strengthening of moral courage in the soul, is a victory over Ahriman, whose influence can be seen in the science of Ernst Haeckel and in the philosophy of Herbert Spencer. Ahriman is the one who inspired souls to take a materialistic direction.

[ 27 ] If only a small portion of humanity—as a result of their true understanding—were to work in the manner just described to strengthen their moral courage, all these materialistic theories would gradually disappear from the world.

[ 28 ] As we have seen, occult knowledge is necessary for the entire course of evolution, because it must be inscribed into the Akashic substance. The significance of this for us can be illustrated by a brief outline of the development of humanity on Earth.

[ 29 ] Human evolution on Earth progresses step by step from one cultural period to the next. During these successive periods, human souls, as individual beings, inhabit bodies that belong to these successive cultures of Earth. All the souls gathered here this evening were once incarnated in bodies belonging to earlier cultures. Each individual soul progresses according to the karma it has accumulated for itself.

[ 30 ] In addition to this evolution of individual souls, which depends on their karma, we must acknowledge the evolution of humanity as a whole, which progresses from epoch to epoch within human bodies. A Greek body, an Egyptian, Chaldean, ancient Persian, or Atlantean body was, in the finer aspects of its structure, quite different from a human body of the present age.

[ 31 ] We must distinguish between the inner progress of the ego and the astral body from incarnation to incarnation, and the outer progress and change in the physical and etheric bodies from one race to another, from one nation to another, and from one age to another.

[ 32 ] This evolution of the outer bodies—the physical and etheric—from one age to the next would not be noticeable to those who study anatomy and physiology, but it nevertheless exists and can be recognized through occult science. And so the human physical body will be quite different again in the course of humanity’s normal evolution, when, after our present life, our souls reappear on Earth in a future incarnation.

[ 33 ] In the current epoch of human history, a delicate organ is being developed that is not visible to the external anatomist or physiologist. And yet it exists anatomically. This organ is located in the human brain, near the speech center.

[ 34 ] The development of this organ in the convolutions of the brain is not the result of the karma of individual souls, but rather a result of human evolution as a whole on Earth, and in the future all humans will possess this organ, regardless of the development of the souls that will incarnate in this body, and entirely independent of the karma associated with these souls. '

[ 35 ] This organ will be possessed in a future incarnation by people who may currently be hostile to anthroposophy, just as it is now possessed by those who are sympathetic to it. In the future, this organ will be the physical instrument for certain soul forces, just as, for example, Broca’s area in the third cerebral convolution is the organ for the human capacity for speech.

[ 36 ] Once this organ is developed, humanity may or may not use it correctly. Those who are now preparing the way to truthfully remember this present incarnation when they are in the next one will be able to use it correctly. For this physical organ will be the physical means for remembering a previous incarnation, something that can now only be achieved through higher spiritual development.

[ 37 ] At present, for the vast majority of people, the memory of past incarnations can only be attained through higher spiritual development, through initiation. But what can only be attained through initiation in the present age will later, in a sense, become the common heritage of humanity. Our knowledge today was once the exclusive knowledge of the Atlantean initiates alone; now anyone can possess it. In the same way, the memory of past lives on Earth is currently possible only for the initiates, but in the future every human soul will possess it.

[ 38 ] It is possible for the initiate to acquire certain knowledge without the use of a physical organ, but this knowledge can only become the common heritage of humanity if humanity as a whole, in the course of evolution, develops an external physical organ through which it can be acquired. However, reincarnated souls must be able to use this organ correctly, with the help of which one will later remember one’s previous incarnations. Only those who, in their present incarnation, have clearly inscribed occult thoughts and ideas into the Akashic substance will be able to use this organ in the proper manner.

[ 39 ] One often hears people say: What is the point of believing in past lives if humanity in general cannot remember any of them? — One should rather consider how much more astonishing it would be if, given what we know about life, humanity in general were already able to remember its past lives. If we ask ourselves what is necessary for us to remember anything at all, we would have to answer: We can only remember what we have previously thought.

[ 40 ] Everyday life can teach us this. Imagine that someone can’t find his cufflinks when he gets up in the morning. He looks everywhere for them, but can’t find them. Why can’t he find them? Because when he put them away, he wasn’t thinking about what he was doing. Let him try the opposite experiment: let him try, every evening while putting away his cufflinks, to be clearly conscious of the fact: “I am putting my cufflinks in this place”—he will then never make a mistake, but will go straight to where he put them. The thought brings the action back to his memory.

[ 41 ] If we live in a future incarnation, we will remember the past only if we can recall the true nature of the soul, which endures from one incarnation to the next. Those who do not study occult science in this present life cannot gain any insight into the nature and essence of the soul, and if they lack this knowledge, how could they, upon reincarnating, remember what they never thought about in their previous incarnation?

[ 42 ] Through the study of Spiritual Science, which includes, among other things, the study of the nature of the soul, we prepare within ourselves what will enable us, in a future incarnation, to remember what has happened in this present one. However, there are currently many people who do not yet wish to devote themselves to the study of this knowledge. These individuals will be reborn—perhaps in their next incarnation with the aforementioned organ for remembering past lives physically developed—but they have not prepared themselves in such a way that they will be able to recall the past.

[ 43 ] What significance, then, does Spiritual Science still hold in our present lives, in addition to all that we have already said? Through it, we gain the ability to use in the proper way the organ that will be developed in the people of the future—namely, the organ for remembering past lives on Earth. In our present incarnation, we must inscribe the insights of our soul into the Akashic substance so that in our next incarnation we may be able to use the organ for remembering the past in the right way—the organ that develops in human beings whether they want it to or not. Thus, in the future there will be people who will be able to use the aforementioned organ for remembering past lives, and others who will not be able to use it. In the latter, certain illnesses will manifest because they will have an organ in their physical body that they cannot use. Possessing an organ and being unable to use it gives rise to nervous disorders of a very specific kind, and these nervous disorders, which will arise from possessing this particular organ and being unable to use it, will be far worse than any that humanity has known to date.

[ 44 ] When one considers the connection between these facts in this way, one begins to get an idea of the mission of Spiritual Science and of the true significance of understanding life and humanity through the study of this knowledge. But in case the impression this reflection has made on you should lead to misunderstandings, I would like to mention another fact that can mitigate what was distressing about this impression. Although the true occultist can see that Spiritual Science must enter into the spiritual life of our present time so that the human being of the future may be able to use the organ of memory and remain physically healthy, it cannot at the same time be claimed that a person who is not ready to receive Spiritual Science in the present age will be lost for his next incarnation in the manner described above. For a long time to come, it will still be possible for a person—even if they have neglected what has been indicated, namely, acquiring the use of the organ of memory in this life—to make up for this in the next life, for they will still have several opportunities to restore their health and attain truths of Spiritual Science. But the time will come when this possibility will cease.

[ 45 ] Even if we have not yet reached that specific moment, we are nevertheless living in an epoch of humanity in which Spiritual Science, for the reason already mentioned, must be integrated into the spiritual life of humanity, so that it is a necessary development in the general progress of humanity and does not stem from the private opinions of one individual or another.

[ 46 ] And in this way, especially in our time, the opportunity for the subjective development of the human soul will be provided, which will lead to a personal vision of the spiritual worlds and to occult development. And we can say that every human being who applies the original forces within their soul, undisturbed by Ahrimanic influences, can understand everything that is revealed to us from the spiritual worlds; and it is therefore possible, in a certain sense, for every human being to raise themselves up into the spiritual worlds by undergoing occult development. In the present, three forces of our soul in particular can be well developed, so that an occult connection with the supersensible worlds can take place.

[ 47 ] The first faculty that can be well developed in the human soul is the faculty of thought. We live in connection with the world around us by forming thoughts about our surroundings. In ordinary daily life, people have thoughts that are caused by sensory impressions or by the intellect, which is bound to the brain. In my book *How to Attain Knowledge of the Higher Worlds*, you will find how a person, through meditation, concentration, and contemplation—by strengthening their soul life—can make this power of thought independent of external life. I would like to draw your attention here specifically to how one can make that which is the power of thought within our soul—which is otherwise developed only by forming thoughts about the external world—essentially free and independent of everything that belongs to the body. That is to say, through such development, the soul gains the ability to think, to form thoughts within itself, without making use of the body, without using the brain as an instrument. We can understand this well if we consider what is the main characteristic of ordinary, everyday thinking, which depends on the impressions gained through the senses.

[ 48 ] The main characteristic of ordinary thinking is that every single act of thinking affects the nervous system, especially the brain; it destroys something in the brain. Every everyday thought involves a process of destruction on a small scale, within the cells of the brain. For this reason, sleep is necessary for us, so that this process of destruction can be repaired. During sleep, we replace what was destroyed in our nervous system during the day by thinking. What we consciously perceive in an ordinary thought is, in reality, the process of destruction taking place in our nervous system.

[ 49 ] Now let us strive to develop meditation by, for example, devoting ourselves to contemplating the following:

Wisdom lives in the light.

[ 50 ] This idea cannot stem from sensory impressions, because, as far as the external senses are concerned, wisdom does not dwell in light. In such a case, through meditation, we hold the thought back to the point where it does not connect with the brain. When we develop an inner thought process in this way that is not connected to the brain, we will feel through the effects of such meditation on our soul that we are on the right path. Since we do not induce a process of disruption in our nervous system during meditative thinking, such meditative thinking never makes us drowsy, no matter how long it is continued—something our ordinary thinking can easily do.

[ 51 ] It is true that often the exact opposite happens when one meditates, for people often complain that when they try to meditate, they immediately fall asleep. But this is because their meditation is not yet perfect. It is quite natural that in meditation we initially use the kind of thinking we have always been accustomed to. Only gradually do we get used to ceasing external thinking. Once we have reached this point, meditative thinking will no longer make us drowsy, and thus we will know that we are on the right path.

[ 52 ] When the inner power of thought is developed in this way, without the power of thought making use of the outer body, we will gain an understanding of inner life and come to know our true self, our higher self.

[ 53 ] The path to true knowledge of the human self is found in the kind of meditation just described, which leads to the liberation of the inner power of thought. Only through such insight can one come to see that this human self is not bound within the limits of the physical body. On the contrary, one comes to realize that this self is connected to the phenomena of the world around us. While in ordinary life we see the sun here and the moon there, the mountains, hills, plants, and animals, we now feel connected to everything we see and hear; we are a part of it, and for us there is then only one external world, and that is our own body. While in ordinary life we are here and the external world is around us, after the development of independent thinking power outside our body, we are one with what we otherwise see, and our body, in which we are otherwise contained, is outside ourselves. We look back upon it; it has now become the only world we can gaze upon from the outside.

[ 54 ] In this way, by liberating the power of thought, one can truly step outside one’s physical body and view it as something external. One can even do more than that. For example, one can answer the question in a positive way: Why do we wake up every morning? During sleep, our physical body lies in bed, and we are actually outside of it, just as is the case during meditative thinking. Upon awakening, we return to our physical body because we are drawn back to it by hundreds and thousands of forces, as if by a magnet. People are usually unaware of this. But once they have liberated themselves through meditation, they are consciously drawn back by the same force that, in the previous case, unconsciously draws their soul back into their physical body upon awakening.

[ 55 ] Through such meditation, we also learn how a person descends from the higher worlds, where they have lived between death and rebirth, and how they connect with the forces and substances bestowed upon them by their parents, grandparents, and so on. In short, we come to know the forces that draw human beings back into a new incarnation between death and rebirth.

[ 56 ] As a result of such meditation, one can look back on a large part of the life spent in the spiritual world before birth, before conception, and between death and rebirth. However, through the meditation just described, one can usually look back only to a certain point prior to the last incarnation; this meditation does not allow one to look further back into earlier incarnations.

[ 57 ] In order to look back on past incarnations in the present, as long as the organ mentioned earlier has not yet been formed in the human brain, a different kind of meditation is necessary than the meditation of thought that we have just described. This other form of meditation can only take place when feeling is brought into the object of meditation. Everything that has just been described as meditation can also be imbued with feeling by the one who meditates.

[ 58 ] Let us now consider this content of meditation, which must be imbued with feeling and sensation within the meditation itself. If, for example, we take as our content:

Wisdom shines in the light

[ 59 ] And we feel inspired by the radiance of wisdom; when we feel uplifted, when we are inwardly ablaze with this content, when we can live within it with enthusiastic feelings and meditate on it, then we have something more before our souls than mere meditation in thought. The power we then use in the soul as the power of feeling is the same power we otherwise use in language. Language is produced when we thoroughly permeate our thoughts with inner feeling, with inner sensation. This is the origin of language, and Broca’s area in the brain is formed in this way: the thoughts of inner life, permeated by inner sensation, become active in the brain and thus form the organ that is the physical instrument of language.

[ 60 ] When we meditate in this way, when our meditation is truly imbued with such feelings, we hold back within our souls the power that we use in speech in daily life. We can say that speech is the embodiment of the inner soul force that expresses these feelings-imbued thoughts. If, instead of allowing the soul force to emerge in speech, develop meditation from these emotion-filled thoughts, and if we continue with this meditation further and further, then we gradually gain the ability—even now without the physical organ—to look back through initiation into past earthly lives and also to explore the time between earthly lives, the time that always lies between death and new birth.

[ 61 ] Through this training in the restraint of speech within the soul—or, as the occultist says, through the restraint of the “Word” within the soul—we can look back to the very beginning of our Earth, back to what the Bible calls the act of creation by the Elohim. We can look back to the time when repeated earthly lives began for humanity. For the occult development we achieve by holding back the word or holding back speech enables us to look into the successive periods of time, insofar as they are connected with our Earth, with the spiritual life of our Earth planet. We become able to perceive the beings of the higher hierarchies, insofar as they are connected to the spiritual life of the Earth.

[ 62 ] But these two powers of clairvoyance, which are developed in meditation through thoughts and through thoughts imbued with feeling, cannot lead us to experiences that predate the present Earth, to experiences connected with earlier planetary incarnations of our Earth. For this, the third meditative power is necessary, which we will now briefly discuss.

[ 63 ] We can continue to infuse the content of our meditation with the impulses of the will in such a way that, when we meditate, for example, on

The wisdom of the world shines in the light,

[ 64 ] we can now truly feel, without consciously intending to, the impulse of our will connected to that activity. We can feel our own being connected to the radiant power of light and allow this light to shine and vibrate throughout the world. We must feel the impulse of our will connected to this meditation.

[ 65 ] When we meditate in such a way that our meditation is filled with impulses of the will, we hold back a force that would otherwise flow into the pulsation of the blood. You can easily observe that the life of our inner self can pass into the pulsation of the blood if you recall that we turn pale when we are afraid and blush when we are ashamed. This is the transition of the soul force into the pulsation of the blood. When this same force that influences the blood comes into action in such a way that it does not descend into the physical but remains only in the soul, then this third meditation begins, which we can influence through impulses of the will.

[ 66 ] Anyone who undergoes these three stages of occult development will, if they free up their power of thought, feel as if they had an organ at the root of their nose. This organ is described as a lotus flower, through which they can perceive this “I” or “Self,” which extends far into space.

[ 67 ] The person who, through meditation, has developed thoughts imbued with feelings will gradually become aware, through this developed power—which would otherwise have become speech—of the so-called sixteen-petaled lotus flower in the region of the larynx. With the help of this so-called lotus flower, they can comprehend what is connected with temporal matters from the beginning of the Earth to its end. Through this organ, one also learns to recognize in reality the occult significance of the Mystery of Golgotha, which we will discuss in our next lecture.

[ 68 ] Due to the restrained soul force, which in normal everyday life would extend into the blood and its pulsation, an organ is developed in the region of the heart, which is described in my book *Outline of Esoteric Science* and through which one can understand the evolution referred to in occultism as Saturn, Sun, and Moon—the earlier incarnations of our Earth.

[ 69 ] As you can see, it is not claimed that occult development is achieved through something impossible or through that which does not exist, but rather through that which truly exists within the human soul.

[ 70 ] The first occult power mentioned here stems from a higher development of the power of thought—that power which is otherwise used only for thoughts connected with the external world.

[ 71 ] The second force we have spoken of is merely a higher development of what every human being applies externally in everyday life through the body in speech, in the development of the organ of speech.

[ 72 ] The third force is a higher development of what is otherwise present in the human soul, causing the blood to pulse faster or slower, directing a greater or lesser amount of blood to one organ or another of the body—more toward the center when we turn pale, more toward the surface when we blush, more or less toward the brain, and so on.

[ 73 ] When a person develops these powers that are present within them—but which, in ordinary life, are used only for their external physical existence—then occult development begins. And what can be recognized through occult development can be understood and grasped today by anyone who is willing to remove the obstacles to understanding. What can be learned through occult development is occult science, and in our present human cycle, occult science must flow into the human soul so that this human soul may come to know its own being, which is independent of the body. The forms of all the substances that exist in the outer world, such as earth, water, air, and so on, pass away; the forms of the Akashic substance endure. Our soul must feel connected to the Akashic substance through its inner life, and in future times it will have the desire to remember what it experiences in the present. The possibility of acquiring ideas and concepts that can lead to such remembrance arises from the study of occult science, which is only possible if the knowledge gained through occult development is disseminated and accepted.

[ 74 ] That is why, in this first lecture, I have tried to make it clear to you how absolutely necessary the dissemination of occult knowledge is, and have added a reference to the path of occult development alongside the impulses that underlie the development of humanity. I have not sought to clarify the mission of Spiritual Science through words based on ordinary human observations, but rather through the examination of facts that are themselves the result of occult research. Anyone who allows these facts to take effect upon their soul will understand that for those who grasp the full significance of these facts, it is impossible to deny the necessity of disseminating the findings of Spiritual Science in the present time. One need not become fanatical to recognize the necessity of the corresponding training; one need only understand the facts that underlie the occult life of the human being.

[ 75 ] And we can say that it is really only ignorance of these facts that still keeps humanity from the anthroposophical way of life. That is why, among the spiritual movements of our time, Spiritual Science—as understood here—will be the least fanatical and the one that is most grounded in objective observations. It is particularly necessary to mention time and again that all such theories, all such teachings, must ultimately unite within anthroposophical circles in a fundamental, living feeling.

[ 76 ] There is an objective spiritual life, the reflection of which in the world of maya is the life that surrounds us. Occult development is the stepping out of the world of maya and the entering, with the best powers of our ego, into the world of spiritual reality. Every step we take in occult knowledge and occult development is a step from illusion to reality. And because a genuine understanding of this fact can lead to nothing other than the impulse to actually take these steps, the destiny of Spiritual Science will be assured, for more and more souls will have the desire to objectively recognize the truth about the world spirit.

[ 77 ] The anthroposophical fire that can be kindled within us is merely a manifestation of the universal cosmic fire that radiates spiritually from beginning to end.

[ 78 ] This is what I wanted to share with you in this first lecture on the mission of the anthroposophical movement in the spiritual life of the present age.