The Writing of the Heart, A Studio Editions Publication by Martha Keltz

The Writing of the Heart Imagination, Inspiration, Intuition The Brunnen von Christus Group 1

The Writing of the Heart A Studio Editions Publication ÂŠ 2008, 2011, 2020

Editing and Artwork by Martha Keltz, 2020 With Richard Distasi, James Gillen, Mark Haberstroh, Chantel K. Howard, Martha Keltz, Danae Killian, Gotthard Killian, Seth Miller, DJ Morgan, Thomas Sharpe, Goffredo Vitti, Mark Willan The illustration of the New Leo Zodiac, Page 42, is drawn directly from the Zodiac images created by Rudolf Steiner, from The Lost Zodiac of Rudolf Steiner, by Adrian Anderson.

Note This is an updated edition of The Writing of the Heart, 2008, which had been online for several years out of Australia. The Writing of the Heart, 2011, is available on the Studio Editions/TC Pubs internet pages. Our gentle guide and teacher, James Gillen, crossed the threshold in the autumn of 2013.

Contents Introduction

The Fountain on the Way

The Brunnen von Christus Group

Imagination, Inspiration and Intuition

From the Work of Rudolf Steiner

The Exchange of Spiritual Content

The Gem and Earth Mother

The Caisson

My Angel Has Spoken His Name

Breath and Heart

Three Imaginations ~ The Monk and the Horseman,

The Royal Coach and The Young Man with the Flail

Clairvoyant Report of a BvC Group Meditation

The Cosmic Christ

Spiritual Experiences in Physical Life, Everyday Life

Inner City Meeting

The Prism

A Cautionary Tale

Encounter at the Library

23 3

Experiences of the Being Who Was Rudolf Steiner

The Raven-Haired Youth

A Happy Moment

Walk With Me

The Eye of God

A Discussion of Penmaenmawr

Mechanical Occultism and New Energy

Tree of Knowledge, Tree of Life

Memories of Past Lives

The White Cross and the Pentagram

The Akasha Record

The Symbolism and Meaning of the Lion

The New Leo Zodiac, after a Drawing by Rudolf Steiner

Perspectives in Art

The Incarnation of Ahriman

The Writing of the Heart On the Path of Imagination, Inspiration and Intuition “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

Introduction In view of the increase of natural clairvoyance or spiritual perception in our time a need has arisen for greater awareness and knowledge of “the path of the Three I's, Imagination, Inspiration and Intuition,” described by Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) throughout his teaching life. This is a safe middle path between the distorted extremes of “new age” phenomena and the ever-increasing technological subculture. Yet this path is known to very few. Related to this path is “the thinking of the heart,” which is the capacity to distinguish between what is true and what is false in the exchange of spiritual content. The Writing of the Heart delves deeply into definitions of the Three I's and their recognition in experience, through offering carefully written communications that convey supersensible perception as well as the responses to these perceptions by the participants of the Brunnen von Christus Group. Also included are other subjects discussed on the forum. “... I do regard it as my own personal task to say nothing that is given by the intellect as such but to take things in the way they are directly and immediately given to occult vision. Only afterward are they permeated with the power of understanding. ...We must learn to take a different attitude toward the great riddles and secrets of the cosmos, to approach them ... with all the faculties of our soul. Then we shall ourselves become partakers in the whole of human evolution. It will be for us like a fountain of sublime, all-human consciousness. We shall have fullness of soul.” – Rudolf Steiner

The Fountain on the Way ~ Prayer for Love ~ by Michael Bauer Translated from the German by Gotthard Killian Oh God, make me rich in love, That I am like the fountain on the way! That giving flows from my heart, As from the fountain that stands by the way.

That I am prepared to help by day and night, Just like the fountain that keeps watch by the way. And that I give to everyone, whether evil or good, Just as the fountain does on the way.

Give unto me the overflow of love, Oh God, for this I beseech Thee.

Der Brunnen am Wege ~ Gebet um Liebe O Gott, an Liebe mach mich reich, Dass ich dem Brunnen an dem Wege gleich! Dass mir das Schenken so von Herzen geht, Als wie dem Brunnen der am Wege steht.

Auch dass ich hilfsbereit bei Tag und Nacht Gleich wie der Brunnen, der am Wege wacht. Und dass ich jedem geb ob boes ob gut, Gleich wie der Brunnen an dem Wege tut.

Den Ueberfluss der Liebe gib in mich, O Gott, das bitt ich Dich. 6

The Brunnen von Christus Group It was originally planned to recast this book from two earlier books written by Martha Keltz in 2000, however the discussion forum of the Brunnen von Christus Group took precedence and from this endeavor a new kind of writing was discovered, or rediscovered. The writing of the heart arose in consciousness at about the time that artist, writer and anthroposophist Mark Haberstroh joined the group. The private online forum began as a means of evaluating the significance of the Rudolf Steiner Returns work. As this initiative became known through the medium of the internet, correspondence increased and the need to seriously address some of the comments became apparent, for example, “Absent a high order of spiritual development and perception, such as that had by Steiner, it would seem to be beyond almost all of us to intuit the reality or not of this communication ...” Many other questions arose. Could it really be true that almost none of us can intuit the reality or not of such a revealed communication? Have others had similar or related experiences? Were we not given the means through the lifework of Rudolf Steiner to determine for ourselves the truth or falseness of a spiritual experience or communication? Have we not progressed, individually and collectively, through years of preparation in correct thinking, moral work on the self and accumulation and deepening of anthroposophical knowledge? Had setting down this path of the Three I's not been a major part of the lifework of Rudolf Steiner? Thus a large part of the work of the group has become the spiritual scientific evaluation of shared Imaginations, Inspirations and Intuitions, which requires the courage to share, in the first place, experiences of the Three I's, which assumes the correct knowledge of the Three I's. It was then realized that these processes of evaluation were The Thinking of the Heart; and that we as a group had actually set out upon the path set down by Rudolf Steiner for direct perception of the spiritual world, the path of the Three I's. Thus, this book does not have a single author but many contributors, and it presents the fruits of the group endeavors to date. Major topics from the discussion forum have been included, as well as verse. The latter will help to assure the essential tone of the writing of the heart, which is not primarily scholastic and does not issue from the intellectual soul, as it is intended to convey the thinking of the heart. However, the study of Anthroposophy never ceases – sentient soul, intellectual soul, and consciousness soul.

The name of the group, Brunnen von Christus (or Christus Brunnen, German for “Fount of Christ”), was first inspired by the character of Brunnen von Christ in the dramatic trilogy, Southwest Journey, 2005-2006, and later this name was accepted by the group. The name Brunnen von Christ or Christus has never at any time been declared to be the actual name of the spirit or entelechy of Rudolf Steiner, but it becomes a new name bestowed upon him through its usage, as it strikes a chord in others and is found to have value and to contain truth. Regarding the spiritual importance of the seemingly simple human deed of naming, refer to the Rudolf Steiner lectures, On the Meaning of Life. It has become evident that true thinking of the heart - which James Gillen describes as a process of “becoming progressively able to exercise love as a cognitive power” – may very possibly be the principal Michaelic impulse and task for the new century. Rudolf Steiner stated that the processes of the new etheric heart should be completed by the year 2100, or by the end of the second century of Michael's reign as Time Spirit. From The Formation of the New Etheric Heart Organ, by Ruth Haertl, the new etheric heart is aided in its formation through the work on the path of the Three I's. The heart referred to here is not the physical heart but the 12-petalled “lotus flower” of the heart chakra of the astral body as described in Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and Its Attainment, by Rudolf Steiner, and the forming new etheric heart. However, the physical heart, within the rhythmic system, in processes of balance and respiration (inspiring, breathing), as center between the head and the limbs, is intimately related to the spiritual heart. “There appears, to begin with, a temporary center in the head; this then moves down into the neighborhood of the larynx and finally settles in the region of the physical heart.” – Rudolf Steiner, An Outline of Occult Science

Imagination, Inspiration and Intuition Defined In the January 1925 Preface of An Outline of Occult Science, Rudolf Steiner briefly defined Imagination, Inspiration and Intuition: “The content of what is spiritually perceived can only be reproduced in pictures (imaginations) through which inspirations speak, inspirations that have their origins in spiritual entity intuitively perceived.” So even near the end of his life Rudolf Steiner was concerned with these spiritual processes, concerned that they should be correctly described and thoroughly understood. And all through his life as a teacher he approached and described the

Three I's from many different points of view, in many different books and lectures. The definition from the 1925 Preface makes it clear that Intuitions originate in living spiritual beings and that these beings can communicate through Imagination and Inspiration. Many anthroposophists speak or write of Intuitions from intellectual understanding only and do not connect Intuitions to the vital other with whom we are communing, of whom we should be fully conscious. With the term Imagination, Rudolf Steiner distinguishes Imaginations from visions, pictures or fantasies that are not of lasting value. The true Imagination will prove fruitful for the person who perceives it, and to others with whom it is eventually shared. One lofty example of a true Imagination can be found in John's Revelation 1:16: “... from his mouth issued a sharp two-edged sword.” The picture of the two-edged sword in connection with the lower and higher Ego never fails to be fruitful when thought is given to it. This one picture is, of course, embedded in numerous other Imaginations and Inspirations within 1:16. Though we may not attain to this high level of direct, objective spiritual perception in our lifetime, or to the level of Rudolf Steiner's descriptions of the three prior and three future incarnations of planet Earth, every effort will eventually yield results. The point is: a start has to be made, everything that is possible should be realized. In Imagination, pictures are often perceived clairvoyantly with “the mind's eye,” the “two-petalled lotus flower” or chakra of the astral body that is spiritually situated between and somewhat behind the eyebrows. How these pictures are experienced in our reality have been discussed on the forum and will be detailed. While these Imaginative pictures can be said to be perceived primarily with the mind's eye, the chakras of the astral and etheric bodies must be intimately involved in complex ways in every true spiritual perception. Because pictures cannot be taken at face value, but present more as mysteries or in symbolic form, the individual must progress to Inspiration. Active forgetting becomes essential. (The surrealist painter Salvador Dali, 1904-1989, painted such pictures, also called “hypnogogic images,” exactly as he perceived them, which gives the viewer a distinct uneasiness, for the pictures have not been made fruitful through the Inspirational and Intuitional work of the artist.) Inspiration is complex and many-sided in source or origin. Also, it is difficult to identify and separate the processes of the Three I's, especially Imagination and Inspiration. They interact dynamically and constantly. James Gillen, often more attuned to Inspiration than to Imagination, has defined and described Inspiration: 9

“Inspiration is the middle stage of the Three I’s, the Three Inns on the Way. The opening and closing letters of each of the Three I’s are I and n. These are the Three In’s of the Ego becoming progressively able to exercise love as a cognitive power. In the pictorial revelation of being; in the musical/relational process of being; with-In the Being itself (i.e., religious union). “Middle stages have a way of stretching in both directions. In the direction of our ordinary experience, Inspiration comes in like a pointer and sees patterns in pictures, numbers, events, horoscopes - as divinatory/oracular moments. The exercise that facilitates the move from the small i to the big I is the active forgetting of an Imagination while retaining and respiring the processes and feelings behind the Imagination which have been built up in the soul, centered in the rhythmic system. These processes then become the fertile bed for the Ego to hear (sense as if with musical/relational meaning) something that derives neither from our ordinary sense experience nor our solipsistic exercising. Rudolf Steiner calls this retention of felt process respiration, in the forecourt of the big I, the new yoga. “Reaching the big I requires the purgation of the entrainment of our soul with the matrix and its replacement with our own activity - the same as when we are asleep and unconscious - and the big I is identical to being conscious in the moment of waking up and catching the fleeting illumination therein as a memory [Rudolf Steiner: Sparks of genius]. “The path of moving from the small i to the big I is facilitated by strengthening our inner balance through living in the equipoise of discrimination between truth and untruth, right and wrong.” Intuition, as noted above, has its origin in living spiritual beings who are communing with us; they are with-In us, we are with-In them. The beings who are communing with us are the source from which true Imaginations and Inspirations originate. As James Gillen has pointed out, we may also pour our being, through intense concentration, into, for example, the living, growing processes of a plant. Rudolf Steiner – “When consciousness of union with another being occurs, the physical body itself can be affected in very subtle ways, for example, the breathing can be slightly altered. In Intuition effects carry down into the supersensible forces of the physical body. These are not effects that can be physically observed ... The experiences of Intuition are delicate, intimate and subtle, and the human physical body is, at the present stage of its evolution, coarse in comparison ... Gradually, 10

certain expressions of the physical body that formerly took place unconsciously now come under man's control. He notices it also by the fact that for a short time he feels the need, for example, so to control the breath that it comes into a sort of concord or harmony with what the soul performs in the exercises or otherwise in inner meditation ... No exercise should be made at all by means of the physical body itself, also no breathing exercises, but everything that occurs in the physical body in this way should only come about as a consequence of pure Intuition.” – An Outline of Occult Science

Seth Miller was working on a master's degree in consciousness studies in 2008. His thesis was titled The Elements as Archetype of Transformation. His work is related to the training of Imagination, Inspiration and Intuition as they correspond with the old Rosicrucian and more recent esoteric and anthroposophical teachings on the elements of Earth, Water, Air and Fire. Earth is our present-day consciousness, Water is related to Imagination, Air to Inspiration and Fire to Intuition. These elements work together in a spiraling cycle that serves as a way of broadening and harmonizing the different elemental modes of consciousness, facilitating both inner and outer transformation. Four triangular or pyramidal symbols are given for the elements and the student can work with these symbols in meditation, but practical application of one's understanding cannot be separated from inner work. Although useful results can be achieved very quickly with the elemental cycle, Seth writes that the cycle is multilayered and can provide an ongoing deepening of insight when worked with over time. Seth Miller can be found online with the search terms: Seth Miller Anthroposophy. He also has a series of lectures on YouTube.

From the Work of Rudolf Steiner The Thinking of the Heart: “Not every symbol or picture is a true Imagination. We will have the inner strength to draw near to reality, to see and interpret it correctly. We need an immediate feeling as to whether something is true or false ... With correct soul preparation one can immediately distinguish between a symbol or picture that is true and one that is false ... one must so train oneself that error causes actual pain and truth gives gladness and joy. Pain and suffering in face of the ugly, the untrue and the evil, even when not inflicted on ourselves; pleasure in the beautiful, the true, the good, even when we are not personally concerned ... all this forms part of the training for the thinking of the heart ... Truths imparted from the higher worlds are tinged with something like the heart's blood ... The vision is a soul-spiritual reality. Research involves 11

surrender of our own personality … we are within the beings and things themselves ... Our experiences in the spiritual worlds have to be translated into logical thoughts, must be cast into clearly formulated thoughts. It would be sheer egotism if anyone wished to have experiences for himself alone. Mystical experiences, like intellectual experiences, must become the common heritage of mankind. Only by realizing this can we understand the mission of spiritual science for mankind.” On the Meaning of Life: “Imaginative pictures are visionary images, confronting man who is following the spiritual path as an entirely new world ... a world of surging impressions of the nature of sounds, smell, taste and light. These must on no account be accepted off-hand in the form in which they present themselves. We need to ascend from Imagination to Inspiration. Inspiration tells us to direct our attention to one particular picture. Then we shall experience truth, and the countless other pictures ... vanish into lifeless space. We must select those pictures or visions that express a true spiritual reality... It is only possible for a few things out of the limitless spiritual life to enter our horizon. Why? “The visions or pictures that we reject unite with what is around us, with the life that has not reached its goal ... in order that evolution may proceed. All that is continually coming to birth spiritually in the world must perish if we do not let our visions go and do not select those only which are revealed in accordance with Inspiration … What we have selected from the visions serves to our further development. Such spiritual subjects are an expression of the Spirit of Love and are consecrated to the Spirit of Love amongst true anthroposophists. This love will be instrumental in the exchange of our spiritual content.”

The Exchange of Spiritual Content, with Comments Imaginations and Inspirations This section will describe Imaginative pictures that members of the group have experienced - many between waking and sleeping and vice versa - and regard as having passed the test of time, as having value for others. The pictures are normally very fleeting, a second or less in time, and practice is required to perceive and retain them in memory. There may occur a single picture or a rapid series of pictures intermingled with Inspiration as potent or seed thought. Pictures will differ or contain some personal elements, but the underlying truths that are revealed through Inspiration 12

will be the same for everyone, for every human soul contains the same higher truths. To give an example, several of the pictures that will be offered are related to the deep inner soul experience of dying and becoming, which is a universal human experience. Although some dates will be given as to when the experience occurred, time is not normally an important factor, for a picture perceived in the 1980's can be discovered to be relevant to a discussion and subsequent realization in 2008. The comments reveal the beginnings of the Inspiration process. Inspiration may develop for years.

The Gem and Earth Mother MK â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Two Imaginative pictures seen in 2000: Two men are sitting at the base of a huge, massive gem or mineral. They are sitting on the left-hand side of the mineral as though on a base of dark, solid rock that supports the gem. They are, however, on the viewer's right. The gem is deep-red and smooth on the surface, as though polished. It is either of ruby or jasper or both. Despite the smooth, reflecting surface the formation of the gem is natural, irregular, organic, although close to a half-sphere or half-circle in shape. The two men are engaged in an intense, extremely important discussion. One has shoulder-length dark hair and a slight mustache and beard, but the appearance of the second individual, to the left of the first, is not clearly seen. There is a sense that the two individuals have been on a long journey and upon their arrival at the base of the gem have paused and are resting. The gem is something like a gateway â&#x20AC;Ś

One could pass under it, while having to stoop somewhat. This passageway is part of what they are discussing. There is writing or engraving of deep significance on the surface of the gem but, unfortunately, I cannot read or interpret what this writing reveals. This picture occurs in a very brief moment of time, a second or less. Almost immediately after this picture came a second picture, Earth Mother, in a white veil, standing as though in a small, dark, natural wooded enclave. She has dark hair and eyes and does not stand out in any way in appearance, but is quietly beautiful, in purity, in a very modest, even withdrawn way.

Comments Richard Distasi – The red ruby (jasper) is the earth, Earth Mother. The earth is the Holy Grail. I first thought the two men to be John, Lazarus and John, Baptist. John, Baptist is the figure who is not clear. I must decrease he said, which may mean to descend from the angelic to the human sphere. Goffredo Vitti – The gem could represent our planet. The inscription could be about a possible journey through the gem (initiation to a new kind of consciousness). It reminds me of Dante's entry through the eternal door: Davanti a me non furon cose create e io eterna duro. Before me, things created were none, save those eternal, and eternal I abide. The two men may be talking about the fate of our planet. The two Johns, yes. One is believed to be the author of Apocalypse. The gem is about to change, not die. Its chiaroscuri will turn into a different stupendous multicolored manifestation (transfiguration). MK – In the half-moon is a form created by the chemical ether (sound). It is also the symbol of the Grail, the Chalice. Intuitively, from whom do these pictures originate? From the Angels working in the astral body. The pictures indicate high transformative work in the physical and mineral sphere and in the sphere of the Mother, in the present time to the degree possible and as preparation for the future. From Rudolf Steiner – “The Angels form pictures in man's astral body, under the guidance of the Spirits of Form (Exusiai). Unless we reach the level of Imaginative cognition we do not know that pictures are all the time being formed in our astral body. Later the pictures become reality in a

humanity transformed ... The aim of the Angels is a very definite plan for the future configuration of social life on earth.” – The Work of the Angels in Man's Astral Body Rudolf Steiner – “In the Temple of the human body is the Holy of Holies. Many people live in the Temple without knowing anything about it. But those who have an inkling of it receive from it the power to purify themselves to such an extent that they can enter into this holiest place. Therein is the Holy Vessel which has been prepared throughout the ages as a fit container for the blood and the life of Christ when the time for it arrives. When man has entered therein he has found the way to the Holy of Holies in the great Temple of Earth ... So must every human individuality become a channel for the blood, flowing from the cosmic life-center, which permeates the rigidified earth with life.” – The Esoteric School MK - The two pictures seen in 2000 also contain precognitive elements relating to the work of the Brunnen von Christus Group, which began about seven years later. Richard Distasi shared the fact that, in 2000, he had received a similar Inspiration for his short story, The Lion of the Sun, and rewrote the story in 2007.

The Caisson MK – Between waking and sleeping, a loud whoosh of air is heard and in a flash is seen a rapidlymoving caisson pulled by two white horses. The effect is similar to chiaroscuro, and the picture is in color but there are very few colors. The picture has unmistakable qualities of life. The caisson is of a military nature; it holds a coffin. The horses pulling the caisson are descending, running downward. The horses are not perfectly formed; they are more ‘like’ horses. One can just barely tell they are actually horses, but there is no mistaking that they are white. Comment: MH asked why the picture of the caisson was included in the same post with the other two pictures, The Gem and Earth Mother. Why was not known at the time, but the caisson pulled by the horses is a powerful symbol of death and death as transformative power or dying and becoming. Dying and becoming does not refer to actual death, but can be a deep transformative experience, such as a sudden realization or a tragic event. However, two months after MK saw this picture, a close relative, a brother, died unexpectedly. Her family was a military family, hence the caisson. Her brother, in his mid-sixties, had done no conscious work on the etheric and astral

bodies (the two imperfectly formed white horses) and did not know that these spiritual bodies even existed.

Mark Haberstroh’s BvC Logo Design

My Angel Has Spoken His Name MH – I feel as if moving in a much swifter current. Changes occurring now would not be seen for years to come, but for contact with those in this group. 'You will only find joy through another' was my first spiritual experience on this path. Now my Angel has spoken his name to me. I simply asked. It is a beginning ... It is very freeing. I cannot be more specific than this. I have always entered more deeply into and through those feelings, trying not to engage the will to action and reaction. Pure feeling. This can lead to deepening, learning, a ‘sowing of seeds’ in the feelingmemory; seeds that might later bear fruit in karmic memory ... “It [the wisdom of the future] cannot come into the hands of Christ unless men fight for it. And they can only fight for it by telling themselves that by their own efforts they must assimilate the contents of spiritual science before the time of Ahriman's appearance on earth.” – RS, The Influence of Lucifer and Ahriman. Assuming 2033 to be an important date, we might be living in a unique window of history. Perhaps a link with the coming of Mani. Mark was asked to describe the process of learning his Angel's name, while not revealing the name. I look into my dog's eyes and he into mine ... As I look down to him from above, why can I not look up from below, to my Angel, and also attempt similar direct contact? He sacrifices lifelong for me. The gulf between us is also vast ... So I asked [his name]. I did this by placing in front of my soul an image of the Etheric Christ. The image became a combination of spiritual light emanating from an image vaguely similar to the ‘Risen or Resurrected Christ’ from M. Gruenewald's painting. The image was not specific, but the clarity of each succeeding image increased as the meditation continued. Like a transparent veil I placed over or focused then on Michael as the Countenance of Christ. In front of Michael the image of Brunnen von Christus, 16

full-bodied and dressed as he looked in his previous life, and then the image of the Angel closest to me, all the while each visible and radiating through the others in all directions. This process seemed to arrive on its own or unfold naturally from my reflections and provided the backdrop to the asking. I continued this each night in efforts to achieve one thing, a deep feeling of sincerity as a basis for whatever else I might do. The Hindu name, spoken in answer quietly and clearly into my thoughts after a few days, was a name I had never heard or could know from any of my experiences so far in this life. I have never held an interest in anything Hindu. Comment: Naming is deeply significant. We always consider names to be of great importance, for example, for species, as in the animal kingdom. The Hindu name of the Angel would be related to the Sanskrit language in the sense of its closeness to the original or primal language of humanity. It may be that work with the sound of the name, and with deepening of feeling in relation to the sound, will reveal something about the Angel and also about your overall individual destiny, through many lives, from the past into the future. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; MK

Breath and Heart From James Gillen â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I had a profound vision in 1991 in the early morning mists arising in a lay by the Druidic shaping of the landscape through choral singing that resolved into an Imagination that guided the elementals. In my vision I saw that the opening chorus of St. Matthew Passion could resolve into such an elemental influencing Imagination in its silent seventh phrase - if and only if it was at A=432. A=432 penetrates to the realm of the Mothers below and to the Father realm above. Breath and heart. Tempo is derived from finding the balance point in breath-pulse that create this channel. Ahriman moves the pitch just off this channel and rushes the tempo to overwhelm the I that would otherwise grow Sun-like in the tuned musical field-flow. I think this was the true Orpheus experience and the only one that could be associated with a BodhisattvaBuddha.

Three Imaginations: The Monk and the Horseman, The Royal Coach, The Young Man with the Flail The Monk and the Horseman MH – In the early eighties I had an experience in meditation ... where I saw a picture of a very old Asian monk (he was wearing the Chinese or Tibetan cap with the earflaps) wandering on foot in a foreign land, a desert-like land under Arab influence. I was then looking out of the old monk's eyes and therefore assumed it was myself. There was a sense of being not too distant from the sea or water, and to the right of the old man was a small, raised hillock, or perhaps the bank of a driedup riverbed. Storming around a turn on this sandy road appeared a great black horse with an Arab, riding fast. The Arab rider had white flowing robes, with some gold trimmings, very royal looking. He spotted the old man, and in one long, swift and smooth motion, unsheathed his scimitar, flashing clean and wide and bright, struck off the old man's head and continued to ride. The last thing the old man saw was the reflection of the bright white sun on the immaculate metal blade of the scimitar. Comment: The white figure on the black horse could be a symbol for the indirect Presence of Mani. No matter that this figure appeared to you ahead in time and seemingly in another context. An initial encounter with this consciousness could be very frightening because Manu (and Ksitigarbha) has a mysterious connection with the God of death, Shiva, death as transformative power. Overnight I thought that both the Monk and the Horseman are Mani, and you have shared the experience with perfect timing. There have been the recent posts on the forum about Mani and his celestial twin, Ksitigarbha. Ksitigarbha traditionally appears as a wise, elder monk, carrying the staff with the jewel that brings the light to the darkness, and his celestial twin, Akashagarbha, has a sword. – MK

The Royal Coach and The Young Man with the Flail MK – Around two months ago I saw two vivid pictures, and within the context were elements of great fear that I did manage to overcome through extreme effort. It was truly dangerous. A huge, distinctly royal and wealthy coach, pulled by two well-formed white horses, came dangerously close as it passed in front of me, then stormed away down the road. There was heard a frightening scream that came from the interior of the coach. 18

In the background a small man – who was of medieval times from his clothing – was turning rapidly around in a circle, swinging a black, spiked weapon (a flail) in a defensive maneuver. His hair was black and he wore bangs; he wore the hair in a page style. I felt that death had come very close to me through that experience, and then had passed by. Comment: Some elements from our shared imaginations: the power of the horse, royalty and its associated power, death or its proximity, danger from all directions (the young man with the spiked flail). What would be relevant for me would be to somehow connect such pictures to Mani along our paths. I think that working with your interpretation will begin this process. I did look into my image of that experience to see whether the old monk carried a staff or stick with a bag, or whether he pulled a little cart – but could not be sure. There is vagueness around something surely carried, as any traveler would. However, there is clear memory of the shape of his eyes, skin tone and the floppy-eared hat (and generally happy demeanor). I'm fairly sure he was Tibetan ... Also, the largeness, and the whoosh, like a great wind, of the rider. And the horse, and the reflected sun in the sword, piercing the eyes, was also a strong impression at the final moment. I can still see it as I write. – MH Comment: Just because you experience something within it, you are not necessarily that being, or force ... In Intuition, one has the experience of living within other beings, as it were - that is the mode of cognition - and that is why knowledge from this level is the only one that is truly reliable. However, one must not make the mistake of identifying with the being thus experienced. The most graphic illustration of this came to me in my experience with Sorath, where I experienced the phenomenon in reverse – this being came in me, made some observations about certain weaknesses in me and tried to make me think that those weaknesses were my true aspirations. Sorath's purpose was to cloud my conscience and sow discord in my soul – and nearly succeeded. I am greatly indebted to the late Gerard Klockenbring, founder of the French Christengemeinschaft, for helping me out with this extremely tough experience. This said, I have been unable to remove all traces of this event from my life, and one person remains estranged to this day, despite continuing spiritual meditative work to repair this. It will probably require dis-incarnation for both of us to put things completely right. The lesson it taught me about Intuition, however, was a vital one, and should be learned by every spiritual investigator. – Mark Willan 19

Comment: While not diminishing the significance and impact of your experience, but reflecting on it, I believe that the Grand Inquisitor portion is Mephisto-Ahriman, and how your weaknesses were magnified to effect a relationship. This would most likely be a demon of the rank of what in the normal hierarchies would be an archangel ... I wonder if the sun demon would have approached you, even if you experienced it as such. Christ is our only defense against such higher threats and since His return in the Etheric, stands with us. Regarding Syzygos or the twin links to the third class – collaboration across the threshold – to Intuition, and to the 12th century discussion: I believe Mani will work from the spiritual world from the realm of the Etheric Christ and find twins down here. Remember the Templar seal – two riders on one horse – this refers to the same mystery. – JG

Clairvoyant Report of a BvC Group Meditation MH – During the morning meeting I looked inward and acknowledged all who were present, one by one. In my inner darkness each greeting to one present was met by a response as a pulse-form of soft light. Martha's flame was slightly to my left ... After a while I noticed complete and utter silence from within. Silence, trust and safety were felt. I pulled my strength and capacity to concentrate not from the head but from the whole body ... Before long yellow-white waves of soft and diffuse light began issuing forth from the area above the dome of my head, as if from a firmament close above. These soon became thick soft circles of light, concentric circles sent forth one by one into the darkness in front of me as if in slow motion. Their circular form found their shaped source in the arc of my brow drawn from temple to temple. As the circles receded into the distance they decreased in size until the space inside the circle disappeared leaving a small, soft, solid disk of light which then went poof and was gone. In total silence the circles kept going forth, becoming a disk and then disappearing ... My eyes felt as the eyes in Albert Steffen's paintings often look. This experience appeared and then receded while in between a different Imagination took shape. After the new Imagination the circles appeared again, as if enclosing the new Imagination on both sides, beginning and ending. The second Imagination revealed a picture of a world where darkness begins to fade into blue as light slowly filters in. It was an entirely blue world with black darkness at the edges and high above, where it seemed as if there was a vaulted ceiling far away, but not visible. There was a visible verticality in the blue variations of color, like columns, and a monumentality that made it 20

feel like a great and vast temple. Between the above and below, midway, I floated, and looking down into the distance saw a circle of people. They had, in unison, their arms and hands raised outstretched in a wide open 'V,' each as if they were a cup waiting to be filled. They were wearing robes and one was wearing rose-magenta. Soon thereafter I was in the circle itself and we lowered our arms and formed a Eurythmic 'O,' as if to take what we had received from above and embrace the whole world with it. After this gesture we then moved our arms into the parallel 'U' and stepped forward. At this moment a narrow path of blue crystal light appeared along the floor extending into the great distance beyond. The path had soft, but extremely straight edges, was narrow as for single file only, and far away at the end one could see a bright light outside a great open rectangular doorway, revealing an illuminated world. The entire experience could be characterized by the feeling of profound silence throughout. I was left with the clear feeling that ‘healing and capacity building’ had truly taken place.

The Cosmic Christ Chantel K. Howard – This past spring as my Grandmother was on her way out of this world, I engaged in a series of meditations, many of which were healings, prayers and guidance for her, to bring her out of her incarnation. She had deep fears about her death and she would become heavylabored in her breathing. In my inner work I would experience extraordinary visions. Visions of female healers with vases of water. And the one I will never forget was a magnificent display of the Cosmic Christ. I call him cosmic in this vision because that is what he was, as if he were thousands of supernovas going off at once. Yet, he stood still, radiating out the most brilliant colors, the kind of colors you cannot see in this ordinary reality. The colors would radiate out of his still, solemn presence. I read this once and cannot remember the source of it, but here it is: If we really knew who walked beside us, we would never fear for anyone.

Spiritual Experiences in Physical Life, Everyday Life “It does not matter whether an experience takes place in dream-consciousness or in physical consciousness; what is of importance is whether the experience is true or false.” – Rudolf Steiner, On the Meaning of Life.

The following experiences occurred within normal daily activities and describe clairvoyant impressions – and in one case a vivid picture – that intrude, unbidden, unexpected, upon wideawake consciousness.

Inner City Meeting MH – I was once with a friend and we both saw a person who we clearly felt was not a human being. Everything outwardly was quite in order. My friend was also not an anthroposophist, but a sensitive observant woman. It was an eerie, hollow feeling that was also connected to the physiognomy of the face: the shape of the brow, ears, and the look in the eye. The above experience I would contrast with another meeting with a person who consciously and consistently gave himself over to all manner of dark forces. Nevertheless, he was still a human being, and this could be sensed.

The Prism MK – At an initial meeting with an anthroposophical study group, the first such experience for myself, a picture of a prism from which issued light and colors appeared for one or two seconds, completely blocking out the normal waking consciousness. However, the picture had no movement, which would seem to indicate that it is related to the distant future. Ten years later I realized that the picture was precognitive as I became a student in an anthroposophical painting program that involved work with prisms, Goethe's Theory of Color, and Rudolf Steiner's indications for watercolor work through the Nine Nature Moods.

A Cautionary Tale MW – Last Sunday, walking to lunch out near Orchard Road in Singapore, I was mulling over Rudolf Steiner's account in the Class of how, through use in meditation work, using only a partial clairvoyance, the power of a certain mantra was lost to mankind. Looking around me, I was trying to see who amongst the masses of sleepwalking humanity, walking in this highly populated area, could be awake enough to be capable of bringing about this kind of event. As I did so, I was forced to stand aside for two Indian gentlemen, of Sikh appearance, who seemed to be more aware than others, but who showed none of the traces of inner discipline and self-sacrifice I had seen marked indelibly on developed souls. 22

Before passing, the elder made a hand signal to the younger, who instead of going on, cornered me with a tale about how I was an extraordinary man of great good fortune in all domains, including success in business in 2008, after a tough 2007. He backed up his word with some simple conjuring tricks (sleight of hand) and some psychological ones, too (suggested choices of the simpler kind). I let him extract some cash from me (I was feeling well-disposed in general and somewhat amused in fact), and then I saw the photo of Sai Baba. This immediately rang alarm bells (spiritual materialism) and the gentleman insisted upon pressing upon me a 'lucky stone' to keep with me at all times, to bring about success, etc., and left hurriedly, disappearing into the mass of humanity. I did not like the feel of this 'stone' at all; it was giving me etheric impressions of an electrical charge - like some sub-sensible or black magic item. The item looked in fact to me like some processed seed or nut, so I immediately went off to buy a nutcracker (Singapore shops are open 12 hours or more, 7 days a week) to see if I was right. I found a piece of open ground and with great difficulty cracked it open. I left the debris on the ground as it started to rain. My reasoning was, if there was any truth in the tale I was told, I did not want success to depend upon some talisman which I could lose, and would far rather that the success be related to the spirit projects for humanity at large associated with the earth as a whole. If there was any evil in the talisman (which I strongly suspected), I assumed the inherent powers of earthly nature could take their course, since the black magic consisted in imprisoning the powers of growth in the object into the material rock-like nature beneath their natural level (a little like attempts to imprison spiritual science underground by outer dead culture in the English-speaking world). To be doubly sure of having neutralized the lot I made the sign of Michael over the remnants, and spent my afternoon viewing a touring exhibition of Buddha relics from the world over (yet another manifestation of spiritual materialism), but where the ritual chanting at least served to soothe the soul ....

Encounter at the Library MK â&#x20AC;&#x201C; One afternoon in the Enoch Pratt Library in Baltimore, Maryland, a man, a stranger, walked up to me and said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;You're a writer.â&#x20AC;? He was in late middleage and with an average appearance that in no way marked him as exceptional. I had never met him before; I gathered that his perception of me was clairvoyant, although he could have seen one

of my drama productions, many of which I directed. We then proceeded to enter into a very deep and prolonged conversation regarding the nature of good and evil. He had also written dramas, but the one drama that he described to me was a drama of despair, having dark and tragic conclusion with no hope or light offered. He merely smiled slightly, yet emanating cold wisdom, when I pointed this out to him. He was of Serbian origin and we discussed the current war between the Croatians and Serbs. Realizing that he might offer some insights about the horrendous situation in Serajevo, I asked him “Why? Why this war? Why can't these peoples get along?” But he did not reply but merely gazed at me. Realization increased that the man was predominantly dark and of significance in his particular sphere and had recognized certain opposite or opposing qualities in myself. We parted and afterwards I knew what his silent answer to my question had been: It cannot be otherwise, it must be, it cannot be changed or avoided. He had observed something within me, however, and had released me from his sphere of influence. All meetings with others involve mutual spiritual experience and exchange on very deep levels, but the depth and significance of the meetings most often remain unconscious. Imaginative pictures and inspirations that intrude on waking consciousness, in the midst of daily life, are of great significance and should always be noted and remembered.

Experiences of the Being Who Was Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Steiner on the subject of maya: “If I want to spring over that which is an affair of the human soul and to take at once the highest step into the divine, humility may very easily vanish from me, and pride step in, in its place; vanity may easily install itself. May the Anthroposophical Society also be a starting point in this higher sphere; above all, may it avoid all that has so easily crept into the theosophical movement, in the way of pride, vanity, ambition and want of earnestness in receiving that which is the highest Wisdom. May the Anthroposophical Society avoid all this because from its very starting point it has already considered that the settlement with maya is an affair for the human soul itself.” – The Bhagavad Gita and The Epistles of Paul In the lecture The Secret of the Double, Rudolf Steiner exhorts his listeners: “After death we need to find the force in us to distinguish what is in us: an Angel? an Elohim? Exusiai, Spirits of Form? This force can also be strengthened in life through Intuitive experiences, while the dangers are

many. Man becomes master of the various beings who continually go in and out of his bodies by becoming their companion. Phantoms - physical; ghosts - etheric; demons - astral; spirits - ego.” Rudolf Steiner, in this group referred to as Brunnen von Christus (the Fount of Christ, the character in the drama trilogy Southwest Journey) may – insofar as we understand – manifest as the spiritual initiator under the following circumstances: 1. Within vivid dreams 2. As a spirit guide 3. In Imaginations, fleeting “sparks of genius,” perceived between sleep and waking life 4. In Imaginations of longer duration perceived in intense meditative life 5. In Inspirations, identified as the source of the Inspiration 6. In perceptions during wide-awake consciousness 7. In Imaginations in color 8. In black and white, grayish or sketchy dreamlike visions 9. Within the correct time frame in maya 10. On the surface of Intuition in feeling life 11. As a presence in feeling life, a Loving Presence 12. In deep Intuitive experiences, within the will

We may cautiously conclude that Rudolf Steiner is an active teacher in the spiritual world and that his teaching, insofar as we understand and experience it, involves communication between our earthly world and the spiritual world. Just as he taught his students during his lifetime to develop consciousness of the higher worlds, he is guiding and teaching these same students and many other beings in the spiritual world on how to communicate with the earthly, material world. And the connecting path for beings on both sides of the threshold is the path of the Three I's. This path obviously has nothing to do with mediumship; ‘communication’ does not mean the direct answering of questions in a superficial conversational exchange. The way is strenuous and demands strengthening of the Ego, unceasing development (for example, in perception, thinking and discernment) and expansion of consciousness. Thus, consciousness of the Father and of Christ, as source of all life and within the heart, can gradually awaken further. I am He who was, I am He 25

who is, I am He who will be. ~ I am the vine, you are the branches. ~ I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. We are confronted with the necessity of joining two worlds: the earthly and physical world – including the planets and stars – and the spiritual world and cosmos that, beyond our physical vision and comprehension, sustains our earthly existence. The development in our time of supersensible awareness and spiritual vision, as Rudolf Steiner taught over and over, is absolutely critical for all evolution. And it is obvious that – simply watching the news day in and day out we are living in one of the most critical of all times. The union of the spiritual worlds and the physical worlds must be achieved, individually and collectively. And the spiritual world – like the physical world – is lawful. It is not just what individuals can decide for themselves.

The Raven-Haired Youth From Danae Killian – I was dreaming last night that I was searching for certain human beings whom I have known in my present life, whose outlook and whose bearing reveals a definite connection to the historical time of Francis Bacon, Shakespeare, Boehme. Somewhat to the 'right' in the dream, youthful and almost flying past, not quite reachable, appeared a boy-man with virgin skin and the deepest, darkest, yet utterly translucent and lovingly selfless eyes, raven-haired, his expression at once sublimely free, and suffering. Today I feel the ruby redness of his pure love and grace as a grace laid on my life. Who is he? … The question ‘who is he?’ I asked MK, without thought that ‘he’ could be Rudolf Steiner, although that is clear to me now. I asked it as though I heard the question itself objectively, from beyond myself, on the wind, like a calling. Comment: Luminous Hummingbird, from the drama Southwest Journey, is also a raven-haired youth. Insofar as I understand, a spiritual teacher may first appear in vision as a youth and may not be recognized until he emerges into the “spirit guide” or the teacher who may eventually be recognized. (This experience of encountering the youth first is described in Intuitive Meetings.) – MK Comment: There was a young boy here who has five barley loaves and two fishes – John 6:9. And a certain young man was following Him, having a linen cloth wrapped about his naked body, and they seized Him. But leaving the linen cloth behind he fled away from them naked – Mark 14:5152. But on entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right side, clothed in a white 26

robe. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Mark 16:5. The youth that feeds the five thousand, the youth that flees from his captors, the youth that sits in the tomb wearing a white robe and the Luminous Hummingbird. For myself there is a common thread. It is the youth that Rudolf Steiner spoke of in Lecture IX of his series on The Gospel of Mark, in which he divulges that the 'fleeing youth' is the cosmic aura of Christ. This youth, the cosmic aura of Christ, is to be donned by all human beings as we grow in Christ. It is the youth forces of Christ that is to grow ever greater in each of us. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; RD

Luminous Hummingbird

A Happy Moment MH â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A Happy Moment ... Last night, the night after my post, I was alert, things were different. I was watching ... the familiar slow-motion wave of pictures picked-up a considerable speed. I saw and felt the glimmering presence of a copper-gold helmet around my head in the same shape as those around important people buried in Egyptian times. But the burial headdress was fractured into many, sharp flat planes, all of which were alternately reflecting bright light moving rapidly, or as if the planes themselves were changing rapidly... The headdress was semi-transparent and light. There was no feeling of solidity about it. The face was uniform brown-grey, distinctly oval, blank, non-reflective, and quiet, contrasting the movement around it. Colors appeared at times â&#x20AC;Ś Brightly colored forms mixed with considerable darkness - they formed a cave-like opening that I was approaching to see a bright blue sky... an opening where the Mediterranean sea met the blue sky. This image formed out of the chaotic environment. Forming in front of all this chaos appeared a large image of the face of Rudolf Steiner as he was in later years, a serious and worn face that was more transparent than not and without a body. The image was large, both revealing and eclipsing what was behind it ... From within the environment and behind the face came white feathers, just a few, as if being blown by a fan. They soon became a stream of feathers in a small wind and then an inundation of white feathers filling the whole world around me. I could feel them and the gush of wind. Out of this wave and wind, quickly, from left to right, sideways flew a young person with black, floppy hair. This person seemed male and was amidst the feathers, visible only and naked from the waist up. There were many colors around the form and figure, but they did not dominate the white of the feathers with hints of blue sky behind. He seemed happy, delighted, and just whizzing by. Embedded in all this and as an after-image ... was the strong image of the color of rust in ore or red clay in the land at dusk, not uniform throughout, but in veins or concentrations of color amidst darker and lighter colors. MH â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I experienced the following on the way into sleep, first the awareness of change in consciousness, then the unfolding that was more an objective picture: I found myself floating on my back with my face very close to a surface with wide linear markings ... As my vision found focus, I realized I was floating aloft underneath the domed and painted cupola of the first

Goetheanum, looking at the paintings above ... I then moved down and left to observe closely the carved forms and shapes of the Architrave over the Capitals (laying horizontal in line with and facing the Architrave). I felt as if I was breathing in those forms, close enough to smell the wood, and moving with the wave-like forms carved there. The color environment was muted, like a sepia photograph ... Shortly thereafter a large and very clear, still picture of Rudolf Steiner was seen; in his white lab coat, he was standing next to the West portal of a completed plastiline model of the first Goetheanum. He looked pleased, happy ... I write this now as I felt that this experience was a direct response from the spiritual world to the intense work on the short essay [Perspectives on Art], albeit pointing, I think, to the past. MK â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Last night, before sleep, came sketchy, grayish impressions; barest outlines of images. I was fully awake at the time, but with my eyes closed. A pleasant, light feeling of a dome over my head; a room or an area of beautiful columns that reach upward; an opening way above, at the top of the dome. Uplifting feelings of the first Goetheanum, uplifting my soul. And there came a fleeting picture, an image of Rudolf Steiner in a modern, dark suit, with some sculpted white objects on the floor, propped up against the wall. He was leaning over to look at them and touch them as though to decide where they should go. Very pleasant feelings as though my consciousness is lifted up within my head, as it is within the dome.

Walk With Me MK â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I took a long walk on Saturday, September 1st, several miles to and from the downtown area here. Upon going to bed in the evening I was naturally very tired. Before I went to sleep, Rudolf Steiner/BvC appeared by the side of the bed. He was seen, in a very brief moment of time, in full form, standing, but appeared in the indistinct garb of the shadows and darknesses of our physical existence. There were no feelings connected with this contact, which is unusual, but he was without rather than within. He extended his right hand to me and said, heard perfectly in thought, Walk with me. He was in process of descent, descending. This is not blissful. Did I walk with him during the unconsciousness of sleep? Did he show me something, as though in response to questions and topics that had arisen on the forum? I think so, yet, having remained more fully conscious in sleep would have been far better. Later, between waking and sleeping, a series of color pictures were seen that related to recent questions about the incarnation of Ahriman.

Walk With Me suggested to James Gillen the peripatetic school of Aristotle. What is extraordinary about this appearance is that BvC is exactly right in time, and perhaps the gray, sketchy impressions indicate he has succeeded in descending almost fully into our dark world of maya. Regarding the deeper descent of such a being as a greater spiritual achievement, the gray, sketchy pictures with their near perfection in time could be of a higher nature than those pictures in clear colors.

The Eye of God “Man sees things as they are, They are as God sees them.” - Augustine

MK – In the explanation of the Eye of God in The Esoteric School, Rudolf Steiner reveals that a picture or Imagination that contains luminous or translucent qualities or objects has its source in the astral body, while dense, opaque qualities identify the source as etheric. Parts of the etheric body may be perceived as consisting of an opaque white, similar to a cloud. Darkness or blackness indicates the physical body. Within this explanation Rudolf Steiner also describes the processes of Imagination (picture perception), Inspiration (the meaning of the picture), and Intuition (the higher Trinity). Leaving the sides of the triangle open is appropriate for our time of spiritual re-ascent. The ancient symbol of the Eye in the stone-solid pyramid refers to the descent into materiality and is no longer appropriate for our time. The Egyptian pyramids stand as monuments to the past. Comment: Holding this process-picture in my heart: Eye of God raying into our group and its members. The seven planets as the activating nexus of personal, group and evolutionary process at the apocalyptic right hand of change. Rudolf Steiner: “The deepest esoteric statement I can transmit: Christ sees us.” Michael entrusting to us the intelligence of worlds. Seth Miller transmuting the intelligence of Saturn, Sun, Moon, Earth in the elemental cycle to facilitate transformation. The Writing of the Heart … My I as focus of the Eye ... you in me, I in you. – JG 30

A Discussion of Penmaenmawr, with James Gillen and Thomas Sharpe, 2011 Thomas – We were passing through Penmaenmawr this Sunday last and decided to climb the route to the Druid circles. Because I didn't have an Ordinance Survey map with me for the area, I had to ask locals for directions, who were very friendly and helpful. I had later read an online reference about a visit to the area made by Rudolf Steiner and friends. Suffice it to say, Rudolf Steiner must have been very fit to have climbed the cliff. We drove up a single lane track in the car, very steep and winding. Then there was another trek across some bleak hills. The stone circle itself felt sad and neglected, and I didn't pick up any impressions from the Druids. I had been aware of Rudolf Steiner recently and he again appeared in a dream, though there was no real significance attached to it. We were with a group in a hotel. I did, however, feel the essence of the dream while at the stone circle. To compensate, if compensation was necessary, there was the magnificent scenery and the proximity of the Druid circles on Penmaenmawr Mountain. “Marie Steiner, determined as ever in spite of her lameness, was drawn up the steep slope in a cart and apparently enjoyed the trip in spite of inclement weather. Steiner himself, accompanied by Guenther Wachsmuth, made the climb on foot, Steiner surprising his companion and biographer by his agility and his ability to climb at least as fast as Wachsmuth, and with no visible signs of fatigue at the close. While on the mountain within one of the stone circles, he began to speak about the Druids and the ceremonies that had been performed there, about the shadows and the sunlight, evidently from clairvoyance as he was directly experiencing it again at that moment. The experience made such a deep impression on him that he spoke about it on several occasions, and he included information about the Druids in many subsequent lectures.” – from Rudolf Steiner, Herald of a New Epoch James – I did the climb at Penmaenmawr many times during the early 90s as part of conferences held nearby. The drive to the car park on the barely single-track road is one of the scariest I have ever done, especially downhill. On one occasion I was with a gifted former rock musician, who seems to have played himself across the threshold, who like myself had been to Penmaenmawr before. We stopped at the car park at the foot of the long path up the hill, as he recognized some friends from London, who had their OS maps in hand and had just returned from the Druid circle. We did a triple confirmation of our route and went off in deep conversation.

Improbably, at some point in our peripatetic float aloft, we found ourselves in deep thickets, crossing ravines with brambles, and in overcast conditions. We both realized that we had been misdirected on our path, and taken in the opposite direction, by the elementals that had been set in place to guard this mystery center â&#x20AC;&#x201C; our having become susceptible by our demeanor. This was then a call to wake up and climb the hill with greater focus and preparation, as also reminding us of fairy tale thickets or conversations on the forested walks on the slopes at Ephesus taken after the mysteries, which Rudolf Steiner describes. The main circle is interesting; sensitives have found only one stone with a strong elemental being still within, which when pointed out gets imaginal. We did meet a nun from the local Catholic retreat center who often came there, and she told us to pray for the souls of the imputed child sacrifices performed there (cremated urns covered by white quartz crystals were discovered in excavations). The group we met up with when we finally arrived did eurythmy and cross-arm circle song poems in the center of the stones, and this seemed to awaken something that led a couple of days later to a reflection of the reading in the shadows of the stones that Rudolf Steiner describes, now as insights from a life journal one of the women in our circle had kept of instances in normal life, where the extraordinary shone in. What many do not discover is that there is another circle of many rings of small stones not far away â&#x20AC;&#x201C; on the other side of a large mound (representing the Druid Virgo Paritura). It was clear to many of us that this was a circle where the stars were consulted, the rings suggesting time cycles around the zodiac. The Google Earth 3D tour of the geographic features of the Penmaenmawr area can give a sense of the dramatic setting of this circle. Not far from it you look out over two major hills, one conical, smooth and moon-like, and the other bold, masculine, rocky and sphinx-like, and between the two is the sea. The powerful Druid land-shaping magic is not so remote.

Mechanical Occultism and New Energy

Hearts interpret Karma When hearts learn to read the Word, Which creates in human life; When hearts learn to Speak the Word, Which creates in the Human Being. Rudolf Steiner, 1925

For a certain period of time these two subjects were discussed in our group. The discussions were assisted by posts from DJ Morgan on the topic of “Electric Doubles,” and he delved deeply into many esoteric Christian resources for keys or countermeasures to the contemporary experience of constant bombardment from all sides by an electrical, electromagnetic, mechanistic, materialistic society that is also proving to be immensely harmful to Earth. Like the lone pedestrian waiting to cross a busy street on an unseasonably warm day with no end of cars in sight and deciding that jaywalking would be easier and safer than the formidable intersection, thoughts turn to energy and lifestyle alternatives. Many of us firmly reject the ‘system,’ while still remaining in harmony with it, and consider other ways, other possibilities. Certain unique and powerful personalities in the past and present, achievers against all odds, stand out in their rejection of the system through lifelong exploration of another way, a better or more spiritual way, and often at great sacrifice: their reputations, even to posterity, their very lives. Twelve of these personalities who have delved intensely into free or new energy resources were noted by DJ Morgan: Karl von Ludwig Reichenbach or Baron von Reichenbach (1788 - 1869); John Keely (1827 1898); Nikola Tesla (1856 - 1943); Wilhelm Reich (1897 - 1957); Walter Russell (1871 - 1963); Dr. Ruth B. Drown (1891 - 1965 – she continued the work of Albert Abrams, 1863 - 1924); Dr. Nikolai A. Kozyrev (1908 - 1983). And in our time, Harry Oldfield, Sean McCarthy, Trevor James Constable, Dale Pond and many others. 33

An objective, accurate history of these and other personalities needs to be compiled. Imperfections and serious errors notwithstanding, these are great pioneers, great forerunners or preparers of the future, without whose lives and sacrifices there could be no ultimate spiritual mastery of the physical world. More will surely come, and they could use a thorough history of their forerunners, the work carefully detailed, the achievements, victories, failures, misunderstandings, accusations, persecutions and sacrifices. Regarding the subject of formative forces in Mechanical Occultism and New Energy, Rudolf Steiner had referenced an important book written by Rama Prasad titled Nature's Finer Forces. Rama Prasad here further explains Akasha: “We might call the Akasha the sonoriferous ether … just as there exists in the universe the luminiferous ether, an element of refined matter without which it has been found that the phenomena of light find no adequate explanation, so do there exist the four remaining ethers, elements of refined matter, without which it will be found that the phenomena of sound, touch, taste and smell find no adequate explanation ... The vibration which constitutes sound is the Indian Akasha. It is all-pervading …” And from the Glossary of the book, “There is no living thing in the world that is not preceded by Akasha or followed by it. This is a state from which we may expect every other substance ... to immediately come out of, or, more strictly, in which everything is, but is not seen.” Rudolf Steiner stated: “In the ages to come, humanity will develop three new occult faculties, in the same natural way as it developed mental faculties in the past.” Mechanical Occultism (West), Hygienic Occultism (Central) and Eugenic Occultism (East). “[Men] will be able to create machines, mechanical devices which work with hardly any effort, which work with the ‘Laws of Sympathetic Vibrations’ (John Keely). These machines will do about 90% of the work and all the social and material trouble of work as we know it now will cease to exist.” From the internet site Storm's Nest - Strader Machine: according to Ehrenfried E. Pfeiffer, the question was put to Rudolf Steiner and Guenther Wachsmuth as to whether there could be a constructive force for mechanics rather than a destructive force. If constructive forces existed, could an altruistic technology be built upon it? The answer was yes and an experimental small ‘Strader machine’ was designed and built by Rudolf Steiner. However, the results pointed to an astral energy source (involving sentient matter, nerves, brain) rather than to an etheric, formative forces source, and Rudolf Steiner advised that further experiments should not be done and would not be successful. (Rudolf Steiner: “Man's 34

etheric body can be contemplated externally through our ordinary sense knowledge, but the astral body can only be experienced inwardly.”) He indicated that demonstration only of the first steps, the presence and existence of the formative forces, would be best for our time. See Guenther Wachsmuth, Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, Hans Jenny, Trevor James Constable.

Tree of Knowledge, Tree of Life - From the Esoteric School, Rudolf Steiner Jachin the Red Pillar, and Boaz the Blue Pillar

J. In pure thought you will find The self that can maintain itself. If you transform the thought into a picture You will experience creative wisdom. B. If you condense feeling to become light, You reveal the shaping power. If you incorporate the will into an entity, You create in universal existence.

James Gillen offers a different translation of the inscriptions. He writes, “I would like to offer a tighter, more precise and process-centric translation of these verses that correlate better with the lifetime work of Rudolf Steiner.” J. In abstract thoughts you recover The self that abides. Metamorphose these thoughts to picture, Experience creating wisdom. B. Condense feeling to light, 35

Reveal shaping power. Reify the will to entity, So create within Worlds-Being.

MK heard the words, upon awakening: “The course of Christ is the blue vein.” JG: The oxygenation of the venous blood occurs when we transform abstractions into pictures. DJ Morgan – DJ shared with the group his studies of such abiding historic resources as the esoteric works of Eliphas Levi, Jacob Boehme, Raymond Lully, Michael Sendivogius and Goethe, gradually turning these profound works, in reference to the universal phenomena of polarization and balance point, toward the topic of the spiritualization of science and mechanics as solution to the world energy crisis. Also, as counterforce against the prevailing dangers of electricity, the electric double of the human body, electromagnetism, brain signal science, subsonic tones, the cyborg, etc. He wrote that we need to look for healing counter forces for each destructive force, i.e., robot science ...

The Return of Vulcan

DJ Morgan continues: The direction that modern science is taking seems to be based on a concept of thinking linked to electric signals in the brain ... Perhaps what streams from below as an electromagnetic influence can be met by what streams from above by the tonal aspect in the relation of the archangels to the experience of sound via word in vowels. As ever, it seems that we may choose which streams may have our conscious focus, and by what degree. Rudolf Steiner – “It is amazing but true, that man in his organism actually produces primary light. In the lower sphere we possess those defensive organs against complete animalization which are necessary to enable the upper sphere to produce original light. There we have one of the profound differences between man and the animal world ...” “Man bears the source of an extra-telluric activity within himself. This cosmic source of power operates on the whole of plant life ... but affects the vegetable world from outside, wherein man holds something within, which links him with this upper sphere.” – Spiritual Science and Medicine.

Memories of Past Lives, Within Anthroposophy In Mark Haberstroh’s 2019 publication, The Silence Beyond the Silence, there comes a story he shared earlier with the Brunnen von Christus group, Vector Force: “In Vector Force the soul of an Egyptian Pharaoh becomes aware that he has been buried in a subterranean chamber beneath a great pyramid. He had been regarded as a great Pharaoh but in truth feels small and alone. He had been an unremarkable person in great and glorious worldly trappings and feels now he had not accomplished much during his earthly sojourn. He expands beyond the chamber and finds himself propelled and pulled upward along the monument. His Being is reduced to the infinitesimal, but this does not impede his awareness of the crossing point. He continues upward and outward into the stars. What seemed bound by earth below the apex is now released as spirit above. He is on his way.” Comments ensued as to whether such haunting stories might originate from past life memories, although Mark Haberstroh stated that Vector Force was not a past life memory. The story does have qualities of Imaginations, which must move in the direction of symbolic interpretation, or Inspiration, as Imaginations cannot be accepted at face value. So, Vector Force might be considered a fairy tale (true ancient fairy tales have great moral value) taken to a higher level,

involving the certainty of future karma as a result of wasted opportunities for personal development and good for others. Another strong element in Vector Force is the suggestion of an unlawful initiation in a previous life. The effects of this then become apparent throughout subsequent lives, bringing unusual circumstances and difficulties, yet at the same time gifts and an extraordinary ability to overcome obstacles. The question arose: can we really know our past lives? Only Christ, as Lord of Karma – or true messengers of Christ – can reveal a past life. Christ then is the Intuitive source of true past life memory, or the I AM, especially insofar as it has accumulated the immortal elements to itself, Manas, Buddhi and Atma, or Spirit Self, Life Spirit and Spirit Man. The Holy of Holies contains all that has been accumulated for the immortal I AM. This is likely why there was so much accuracy in Edgar Cayce's past life readings, his deep Faith in Christ, the Presence of Christ in his work. Yet he differs from Rudolf Steiner in that he describes human beings from the time of Atlantis as having distinct personalities, with the Ego fully in evidence, the consciousness the same as in our day. However, to give full and fair treatment to the differences between Rudolf Steiner and Edgar Cayce on spiritual evolution and past lives, that would require another book. Mark Haberstroh’s stories, inspired thoughts, poems and essays in The Silence Beyond the Silence are thoroughly absorbing, thought provoking and highly recommended. They genuinely portray our time, when we should all be developing consciousness of the imperative “crossing of the threshold” between the physical and the spiritual worlds, between physical and spiritual awareness and knowledge. James Gillen has shared what may be related to a past life memory: “There seems to be a 12th century connection with Joachim of Flora. Rudolf Steiner indicated that, together with Alanus ab Insulis, Joachim was enabled through Raphael to see through into the current Michael age. Thus, my deep connection with water (Raphael) and fire (Michael). Also, I have met someone in this incarnation whom I regard as having manifested Alanus ab Insulis. But I will take advice ... and just assume the possibility of a 12th century incarnation without 'fleshing out' the details, as this might lead to the Luciferic side of the identification. Study of a figure from this time-period led to the discovery of whole treatises that trace the unforeseen consequences of this personality’s deeds

through three ages in world history... into the Third Reich and communism. He anticipated Spiritual Science in many ways but was not able to bring it fully down into worldly life.”

The White Cross and the Pentagram From Chapter Two of The Silent Road, by Wellesley Tudor Pole, An Account of Three Supernatural Experiences: “The following incantation against evil forces was given by Brother Brighill [of Tintern Abbey, South Wales]: In the name of the White Cross and of the Pentagram of the Red Rose, I command thee to depart from hence and be transmuted from darkness into Light. In the name of God, His Christ and all Holy Souls. Amen.” James Gillen interpreted Brother Brighill's incantation from the point of view of the Michael School: “I will offer commentary on significant themes using the Michael School work on the overlapping trees [Tree of Knowledge, Tree of Life] spanning four worlds/categories. Why? Because it is possible through cognitive rehearsal to prove and know what is reported here in significant experiences is true. This is why it was intended as the intersection language in the School of Spiritual Science. “The White Cross is the intersection of passion/relation/action and position from the world of the activity of the gods with quantity/state/quality and relation here. It is white because it is the form of spiritual light and it brings change into the current situation, just as Christ through the Cross changed evolution and brought the possibility of change back into a stagnating earth evolution. The Pentagram of the Rose connects quantity/state/quality/passion/action in the tree here. The Rose is relation, it is the free music where the I can use love as an instrument of transformation, for it is unconstrained within the Pentagram but maintains connection with the world immediately above. In other words, it is the means of effectuating what comes from above (world of change) into the world of fact, where evil approaches. Notice that this is not a banishing verse. It is a transmuting verse. It takes the impulse of the White Cross through the Rose and projects it down into the darkness - passion/relation/action/position of the tree here and now. Our double, as mediator of darkness, is an imperfect tree from below, the world of sub-nature, that asserts its state over our relation. Can you sense the freezing, the locking into one-sidedness of this trumping gesture? It wants to possess our heart. Only if the Rose is alive in our heart and has incorporated

the light from the White Cross above, can we conquer this imprisonment of the I, behind which is the breath and heartbeat of evolution.”

The Akasha Chronicle Why can we not have certainty about past lives? In the Preface to his book Cosmic Memory, Rudolf Steiner writes: “... At a certain high level of his cognitive power, man can penetrate to the eternal origins of things which vanish with time ... then he can see in events what is not perceptible to the senses, that part which time cannot destroy. He penetrates from the transitory to non-transitory history. It is a fact that this history is written in other characters than is ordinary history. In gnosis and in theosophy it is called the Akasha Chronicle... [One] comes to know past events in their eternal character ... they appear in full life. In a certain sense what has happened takes place before him.” The Bible refers to the Akasha Chronicle as the Book of Life. For example, Revelation 21:27: “But nothing unclean shall enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.”

Thus, the past lives of an individual must be contained within the Akasha Body. Rudolf Steiner states in The Temple Legend, and in the lectures Planetary Spheres and Their Influence on Man's Life on Earth and in Spiritual Worlds, that the Akasha Body is connected with Spirit Man, Atma, (in the Sphere of Saturn) as the eternal element that is derived from the Ego's work on the transformation of the physical body. As to the location of the Akasha Body he describes it as “extending through the whole being of man, or the immortal part of man's being.” What derives from past lives can be illuminated as though in a flash (‘sparks of genius’) from many sides of man's being, ringing true, but the ability to read the Akasha Body or Akasha Record with a great degree of accuracy, so as to have little or no doubt, requires the highest spiritual consciousness, Atma.

The Symbolism and Meaning of the Lion – The New Leo Zodiac According to Rudolf Steiner, the four living creatures of the Old Testament and Revelation 4:7, like a man, lion, bull and eagle, represent the four primordial group souls of humanity. The eagle represents the head of man and thinking, the lion the heart and feeling, and the bull the limbs and willing. The human being is a combination of the three. From George Ferguson's book, Signs and Symbols in Christian Art, Richard Distasi connects the tetramorphs with the four Evangelists: Matthew, man; Mark, lion; Luke, bull; and John, eagle. RD – The winged man is associated with Matthew because his gospel begins by tracing the human descent of Jesus. The winged bull is the symbol of sacrifice and emphasizes the sacrificial nature of Christ's priesthood on earth. The eagle is associated with John because his visionary gospel soars the nearest to heaven. The winged lion expresses the royal dignity of Christ. In history the lion as symbol of the power and dignity of royalty surely originated with ancient knowledge of the lineage of Jesus, and Kings David and Solomon. However, Rudolf Steiner has offered many insights into the deeper significance of this beast and its relation to the heart. From Rudolf Steiner in The Harmony of the Creative Word: “... the forces of the sun itself, penetrating the air, produce in the lion a breathing system of just such a kind that its rhythm is in perfect balance with the rhythm of the circulation, not in the numerical sense but as regards its dynamics. In the lion this balances itself out in a wonderfully beautiful way. The lion regulates its circulation through the breathing, and the circulation continually stimulates the stream of the

breath. This can be seen even in the form, the very shape of the lion's mouth ... One can see this, too, in the remarkable gaze of the lion, resting in itself and yet looking boldly outwards. But what lives in the lion's gaze lives also in the organization of the human chest and heart, in the rhythmical organization which connects with the other elements of human nature, the metabolic system and the head system. “And if we picture unconstrained sun activity, we must put the human being into the diagram in such a way that we place his heart and lungs in the region of this sun activity. It is here, in this sphere, that we have the lion nature of man.” MH – Regarding the form of the lion and Rudolf Steiner’s new depiction of Leo – if we look at the lion in profile from the aspect of pure form, as artistic perception, a straight line can be drawn from the modest hindquarters through the powerful chest and the wide roaring mouth. This line of force is not quite horizontal but inclined away from the earth and slightly upwards toward the sun. This may be even more visible in artistic renderings of a roaring lion. The earth-shaking roar follows this straight line in ever-widening percussive circles impacting the air and environment. The mane enhances and is a product of this sun-like impulse, and the straight line and the roarcirles can easily be connected in feeling to light and the disc of the sun, respectively.

The line, circle and the radiating lion's mane (sunflower) are a few of the elements in the new Leo Zodiac symbol. Other elements include light descending and condensing into the feather-like forms, to the plant forms, and then the sharp minerals and conversely, beginning with dark earth, we ascend through the kingdoms. If we add to this the image of the central figure fertilizing the sunflower, we are able to build the symbol from ground up, as it were, not unlike other meditations.

Perspectives on Art â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A Personal Perspective on Present Day Painting, by Mark Haberstroh Color heals and harmonizes all parts, the physical, emotional, and spiritual. Conscious and prolonged surrender to the color impression is crucial. In a painting colors supply a surging pulse through the soul. They pass into and through us, bringing us some thing, some essence. We pass into and through them and are taken by them to the painting's place of origin, somewhere in the universe. Or, perhaps, we let pour into us what streams through the image from its source, filling us, like water in a cup. Every artist in every moment must choose how he or she wants to paint. The choice determines the quality of the viewer's experience. Every viewer chooses to allow the image (color) entry or not, in accord with his or her freedom. If an image is judged ugly or evil, entry need not be allowed. For with entry come the forces and Beings attached to the image, or rather, those forces and Beings that are the co-creators of that image. They collaborate with the artist who has made his or her choice. Such choice welds the artist to the Beings he or she works with, creating consequences in personal destiny. This would seem true whether the artist chooses to work with Beings either beneficial or detrimental to the welfare of others. Both artist and art lover are free in the moment and self-determine their future course. And both partake of the real forces pouring through the image into the space within which they stand, transforming that space. The spirit no longer resides behind the image, as somewhat unreachable inference or metaphor. It simply pours through. And once made, the in-pouring begins, with or without the presence of the viewer or artist. The painting is then part of the world, unfolding forces and forms issuing forth through itself ... let loose, as it were, for good or for ill. Whether put away in a closet or hanging on a wall, it will work its way into all of life. As the atoms in the paint have been impregnated by the Will of the artist and thus fundamentally changed for all time, so has the physical image of the painting become a 43

spiritual window thrown wide open. And those Beings belonging to the colors and forms have been allowed entrance to our visible world. They have been given opportunity for manifestation through their new physical body created in paint.

The Incarnation of Ahriman, by James Gillen In the third millennium BC near the time of the Great Pyramids, the first heavenly Sovereign of China, who used magical powers to improve the lives of the people, was the physical incarnation of Lucifer. Reflecting this in the third millennium AD will be the physical incarnation of Ahriman the wonder-worker. These incarnations are the overarching pivots for the entire evolutionary development of the Earth. Christ is crucified between the two thieves (Lucifer and Ahriman) who appropriate what the gods have embedded in the archetypal evolutionary nexus for their own purposes, thereby robbing from humanity its proper connection to this nexus but at the same time giving humanity opportunities to strengthen itself through overcoming the challenges posed through their interventions. The Mystery of Golgotha restores the original evolutionary nexus of the gods and the possibility for humanity to realign in freedom to this nexus and strengthen itself from overcoming the disequilibria of the adversarial interventions, while harvesting and retaining what remains of value. Ahriman is squeezing humanity to project its capacities into technology which then disappears into unseen mimicry of the soul, gets inextricably intertwined into all aspects of our daily life and creates a new sub-nature substrate that is woven with soul (sheep's clothing for the Wolf). Increasing surrender to the bedazzlement of ahrimanized modernity accelerates the process of emptying the soul and dis-individuates in return for herd mentality and electrified experience. A famous advertising sequence for a brand of beer shows a dizzying silent kaleidoscope of frenetically paced outdoor sport, party and play events with the only words at the very end – I AM. Such is the lure of Ahriman – lose yourself to find yourself (in my realm and with a group). In one of the last statements Rudolf Steiner made on the subject of Ahriman's haste to get here (he will not likely wait until the parallel point in the millennium that mirrors Lucifer's entry) he mentioned the sign of Ahriman “becoming an author.” The emergence of the global best-seller phenomena, Celestine Prophesy and the mocking Da Vinci Code are clearly such a sign. Only in 44

the group workbooks of the Celestine franchise do we learn the exercises to develop group thinking, feeling and willing to jump the threshold of death into an immortal near-death realm and continue working. The progression of nanotechnology (vanished from sight smart robotic computers) which is now at the stage of merging with organic materials and is working aggressively to morph into bionic life, in parallel with the dissipation of the inner life and the mechanization of external culture and processes, will provide the necessary conditions for Ahriman to make his heralded entry into public life. Vladimir Soloviev's vision of the Antichrist taking stage to engineer universal peace and prosperity (for which world surrender will be elicited) is consistent with more recent visions. Irrespective of when - there is a “field effect” of this incarnation which spreads both backwards and forwards in time. Ahriman and his hosts are close to us and are spreading their influence in every field (religion, art, science) and in many constituent elements of our being, which pollute and distort how our spiritual and soul capacities work.

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To obtain the original and complete 83-page PDF of The Writing of the Heart, 2008, please email a request to – brunnenvchr@yahoo.com The Writing of the Heart, 2011 is available online at – https://www.tcpubs.com/brunnen/steiner_returns/heart2.html

St. Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tide, June 2020

The Brunnen von Christus Group A Studio Editions Publication J A