exercises for spiritual development

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Steiner

Rudolf Steiner's exercises for spiritual development

Rudolf Steiner developed exercises aimed at cultivating new cognitive faculties he believed would be appropriate to contemporary cultural and individual development. According to Steiner's view of history, in earlier periods people were capable of direct spiritual perceptions, or clairvoyance, but not yet of rational thought; more recently, rationality has been developed at the cost of spiritual perception, leading to the alienation characteristic of modernity. Steiner proposed that humanity now has the task of synthesizing the rational and contemplative/spiritual components of cognition, whereby spiritual perception would be awakened through intensifying thinking.^[1]

A central principle of Steiner's proposed path to spiritual development is that self-development - inner transformation - is a necessary part of the spiritual path: "for every step in spiritual perception, three steps are to be taken in moral development." According to the spiritual philosophy Steiner founded, anthroposophy, moral development:^[2][3][4]

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[edit] Meditative path

Steiner described three stages of meditative progress: imaginative cognition, inspiration and intuition.^[5]

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The stage of intuition is achieved through practicing exercises of will (e.g. reviewing the sequence of the day's events in reverse order).^[6] At this stage, the meditant seeks unity with the creative forces of the cosmos without any loss of his or her individualized consciousness.

This sequence of meditative stages has the ultimate goal of the meditant experiencing his or her own karma and previous incarnations, as well as the "Akashic record" of historical events.^[5]

[edit] Preliminary requirements for embarking on a spiritual training

Steiner believed that in order for a spiritual training to bear "healthy fruits," a person would have to attend to the following:^[3][4][6]

• Striving to develop a healthy body and soul.
• Feeling connected with all of existence; to recognize oneself in everything, and everything in oneself; not to judge others without standing in their shoes.
• Recognizing that one's thoughts and feelings have as significant influence as one's deeds, and that work on one's inner life is as important as work on one's outer life.
• Recognizing that the true essence of a human being does not lie in the person's outer appearance, but rather in the inner nature, in the soul and spiritual existence of this person.
• Finding the genuine balance between having an open heart for the demands of the outer world and maintaining inner strength and "unshakeable endurance."
• The ability to be true to a decision once made, even in the face of daunting adversity, until one comes to the conclusion that it was or is made in error.
• Developing thankfulness for everything that meets us, and that universal love that allows the world to reveal itself fully to me.

[edit] Supplementary exercises

Steiner suggested that a special group of general exercises should accompany all spiritual training as he believed their influence on inner development would be beneficial whatever the spiritual path. These six exercises are:^[4][6]

• Practicing self-control over one's thinking. For example: for a period of time – normally a few minutes, not longer – contemplate any object and concentrate one's thoughts exclusively on this object. (A crystal or a paper clip might do.)
• Development of initiative. For example, choose any positive but free deed, i.e. one that nothing is influencing you to do, and choose a regular time of day or day of the week to practice this.
• Equanimity. Quiet reactive emotions.
• Positivity. See the positive aspects of everything, and make the best out of every situation.
• Open-mindedness. Be open to new experiences and ideas, never letting expectations based upon the past close your mind to the lessons of the moment.
• Harmony. Find a harmonious, balanced relationship between the above five qualities, practicing them regularly and becoming able to move dynamically between them.

The initial three exercises are intended to enable a person to attain self-discipline in thinking, willing and feeling.^[1]

[edit] Individual exercises

Exercises developed in anthroposophy include:

• Review of the day. Each evening, go backwards through the day recalling its events, its sequential unfolding (experienced here reversed in time), the people one met, etc.
• Experience the year's unfolding. Exercises Steiner suggested here include:
  • Drawing the same plant or tree or landscape over the course of a year.
  • Meditating the sequence of 52 mantric verses that Steiner wrote to deepen one's experience of the course of the seasons and the year and to bring the inner life of the soul into dialogue with nature, the Soul Calendar.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Steiner#Spiritual_research

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Steiner's collected works include about 40 volumes of his writings and more than 300 volumes of lectures. His most notable writings include:

• Philosophy of Freedom (1893) (also translated as Philosophy of Spiritual Activity): his chief philosophical work; see above.
• Theosophy: An Introduction (1904), in which he sets forth his ideas of the body-soul-spirit constitution of the human being, reincarnation, and the unity of the spiritual and sense-perceptible ("as two sides of a single coin").
• Knowledge of Higher Worlds (1904/5), in which he describes his conception of a path of spiritual development, detailing many principles of life (openness, positivity, respect for others), spiritual exercises (control of thought and will, directed imaginations) and experiences likely to arise on this path (trials and spiritual perceptions).
• An Outline of Esoteric Science (1910), in which he describes a vast panorama of cosmic evolution, the spiritual hierarchies that guide this evolution, and the path of spiritual development that leads to such perceptions.

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