War in Europe?

Before Christmas, Rutte gave a speech stating that European countries should spend more money on defense, with a somewhat alarming message that war is looming. I don’t believe he said “directly,” but rather within a number of years. Around the same time or shortly after, reports emerged that everyone should have an emergency kit at home to survive a disaster for 72 hours. Those 72 hours seem rather arbitrary to me because if there really is a disaster, I’m not sure if that would be enough. But perhaps research has shown that if you can manage for 72 hours, you are usually saved. 

The Living Rudolf Steiner 100 Years after his Death

Today marks 100 years since Rudolf Steiner passed away, and there will likely be many events and commemorative activities. I want to contribute to this, but I would like to preface it with something. 

About 20 years ago, maybe a little less, I watched a film about Rudolf Steiner—it was a DVD. In this film, there was likely an effort to make Rudolf Steiner more widely known. And in it, there was an image that deeply moved me: a bookshelf with a portrait of Rudolf Steiner inside it. 

Yes, of course, that is something very ordinary, and one cannot expect him to appear himself, as he had already been dead for a long time. But there it was—his photo. And that made a profound impression on me. I suddenly felt: this is not right at all, because here, Rudolf Steiner is being remembered, but he is actually being treated as if he is dead. He passed away back then, and yes, we no longer have him. And of course, as anthroposophists, we know that he continues to live. But this photo showed something else. Rudolf Steiner is dead. He is no more. 

The Threefold Human Body

Last time, I spoke about the threefolding of the human being into body, soul, and spirit. In 1917, which is many years later, when the book Theosophy appeared, Rudolf Steiner published a writing in 1917 with the title Von Seelenrätseln. And in it, he comes with a, yes, actually more or less groundbreaking insight. It all seems very self-evident once one knows it. But one must imagine that at that time, in the period in which Rudolf Steiner lived, this was not at all something that was known. And actually, even now, it is still not, except that the anthroposophists now know it because Rudolf Steiner brought this insight. And so one might feel that it is something self-evident. 

The Intelligent Age

It escaped my notice until last week that there is now a new title, a new term, for what was previously called the Great Reset. There is a new one—yes, I think it is a working title—and that is the Intelligent Age. I find that an intelligent title, only I would like to give it a completely different meaning than the one usually associated with it. I imagine the title played a role at the meeting in Davos. Klaus Schwab wrote a book about the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and if you know that book, then you know: it is mainly about digitalization and artificial intelligence and what all of that will bring about in this century. 

The Threefold Human Being

If we want to get to know anthroposophy, then we need a different way of studying than what we do in ordinary science. Because anthroposophy really has to do with us as human beings, of course, and also with the rest of the world. But the human being is a focal point, one could say. And that means that when we take in certain knowledge, certain insights, it is not enough if we only know them. 

Last time, I spoke about the fourfold nature of the human being. And I tried to do so in such a way that it would also become possible to relive these experiences. So that one does not simply read: ah, there are four members of being, physical body, etheric body, astral body, I. And then one must know it. One can know a little more about it, but everything remains knowledge. 

Amfortas and Percival in the Oval Office

Last time I spoke about the conversation, the infamous conversation, between Trump and Zelensky in The Oval Office. And afterward, a primordial image appeared before my mind’s eye. I would not have known this primordial image if I had not read about it in Rudolf Steiner’s works. Specifically, in a series of lectures from 1913 in The Hague, where he speaks about the effect of inner development on the different components of the human being. At a certain point, he speaks about the soul and explains that the soul is, in fact, the great egoist within man, which has the tendency to relate everything to itself and completely immerse itself in personal interest. But the task of the soul is to overcome this and transform itself into a being that consists entirely of love. 

You can well imagine that this does not simply happen within a single lifetime. But when you begin an inner development, you start working on this.

The Fourfold Human Being

In 1913, Rudolf Steiner laid the foundation stone for the first Goetheanum, and at this foundation laying, Rudolf Steiner spoke a few lines with which I would like to begin today, and that is: 

“Let us try to make clear to ourselves how the connection with the divine world existence, with willing, with feeling, and with divine-spiritual knowing has disappeared from the human soul. Let us try in this moment to recreate , deeply, deeply in our soul, what is felt out there in the countries of the East, North, West, and South today by the human souls whom we may recognize as the best, and who do not get beyond that which we can express with the words: an indefinite, inadequate longing and hope for the spirit.” 

The Oval Office

Five years ago, at the beginning of 2020, the first reports came in about a viral infectious disease in China, and so, I believe it was at the end of February, the infections had by then reached Europe, and the whole corona issue started to become increasingly prominent. In the summer, I then received the question: can you make videos and say something about it as well – and that is what I did. And what I can remember from that is that, at least in the beginning, it was not clear to me at all what exactly was going on.

Consciousness and Senses

Last time I spoke about artificial intelligence and consciousness, and afterwards, I thought: Of course, the question remains: what actually is consciousness? This is known in psychology, in medicine, in brain research, but it will be clear that these are always external observations, which are then combined to reach the conclusion that there is consciousness.

Every Human Being seeks Anthroposophy

Yes, I would like to speak at least once more about what resistances exist that prevent millions of people from embracing anthroposophy, even though they probably actually want to. And that is a difficult issue. We are not afraid at all of being portrayed as conspiracy theorists. I made a video about how nonsensical it actually is to put people who seek reasons for something into the corner of conspiracy theories, because after all, it is a human drive for knowledge to search for reasons, and of course, this is always done in science.