Re: SouthernCrossReview.org e-books Frank, I received this email today, April 17. However, I failed to pay attention to the expiry date (Apr 16) of the "free" offer. So, curious about kindle editions
(I'm a big fan of epub and pdf ebooks) I took the bait, woops! Credit card dinged $3.00 .. It's okay, Amazon's user interface allowed getting a refund
but I was disappointed in the whole set-up, while understanding of course the only way Amazon can offer refunds is by controlling the e-book.
Call me old fashioned but I prefer to retain as much control of my own computer as I can (they offered an offline readable copy but wanted
50 MB of my hard drive to accommodate it, vs. the 5 MB which, I was surprised to learn, they had already co-opted). Not a complaint exactly,
but funky that it took 4 days for the email to get from your mailing list to my in-box. Maybe the SCR mailing list manager app is still a bit broken? Regards (and thanks for your devotion to the SCR!) Derek Robinson"Dear Friends and Subscribers, This to announce two new SCR Amazon-kindle e-books: "Rudolf Steiner's Fifth Gospel" will be free of charge until April 16, when it will cost US$2.99..."
Gosh, that would have been nice. However, I didn't get your mail until the day after. I have the book, but would have loved the kindle e-version
for my iPhone.
Anyway, love your magazine. Always read nearly every subject. Best to you an you staff, Don Drumm Editor's reply: A large ooops and apologies to the above writers and others who were affected by this bloop. We have a program, located
somewhere in the U.S., which controls subscriber addresses, including contact with those addresses, so when I send a message to
thousands of our subscribers they receive it almost instantly. Such messages are sent only once every two months to announce that a
new issue is online. With rare exceptions – such as the one in question, when the program crashed. The result was that the subscribers
received the message a day after the offer expired. You see, Amazon Kindle allows offers of free e-books as a promotion gimmick for only
five days of every 90 day period. The program is now working again (or you wouldn't be reading this) - but the next time I send a free
promotion message it will be before the offer begins and with my fingers crossed. Thanks for your understanding. Frank
RE: Apologies to Mexico Good Lord, what an amazing article. Please make these pages more accessible by having a good index on the home page, linking to previous articles...
People should be able to navigate easily to this. Cheers, Gopi Gopi Krishna V
Subject:RE: Buddhism and Christianity by Rudolf Steiner I have always seen the meditation of Buddhism as a means to arrive to the Christ-impulse. The concentration of mind generated by the practice,
eliminates the confusion or cloud of the mind in order to see beyond the superficial glance. The Spiritual sciences are difficult to understand
unless one is very " aware". In the Christian practice, I do not see the tools or the direct "experience" with the universe which can bring
clarity to the teachings of the universe. I believe one enhances another, and the fact that nirvana is so difficult to obtain, the purity of
the Christian soul is as well, the Christ spirit, can be transfigured to the human, with a great deal of purification work, which in the Christian
religion I fail to see a means taught. The goal is difficult to achieve if there is no means taught.
I feel the practice of listening and solitude bring you to the doors of Christ. This 'practice or means', which is such a big part of the teachings
of Buddha, seems to not be considered in this lecture. The lecture is a discussion of philosophy, which is important. As a European
the Eastern culture is not my origin. I feel that our historical culture should play a major role in our life, so the ideas of Steiner are redeeming,
but I would have thought that a good Christian strives to create heaven on earth, and would need a lot of mental stability to find this heaven
and to live with the others in our 'fallen' state. This is quite a challenge. The teachings of Buddha offer us this 'practice' which is a path for
arriving to the spiritual world of Christ. The reincarnation of lifetimes is a means of evolving into an illuminated individual. I only see a
different goal in the comparison of the two religions, but not a difference in the process of evolution. Sent by Judy
RE: Sinful Simon and the Holy Innocents BY Frank Thomas Smith Oh Frank, That's marvelous - I'm still laughing! I've had a wonderful time imagining all the scenarios.
I even can think of a girl cousin or two that would have fit in with Muriel et al. Thanks for including it in your magazine. Pam Fenner
Re: Esoteric Lessons for the First Class... Frank, Your translations of the Esoteric Lessons are very good. Although the verses had lost their effective power shortly before Steiner's death
when they "fell" or should I say "were thrust" into the wrong hands. The verses, if reverently lived, prepare one to be able to cross the Threshold
when standing before the Kingdom of Heaven and witnessing the return of the Christ Jesus. Thank you for making your translations available. Sue Rüegg, New Zealand A review on the Amazon page: “If I talk to my fellow Anthroposophists about this, we all shudder inwardly. It is against what Steiner wanted - and that is not to be ignored!!
But his widow, Marie Steiner, had the courage to publish what is in effect, ESOTERICISM PURE. it is still so, because without the open Heart and
Spirit it means nothing. But in a way... to have published what in Socrates' time and before would have been a death sentence, is in our time
the greatest security for the life of these truths as a path to enlightenment for our time. For those who cannot read German, this is a boon to
the study of yourself. FOR NEWCOMERS... BEWARE!!!! just because it is free to buy on the internet does not mean that you can escape the
consequences of falsely or prematurely using these lectures! That is.... the best antidote for egotism is your own moral development, in
particular Patience. Also Idle talk about such things found herein can only weaken their effect for you, and possibly damage the effect for others.
(A sound and clear capacity for thought, free of fantasy is also very advantageous.)
Those who have waited long for admittance to the lessons and use this publication to go deeper will not suffer this I feel, but Steiner warned
constantly that one can only make one step spiritually for every 3 steps morally. Let us not forget the craziness of the Caesars! (although this
is not a very strong possibility as the way is very safe.... but we are still open to illusion). I bought this kindle edition, and I am very happy to have it. The Mantras are not the best for me personally... but we all have to strive towards
what is right in English for each of us! Each translation offers new horizons! I welcome this publication and translation by Frank Thomas Smith and appreciate that he offered them free of charge each month for the first
9 months (www.SouthernCrossReview.org.) I am hoping he will follow a similar path each month till the rest of the lessons are translated.
Thank you!” Signed: Marquisfbs
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