Anthroposophical Guidelines 69 � 78
By Rudolf Steiner
69. The third hierarchy manifests itself as pure spirit-soul. It acts in what man experiences psychically, that is, in his soul. Processes could take place neither in the etheric nor in the astral regions if only this hierarchy was active. Only the spiritual-psychic would exist.
70. The second hierarchy manifests itself as the spiritual-psychic which acts in the etheric. Everything etheric is a manifestation of the second hierarchy. It manifests itself only indirectly in the physical however. Its strength extends only to etheric processes. Only the psychic and the etheric would exist if the third and second hierarchies were active alone.��
71. The first hierarchy, the strongest, manifests itself as spiritually active in the physical. It transforms the physical world into Cosmos. The third and the second hierarchies serve as helpers.
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72. As soon as one approaches the higher components of the human being: the etheric and astral bodies and the I-organization, he feels impelled to seek the relation of man to the beings of the spiritual realms. Only the physical-body organization can be illumined by the three physical kingdoms of nature.
73. Cosmic intelligence is integrated in the human being in the etheric body. In order for this to happen, the activity of cosmic beings is required who, cooperating, shape the etheric body, just as the physical forces shape the physical.���
74. The spiritual world impresses moral impulses in the human being. Their effectiveness depends upon the activity of beings who not only think the spiritual, but can also essentially shape it.
75. In the I-organization, man experiences himself in the physical body as spirit. In order for this to happen, the activity of beings is necessary who themselves live in the physical world as spiritual beings.
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How the Guidelines are to be used
The Guidelines issued from the Goetheanum are meant to motivate the members who wish to be active to give the content of anthroposophical activity an integrative form. They will find that by considering these guidelines every week, they provide guidance for deepening their understanding of the material already given in the lecture cycles, and enable them to present them at branch meetings in a more orderly fashion.
It would certainly be preferable if every week the lectures given in Dornach could be immediately communicated to all the branches. But one can imagine the complicated technical arrangements necessary to do this. The Executive Board is doing everything possible in this direction. But we must take the available possibilities into account. The intentions presented at the Christmas Conference will be realized. But we need time.
Presently the branches which have members who visit the Goetheanum and hear the lectures and can communicate their content to the branches have an advantage. And the branches should realize that sending those members to the Goetheanum is beneficial. But one should not undervalue the work which has already been accomplished in the Anthroposophical Society and which is available in the printed courses and lectures. Whoever examines these lecture cycles and remembers what content is in one or the other according to the titles, and then goes to the Guidelines, will find that what is contained in the various lecture cycles elaborates further on the Guidelines. By reading them together, the viewpoints which are separated in the individual cycles can be illustrated and explained with the support of the Guidelines.
It is wasteful if we leave the printed cycles unused and are only interested in �the newest� from the Goetheanum. It is also easy to understand that the ability to print the cycles will gradually end if they are not used extensively.
Another point comes into question here. In the dissemination of anthroposophical content, conscientiousness and a sense of responsibility are of prime importance. One must transmit what is said about the spiritual world in images of spiritual facts and beings in a way which does not give rise to misunderstandings. If someone hears a lecture at the Goetheanum, he receives a direct impression of it. When he then imparts it to others this impression lingers, and he is able to formulate the things so that they are correctly understood. If a second or even a third person becomes the intermediary however, the probability increases that inaccuracies creep in. This should be kept in mind.
And a third viewpoint is the most important. It is not a question of anthroposophical content being merely listened to or read, but that it be assimilated by the living soul. What is essential lies in the continuous thinking about and feeling what has been has been received. This is meant to be stimulated by the Guidelines in respect to the already available printed lecture cycles. If this viewpoint is disregarded, it will become ever more difficult for the Being of anthroposophy to be revealed through the Anthroposophical Society.
One says with apparent justification: �What good is it to me to hear so much about spiritual worlds if I can�t see into those worlds myself?� This does not take into consideration the fact that the ability to see is furthered when anthroposophical content is treated as indicated here. The lectures at the Goetheanum are given in such a way that their content can livingly and freely be retained in the listeners� hearts. It is no dead material for the mere passing on of information. It is of a substance which by various viewpoints stimulates the ability to see into spiritual worlds. One should not believe: I listen to the lectures; I acquire knowledge of the spiritual world through meditation. One will never really progress in that way. Both must work together into the soul. And continuous thinking and feeling anthroposophical content is also practice for the soul. One lives seeing into the spiritual world if one proceeds with this content in the way indicated here.
In the Anthroposophical Society it is not sufficiently understood that anthroposophy is not some bleak theory, but is meant to be true life. True life, that is its essence; and when it is made into a bleak theory it is often not a better theory than others, but a worse one. But it is transformed into a theory when it is made into one, when it is killed. It is not sufficiently understood that anthroposophy is not merely a different worldview than others, but that it must also be assimilated differently. One recognizes and experiences its essence by this different way of assimilating it.
The Goetheanum should be recognized as the necessary center of anthroposophical activity; but one must not forget that in the branches the anthroposophical material which has been elaborated here should also be utilized. What has been elaborated at the Goetheanum can be acquired gradually by the whole Anthroposophical Society in a completely vital sense, if as many branch members as possible come to the Goetheanum and participate in its living activity. It must all, however, be done introspectively; merely �communicating� the contents every week is not acceptable. The Executive Committee at the Goetheanum will need time and understanding from the members. Then we will be able to carry out the intentions of the Christmas Conference.
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76. If one wishes to evoke a mental image of the first hierarchy (Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones), one must try to form images in which the spiritual (only supersensibly visible) is actively manifested in the form in which they appear in the sense-world. The spiritual as sense-perceptible imagery must be the content of our thoughts about the first hierarchy.
77. If one wishes to evoke a mental image of the second hierarchy (Kyriotetes, Dynameis, Exusiai), one must try to form images in which the spiritual is manifested not in sense-perceptible forms, but in a purely spiritual way. The spiritual in non-sense perceptible, purely spiritual imagery must be the content of thoughts about the second hierarchy.
78. If one wishes to evoke a mental image of the third hierarchy (Archai, Archangeloi, Angeloi), one must try to form images in which the spiritual is manifested neither in sense-perceptible forms nor in a purely spiritual way, but rather as thinking, feeling and willing act in the human soul. The spiritual as psychic [soul] imagery must be the content of thoughts about a third hierarchy.
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At the Dawn of the Michael Age
