COSMIC ETHER ELEMENTARY BEINGS KINGDOMS OF NATURE - ERNEST HAGEMANN

Dettagli

This book is a mine of detailed information on the being of elementary beings, an account of Rudolf Steiner's many insights into matters relating to the etheric realm and its effects on the physical world. Such guidance given in books and lectures over two decades on this topic, however, is difficult to find in the many published texts, and some manuscripts are still in the archives. The book is aimed above all at a circle of people interested in anthroposophy or interested in the search for a deep spiritual root even with limited or completely absent scientific preparation. In this text we try to broaden the materialistic scientific concepts connected to our theme through the results of Rudolf Steiner's spiritual-scientific investigations to be inserted into a broader framework that includes non-material and spiritual elements. If we broaden this picture sufficiently, so as to encompass the sphere of activity of the cosmic ether and that of earthly forces in the kingdoms of nature, and if we try to understand the development of these forces during earthly evolution through Rudolf's descriptions Steiner, we will be faced with the fundamental struggle for self-knowledge. “The real importance of 'Know thyself' lies in pursuing cosmic evolution in this way. Where is our self? It's definitely not just in us. That would be a selfish thought. It arose from the entire cosmos and our ascension should bring us to the point where we expand into the entire world. Self-knowledge wants to place man in the entire world, to show him the true meaning of the word "self-knowledge". The term 'astral' appears often in Rudolf Steiner's lectures and the following quote helps to clarify its meaning. “The astral world is the one we enter with our imagination. To this world does not only belong the supersensible terrestrial realm but other celestial bodies physically separated from the earth are incorporated into it. Therefore whoever recognizes the existence of supersensible worlds observes not only the supersensible nature of the earth, but also that of other cosmic bodies.” Thus, by 'astral world' Rudolf Steiner means everything that can be perceived by the imaginative state of consciousness, including supersensible events on earth and in the cosmic surroundings.