Four Dangers of the Esoteric Path: Trust and Inner Development

GA 266I — 2 September 1908, Leipzig

Esoteric Lesson

Lesson 1

Esotericists must have trust; this is something they must engrave deep into their souls.

There are four dangers that esotericists must defeat and overcome:

1. The first danger is the materialistic danger, which lives in their physical body, or this danger is the physical body itself.
2. The clairvoyant danger that resides in the etheric body.
3. The magical danger brought by the astral body.
4. The mystical danger is the ego.

The second part of the lesson dealt with the reflection of the macrocosm and the microcosm.

II. Lesson

We must break the habit of saying things like, “I had the best intentions, but it turned out badly.” Instead, we must feel the weight of the words: “I must recognize!”

In esotericism, it is only about the deed, that is, only about what is accomplished. In the higher worlds, inability is to blame.

The materialistic danger arises when the ego, the lower self, blocks access to the higher worlds; egoism grows more and more.

The clairvoyant danger exists where one pulls down the higher worlds. Then one can become worse through the exercises if one pulls down the higher world.

The magical danger manifests itself in the belief that one receives commands and so on. But we will never hear commands from higher beings; they never say “You shall!”

The mystical danger is that we confuse our own desires with what comes from above.

The exercises work under all circumstances; through them, one acquires new organs. One must live through and feel the spiritual world in order to become at home in it.