Practical Guidelines for Esoteric Development and Spiritual Progress

GA 266II — 9 May 1912, Cologne

Esoteric Lesson

Record A

Through diligent work on the esoteric exercises as described in the book “How to Know Higher Things” and other works, we gain progress in spiritual knowledge and an increase in spiritual powers. However, we must observe various practical tips that will help us.

A healthy state of fatigue does not need to prevent us from concentrating and meditating with great willpower. On the contrary. Nature takes part of the task away from us, as it dulls the outer sense organs and reduces our receptivity to the sensory world. The goal is to see without physical eyes, to hear without physical ears, to think without a physical brain. It is precisely in a state of fatigue that we can illuminate and warm our being with the light-filled thoughts of meditation.

Abstinence from alcohol is necessary because it works from outside on the ego living and acting in the blood. Meditation lifts the spirit upward and loosens its connection with the physical body; alcohol pulls it down and solidifies it in the body.

The consumption of meat makes the spirit heavy and binds it to the physical; it gives the body the opportunity to attach itself to the spirit. A plant-based diet places greater demands on the physical body, so that it is occupied and cannot hinder the spirit in its work.

But what else is achieved by abstaining from meat, especially fish?

The worst thing about eating meat is the lasting effect of causing pain and killing animals. These tortured animals then return in the form of beings that turn their power against the bodies of the descendants of those who once killed them. Germs are the reincarnated, tortured, killed, and consumed animals.

Through the exercises, changes take place in the esotericist that he must pay attention to if damage is to be avoided. Four points come into consideration here.

First, the intellect changes; the way of thinking becomes different, as do judgment and memory. It becomes difficult for the esotericist to give everyday people all the possible logical and everyday reasons for any decision he makes. Such explanations are not necessary, because at the decisive moment, the true esotericist knows what is the right thing to do. However, if they do not pull themselves together and neglect the exercises in thought control out of laziness, their thoughts may become confused.

There are immature people who force their esoteric development and gain a certain power over other people; but at the decisive moment, a barrier is put in place before they can cause greater harm.

Secondly, the habitus, the manner of behaving, speaking, and gesturing, changes. The person must have control over their nervous system so that it does not run away with them and cause them to do all sorts of inappropriate things.

Thirdly, the physical body must not be damaged by a forced, greedy pace in esoteric development, otherwise an acute illness may occur, which is, however, curable and serves as a warning to the person concerned.

In the Hebrew mysteries, the following saying applied: Four seek the way through the gate into the temple, but only one reaches it. Only one develops normally through particularly consistent and patient action and reaches the goal. The others, who force their esoteric development, are harmed. This shows the necessity of consistently carrying out the supplementary exercises that harmonize and strengthen the whole being of the human being.

There is an abundance of powerful material for meditation, especially in the Bible. There are, for example, the words of creation in Genesis; the life of Moses with its many sublime moments, such as the appearance of Yahweh in the burning bush; the stories of the Gospels, words such as those given at the beginning of the Gospel of John, or such as: “I am the light of the world” – and many others.

One such particularly effective subject for meditation is 1 Timothy 3:16 in the following translation:

The mystery of God's way can be known.
He who revealed himself through the flesh,
But whose essence is spiritual,
Fully recognizable only to the angels,
But who could nevertheless be preached to the Gentiles,
Who has life in the faith of the world,
He is exalted in the sphere of the spirits of wisdom.

What could be given to humanity by the Bodhisattvas was inspired by the spirits of movement. The lowest that radiated from Christ came from the sphere of the hierarchy of the spirits of movement.¹ Christ [himself] stands above all hierarchies — he belongs to the Trinity.

Record B

Through esoteric exercises, we want to gain progress in spiritual knowledge and an increase in spiritual powers. However, we must observe various practical guidelines that will help us in this esoteric endeavor:

1. A healthy state of fatigue is conducive to concentration and meditation with great willpower. Nature takes part of the task away from us, as it dulls the external sense organs and dims our receptivity to the sensory world. The goal is to see without physical eyes, to hear without physical ears, and to think without a physical brain. It is precisely in a state of fatigue that we can illuminate and warm our being with the light-filled thoughts of meditation.

2. Abstinence from alcohol is necessary because it works from outside on the ego that lives and expresses itself in the blood. Meditation lifts the spirit and loosens its connection to the physical body; alcohol pulls the spirit down and solidifies it in the physical body.

The worst thing about eating meat is the lasting effect of causing pain and killing animals. These tortured animals then return in the form of beings who turn their power against the bodies of the descendants of those who once killed them. The bacilli are reincarnated tortured and killed, consumed and eaten animals. In addition, meat consumption makes the spirit heavy and binds it to the physical, giving the body the opportunity to attach itself to the spirit. A plant-based diet places greater demands on the physical body, keeping it busy and preventing it from hindering the spirit.

The exercises bring about changes in the esotericist's entire being, which he must take into account if he is to avoid harm. Four points should be considered here:

1. Changes take place in the intellect; the way of thinking changes, as do judgment and memory. It becomes difficult for the esotericist to give everyday people logical and everyday reasons for his actions. Such explanations are not necessary, because at the decisive moment the esotericist knows what is the right thing to do; he reads it, so to speak, from the Akashic Records. If the esotericist does not pull himself together and casually neglects the exercises in thought control, his thoughts may become confused. There are immature people who force their esoteric development and gain a certain power over other people, but at the decisive moment a barrier is put up and before they can cause any serious damage, they become insane.

2. The habits, the way of behaving, speaking, gesturing, and acting, becomes different in the esoteric person. The person must have control over their nervous system so that it does not run away with them and cause them to do all sorts of inappropriate things.

3. The physical body must not be damaged by a forced, greedy pace in esoteric development, otherwise an acute illness may occur, which is curable and serves as a salutary warning to the person concerned. In the ancient Hebrew mysteries, the saying was: Four seek the way through the gate into the temple, but only one reaches it! Only one develops normally and achieves the goal through particularly consistent and patient action. Of the other three who forced their esoteric development, the first goes mad, the second causes moral devastation, and the third dies.

This shows the necessity of consistently carrying out the supplementary exercises that harmonize and strengthen the whole being of the human being.

There is a wealth of valuable and powerful material for meditation, especially in the Bible, for example, the words of creation in Genesis, the life of Moses with its many sublime moments, such as the appearance of Yahweh in the burning bush. The stories in the Gospels are such material for meditation, the beginning of the Gospel of John or words such as: “I am the light of the world,” and many others. One particularly effective subject is 1 Timothy 3:16 in the [following] translation. Add it to your meditation:

The mystery of God's way can be known. He who revealed himself through the flesh, But whose essence is spiritual, Who is fully recognizable only to the angels, But could nevertheless be preached to the Gentiles, Who has life in the faith of the world, He is exalted in the sphere of the spirits of wisdom.

What could be given to humanity by the Bodhisattvas was inspired by the spirits of movement, and the lowest that emanated from the Christ Being came from the sphere of the hierarchy of the spirits of wisdom; Christ himself stands above all hierarchies. He belongs to the Trinity.

So that all esotericists may find a connection with the esoteric teacher and those who have very rare opportunities to hear and speak to Dr. Steiner may also participate, it was said:

Every Sunday morning at 9 o'clock, meditate on the sentence: “In the spirit of humanity, I feel united with all esotericists.”