# Spiritual Exercises

*From transcripts and notebooks in chronological order*

Meditation

Question: Are you striving for self-knowledge? Will your so-called self mean more to the whole world tomorrow than it does today, once you have recognized it?

First answer: No, if you are no different tomorrow than you are today, and your recognition tomorrow merely repeats your existence today.

Second answer: Yes, if you are different tomorrow than you are today, and your new existence tomorrow is the effect of your recognition today.

July 1903 ![268-01](images/268-01.webp) ![268-03](images/268-03.webp) ![268-04](images/268-04.webp) The new reality,  
Awoken by dreams,  
I seize  
With waking judgment.  
It carries on its waves  
The old reality,  
Which my eyes showed me,  
Which my ears revealed to me,  
Which my skin felt.

Meditation

Those who deny the world spirit do not know that they deny themselves. But such people do not merely commit an error; they fail in their first duty:

to act out of the spirit themselves.

September 1903 Man is a stage on which the eternal and the transitory meet —

his knowledge is an experience of the eternal, for which he himself is the organ of knowledge —

his actions are actions of the eternal, for which he himself is only the mediator —

Therefore, understand:

I. You are the eye of the primordial spirit. He sees his creation through you.

II. You are the hand of the primordial spirit — He creates his creation through you.

ca. 1903 Notepad

With the power of thought, you move forward on the waves of special existence and follow seven guiding forces under the guidance of truth;

Desire pulls you down, placing the guiding forces in the power of unbelief;

Spirit draws you upward, lifting the seven toward the resounding sun.

Notebook 1903 Realize: that you live from the proximity of the sun.  
Realize: that your work is exhausted in the solar system.  
Realize: that your life is exhausted within humanity.

1. In being special, discover the law: for the law was woven into matter by the first of the seven.

2. In movement, discover life: for life was poured into matter by the second of the seven.

3. Discover the person in desire: for the person was imprinted on matter by the third of the Seven.

4. Discover yourself in thought: for the fourth of the Seven gave his self to the I.

5. Discover renunciation in your desire: for through renunciation, the fifth of the Seven sacrificed himself so that you might be yourself.

6. Discover blissful peace in your movement: for the sixth of the Seven sacrificed blissful peace so that you might move as yourself.

7. In your uniqueness, discover your eternal law: for as eternal law, the seventh of the seven created your self in uniqueness, and will lead it out of uniqueness as eternal law.

For Clara Motzkus' notebook, 1903

Aum - Unite yourself, O my soul, with the wisdom that I honor, which flows through everything, from which everything comes, and to which everything goes; I call upon it, that its light may guide me.

Aum - Unite yourself, O my soul, with the love of the universe that I honor, which flows through everything, from which everything comes, and to which everything goes; I call upon it, that its light may guide me.

Aum - Unite yourself, O my soul, with the primordial being that I honor, which is in everything, from which everything comes, and to which everything goes; I call upon it, that its light may guide me.

Aum - Enlighten, oh primal being, my soul that honors you, that comes from you, and goes to you; it calls to you, that it may be guided by you.

Aum - Enlighten, O love of all, my desires, that they may honor you, that they may come from you and go to you; they shall call upon you, that they may be guided by you.

Aum - Enlighten, O Wisdom, my life, that it may live for you, that it may come from you and go to you; it shall call upon you, that it may be guided by you.

For Clara Motzkus, 1903

The seed of truth lies in love;  
seek the root of love in truth  
so speaks your higher self.

The heat of fire transforms wood into warming rays,  
the liberating will of knowledge transforms work into power.

Let your work be the shadow cast by your ego when it is illuminated by the flame of your higher self.

Without faith, the work remains dead: it fans the breath of the work and carries it to the heights of the ether,  
it sucks in the breath of the work and offers it as a sacrifice of the becoming to the existing.

July 1903 Notebook

Understand: that you stand on your feet.  
Realize: that you walk in the earthly realm.  
Realize: that you act through human power.

Realize: that you feel what the elements can give you.

Realize: that you want what the elements put into you.  
Realize: that you are an elemental spirit that has become human.

Realize: that you should fix yourself with your actions.  
Realize: that you should free yourself with your thoughts.  
Realize: that you should deify yourself with your senses.

ca. 1903/04 Notepad ![268-02](images/268-02.webp) In worlds vast and wide  
The soul senses the motherly spirit of spheres  
Feels from the depths of the earth  
The soul feels the fatherly life spirit  
Thus he reveals himself in the third, in man  
One in three; three in one.

1. I absorb the flow of being  
I flow from my being into the whole world

2. I absorb the life of all beings  
I flow from my life into all beings

3. I absorb the feelings of all living things  
I flow from my feelings into all living things.

4. I absorb the thoughts of human beings into myself  
I flow out of the meaningful will of all human beings

5. The wisdom of things weaves within me  
I flow out of myself with the gift of wisdom

6. The creative power of the world glows within me  
I flow from the power I have received.

7. The eternally living Being lives in me  
I live in the eternally living Being.

For Franz Seiler, 1904 Munich, August 1911

Knowledge can only be direction,  
but direction is a stream of light;  
and light is the guide of life  
in every hour.

For Maria v. Strauch-Spettini March 1904

The power of growth is called to life by light  
The power of desire is called to love by the spirit.

Autumn 1904 Notebook

I confess to myself: A  
I confess to humanity: U  
I confess to life: M

E.S. Berlin, December 21, 1904 Notepad

Father  
Word  
Spirit

The Father reveals himself to the Word  
The Word reveals itself to the Spirit  
The Spirit reveals itself to the Father

The Father hides himself in the Son and reveals himself to the Spirit

The Son hides himself in the Spirit and reveals himself to the Father

The Spirit hides itself in the Father and reveals itself to the Son

The Father reveals Himself [Herself].

For V. Berlin, July 2, 1904 Notebook

Spirit surrounds me  
I = wave in the surging world spirit.  
Spirit flows into the I  
From the I, spirit flows  
I want to grasp the spirit  
I want to preserve the spirit  
Spirit-All experiences Spirit-All in Spirit-I.

Notebook 1904

I draw the spirit to me  
I calm the movement  
I embrace the spirit

I burn as spirit  
I shine as spirit  
I name the spirit

I am spirit.

Notebook 1904

I sacrifice sensation - green  
I sacrifice pleasure—indigo  
I sacrifice myself—yellow  
I want thought—red  
I want love—orange  
I want being—violet

Notebook 1904

My mind feels reverence  
The sublime spirit,  
Which shines through all spaces;  
Feeling it, getting to know it  
The deepest inner workings of my soul. It will enlighten me, warm me,  
When I strive and think, always wanting to be close to it.

For Helene Lehmann, ca. 1905/06

Right after waking up:  
Unresponsive to sensory impressions.  
Thinking of nothing else but:

Even in spirit  
You reign in the spheres  
You shine in the light  
You work in fire  
You are wisdom, beauty, power  
You are me  
I want to be you.

For Johanna Mücke, 1906

In the pure rays of light  
The divinity of the world shines forth.  
In the pure fire of the ether  
The high power of the self shines forth.  
I rest in the spirit of the world,  
I will always find myself  
In the eternal spirit of the world.

Strength in my soul

For Johanna Mücke, ca. 1906

I want to rest in the divinity of the world  
Find myself in the divinity of the world  
Find myself and rest within  
Rest, surrendering myself to God's grace  
Feeling the grace of the spiritual powers within me  
Feeling blissful peace through them  
Calling them for my soul.

For Margarete v. Ploetz, ca. 1906

You rest in the divine world  
You feel yourself in divine peace  
Your soul experiences divine peace  
Divine peace flows within you.

For Moriz Piza, ca. 1906

In the divinity of the world I rest  
In the soul of the world I live  
In the spirit of the world I think.

ca. 1906 Notebook

Spirits from below, keep the evil

Spirits from above, pray for the good

All spirits hover around, sacrificing themselves to the One who radiates around them.

1906 Notebook

I praise the almighty  
Harmony in the house of the world  
I thank the fire spirits for the wisdom of numbers  
I praise the goodness of love souls  
In their carrying power I feel the strength of the structure  
So I grasp with gratitude, praise, and feeling  
God's creative tones echoing within me.

For Hans Blieffert  
Early February 1906 In the light-filled air of the spirit realm  
There the soul roses bloom,  
And their red shines  
Into the heaviness of the earth;  
It becomes condensed in human beings  
Into the image of the heart:  
It shines in the power of the blood  
As the earth's rose red  
Back into the fields of the spirit.

Three pairs solve the riddles of existence:  
Power and number, light and wisdom  
Warmth and desire; their binding and loosening  
Reveals the “great world” to the researcher;  
And if he can reveal their unity and division  
In his soul  
He stands in the spiritual realm.

DraftNotebook E.S. Cologne, December 1, 1906 Munich, August 1910

If I want to use the power  
I search for the secret of numbers  
I desire wisdom  
I seek the essence in the light  
I strive for revelation  
It will come to me in the warmth of life.

Draft

The goal of my research is  
Like power and number  
Like light and wisdom  
Like warmth and desire  
I find in the universe

Draft

Reveal to me three pairs  
Of eternal being and life  
The mysteries of the great  
And the small world:  
Power and number  
Light and wisdom  
Warmth and will

Power and number  
Light and wisdom  
Warmth and will  
Reveal to me three pairs  
Of eternal being and life  
The mysteries of the outside  
And also of the inside of the world.

Notebook 1906

Speech, deeds, and words  
Speak feelings and thoughts  
Thus the world conceals its essence  
Learn to be silent, and you will

Learn to be silent, and your spirit will become powerful  
Surrender to power

I want to see the power of the mind  
Through silence  
I want to enter the realm of the mind  
Through will  
The will of the mind shall become mine  
Through feeling

If I learn to be silent in deeds and words  
I will grasp the spirit powerfully.

Draft fragments

Learn to be silent and you will have power.  
Surrender to power and you will have will.  
Surrender to will and you will have feeling.  
Surrender your feelings and you will gain knowledge.

The human ego creates riddles  
Riddles in the light of the sun  
Riddles in the dark night  
But clear in the true spirit shines  
Light that solves every riddle  
Unites the heart with this spirit  
The peace of wisdom shines upon me.

Notebook 1907 It opens only to divine wisdom.

I stand steadfast in existence,  
I let myself be guided by spiritual power,  
I want to rest in God's being,  
I want to search for myself in spiritual existence.  
I will find myself within myself  
When I find God in the universe.  
So I will live forever and ever.

For Wilhelm Gneiting-Zimmermann, ca. 1907

In the pure rays of light  
The divinity of the world shines  
In the depths of my own being  
The divinity of my self shines  
I live in the divinity of the world  
I always find myself in the divinity of the world  
There I find my self.

For Henry B. Monges, ca. 1907

In the pure rays of light  
The spirit of the world shines  
In pure warmth for all beings  
The soul of a life shines  
I rest in the soul of the world  
I will find myself  
In the spirit of the world.

Notebook 1908

In darkness I find God's being 2  
In rose red I feel the source of life 3  
In the blue ether rests the longing of the spirit 4  
In the green of life breathes the breath of all life 3  
In the yellow of gold shines the clarity of thought 6  
In the red of fire is rooted the strength of the will 7:  
In the white of the sun is revealed the core of my being.

Entwuf Notebook 1908

In the morning:

Within me is an I that works from afar to near  
From the near to the far.

Darkness: In darkness I find the divine being. Rose red: In rose red I feel the source of all life.

Blue: In the blue of the ether, the soul finds itself in devotion. Green: In the green of life, all life breathes.

Yellow: In the golden yellow shines the clarity of thought. Red: In the red of fire, the strength of the will is powerful.

White: In the white of the sun, the core of my being is revealed.

Notepad 1908 It surrounds me with an impenetrable vessel against all impure, unclean thoughts and feelings.

The self is all beings  
All beings are the self

The self receives the revelation of beings  
The revelation of beings radiates from the self

The self has within itself the effect of beings  
The effect of beings is overcome by the self

The self is born from overcome effect  
The overcome effect detaches itself from the self.

Notebook 1908

Evening: Truths from Theosophy

Morning: After the 🕈 and after recalling the truths from Theosophy:

I rest in the divinity of the world  
I want to live in the soul of the world  
I want to think in the spirit of the world.

For Marie Kaiser, ca. 1908

Meditation for protection against the outside world

The outer shell of my aura thickens.

For Elsa Möller  
also E.S. Kassel, February 26, 1909

From the light-giving sun  
Through life-giving streams  
Into the receptive human soul  
To the sustaining earth

Notebook 1910

In the pure rays of light  
We find peace and strength  
In the pure warmth of souls  
We find strength and peace  
You will find yourself  
In the divinity of the world  
Now and forever.

For Otto and Anna Rebmann 1910

In YOU, spirit of the world  
I want to find myself  
Find that the peace of YOUR being  
Brings me peace of mind  
Peace that guides me  
In my life and my goals:  
I in YOU.

For Auguste Daeglau, ca. 1910/11

The essence of the spirit fills  
The vastness of space  
Enlivens the succession of time  
Shapes into sensation  
The soul-body of the animal  
And in humans  
It tears itself away from the external work  
In order to see itself.

Notepad 1910

I am a world tone  
Resounding in the space of the world.  
Living in sound as a feeling of the world  
The word bursts forth from me.

For Alma v. Brandis, ca. 1910

Michael!  
Prestami la tua spada  
Affinché io sia armato  
Per vincere il drago in me.  
Empimi della tua forza  
Affinché io sgomini  
Gli spiriti che vogliono paralizzarmi.  
Agisci dunque in me  
In modo tale che risplenda la luce  
del mio io e possa così esser condotto  
A quelle azioni degne di te.  
Michael!

For Giovanni Colazza, ca. 1910

Michael!  
Lend me your sword  
So that I may be armed  
To defeat the dragon within me.  
Fill me with your strength  
So that I may confuse  
The spirits that seek to paralyze me.  
Work within me  
So that the light may shine  
From my soul, and I may be guided  
To actions worthy of you.  
Michael!

Back translation

Weaving beings of light, it shines Through the vastness of space,  
To fill the world with being.  
The blessing of love warms  
The succession of times,  
To call forth the revelation of all worlds.  
And messengers of the spirit unite  
Beings weaving light  
With the revelation of the soul;  
And when man can unite with both  
His own self,  
He lives in the heights of the spirit.

Munich, August 1910

Beings of light, they shine  
From person to person,  
To fill the whole world with truth.  
The blessing of love warms  
The soul to the soul,  
To bring about the bliss of all worlds.  
And messengers of the spirit unite  
The blessed works of human beings  
With world goals;  
And when the two can unite  
The human being who finds himself in man,  
Spiritual light shines through the warmth of the soul.

For Mieta Waller, ca. 1910

🕈  
In the divinity of the world  
My being rests  
In the spirit of the world  
My soul rests  
In the soul of the world  
My spirit rests  
Thus forever.

For Walter Hering  
November 21, 1910

God in me holds me and builds  
me through myself.

Flaws in me are the manifestation  
of flaws within me.

To recognize myself in me means  
to reveal myself to myself through myself  
for myself.

Only what I create in  
myself through myself to reveal  
myself to myself in myself  
emerges from me.

Notebook 1910

It presses upon the human mind  
From the depths of the world, mysterious  
The rich abundance of matter  
It flows into the depths of the soul  
From the heights of worlds, full of meaning  
The clarifying light of the spirit  
They find themselves in the inner being of man  
To wise reality.

For Lina Schliephak-Utter December 5, 1910

World thoughts live in your thinking,  
World forces weave in your feelings,  
World beings work in your will.  
Lose yourself in world thoughts,  
Experience yourself through world forces,  
Create yourself from beings of will.  
Do not end in worlds far away  
Through the play of dreams and thoughts - -;  
Begin in the vastness of the spirit,  
And end in the depths of your own soul: —  
You will find divine goals,  
Recognizing yourself within yourself.

World thoughts live in my thinking  
World powers weave in my feeling  
Beings of will work in my willing

I want to recognize myself  
In world thoughts  
I want to experience myself  
In world powers  
I want to create myself  
in beings of will.

Thus I do not end at the ends of the world  
nor at the limits of space  
I begin at the ends of the world  
and at the limits of space  
and end only with myself  
recognizing myself within myself.

For a Russian anthroposophist, 1912

He must sacrifice his uniqueness and life  
Whoever wants to see spiritual goals  
Through sensory revelation;  
Whoever dares  
In his own will  
To pour out the will of the spirit.

Munich, August 1911

Thought, guide me  
Feeling, lead me  
To the will, to being

The paths of the worlds  
To their own places  
In the field of the spirit

I am.

Notebook 1911

In the small seed  
The giant oak tree hides its growth

It rests in the small  
The greatest soulful thing

And soulful within me  
The essence of my spirit strives  
To see itself in the vastness of the worlds.

Notebook 1911

My soul feels the spirit of the worlds  
Gazing spiritually into the universe  
My soul recovers spiritual strength  
Turning inward  
Finding power within itself  
To hold itself  
To support itself.

For Antoinette Fabre, ca. 1911

Salt cubes  
The shape dissolving in water  
The color coming to life  
And unfolding into a lily  
From which a white butterfly rises  
This into a thinking spirit being  
Flying into the universe

ca. 1911, notebook

I look at the plant  
I let go of the earth  
Two forces are at work:  
Rays of light toward the sun  
Which are entwined  
By spiral streams of warmth.  
With soulful thoughts, I imagine  
The streams of such beings  
Which separate the warmth of the plants  
From the light of the plants.  
Can I bring plant light  
To life as a flame,  
Repelling the warmth from itself  
As in death, man repels his body,  
So this leads me to Devachan.

ca. 1911, Notebook

I present to myself the mental image of the lion  
As it appears to me in form and color  
How it grows from small to large  
How it rages in passions  
All this takes place in the physical realm  
But its essence is not exhausted  
I let it flow down upon it from above  
Invisible light formations  
Animated by feelings  
That long for the earthly  
And guided by the will  
Towards the earthly form  
Then I let into these light formations  
From below to above  
A longing that strives for the vastness of the worlds  
And held down by the upper structure  
Then everything that the eye sees shall disappear  
What remains leads me into the astral realm.

ca. 1911, notebook

1. Peace guide my searching soul  
In its search for goodness

2. Truth guide my striving soul  
In its striving for light

3. God in me guide me myself  
In all my searching for light, love, and knowledge.

For Anna Wager Gunnarsson  
April 20, 1912

My soul, take courage  
To use your own strength.

August 1912

Spirit: It makes me think: piety  
Chr.: It makes me feel: gratitude  
Father: It makes me act: devotion.

For Julius Breitenstein  
December 22, 1912

For Max Kändler December 1912

It weaves me - gratitude  
It makes me think - piety  
It affects me – devotion, reverence.

For Lucie Bürgi December 1912

Dear Wisdom Life  
Fulfill me  
Heart Soul Spirit

For a Russian anthroposophist, ca. 1912

My soul turns  
upwards,  
to feel  
the maternal spirit of the world.

My soul turns  
downwards,  
to feel  
the paternal soul of the earth.

I, your son,  
seek you,  
to receive  
light, love, truth.

For Rudolf Toepell, ca. 1912/13

God is One  
He reveals Himself in three forms.

God is one.  
He manifests himself in three aspects,  
If in the world's space  
The soul senses the motherly spirit of spheres  
If out of the depths of the earth  
The soul feels the fatherly soul of life  
Then in the third, in the human being,  
One is manifested in Three;  
Three in One.

For an English anthroposophist, ca. 1912/13

For Lucie Bürgi, ca. 1912/13

Spread out in the vastness of space  
Spread out in the passage of time  
I feel the omnipresent spirit  
And when I look within myself  
I feel it within me  
I feel both as one  
I find God within me.

For Walter Hering January 11, 1913

I shine / From the soul body / The soul body consumes / On the sun body / The sun body is in the sense body / So I am / As a consuming flame of life

For Lucie Bürgi, ca. 1913

Soul-I, you are on soul grounds in the soul space within me,  
Soul space, your words work in vastness,  
Soul grounds, your powers work in depths.

For Karl Wendel, 1913

In the vastness of the universe  
The power that gave my soul existence  
Was also stirring  
So I will remember this power with anticipation  
Trusting in it, hoping  
That it will bring me the light  
That always illuminates my life.

For Else Mletzko, 1913

When I look up at the sun  
God appears to me in the light  
I feel in my own heart  
God's power beating in my blood  
So I will cherish  
As often as my soul urges me  
To look for God's goodness  
And I will pray  
That often my soul urges me  
It will give me peace  
It will give me strength  
And true vitality.

For Karla-Ruth Holz 1913

1. God in me  
2. Spirit in every worldly gesture  
3. Unmoved mover

For Trifon G. Trapesnikov, ca. 1913

In the distance, the spirit image beckons  
And the spirit image is with God  
And a god is the spirit image  
In him is the living self  
And the living self is the light of mankind.

probably 1914 Notepad

The gods rule with pure will,  
They sow the seeds and make them grow.  
With pure will they reap the fruits,  
And no one who enjoys them goes hungry.

For Ellen Rennit July 17, 1914

From above Ja  
From the front Aum  
From the left MEB

This is how you are  
This is how you live  
This is how you think

In 🕈

Peace in consciousness

Notepad 1914

Long live the power - Head  
Of my soul - Heart  
In peace — Lungs  
In me — my whole body  
And guides — Hands  
My being — in suspension  
In safety — guardian spirit

Notebook 1915

In bright heights  
Where sun-glittering  
The friendly dragonflies  
Fluttering rays of warmth  
Marry the living space  
Linger there, my soul:  
They weave my memories  
From sorrow into strength;  
I can already feel  
How they feel me;  
How they warmly  
Flow through me;  
The spirit melts  
In the web of the world  
The heaviness of the earth  
into the light of the future.

Draft notebook

In bright heights  
Where the sun glitters  
The friendly dragonflies  
Radiate warmth  
Linger there, my soul  
In thoughts of yourself  
Feel yourself flying away!  
The power you use  
To soar aloft  
Relieves you  
Of the heaviness of the body.  
Now feel also  
What you have thought!  
The dream of thought is not a dream  
If you truly live my soul  
Feeling it!

March 5, 1915 Notepad

It shines from above  
The sun's bright light  
But spiritual powers live  
In the bright sunshine.  
It lives within  
The warmth of the human heart  
But the powers of the soul shine  
From the warm chamber of the heart.  
In the spirit of sunlight  
God's wisdom reigns  
In warm heart power  
There reigns soul love.

For Martha Kraul, ca. 1915

Darkness pervades the world  
Black cross wood depicts it  
Light redeems from darkness  
Bright roses shining sevenfold  
Are the revelators of light  
And you, my soul  
Reveal the secret to yourself.

(Soul peace) February 9, 1921  
For Edith Maryon

For Arild Rosenkrantz, 1915

Prayer

Oh, powers in the spiritual world,  
let me leave my physical body  
and be aware in the world of light,  
be in the light,  
to observe my own body of light,  
and let the power of the Ahrimanic forces  
not be too strong over me,  
that they do not make it impossible for me  
to see what is happening in my light body.

V. Dornach, January 2, 1916

It weaves in worlds vast and wide  
The creative spirit of the world;  
From worlds vast and wide into my soul  
It shines forth the power of life.

For Lucie Bürgi 1916

Root power of my soul  
Turn to you, my self  
Then the power of the spirit shines forth  
Through my whole being.

Draft notebook

A breath from the spirit world is  
What enters the body upon awakening  
What leaves the body upon falling asleep  
As the essence of the self flowing forth  
Experienced in the changing sense of existence

In the breathing of the spirit web I am  
Like air in the lungs  
I am not the lungs; no, I am the breath  
But the lungs are what know of me:  
If I grasp this, I recognize  
Myself in the spirit of the world.

For Marie Steiner  
March 15, 1916

Search for your “I”  
In forms of being  
In the being of life  
In the life of thinking  
Think in feeling  
Feel in willing  
Willing forms  
your “I”

Your “I”  
shapes your will  
Your will is the conscience of your feelings  
Your feelings are the conscience of your thoughts  
Your thoughts weave your life  
Your life carries your being  
Your being moves in world forms  
Your “I” to its goal.

For Karl Habel, ca. 1916

Meditation words that seize the will

Victorious spirit  
Set ablaze the powerlessness  
Of timid souls.  
Burn away selfishness,  
Ignite compassion,  
So that selflessness,  
The life stream of humanity,  
May flow as a source  
Of spiritual rebirth.

September 20, 1919

I feel light around me,  
It is the light of worlds;  
I feel light within me,  
It is the light of humanity;  
And I want to receive  
Human light as world light,  
World light as human light.

For Georg-Moritz v. Sachsen-Altenburg after 1919

Ahriman, you are the cold spirit  
My soul, you kidnap it  
Into the realm of misanthropy

Lucifer, you are the power of fire  
My soul, you kidnap it  
Into the realm of self-will.

Between the two I must pass  
Through the binding power of Christ  
Through the sacrificial labor of Christ.

November 1920 Notebook

In the beginning, the light shone;  
And the light came from the spirit;  
And a spirit was the light.  
And spirit becomes light,  
When I feel the light  
Through the divine,  
That works in my soul.

For Otto Wagner 1919/23

The world lives within me  
as human form and human content.

For Charlotte Ferreri 1920

With determination,  
Knowing souls should intertwine:  
With the intention of seeing the spirit  
that stands at the gate  
admonishing  
in the will  
to experience seeing  
to become HIM through experience  
to work in HIM  
working in the world  
to be truly human.

Notebook 1920

My soul rises  
In devotion to the spirit of God  
Who lives in the souls of all hierarchies  
As I live in my thoughts  
And I want to feel myself One  
With this Spirit of God  
And feel His power within myself.

ca. 1920 Notepad

I want to think powerfully  
I want to reflect powerfully often  
As what animates me within  
The primal power of the spirit at all times  
I want to feel strongly within me  
The workings of the soul and the power of the will  
I want to reflect in peace  
That I may find support in the depths of my heart  
When all is quiet  
My soul within itself  
And also powerfully  
Wants to act out of itself.

ca. 1920 Notepad

Knowledge speaks to the human soul:  
Consider fate  
Behold it with patience;  
You will find in beholding fate  
You will, in feeling patiently:  
Achieve your freedom  
In freedom your bonds  
With another soul  
Essence.

Christ, the word of love from the sun  
It lives in the ray of light  
That penetrates my eyes.  
And may Christ live  
In my whole being,  
And with my whole being  
May I live in Christ.

Meditate on each line with strong feeling.

For Johanna de Boer-Gerlach May 1921

The universe awakens  
The circle of heaven dreams  
The planetary world sleeps  
Earth beings rest

In rest, man watches  
In sleep, man feels  
In dreams, man wants  
In waking, man does not exist

I am - I exist  
I want - I pass away  
I feel - I become  
I think - I am not - it is.

July 1921 Notebook

It speaks within  
I am  
I speak to express  
It is  
I feel on the outside  
It has an effect  
I want from myself  
I have an effect

Who wants to act of their own accord?  
What acts outwardly?  
Who speaks outwardly?  
Who speaks inwardly?

Wanting, I know myself to be  
in the acting outwardly.

For Kristian Schjelderup December 4, 1921

In  
me  
deep  
below  
God's foundation  
supports me  


For Rudolf Meyer

I feel my self  
I belong to humanity  
I come from the rich in soul  
I am strong in the realm of the spirit.

For Rudolf Meyer  
December 1921

Mental image:

World light also flows through me. —

May my prayer flow through the light of the world.

For Julia Marianne Wasteneys 1921

I speak to Christ:

Let your word be in my heart.

Christ to me:

My word be in your heart.

For Edith Rose Cull, August 31, 1922

Light shines upon me  
Love warms me  
I feel light  
I feel warmth.

For Dorothy Osmond, 1922

I seek the spirit  
It detaches itself from all things  
It is within itself  
It reveals from itself  
the world  
the thoughts  
Me.

Notebook 1922

I let the waters of the world freeze  
into crystal balls,  
in which my thoughts shine —

I let my human fire burn brightly  
and be destroyed in the will of the worlds.

Thus I hold myself in suspension  
between solidification and ignition,  
preserving my soul.

February 1923 Notebook

Light floods the vastness of space  
Let the spirits of the worlds  
My ego experience the flooding light  
Pure world order

May 1923 Notebook

When I dive deep into the power of thought  
I sense the spiritual  
When I find myself in the darkness of thought  
I feel the spiritual  
When I lovingly grasp what is essential  
In the darkness of worlds  
I think spiritual thoughts.

May 1923 Notebook

Flowing away in the sea of existence with the death of space.  
Dying in the world with the death of time.  
Experiencing oneself in the death of space and time —

May 1923 Notebook

In my heart  
The power of the sun shines  
In my soul  
The warmth of the world works.

I want to breathe  
The power of the sun

I want to feel  
The warmth of the world.

The power of the sun fills me  
The warmth of the world permeates me.

For Simonne Rihouet-Coroze Paris, June 1924

I am: The heaviness of the earth works within me  
I think: As I exhale, the human being works within me  
I feel: As I inhale, the human being works within me  
I want: The light of the universe acts within me

ca. 1923 Note sheet 1.)

I look into the universe, which is mine

perceived by my senses and thought by my mind, which is connected to the brain-nervous system. What constitutes my body originates from this universe. It has its center in my system of extremities. Spiritually, there is only the will. But this will lies dormant within me. I must awaken it.

2.) I think that behind the universe there is another universe that my senses cannot perceive and that my mind, which is bound to the brain-nervous system, cannot think. I was in this universe before I was born (conceived). I will be in this universe when I die. From this universe come the forces that built the heart-lung system into my body. Spiritually, there is feeling. But this feeling dreams within me. I must understand what dreams within my feeling:

In every thing  
In all becoming  
Life dreams;  
I am dreaming,  
Thinking disturbs me.  
Dreams live,  
Live in me  
In waking dreams,  
Conscious and clear:  
I live,  
Lives in me  
Life-strengthened  
Waking dream world.

From you, awakened from dreams

3.) I think to myself:  
Both  
the sensory reality  
and the  
dream-awakened reality  
are in a  
third  
Completely supernatural, sublime, invisible,  
intangible.  
In this universe, I am only  
asleep.  
From this universe come the forces that  
spiritually build my metabolic human being.  
My intellect lives in it.  
In the human being  
That is there  
Apart from the human physique  
Lives spiritual being;  
I am in spiritual being  
But thinking disturbs me  
Perceiving disturbs me  
Feeling disturbs me  
Wanting disturbs me  
I live asleep  
Lives in me  
Spiritual world  
World spirit —  
So become conscious  
From  
Spiritual world  
World spirit  
Spirit-illuminated consciousness  
Conscious luminous spirit

The high reality  
The sleep-awakened  
I grasp  
Wakeful judgment  
It carries on its waves  
The old reality,  
Which my eyes showed me  
And the new reality  
Which my dreams wove for me.

O high reality  
Call my self  
To wakefulness  
Let it forget  
New reality  
And old reality.

For Edith Maryon, ca. 1923

The following mental images should slowly pass through the mind:

Before me  
Far away  
Stands a star  
It comes closer and closer  
Spirit beings  
Send me love  
Starlight  
The star dips  
Into my own heart  
It fills it with love  
The love in my heart  
Becomes in my soul  
The power of love  
I know that I  
can also form  
within myself  
the power of love.

For Yvonne Gygax-Kraft 1923

Meditation for gaining the self

I look into the darkness:  
In it, light arises,  
Living light.  
Who is this light in the darkness?  
It is I myself in my reality.  
This reality of the self  
Does not enter into my earthly existence.  
I am only an image of it.  
But I will find it again,  
When I,  
With good will for the spirit,  
Have passed through the gate of death.

V. London, September 2, 1923

I look into the darkness  
In it light arises  
Living light  
Who is this light in the darkness  
It is I myself  
It did not go with me into earthly existence  
I am only an image of it  
I will meet it again  
When I have passed through the gates of death. —

Draft It sinks into me  
The primordial dust  
It excites me (black-blue)

They enliven me (blue)

They flame within me  
The angel fires  
They form me into a soul (red)

They float within me  
The archangel drops  
They shape me into spirit. (yellow-red)

It rises within me  
The primordial force dust  
It awakened me to God. (white-red)

September 1923 Notebook

I take you into the circle of minds that may invoke the impulses of the spirits of the sun and say that the spirits of the moon transform these impulses into world wisdom.

Do you want to hear my word from this spirit?

2 16 12 6 4  
o o o o o  
H I E R A O

If you feel yourself in these words of spirit, the spirits of the sun and moon circles will recognize you.

They will let you find them; they would have to reject you if you let it fall from your heart. —

Form a mental image of yourself sitting on the branch of a tree — it holds you because your word is shining in the spiritual heights — speaking wrongly, you cut the branch beneath you and fall into the ‘abyss’. —

September 1923 Notebook

I. Look for the 7 wherever there is something spiritual, or something spiritual is happening.

II. Recognize that what is in the world is also in you, and what is in you is also in the world.


III. Watch everything disappear in a spiral and become again:


ca. 1923 Notebook

Warmth sinks into my self  
Given to me from the source of being.

I awaken feeling this warmth.

2. Power radiates into my body

Coming to me from the power of the sun.

I awaken in the willing use of the sun's power.

3. Sunlight shines in my heart  
Shining upon me from the sunlight.

I awaken in the will of the sun.

4. The world's thoughts work in my being  
Stirred within me by thoughts of the stars.

I awaken magically in the thinking of the world.

September 1923 Notebook

What I speak from my physical body is appearance — Tchmuss speak from my astral body to penetrate into true reality:

1. You spirits beneath the earth press down on the soles of my feet. I stride over you.

2. You spirits of moisture caress my skin. I press you down on all sides.

3. You spirits of the air fill my inner being. I connect with you.

4. You spirits of warmth animate my inner being. I live in you.

5. You spirits of light permeate my inner being. I think with you.

6. You spirits of (chemical) forces paralyze my powers. I will overcome you.

7. You spirits of life, you kill my life. I await you in death.

Thus, saying this, I am in the etheric body. And you may come: colors, sounds, words of the etheric world.

For Ita Wegman, October 1923

Immortal, omnipresent light  
I entrust my soul to you  
My soul's light weaves  
In the weaving light of the world  
I feel light  
Light in a tiny point  
Light that expands into boundless expanses  
Light that carries my whole being  
Into boundless expanses  
I feel myself in boundless expanses  
I am pure, translucent light

October 1923 Notebook

I grasp the spirit world  
At the end of my light soul  
I hold the spirit world  
With my arms of light  
I feel your side  
You want to take me  
Into worlds of light and spirits

October 1923 Notebook

I look down  
And find the pillars of life  
Through the good lower gods

I look up  
And find the grace of life  
Through the good upper gods

I want to find my way out of my heart  
In gratitude to them  
Through life.

For Daniel van Bemmelen January 3, 1924

In the name of the light of the world,  
Which shines brightly through space;  
In the name of the world thought,  
Which creates wisely in times;  
In the name of world life,  
Which works powerfully in eternity  
Receive the blessing of the Spirit

Which carries you in the warmth of the heart,  
Which brings you the breath of the Spirit,  
That gives you the water of the soul,  
That shapes your physical form;  
That you may be strong in your will,  
That you may live deeply in your feelings,  
That you may work with light in your thoughts.

For Henry B. Monges, February 17, 1924

World light, it changes daily  
To earthly light and awakens human thought;

World warmth, it became prematurely  
Earthly warmth, to live in human feeling;

World air, in timelessness it became  
Earth air, to work in human will;

O human being, recognize yourself as a luminous, warm spirit of air,  
O human being, experience yourself as the true victor  
Over light, air, and warmth.

March 15, 1924  
For Marie Steiner

I can know  
That the thoughts  
From the Goetheanum  
Will help me.

For Simone Rihonöt-Coroze  
May 23, 1924

Morning and evening.

In the vastness of the world  
Soul power works for all people  
Spiritual power works for all souls  
I want to breathe soul power  
I want to feel spiritual power  
To be a God-filled

For Mrs. Renwald  
July 1924

See, my eye  
The pure rays of the sun  
From the earth, beings of form;

See, you, my heart  
The spiritual powers of the sun  
From the waves of the water.

See, you, my soul  
The will of the sun's worlds  
From the glittering light of the air;

See, you, my spirit  
The sun's divine beings  
From the fire's streams of love.

September 1924 Notebook

In the vastness of the spatial world  
Bright light reigns,  
So that things may reveal themselves;  
In the depths of the human heart  
The light becomes the power of thought,  
So that souls may live.

Light of the heart and light of the world:  
In finding them, God lives  
In sacrificial human souls.  
Thus man watches  
In the course of the sensory world. - -

In the vastness of the spiritual world  
Darkness reigns, extinguishing meaning,  
So that the spirit can reveal itself;  
In the life of the human soul  
Darkness becomes God's light,  
So that people breathe spirit.

Spirit of the soul and spirit of the world of God:  
In finding them, man lives  
In God's work, radiant with grace.  
Thus the soul sleeps  
In the course of the spiritual world. - -

And draws watchers into slumber,  
And draws sleepers into waking light  
Thus appears God's creation  
In the revelation of the worlds of the senses.

For Father Giuseppe Trinchero  
September 9, 1924

Within you lives the human being  
Who sees God face to face, who is eternal,  
And who is in the circle of the seven great spirits

It is above everything in you  
that is angry or fearful

It reigns with the powers of the upper world  
And the powers of the lower world serve it

It has control over its own life and health, and can do the same for others.

Nothing can surprise it; no misfortune can befall it; it cannot be confused or overcome.

It knows the essence of the past, present, and future.

It possesses the secret of resurrection from death and of immortality.

Notepad, ca. 1924

For Johanna Mücke

In the heart  
Lives a human being  
That contains all  
Matter,  
That is most spiritual;  
That of all  
Lives spiritually  
In the way that most  
Reveals itself materially.

Therefore, the sun  
In the human universe  
Is the heart;  
Therefore, in the heart  
The human being  
Is most  
In the deepest source  
Of his being.

October 29, 1924

Sun, you bearer of rays  
The power of your light  
Enchants life from the earth  
Immeasurably rich depths.

Heart, you soul-bearing  
Your light's spiritual power  
Enchants life from the human  
Immeasurably deep interior.

When I look at the sun  
Its light speaks to me radiantly  
Of the spirit that graciously  
Rules through the beings of the world.

When I feel into my heart  
The spirit speaks its own words  
Of the human being whom it  
Loves through all time and eternity.

Looking upward, I can see  
In the sun's bright circle  
The mighty heart of the world

Looking inward, I can feel  
In the warm beating of my heart  
The animated human sun.

For Charlien Hupkes-Wegman  
November 1924

Look into the realm of your soul,  
And there you can feel  
All the light forces of the worlds  
And God's work in the course of time.

Look into the sun-world realms  
And there you can see  
The light of your own heart's spirit  
And also the creative power of your soul.

And so the human soul  
In the depths of the heart  
Worlds, stars, heights,  
And the human eye  
In the worlds, stars, heights  
The deep weaving of the spirit  
And find happiness. —

For Charlien Hupkes-Wegman  
For Marie Steiner

November 1924

To my dear Marie as meditation, not at a specific time, but at leisure. Christmas 1924

In the vastness of the stars  
To places of the gods  
Turn your spiritual gaze  
My soul.

From the vastness of the stars  
From places of the gods  
The power of the spirit flows  
Into my soul.

For the vastness of the stars  
To places of the gods  
My spiritual heart lives  
Through my soul.

In my walking  
I overcome the heaviness of the earth

In my gaze  
I carry the human spirit

In my heart  
The power of the sun wells up

In my breath  
Lives the power of the soul

In the air  
Blows the work of God

In the stars  
Works the light of the spirit, conqueror of worlds

So I think, feel, and will  
Through time and eternity.

For Hans Werner Zbinden 1924

In my aura  
I see  
With Michael's eye  
With Christ's power  
With sacred power:  
How reigns  
Within me  
The divine-spiritual.

The divine-spiritual  
From higher worlds  
Radiates through me;

The divine-spiritual  
From the far reaches of the universe  
Surges through me.

Divine-spiritual  
From deep earth clefts  
It flows through me.

The stars  
From above  
Carry divine-spiritual  
Through me

The sun  
Circling  
Sinks divine-spiritual  
Into me

The earth  
From below  
Supports divine-spiritual  
In me.

Notepad 1924

Find yourself in the light  
With the soul's own sound;  
And sound atomized,  
Becomes a color image  
In the light  
Light - gods - beings.

Sound that has disappeared  
Sound resurrected in it  
Speaks from it:

You are

Intrinsic sound in the light of the world  
Sounds shining  
shine resounding.

Notebook 1924

Seraphic powers of fire  
You shine from my heart

Cherubic formative forces  
You shine in my head

The throne-bearing powers  
You are powerful in my limbs

My I is YOURS.

Eurythmy form  
Notebook 1924

Feel within the head  
Seek the path to etheric worlds  
Feel within the words  
It leads into soul worlds  
Experience the circle of the hands  
Penetrate into spiritual realms  
Thus I find myself in the universe.

Note sheet undated

As a sign of the world spirit  
My soul rises longingly

...

In the bright light of rose rays  
I behold the power of the spirit.

In the depths of my soul  
Awaken the same spiritual power  
Carry me, hold me, guide me.

Notation sheet undated

The sun shines  
On the darkness of matter;  
So shines the spirit  
All-healing being  
In the darkness of the soul  
In my human existence.  
As often as I reflect  
On its powerful force  
In true warmth of heart  
It shines through me  
With its midday spiritual power.

undatable

My soul follows the light of the sun  
My soul is a being of light  
Following the sun, it finds  
Light as light.

For Wilhelm Selling undatable

Sun above me  
Sun on the blue sky  
I on the earth star  
The earth glows green  
Into the vastness of the worlds  
Green plants give the earth  
Uniform green as the color of the stars  
Divine metallic forces  
Inside the homes of the gnomes  
Color red, blue, yellow  
The star blossoms  
On the green plant star ground.

Notepad, undated

I have descended from the stars.  
I will rise to the stars.  
I will act with Michael.  
I will live for Christ.

For Alfred Meebold undated Being ignorant of the workings of the world  
Cools one's own self.

In the deepest part of the human being  
Is the firm center  
In all situations in life  
build on the spirit  
that dwells in this center.

For Edith Brend Lewis undated

The spirit is the root of human existence  
The spirit is the source of true vitality  
My heart clings to the spirit  
Thus I find myself within myself.

For a Finnish anthroposophist, undated

In quiet struggle  
In the light-seeking  
Life of the soul  
My self carries me  
Towards the source  
From humanity  
Draw its essence.

Notepad, undated

You seek  
The light of the spiritual world:  
Search within yourself,  
And you will surely find it.

You seek  
For your own essence:  
Search in the workings of the world,  
And you will surely find it.

The darkness of one's own being:  
It darkens the world.

For Hans Hasso v. Veltheim, undated

World beings unite  
As soul image forces  
Thought creators  
In my heart  
They find themselves  
In spiritual activity  
With the goodness of will  
In the human ego

Into the human ego  
Flows the goodness of will  
Towards spiritual activity  
To illuminate themselves  
In my heart  
In the power of world thoughts  
To find soul-bright  
World-being.

Notepad, undated

Know yourself  
In your heart is the power  
In your soul is the strength  
Seek strength through the soul  
Search through your heart for strength  
The strength that says within you:  
Know yourself.

Know yourself  
The strength that says within you:  
Search through your heart for strength  
Search through your soul for strength  
In your soul is strength  
In your heart is the power  
Know yourself.

undatable

I feel  
Power in my hands  
Strength in my feet

I feel  
Love in my heart  
Light in my head

I feel  
God's soul in my breath  
God's will in my speech  
God's spirit in my senses.

undatable

Imagine a triangle made up of three stars, one of which radiates love, the second strength, and the third wisdom.

☆ Love (red)  
☆ Strength (blue)  
☆ Wisdom (yellow)

Then meditate on this:

Act in love  
Be enlivened by strength  
Strive in wisdom  
Fulfill my I-AM.

This can then be repeated several times a day.

undatable

Those who want to know God must want God—will.

Those who want to know the Logos must feel the Logos—love.

Those who want to know the Spirit must think the Spirit—light.

Those who want to help people must find the fire—fire.

Notepad, undated

I carry within me what has been,  
I feel within me what is becoming,  
In my will, I carry both toward the future.

Faith looks to what has been and is founded in truth,  
trust looks to what is becoming and is rooted in the future,  
love embraces in the moment  
that which has become eternal  
that which is eternal.

undatable

Inhale and think:

The highest power of nature  
flows into me with my breath.

Hold your breath:

All power rests within me.

As you exhale:

I flow out all the good  
that I am capable of.

undatable

I breathe in the power of life from the blue distance

I breathe my own self into the blue distance

ca. 1923 Notepad

The world gives me the breath of physical life  
The breath lives and dies in me as spirit  
I give the dead, spiritualized breath to the world

Not in Rudolf Steiner's handwriting:

simultaneously | inhale | hold breath | exhale

Note sheet undatable