Meditations, Sayings, and Advice for Teachers and Educators

“A kind of prayer”

Let us shape our thoughts so that we may be conscious that behind each of us stands an angel, gently laying his hands upon our heads; this angel gives you the strength you need. Above your heads hovers the dance of the archangels. They carry from one to another what one has to give to another. They connect your souls. This gives you the courage you need. (The archangels form a bowl out of this courage.) - The light of wisdom is given to us by the sublime beings of the Archai, who do not close themselves off in a circle, but reveal themselves coming from the beginning of time and disappear into the distant past. They only protrude into this space like a drop. (A drop of the light of time falls from the active spirit of the age into the bowl of courage.)

[Reproduced from the notes of C. von Heydebrand. See also “Notes.”]

Meditation

In the light of the essence of meaning,
There lives the will of the spirit,
Presenting itself as the light of wisdom,
And concealing its inner power; In the self of one's own being,
There shines the will of man,
As the revelation of thought,
Supported by its own power; And its own power to the light
Of world wisdom powerfully
United with the self: Shape me, who turns
Towards the divine and high
Seeking enlightenment.

Meditation

Spiritual vision,
Turn your gaze inward;
Heartfelt feeling
Touch the tender soul;
In intuitive spiritual vision,
In heartfelt soulful feeling,
Consciousness weaves itself. Consciousness, which from above And below the human being Binds the light of the worlds To the darkness of the earth.

Spiritual vision
Heartfelt feeling
See, feel
In the inner being of man
Weaving worldly light
In the reigning darkness of the earth:
My own
Power to form images of man
Producing
Power-creating
Will-bearing
Self.

Meditation

God is within me
I am in God

Letter to the teachers of the Free Waldorf School in Stuttgart

Goetheanum, March 15, 1925

My dear

teachers at the Free Waldorf School!

It is a great sacrifice for me to be away from you for so long. And now I must place important decisions, in which I have naturally participated since the school's inception, in your hands. It is a time of trial by fate.

My thoughts are with you. I can do no more at present if I do not wish to risk prolonging my physical incapacity indefinitely.

Let our thoughts be effective,
Since we must be separated in space.
What we have already accomplished together
Now has power through the teaching staff.
Let it spread through your own council,
Since that council, which would so gladly come,
Does not have free wings.

Let us therefore strive all the more earnestly for unity in spirit, as long as nothing else is possible. The Waldorf school is indeed a child of concern, but above all it is also a symbol of the fruitfulness of anthroposophy within the spiritual life of humanity.

If the teachers carry the awareness of this fruitfulness faithfully in their hearts, then the good spirits ruling over this school will be able to work, and divine spiritual power will rule in the deeds of the teachers.

With this in mind, I would like to send you all my warmest thoughts and greetings.

For the students, I am enclosing a short letter, which I ask you to read aloud in class.

With warmest regards,
Rudolf Steiner

Foundation stone inscription for the Stuttgart Waldorf School

May the power of the spirit in love prevail
May the light of the spirit in goodness work
From the security of the heart
From the steadfastness of the soul
For the young human being
For the working power of the body
For the intimacy of the soul
For the brightness of the spirit
That it can bring forth.
This place is dedicated to that end:
May young people find in it
the strength to become gifted, light-loving
caretakers of humanity.
In their hearts, may they remember the spirit
that is to reign here, those who
who sink the stone as a symbol
here, so that
it may strengthen the foundation
upon which shall live, reign, and work:
liberating wisdom,
strengthening spiritual power,
and a spirit life that reveals itself. They wish to profess this:
In Christ's name
With pure intentions,
With good will.

Inscription for a deceased student

In future earthly life
To introduce you vigorously,
You were entrusted to us
Through the will of your parents. In the pain at death's door
Only the soul-stirring words
That are destined for maturing life So instead of school, take guidance
For earthly deeds and life
Remember your teacher with love
Pass over into that spiritual existence, Where the soul is enveloped
By the bright light of eternity
And the spirit experiences:
The goal of God's will.

Dedication

To educate youth
Means in today the tomorrow
Means in matter the spirit
Means in earthly life the spiritual being
To cultivate.

Saying

To devote oneself to matter
Means to grind souls into dust To find oneself in the spirit
Means to connect people To see oneself in others
Means to build worlds

Motto for education

Fill yourself with imagination,
have the courage to seek the truth,
sharpen your sense of moral responsibility.

Reverence, enthusiasm, protective feelings

Awe for what precedes the child's existence.
Enthusiastic reference to what follows the child.
Protective movement for what the child experiences.

Four golden rules for the teaching profession

The teacher should be a person of initiative
in both large and small matters.

The teacher should be a person who is interested
in all things worldly and human.

The teacher should be a person who, in their
innermost being, never compromises with untruth.

Teachers must not wither away or become embittered.

For the school in Hamburg-Wandsbek

From the seriousness of the times
must be born
the courage to act. Give teaching
what the spirit gives you,
and you will free humanity
from the nightmare
that weighs upon it through
materialism.

The three golden rules of education and teaching

Religious gratitude toward the world, which is revealed in the child, combined with the awareness that the child is a divine mystery that must be solved through the art of education. A method of education practiced with love, through which the child instinctively educates itself through us, so that the child's freedom is not endangered, which must also be respected where it is the unconscious element of organic growth power.

Receive the child with reverence
Educate with love
Release in freedom

Three golden rules
for memory development

Concepts burden the memory;
Visual and artistic elements form
the memory;
Effort of will, exercise of will
strengthens the memory.

Seriousness and responsibility

We must all be imbued with:

Firstly, the seriousness of the matter. It is an immensely important matter for us right now.

Secondly, we must be imbued with a sense of responsibility, both toward anthroposophy and toward the cultural movement and the social question.

And thirdly, what we as anthroposophists must hold particularly before us: our responsibility toward the gods.

“Meditation formula”

We want to work by allowing
into our work that which from
the spiritual world wants to become human in us in a soul-spiritual
and physical way.

Prayer

Dear God, grant that I may completely extinguish my personal ambitions.

Christ, make the Pauline saying especially true for me: Not I, but Christ in me.

The essence of education and teaching

Science coming to life!

Religion coming to life!

“New motto”

I want to learn,
I want to work
I want to work while learning
I want to learn by working

“Motto”

Seek the truly practical material life,
but seek it in such a way that it does not numb you to
the spirit that is at work in it.
Seek the spirit, but do not seek it in supernatural
sensual pleasure, out of supernatural egoism,
but seek it because you want to apply it selflessly in
practical life in the material world.

Apply the old principle:

Never spirit without matter. Never matter without spirit —

in such a way that you say: We want to do everything material

in the light of the spirit, and we want to seek the light of the

spirit in such a way that it develops warmth for our

practical activities.

The spirit that we bring into matter,
the matter that we work on until
its revelation, through which it drives the spirit out of itself
; the matter that receives the spirit from us
— the spirit that we bring to matter
the matter, form that
living being which can bring humanity to real
progress, to that progress
which can only be desired by the best in the deepest
reasons of the present souls.

Fragments of sayings

Light makes visible
Stone, plant, animal, and human
The soul makes alive
Head, heart, hand, and foot
Light rejoices
When stones shine
Plants bloom, animals run
And people work
So should the soul rejoice
When the heart

The sun gives
Light to the plants,
Because the sun
Loves the plants;
So does a person
Give light to another

Saying

The love of the sun shines brightly
Into the life of plants,
And makes them green;
So came the love of people
Into the hearts Sunlight penetrates
The plant lovingly,
And makes it green;
Love for humanity penetrates
Other people Sunlight makes
The plants green, Bright sun
Protective being of the day

Sayings for students

Morning saying for the four lower grades

The sun's loving light,
It brightens my day;
The soul's spiritual power,
It gives strength to the limbs;
In the sun's bright light
I worship, O God,
The human power that You
Have so kindly planted
In my soul,
That I may be industrious
And eager to learn. From you comes light and strength, To you flow love and thanks.

Morning saying for the upper classes

I look at the world,
In which the sun shines,
In which the stars twinkle;
In which the stones lie,
The plants grow and live,
The animals live and feel,
In which man is animated,
Gives dwelling place to the spirit;
I look into the soul,
That lives within me. The spirit of God weaves In the light of the sun and the soul, In the space of the world, out there, In the depths of the soul, inside. To you, O spirit of God, I turn in supplication, That strength and blessing may For learning and for work May grow within me. —

Saying at the beginning
of free Christian religious instruction

In the bright sunlight,
Which brings strength to the earth;
In the green plants,
Which springs from the depths,
And also in the vastness of the worlds,
Which give shelter to the stars,
And in the human eye,
Where the powers of the senses weave:
There I sense God's power,
Which appears to me in my mind,
With which in the depths of my soul
My whole being unites;
That I myself become spirit
As a human being in the substance of the earth.

Proverbs

The light of the sun
Shines upon us
The power of the soul
It has awakened
From the peace of sleep The light of the sun
Brightens the day
After the dark night:
The power of the soul
It has awakened
From the peace of sleep:
You, my soul
Be grateful to the light
It shines in it
The power of God;
You, my soul
Be ready for action

Saying at the beginning of classical language lessons

Those who understand the meaning of language
Will see the world
Revealed in images; Those who hear the soul of language
Will see the world
Revealed as a being; Those who experience the spirit of language
Will be gifted by the world
With wisdom and power; Those who can love language,
it gives them
Its own power. So I will turn my heart and mind
To the spirit and soul
Of the word; And in love
For it, I will find
First feel myself completely.

Fragment of a saying for teaching ancient languages

The sun shines brightly upon the creatures of the earth,
The sun of the spirit shines upon the souls of men;
The creatures of the earth hunger for the light of the sun,
The souls of men thirst for the sun of the spirit
And the light of the sun nourishes the creatures of the earth
And the sun of the spirit quenches the souls of men

Saying for the graduating twelfth grade

In the vastness of life's paths
May be reflected
What in the beloved home of youth
Like a seal
Of true humanity
Was imprinted
In the heart In the depths of memory
Let it prove strong,
What the soul was allowed to find
In the circles of the heart —
Through spiritual guidance,
In the powers
Of dear life training. My thoughts fly to school
There my body is formed
For right activity
There my soul is educated
For right vitality
There my spirit is awakened
To right humanity. My thoughts should rush to
the beloved Waldorf school; there my
body is shaped to right efficiency and
work, there my soul is developed
into a strong life force, there my spirit
is awakened to true, capable humanity.

Sayings

Through learning, human beings acquire
vitality. I will pay attention to myself
in my speech and thoughts. I will pay attention to myself
in my speech and actions. Learn, be attentive,
develop diligence
Let it be written in my heart.

Letter to the students of the Free Waldorf School in Stuttgart

Goetheanum, March 15, 1925
To my dear students of the Waldorf School.

To my great sorrow, I have been unable to be with you for a long time now. And yet it always gave me the greatest satisfaction to be able to spend some time with my dear students. As long as this cannot be, I will send you many warm and good thoughts.

You have also given me great pleasure by sending me your work. I send you my warmest thanks for this.

I hope I will be able to be with you again soon.

Warmest greetings to all,
Rudolf Steiner