Notes from Mathilde Scholl 1904–1906

GA 91 — 4 September 1906

13. Light on the Path I

Before the eye can see, it must wean itself from tears.

That is to say, before the world of the soul opens up to our gaze, we must control our own soul in such a way that it becomes a means by which we can understand everything of a spiritual nature. Tears are drawn from the eye by its own pain. As long as the soul is moved by its own pain, it cannot become the organ for the pain of other beings that is hidden from the physical eye. But first the soul must be prepared by its own pain. The soul organ for giving must be developed through its own pain. But it can only become active when it grows beyond its own pain, when a person can feel pain without being shaken by it, when he has acquired complete composure. Then the ability to feel pain is transformed into the ability to perceive the pain of other beings, to see it as something real. Every pain is there to lift people up a level, to transform their feelings from a human, moving, passionate one into a divine, serene, enlightened one. Only then can the soul of his fellow creatures be reflected in his soul. His inner eye opens; he learns to see in the world of souls.

Before the ear is able to hear, sensitivity must fade.

We must learn not to take what is said in the voice, the word of another person, personally - neither the pleasant through vanity nor the unpleasant through hurt. What the other person says to us must no more hurt us than if he had said it to a person we did not care about. It must not touch us. If we have refined our soul to such an extent that it is free of all vanity, the coarse vibrations of the hurtful word cannot leave an impression in our ear. They may reach our soul and be heard, but they cannot enter and wreak havoc. Overcoming all personal vanity, all sense of the importance of one's own being in relation to others, that is what enables us to hear the words of higher beings. These sounds are drowned out by the vibrations of one's own soul for the sensitive ear.