3. Karma in Relation to Disease and Health

We may approach the matter in still another way. We may ask: Does everything that we do in the life between birth and death react in the same manner on our etheric body? Even in ordinary life we can perceive a great difference on our inner organisation between the reaction of what we experience as conscious beings, and many other experiences. Here comes a very interesting fact which can be fully explained by Spiritual Science and which can also be quite reasonably understood. In the course of his life a person has a great number of experiences which he receives consciously and unites them with his Ego. Within him they develop into concepts which he works upon, etc. But a great many experiences and impressions do not come as far as to concepts, and yet they are really there in man and act upon him. If you walk along the street it often happens that someone says to you: ‘I saw you today, and you even looked at me!’ And yet you know nothing about it! This is often the case. Of course, this has made an impression; your eyes indeed saw the other person but the direct impression did not come as far as a concept. There are innumerable cases of this sort, so that our life is really divided into two parts—into a realm of soul-life which consists of concepts, and another realm that we have never brought really into clear consciousness. There are again other differences. You will easily be able to distinguish between impressions which you have in your life and can remember, and those which you cannot remember.