Lecture XIII

You will remember that I explained to you how much depended on man's beginning to breathe through the lungs in the course of his development. His higher schooling is now also connected with a breathing process. In the training in yoga the pupil brings a certain rhythm into his breathing by bringing inhaling, holding the breath and exhaling into a certain number of seconds. But the way in which these breathing exercises are done can only be indicated to the pupil by the teacher. Through the exercises for consciously regulating the breathing process, nothing less is done than the beginning of alchemy; this is called “seeking the philosopher's stone”. At the turn of the 18th to the 19th century, the Rosicrucians still knew something about it, and some of it could still be read in public. The occultist knows that man continually pollutes the air through his carbonic acid exhalations and kills life, even more than is killed through eating meat. And the more material the ages became, the worse the exhaled air became, and the more fresh air man needs. The Indian yogi exhaled less bad air. The bad air exhaled by people is restored by plants, which release oxygen and absorb carbon. Thus, animals and humans owe their lives to plants. In the anthracite coal, the plants then release the carbon back to humans. The plant, in turn, is designed to be built with the help of carbon. This process forms a complete and wonderful unity. Just as man was once a plant, so in the distant future he will also become a plant again in a certain sense, namely with full self-awareness. Then man will produce within himself what plants still do for him today, and he will consciously build his etheric body out of carbon. This is the goal of regulating the breathing process. Carbon is the philosopher's stone. The more a person breathes in accordance with wisdom, the purer and more useful the air around him becomes. Chemistry will soon address this issue. Those who have been breathing rhythmically for a while gain control over their astral senses. Europeans must be very careful with breathing exercises and only begin them after receiving appropriate instruction.