Spiritual Science 101

GENESIS

In this course students will learn about the supersensory spheres, time and the birth of history. The lecture/guides by Emil Bock will uncover many mysteries of the Old Testament including the nature of Adam, Paradise and the Fall. Students will be able to understand the evolution of humankind represented by Cain, Seth, Enoch, Noah and Job. As these lectures reach the starting point in history, the stories of Gilgamesh, Nimrod and Abraham make their appearance. The importance of the great Melchizedek will be discussed in terms of his relationship to Abraham. Next these lectures discuss the Patriarchs in a way that will make the mission of the Hebrews very meaningful in terms of the unfolding of the Christ impulse.

For each course an experienced mentor is provided through email. Following each lecture/guide are questions for you to begin a discourse with your mentor.

If you wish to become a student, the fee for your first course includes at no extra charge the book, The Christian Mystery, by Rudolf Steiner.

Receive first lesson of SS 101 by becoming a free member!

Spiritual Science 102

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

The Ten Commandments are interpreted by the great majority of people today as if they were legal ordinances, that is, like the laws of any modern state. It is conceded, of course, that the laws of the Ten Commandments are more extensive and general, and have a validity independent of their time and place. They are thus held to be more universal, but people are still conscious of them as having the same effect or objective as any modern legislation. So seen, however, they do not contain the actual vital nerve that lives in them. This is borne out by the fact that all translations presently available have unconsciously incorporated an essentially superficial explanation that is not at all in the spirit of their original meaning.

In these lectures Rudolf Steiner translates these laws into the deep meaning they can convey today. He shows how Christ took the place, for those who truly understand Christianity, of the impulses that served as a preparation in the Old Testament. Here is your chance to reconcile faith and reason in a truly inspirational manner.

For each course an experienced mentor is provided through email. Following each lecture/guide are questions for you to begin a discourse with your mentor.

If you wish to become a student, the fee for your first course includes at no extra charge the book, The Christian Mystery, by Rudolf Steiner.

Receive first lesson of SS 102 by becoming a free member!

Spiritual Science 103

THE STRUCTURE OF THE LORD'S PRAYER

Prayer has been present throughout evolution. For the early Christians, it signified something more than simply a means of uniting human beings with their God. The loftier the things a person prays for, the better it is. Praying for outer things is foreign to the sense of original Christianity: "Father, not my will but your will be done."

What is the Father's will in the original Christian sense? It is the will that represents the primal law governing all of cosmic evolution. I want all my successes and wishes to be so perfect that they correspond to the sense of the Father's will - that is, to the spiritual law of the cosmos; I want them not to deviate from this great spiritual law. If I aspire to some arbitrary request when I pray, to something that springs from my everyday nature, from personal preference, I am not praying in the sense of "not my will, but your will be done." We pray we are praying for or to have our own will prevail, but when we and our will are lifted up, striving to become divine, for our soul's resurrection in the divine, in the Christ element.

Video by Sophia Ra El

In these lectures Rudolf Steiner explores the structure of the most comprehensive, universal prayer in Christian tradition. It is one of the deepest prayers found anywhere in the world. Today we can no longer measure the entire depth of the Lord's Prayer as taught in the original language. It is thought content is so powerful, however, that it cannot in any way be reduced by any language. The more that the meaning of this prayer is made conscious, the more helpful and powerful it becomes. In this manner you can help reconcile faith and reason in your life.

For each course an experienced mentor is provided through email. Following each lecture/guide are questions for you to begin a discourse with your mentor.

If you wish to become a student, the fee for your first course includes at no extra charge the book, The Christian Mystery, by Rudolf Steiner.

Receive first lesson of SS 103 by becoming a free member!

Spiritual Science 104

RUDOLF STEINER AND A SPIRITUAL SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO THE BIBLE

Our desperate times and lives are driving many people to think again about religion, to adopt a religious perspective. Some simply take on Christian fundamentalism with its stress on basic biblical commandments and promises. Obedience is usually their highest virtue. Others regard Christianity as fundamentally outdated and look to other philosophies, usually Eastern and/or ancient. Transcendence is often their highest virtue.

In the work of Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) we find an approach that allows one to think and feel like a modern spiritually autonomous human being, and simultaneously to understand the deep truth of Christianity. Here we find Christianity that can be thought and here a living Christ can be found and experienced today. Steiner shows that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God who died on the cross and was resurrected as Christ Jesus, the savior of all humankind. Indeed, spiritual science, or anthroposophy [the science that Steiner founded and developed], shows that the meaning of human history can only be found through an understanding of the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

For each course an experienced mentor is provided through email. Following each lecture/guide are questions for you to begin a discourse with your mentor.

Spiritual Science 105

BAPTISM

Baptism is the first of the Christian sacraments. Baptism is closely associated with repenting (re-thinking). Over the centuries many people have actually died fighting over exactly how it is practiced. Where does this come from and what does it mean? Up till now baptism has been associated with water, and historically that was a legitimate spiritual association. But when Christendom finally comes to see the meaning of Christ's statement, "I came to cast fire upon the earth" (Luke 12,49), then it will realize why Paul did not himself stress water baptism and why it was that John the Baptist spoke directly to us in our time when he said, "I baptize you with water..., but he who is coming after me...will baptize you with the Holy spirit and with fire"(Matthew 3,11).

This course will teach you about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and with fire.

For each course an experienced mentor is provided through email. Following each lecture/guide are questions for you to begin a discourse with your mentor.

Spiritual Science 106

MEDITATION ON ST. JOHN'S GOSPEL

The Gospel of St. John is the most powerful and esoteric of the Gospels. What do these opening words mean, In the beginning was the Logos? How did John know this? How can anyone know this?

For those on a real spiritual journey, there is a way to become aware of the Logos, the Word, the Christ in yourself. Through a study of esoteric science, one more and more can be spiritually awakened. The more this type of meditation is undertaken, the greater the spiritual self will manifest itself in you. This growth of your inner self will be truly amazing. You will be able to make much more sense out of this world and your great role in it. Read more...

For each course an experienced mentor is provided through email. Following each lecture/guide are questions for you to begin a discourse with your mentor.

Spiritual Science 107

THE RAISING OF LAZARUS

Read John 11:1-16 ... then he said to them, "Our friend Laz'arus has fallen asleep, but I go to awake him out of sleep." The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, "Laz'arus is dead; and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." John 11:11-16

The first time John mentions Thomas is when Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. Isn't it interesting that Lazarus is said to be in three different states: first he is ill, then he is asleep and then he is dead. A closer look at the Greek reveals that the word ill - kakos -, which means bad, is not used here. The word that is used is astheneia which means lacking in strength, weak - often translated as diseased This word is used to explain that we are dis-eased, we are apart from ease, in other words, not at ease.

Learn about the pivotal significance of this story in terms of what it means for your own state of consciousness and the way you live your life. How does this story relate to being "born again"?

This lesson will help you to understand the role of ourselves and Christ in repentance and destiny, life after death, life before birth and destiny.

For each course an experienced mentor is provided through email. Following each lecture/guide are questions for you to begin a discourse with your mentor.

Spiritual Science 108

THE SECOND COMING

Great Poem by William Butler Yeats with interpretation. There is a great relevance to what is happening today in the world with terrorism, aids and other violence. Conditions make it very hard for Christ to be heard and seen.

Because the power and insights of the prophets had dimmed and humanity's ability to relate to the supersensory spirit had almost disappeared, the first Coming of Christ took place on the level of earthly physical reality. The new Coming of Christ, on the other hand, takes place in the supersensory realms. If Humanity does not break through to spiritual consciousness, it will sleep through this event. Find out how to participate in this great on-going event.

For each course an experienced mentor is provided through email. Following each lecture/guide are questions for you to begin a discourse with your mentor.

Spiritual Science 109

ELIJAH AND JOHN THE BAPTIST

Conventional Christianity and Judaism maintain that the whole thrust of the Bible opposes the doctrines and experiences of karma and reincarnation. However, a much more careful, open and intelligent reading of Scriptures shows the Bible to be very supportive of these ideas.

The main argument against repeated earth lives to be found in the New Testament is Hebrews 9:27 - "It is appointed unto men once to die and after that the judgment." Aside from the fact that this passage stands almost isolated as "authority" for this point, Paul was referring to the physical body and the personality, not at all to the spirit. The physical body and personality do not reincarnate. However the spirit does. Learn about your I AM, your essential self, that reincarnates and that was promoted by Christ Jesus, particularly in the Gospel of St. John. This experience will reawaken the significance of what we know about heaven and transform your life.

For each course an experienced mentor is provided through email. Following each lecture/guide are questions for you to begin a discourse with your mentor.

Spiritual Science 110

TRANSFORMING GRIEF INTO GRATITUDE

As perspective of a landscape can best be gained at a distance, so appraisal of an experience may be more accurately made at a distance of time. At the time of an event, one is too much involved to look at the situation objectively, free from likes and dislikes, sympathies and antipathies, love and hatred. That holds true for our ordinary consciousness. However, spiritual research reveals that in the supraconsciousness (the higher self of which we are not yet conscious) it is otherwise. The higher self does not hold instinctive, automatic, sympathy or antipathy. It has an open feeling, a cognitive feeling, receptive to all impressions and experiences - even a feeling of gratitude - toward every impression, regardless of the nature of the experience. Read more...

For each course an experienced mentor is provided through email. Following each lecture/guide are questions for you to begin a discourse with your mentor.

Spiritual Science 111

THE BIBLE AND THE DEATH EXPERIENCE

Although intellectually we all know that one day we shall die, generally we are so reluctant to think of our death that this knowledge does not touch our hearts, and we live our life as if we were going to be in this world forever. As a result the things of this world - such as material possessions, reputation, popularity, and the pleasures of the senses - become of paramount importance, so we devote almost all our time and energy to obtaining them and engage in many negative actions for their sake. We are so preoccupied with the concerns of this life that there is little room in our mind for genuine spiritual practice. When the time of death actually arrives we discover that by having ignored death all our life we are completely unprepared. Read more...

Order the book: How to Know Higher Worlds

The course is an email mentor for this book.