The Foundations of Human Experience: Lecture 13 of 14

This lecture is part of the collection "The Foundations of Human Experience" by Rudolf Steiner. Steiner (1861-1925) was an Austrian philosopher, social reformer, architect, and esotericist. He gained initial recognition as a literary critic and cultural philosopher. At the beginning of the 20th century, he founded a spiritual movement, Anthroposophy. He is considered the father of Waldorf education, biodynamic agriculture, anthroposophical medicine and spiritual science.  The form of the human head aspect (from within outward) compared to the form of the human limb aspect (from outside inward). The human being as a “dam” for the spirit-soul. The absorptive tendency of the spirit-soul process. The creation of superfluous matter (formation of fat) by the chest-digestive system; how this matter is consumed by the spirit-soul working through the limbs. The pooling of the spirit-soul in the head and its coursing along the nerve paths. The opacity of living organic matter to the spirit and the transparency of the physically dead skeletal and nervous system to the spirit. The overabundance of spiritual activity in physical work and of bodily activity in mental work. Purposeful and senseless activity and its effects upon sleep; calisthenics and eurythmy in this context. Extreme sports as “practical Darwinism.” Insomnia as a result of too much spirit-soul activity and drowsiness as a result of too much physical work. The senselessness of cramming for exams. Healthy and unhealthy kinds of thinking activity. Importance of spiritualizing external work for teaching and social life and importance of bringing blood to inner work for teaching and health. The entire Collected Works of Rudolf Steiner are available from SteinerBooks.