Knowledge of Higher Worlds and its Attainment
I got this book on the recommendation of Phil Stutz (author of The Tools). I recently hired Phil as my coach and he *loves* Rudolf Steiner. I love Phil and I love following Joseph Campbell’s advice to study the books the teachers you admire studied so here we are. Rudolf Steiner was a remarkable man. Born in 1861, he was a philosopher, architect, and social reformer. Big Ideas we explore: the fundamental attitude of your soul, the importance of cultivating courage (and how to do it), spiritual perfection (it’s your ultimate goal), unfailing mastery (is the key), and using all your powers to serve profoundly.
Big Ideas
- The Fundamental Attitude of Your SoulOf the soul = veneration + devotion.
- Instilling Higher Knowledge in Your SoulRequires unplugging.
- Going Out of our Way to Cultivate CourageGo out of your way to do so.
- Personal Spiritual PerfectionMake it your mission.
- Unfailing Mastery Over our Whole BeingOver our whole being.
- Got any Unused Powers?Use them!!!
“There slumber in every human being faculties by means of which he can acquire for himself a knowledge of higher worlds. Mystics. Gnostics, Theosophists—all speak of a world of soul and spirit which for them is just as real as the world we see with our physical eyes and touch with our physical hands. At every moment the listener may say to himself: that, of which they speak, I too can learn, if I develop within myself certain powers which today still slumber within me. There remains only one question—how to set to work to develop such faculties.”
~ Rudolf Steiner from Knowledge of Higher Worlds and its Attainment
Those are the first words of the book. When I read them I was blown away by their lucidity and power. Totally magnetic. I told Alexandra they might be the most powerful opening words to any book I’ve read.
I got this book on the recommendation of Phil Stutz (author of The Tools). I hired Phil as my coach a couple months ago and he *loves* Rudolf Steiner. I love Phil and I love following Joseph Campbell’s advice to study the books the teachers you admire studied so here we are.
Rudolf Steiner was a remarkable man. Born in 1861, he was a philosopher, architect, and social reformer. He created the educational philosophy behind Waldorf school—there are 1,000 around the world today. He also created the biodynamic agricultural movement.
Busy, brilliant human. Clearly connected to something bigger than himself.
This book is all about his work on “spiritual science”—a philosophical approach to esoteric spirituality that Steiner attempted to ground in a Western, rational manner. (Get a copy here.)
It’s packed with Big Ideas and I’m excited to share a few of my favorites so let’s jump straight in!
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Download PDFFor the attainment of knowledge and proficiency in the higher worlds, there is no obstacle for those who earnestly seek them.
Get the BookThe Fundamental Attitude of Your Soul
“He must begin with a certain fundamental attitude of the soul. In spiritual science this fundamental attitude is called the path of veneration, of devotion to truth and knowledge. Without this attitude no one can become a student.”
Step #1: Veneration. Deep respect. Devotion to truth and knowledge.
I always love to study the etymology of beautiful words. Here’s the root of devotion: It comes from the Latin verb devovere, from de- ‘formally’ + vovere ‘to vow.’
When we devote ourselves to something, we “formally vow” ourselves to a certain path.
Which reminds me of Daisaku Ikeda’s wisdom from Buddhism Day by Day where he tells us: “In any field of endeavor, making a vow is the foundation for achieving something great. If for whatever reason a person gives up halfway or backslides, his or her commitment hasn’t been based on a vow. Halfhearted desire doesn’t amount to a vow.”
Our commitment must be more than just a half-hearted desire. We must be devoted.
To what?
To the idea that there is something bigger than us at work in the world.
As Rudolf says: “If we do not develop within ourselves this deeply rooted feeling that there is something higher than ourselves, we shall never find the strength to evolve to something higher. The initiate has only acquired the strength to lift his head to the heights of knowledge by guiding his heart to the depths of veneration and devotion. The heights of spirit can only be climbed through the portals of humility.” “The heights of spirit can only be climbed through the portals of humility.” <— Wow.
That beautiful line reminds me of one of my interviews with David Allen in which he said that the sublime comes through the mundane. We must believe in the force of something bigger than ourselves and then do the most mundane things to the best of our ability.
As Rudolf says again and again, we don’t want to be mere visionaries—we want to have our feet solidly on the ground so we can use our spiritual insights in service to the world.
The clairvoyant must not become a visionary; he must retain a firm footing upon the earth.
Instilling Higher Knowledge in Your Soul
“Now, the one thing that everyone must acknowledge is the difficulty of those involved in the external civilization of our time to advance to the knowledge of the higher worlds. They can only do so if they work energetically at themselves. At a time when the conditions of material life were simpler, the attainment of spiritual knowledge was also easier. Objects of veneration and worship stood out in clearer relief from the ordinary things of the world. In an epoch of criticism ideals are lowered; other feelings take the place of veneration, respect, adoration, and wonder. Our own age thrusts these feelings further and further into the background, so that they can only be conveyed to man through his every-day life in a very small degree. Whoever seeks higher knowledge must create it for himself. He must instill it in his soul. It cannot be done by study; it can only be done through life.”
That’s from a chapter talking about how important it is to reduce the sensory stimulation we’re exposed to so we can calm our brains down and connect to something deeper within ourselves.
Rudolf published this book in 1904.
At the time, people cruised around on horses. The telephone was the new cool thing.
And, yet, even back then it was really hard to navigate our busy lives to find the time to connect with our souls.
Now? Now, it’s infinitely more challenging.
You’ve gotta be REALLY (!) committed to this path to turn off the push notifications, enter airplane-mode and get really good at saying, “I don’t know. In fact, I don’t care.” about all the latest and greatest happening in the world.
Are you?
(What’s one little thing you can do to reduce the overload?)
The golden rule [for spiritual science] is as follows: For every one step that you take in the pursuit of higher knowledge, take three steps in the perfection of your character.
Going Out of our Way to Cultivate Courage
“The would-be initiate must bring with him a certain measure of courage and fearlessness. He must positively go out of his way to find opportunities for developing these virtues. His training should provide for their systematic cultivation. In this respect, life itself is a good school—possibly the best school. The student must learn to look danger calmly in the face and try to overcome difficulties unswervingly. For instance, when in the presence of some peril, he must swiftly come to the conviction that fear is of no possible use; I must not feel afraid; I must only think of what is to be done. And he must improve to the extent of feeling, upon occasions which formerly inspired him with fear, that to be frightened, to be disheartened, are things that are out of the question as far as his own inmost self is concerned. By self-discipline in this direction, quite definite qualities are developed which are necessary for initiation into the higher mysteries. Just as man requires nervous force in his physical being in order to use his physical sense, so also he requires in his soul nature the force which is only developed in the courageous and the fearless.”
There’s a lot of goodness in there. Let’s take a quick stroll through.
First, we must bring with us “a certain measure of courage and fearlessness.” Got it.
In fact, we must positively go out of our way to find opportunities to develop these virtues. Really? How do I do that?
How do I find ways to cultivate the virtue of courage and fearlessness?
This is where Phil Stutz and the #1 Tool comes into play.
We need to know what to do IN THE MOMENT we experience fear (or any other negative emotion). That moment is really the only moment in which we truly have any power to change ourselves and our destiny.
So, as we’ve discussed a number of times, the moment you feel even a whiff of fear, practice (!) reversing your desire—instead of trying to *avoid* the uncomfortable pain of fear, rub your hands together and GET EXCITED ABOUT IT.
This is the moment we’ve been looking for!!!
YES!! We have an opportunity to cultivate our virtue.
Fear arises. Take a deep breath. Get EXCITED about the opportunity to get a little stronger. Say to yourself, “Bring it on!!” as you remind yourself that your infinite potential exists on the other side of fear. Then go do what needs to be done!!!
Repeat.
Systematically cultivate your self-mastery. “Swiftly come to the conviction that fear is of no possible use.” “Learn to look danger calmly in the face and try to overcome difficulties unswervingly.”
That’s like you to be fearless and courageous.
P.S. Emerson comes to mind here as well: “Fear is an instructor of great sagacity and the herald of revolutions. One thing he teaches, that there is rottenness where he appears.”
Plus: “Always, always, always, always, always do what you are afraid to do.” And: “Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain.”
The student is impervious to all influences which would divert him from the goal he has set for himself, as long as he can regard it as the right goal. For him, obstacles contain a challenge that impels him to surmount them, but never a reason for giving up.
Personal Spiritual Perfection
“The founders of the great cosmogonies did not give mankind these teachings from some vague feeling. They gave them for the good reason that they were great initiates. Out of their knowledge did they shape their moral teaching. They know how these would act upon the finer nature of man, and desired that their followers should gradually achieve the development of this finer nature. To live in the sense of these great cosmogonies means to work for the attainment of personal spiritual perfection. Only by so doing can man become a servant of the world and of humanity. Self-perfection is by no means self-seeking, for the imperfect man is an imperfect servant of the world and of humanity. The more perfect a man is, the better does he serve the world. ‘If the rose adorns itself, it adorns the garden.’”
Want to be a servant of the world and of humanity?
Make the attainment of your “personal spiritual perfection” your ultimate goal.
Steiner tells us that this desire to perfect ourselves is not self-seeking. It’s essential.
Joseph Campbell echoes this in Pathways to Bliss where he tells us: “What is it we are questing for? It is the fulfillment of that which is potential in each of us. Questing for it is not an ego trip; it is an adventure to bring into fulfillment your gift to the world, which is yourself. There’s nothing you can do that’s more important than being fulfilled. You become a sign, you become a signal, transparent to transcendence; in this way, you will find, live, and become a realization of your own personal myth.”
In a moment we’re going to talk about deleting some negative habits.
For now, let’s do a little sentence completion work on the spiritually perfect version of yourself.
First, quick review of the technique Nathaniel Brandon shares in The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem: “Sentence-completion work is a deceptively simple yet uniquely powerful tool for raising self-understanding, self-esteem, and personal effectiveness. It rests on the premise that all of us have more knowledge than we normally are aware of—more wisdom than we use, more potentials than typically show up in our behavior. Sentence completion is a tool for accessing and activating these ‘hidden resources.’”
So…
Come up with 5 completions to this sentence:
The spiritually perfect version of me is ___________________________.
The spiritually perfect version of me is ___________________________.
The spiritually perfect version of me is ___________________________.
The spiritually perfect version of me is ___________________________.
The spiritually perfect version of me is ___________________________.
Fantastic.
(What a beautiful person you are. :)
Courage and self-confidence are two beacons which must never be extinguished on the path to higher knowledge. No one will ever travel far who cannot bring himself to repeat, over and over again, an exercise which has failed, apparently, for a countless number of times.
Unfailing Mastery Over our Whole Being
“That is why it is so essential that the waking life of the student should be in every respect regular and healthy. The more capable he is of meeting the demands made by the outer world upon a healthy, sound constitution of body, soul, and spirit, the better it is for him. On the other hand, it may be very bad for him if his ordinary waking life affects him in an exciting or irritating way, that is, if destructive or hampering influences of outer life affect him in addition to the great changes taking place in his inner self. He must seek to find everything corresponding to his powers and faculties which can lead him into undisturbed, harmonious communion with his surroundings, while avoiding everything detrimental to his harmony—everything that brings unrest and feverish haste into his life. And here it is not so much a question of casting off this unrest and haste in an external sense, but much more of taking care that thoughts, feelings, intentions, and bodily health are not thereby exposed to continual fluctuation. …
For this reason the student should omit nothing which can secure for him unfailing mastery over his whole being. He should never be found wanting in presence of mind or in calm penetration of all situations of life. In the main, a genuine esoteric training gives rise of itself to all these qualities, and as it progresses the student only becomes acquainted with the dangers while simultaneously and at the right moment acquiring the full power to rout them from the field.”
Unfailing mastery over our whole being.
That’s what is required if we want access to the Higher Worlds.
How’s that for a standard?
Let’s take a powerful step forward in that process of mastery.
First: Quick review: “He must seek to find everything corresponding to his powers and faculties which can lead him into undisturbed, harmonious communion with his surroundings, while avoiding everything detrimental to his harmony—everything that brings unrest and feverish haste into his life.”
Alright. Let’s do a quick inventory, shall we?
What habits do you have that are “detrimental to your harmony”?
OK.
What’s the #1 thing you *know* you need to stop doing?
OK.
Now a good time to eliminate it? (Good answer!! :)
If you need help cultivating your Willpower to create great Habits (and remove the bad ones), check out Willpower 101 and Habits 101.
Key tip for now: Remember that a 100% commitment is, paradoxically, way easier than a kinda-sorta-almost all in commitment of 98.7%. Make the decision to never do X again. Done. Over and out. End of discussion. No negotiation allowed.
And then when/if you fall short, compassionately and playfully re-commit.
P.S. This line: “That is why it is so essential that the waking life of the student should be in every respect regular and healthy.”
Reminds me of this gem from Gustave Flaubert: “Be regular and orderly in your life so that you may be violent and original in your work.”
Whether we’re talking about enter the Higher Worlds of esoteric spirituality or the higher worlds of creativity, the same rules apply.
In fact, it’s pretty much the same game.
Let’s be boring so we can be interesting.
A mere intellectual understanding of what is included in these attributes is of no value. They must be so incorporated into the soul that they form the basis of inner habits.
Got any Unused Powers?
“Hitherto thou hast sought only thine own release, but now, having thyself become free, thou canst go forth as a liberator of thy fellows. Until today thou hast striven as an individual, but now seek to coordinate thyself with the whole, so that thou mayst bring into the supersensible world not thyself alone, but all things else existing in the world of the senses. Thou wilt some day be able to unite with me, but I cannot be blessed so long as others remain unredeemed. …
Thou must now share with thy fellows the powers which, together with them, thou didst acquire. I shall therefore bar thine entry into the higher regions of the supersensible world so long as thou has not applied all the powers thou hast acquired to the liberation of thy companions.
With the powers already at thy disposal thou mayst sojourn in the lower regions of the supersensible world; but I stand before the portal of the higher regions as the Cherub with the fiery sword before Paradise, and I bar thine entrance as long as powers unused in the sense-world still remain in thee.”
That’s from the final chapter talking about the “Guardian of the Threshold.”
It’s an intense, esoteric look at life and death and the ultimate commitment we must make to enter the higher realms.
Short story: The price of admission to the highest realms? Absolute service. Using all of our powers in greatest service to the world. To the extent we’ve held back we’re blocked. Period.
This idea that we get to rest when all sentient beings are free from suffering is echoed in Buddhism. Check out the Note on The Way of the Bodhisattva for more.
Yesterday I worked on the Note for The Jefferson Bible. We chatted about the exact same idea. Jesus used the parable of the talents to make the same point.
Two guys use the resources they were given wisely and they are rewarded. Then we have that one guy who lived from fear and buried his talent. Jesus tells us the master wasn’t happy with him. At all. He gets this message: “And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Yikes.
Remember: The kingdom of heaven isn’t some far away place we get to when we die. It’s here. Right now. We MUST use our gifts. Fully. In service to something bigger than ourselves. That is, of course, the essence of all great spiritual teachings across all cultures.
How are you doing with that?
He does not learn in order to accumulate learning as his own treasure, but in order that he may devote his learning to the service of the world.
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