TO FIND ONESELF IN THE DUALITY OF CONTRADICTIONS, ONE MUST FIRST LEARN TO KNOW ONESELF. THIS HOWEVER IS NOT A NATURAL PROCESS As contemporary human beings, we exist in a one- and two-dimensional world, of fearful desire for food, wealth, sex, recognition, and immortality. Unaware of its illusory state, where perception manifests our reality, we are equally unaware of our own hybrid state: As beings of physical and metaphysical features for which, the attainment of the Higher Dimensions is our very birthright. This ‘attainment’ does not come naturally though; it requires our awareness of the conceptual world, as well as the acceptance of our conditioned mechanicalness within it. These observations and contemplations aim to offer such awareness, and to enhance the Seeker of Truth with the means to discover, understand and accept his or her undivided Self. This book combines philosophy, including gnostic thought, religion, as well as the observed psychology and sociology of contemporary ways, within the arenas of politics, geopolitics and corporatism, through the lens of spirituality and magic. It is this that defines the supernatural wonders into which the Seeker of Truth must cross his or her own threshold. As with all things of substance, the answer to these mysteries, will not be found in selected subjects or even the sum of their parts – as in such, one only finds Chaos. It is only in knowing the Whole of the Self that complete acceptance of All can emerge.

An introductory lecture on the nature of esoteric training.

The selections in this compilation provide an overview of the meaning, nature, and processes of inner development. These include the first awakening of consciousness, the basic requisites and initial stages of inner growth, the individual means and methods to grow in consciousness, some of the difficulties and pitfalls along the way, and the eventual new birth into a spiritual life that comes from a reversal of consciousness. The focus of the book is inner growth as an experiential process based on certain universal psychological elements and principles, and its purpose is to help seekers understand and recognise the processes and experiences of inner development and foster its growth in their lives.

The focus of this book is the spiritual work in the "school"--the community--of Michael. What does this mean? At the end of the eighteenth century, the Archangel Michael revealed the new mystery that has manifested on Earth as spiritual science, or anthroposophy. Its essence involves the renewal of our knowledge of the mysteries of karma and human destiny. Those who are drawn to this school have a special relationship to the human faculty of thinking--their inner feeling for truth has the strength of iron. This feeling for truth helps them to become companions of Michael at the threshold of the spiritual world. These talks deal with the spiritual path of anthroposophy in its Christian Rosicrudian aspect. Tomberg speaks openly and honestly about meditation, the various stages of consciousness (imagination, inspiration, and intuition), the "guardian of the threshold," and the esoteric trials one encounters along the way. He concludes by describing the life of Rudolf Steiner as the life of a Christian initiate.

Provides an anthroposophical approach to inner training and development. The author was awarded the Golden Quill literary award from the Netherlands Publishers' Association.

The paleontologist and professor of anatomy who co-discovered Tiktaalik, the “fish with hands,” tells a “compelling scientific adventure story that will change forever how you understand what it means to be human” (Oliver Sacks). By examining fossils and DNA, he shows us that our hands actually resemble fish fins, our heads are organized like long-extinct jawless fish, and major parts of our genomes look and function like those of worms and bacteria. Your Inner Fish makes us look at ourselves and our world in an illuminating new light. This is science writing at its finest—enlightening, accessible and told with irresistible enthusiasm.

In Growing Within, Dr. A.S. Dalal bridges the gap between Western psychology and Eastern spirituality as he explores the detailed inner workings of human life and provides at the same time a way of understanding, based on the ground-breaking work of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, which puts the human potential for self-exceeding front and center. Dr. Dalal has compiled this book from the writings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother after first providing a detailed introduction and outline of their approach to the awakening and the growth of consciousness. He calls upon the principles of yogic psychology to show us the way to move from our current state of human awareness to a new psychological status and a reversal of consciousness which brings about a sense of joy, fulfillment and purpose in life. Dr. Dalal writes: “This book aims at shedding some light on the meaning, nature and processes of inner development. Its purpose is to help seekers in understanding and recognising the processes and experiences of inner growth, so as to serve, in some measure, as a guide to those who may not have yet found a personal teacher and mentor.” The Readings in Growing Within systematically takes up each subject area covered in Dr. Dalal’s compilation with commentary to help the reader relate to and appreciate the depth and breadth of the yogic psychology described within the text.

This illuminating collection of essays and reminiscences by Rudolf Steiner's pupils and early collaborators contains a wealth of personal details on Steiner and his work. What emerges is his great unity of purpose and breadth of thought, and his ability to attend to the smallest practical details while laying the seeds for spiritual impulses that would flourish far into the future. These essays reveal him as a man of vision, practical ability, humor, and selflessness.

Our understanding of human evolution is proceeding at an unprecedented rate over the last years due to spectacular fossil finds, reconstructions based on genome comparison, ancient DNA sequencing and new insights into developmental genetics. This book takes an integrative approach in which the development of the human embryo, the evolutionary history of our body, the structure of human populations, their dispersal over the world and their cultures are examined by integrating paleoanthropology, developmental biology, comparative zoology, population genetics and phylogenetic reconstruction. The authors discuss questions like: - What do we know about ancient humans? - What happens in the development of an embryo? - How did we manage to walk upright and why did we lose our hair? - What is the relationship between language, migration and evolution? - How does our body respond to the challenges of modern society? In addition to being a core text for the study of the life sciences, Human Evolution and Development is an easy-to-read overview for the interested layperson.