The Age of the Consciousness Soul
Ancient myths have helped generations in the past explain their relationship to the world around them in terms spiritual beings and /or gods being the guiding force. In today’s complex society it is hard to imagine how these myths were taken seriously, but what about a modern day myth? Rudolf Steiner has breathed new life into the world of myths by addressing society’s complexity along with the challenges of modernity. This modern day myth includes forces and spiritual beings that influence our daily lives and pull us in one direction or another without our awareness. Steiner paints a picture that describes this relationship in the past and present and what we may expect in the future. This picture is complex and in my own experience would take several lifetimes to absorb its meaning and implications. This article has taken a complex image, along with a personal interpretation and united them with an environmental viewpoint.
According to Steiner there are three periods of soul development; the ages of the intellectual soul, the sentient soul and the consciousness soul. In the age of the intellectual soul the qualities for compassion and the understanding of another person were developed, while social interest and the perception of other people’s needs and abilities unfolded during the sentient soul era. We are now living in the age of the consciousness soul where we can not only acquire social responsibility but take steps of action to integrate these responsibilities into society. It is during this age that the changes that occur will be brought about out of true human freedom. The consciousness soul era began in the 15th century and will last far into the future. Until this period people were enmeshed with the spiritual world and at this time humanity will begin the process of separating from nature and the spiritual world. Science began to explain many of the phenomena that had been considered under control by the gods and spiritual beings. Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Newton were some of the scientists that used logical thinking (intellect) which began this separation and with each successive breakthrough the gulf between humanity and the world of spiritual world and nature enlarged. It is through this separation that humanity will experience true human freedom. This freedom is hard to obtain and at present we are all trapped in ways of thinking that guide our actions such as political ideals, religion, nationalism and general enculturation. As Goethe stated, “None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe that they are free”.
In this early stage of the consciousness soul era it is St. Michael who opens the way to walk the path of awareness, and since this freedom is not really apparent we are still swayed this way and that way by invisible forces. Ahrimanic forces act on the human will which is now unconscious and separate from the intellect or as Steiner describes it, the will is asleep. At the other pole are the Luciferic forces (spiritual) that act on the human intellect and is separated from the Ahrimanic (material) will forces. Throughout our global society this separation is becoming more visible as time goes by. Through science humans have made incredible inventions that have seemingly advanced civilization only to find that after implementing these inventions, through our unconscious will, that great destruction to our environment and social order has occurred. By striving to understand and have the Michaelic forces permeate us we can gain the ability of awaking the will (material) and connect it to the intellect (spiritual) consciously out of freedom and not out of a law or rule. “Michael is the spirit of strength…Michael must permeate us as the strong power which can look through the material and see the spiritual in matter” (‘The Michael Revelation. The Word Becomes Flesh and the Flesh Becomes Spirit’: Rudolf Steiner lecture in Dornach on November 22, 1919).
It is true, we have a long way to go to achieve such a tall order, however if we consider how many resources it takes to inforce all the laws needed for our society to be able to survive on this planet it makes sense that we may have to evolve to the point where we reflect on our actions. “What exists in the physical world may be observed by everyone; what is active in the spiritual world serves to solve the riddles posed by the physical world. But we must sense the riddles of physical life in the right way…” (‘The Power and Mission of Michael, Necessity of the Revaluation of Many Values’: Rudolf Steiner lecture in Dornach on November 21, 1919).
This Michaelic image is portrayed in Waldorf Schools at Michaelmas celebrations at the end of September where Michael, realizing the will forces, tames the dragon (representing the intellect) .
As all the myths of days gone by, this modern day myth helps to explain the world that surrounds us. As the global challenges mount our tendencies are to develop strategies to meet these challenges under the unseen influences of Luciferic and Ahrimanic forces of which we are not aware. When we begin to acknowledge these unseen forces we can begin to initiate long lasting positive change. This path allows us to explore a paradigm that is totally different from what is the norm today. The spiritual aspect of humanity is unlimited in the world of intellectual ideas whereas the physical material that we experience through our senses is limited. Discovering ways to meld the spiritual aspect and the material aspect is the work we are faced with in the age of the consciousness soul. All of the social and environmental issues are now being voiced by many and it is indeed apparent that the age of the consciousness soul is underway. It is Michael’s direction that can guide us through this mayhem. “The demands which arise today cannot be solved with thinking of the past. They can only be solved by humankind with a new soul constitution. It is our task so to direct our activity that it may assist the rise of this new soul constitution in humankind.” (Michaelic Thinking. The Knowledge of Man as a Supersensible Being. The Michael Path and the Deepest Impulses of the Social Question. : Rudolf Steiner, lecture 3 in Dornach on November 23, 1919).
It may be hard to imagine that spiritual beings are influencing humanity; however, in today’s ever growing issues it is imagination that we need most. Imagination is like a muscle and needs to be exercised to be strong and effective and myths help us use images to understand the world around us. In the era of the consciousness soul individuals will interpret and develop their own relationship to the spiritual and material world. In a way we may have been set up by the spiritual world in that humanity now exists in a limited material world with unlimited desires while at the same time we are spiritually asked to share the limited resources. The first step is to acknowledge that we have limited resources so we can start the work to find ways to reduce our wants in order to share physical and material resources. At the same time we must learn how not to destroy the Earth out of freedom. If one is poor there is no freedom or choice but to live a simple low throughput lifestyle, however, if one has means and chooses to live a simple lifestyle; that is the start of freedom. If people start reducing their wants it will reduce demands which results in lowering prices while providing examples of a new way of thinking. Such a life can free a person from advertising and keeping up with the Jones, and one can develop a lifestyle out of a balance between the unseen spiritual forces. “Nothing is more simple than greatness indeed, to be simple is great.” (Emerson). Other spiritual paths have completely different images that help them strive for a better world. As far as the consciousness soul age in the future people will be able to perceive with their senses the spiritual world. Until then we continue to develop the forces of Intuition, Imagination, and Inspiration.
According to Steiner there are three periods of soul development; the ages of the intellectual soul, the sentient soul and the consciousness soul. In the age of the intellectual soul the qualities for compassion and the understanding of another person were developed, while social interest and the perception of other people’s needs and abilities unfolded during the sentient soul era. We are now living in the age of the consciousness soul where we can not only acquire social responsibility but take steps of action to integrate these responsibilities into society. It is during this age that the changes that occur will be brought about out of true human freedom. The consciousness soul era began in the 15th century and will last far into the future. Until this period people were enmeshed with the spiritual world and at this time humanity will begin the process of separating from nature and the spiritual world. Science began to explain many of the phenomena that had been considered under control by the gods and spiritual beings. Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Newton were some of the scientists that used logical thinking (intellect) which began this separation and with each successive breakthrough the gulf between humanity and the world of spiritual world and nature enlarged. It is through this separation that humanity will experience true human freedom. This freedom is hard to obtain and at present we are all trapped in ways of thinking that guide our actions such as political ideals, religion, nationalism and general enculturation. As Goethe stated, “None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe that they are free”.
In this early stage of the consciousness soul era it is St. Michael who opens the way to walk the path of awareness, and since this freedom is not really apparent we are still swayed this way and that way by invisible forces. Ahrimanic forces act on the human will which is now unconscious and separate from the intellect or as Steiner describes it, the will is asleep. At the other pole are the Luciferic forces (spiritual) that act on the human intellect and is separated from the Ahrimanic (material) will forces. Throughout our global society this separation is becoming more visible as time goes by. Through science humans have made incredible inventions that have seemingly advanced civilization only to find that after implementing these inventions, through our unconscious will, that great destruction to our environment and social order has occurred. By striving to understand and have the Michaelic forces permeate us we can gain the ability of awaking the will (material) and connect it to the intellect (spiritual) consciously out of freedom and not out of a law or rule. “Michael is the spirit of strength…Michael must permeate us as the strong power which can look through the material and see the spiritual in matter” (‘The Michael Revelation. The Word Becomes Flesh and the Flesh Becomes Spirit’: Rudolf Steiner lecture in Dornach on November 22, 1919).
It is true, we have a long way to go to achieve such a tall order, however if we consider how many resources it takes to inforce all the laws needed for our society to be able to survive on this planet it makes sense that we may have to evolve to the point where we reflect on our actions. “What exists in the physical world may be observed by everyone; what is active in the spiritual world serves to solve the riddles posed by the physical world. But we must sense the riddles of physical life in the right way…” (‘The Power and Mission of Michael, Necessity of the Revaluation of Many Values’: Rudolf Steiner lecture in Dornach on November 21, 1919).
This Michaelic image is portrayed in Waldorf Schools at Michaelmas celebrations at the end of September where Michael, realizing the will forces, tames the dragon (representing the intellect) .
As all the myths of days gone by, this modern day myth helps to explain the world that surrounds us. As the global challenges mount our tendencies are to develop strategies to meet these challenges under the unseen influences of Luciferic and Ahrimanic forces of which we are not aware. When we begin to acknowledge these unseen forces we can begin to initiate long lasting positive change. This path allows us to explore a paradigm that is totally different from what is the norm today. The spiritual aspect of humanity is unlimited in the world of intellectual ideas whereas the physical material that we experience through our senses is limited. Discovering ways to meld the spiritual aspect and the material aspect is the work we are faced with in the age of the consciousness soul. All of the social and environmental issues are now being voiced by many and it is indeed apparent that the age of the consciousness soul is underway. It is Michael’s direction that can guide us through this mayhem. “The demands which arise today cannot be solved with thinking of the past. They can only be solved by humankind with a new soul constitution. It is our task so to direct our activity that it may assist the rise of this new soul constitution in humankind.” (Michaelic Thinking. The Knowledge of Man as a Supersensible Being. The Michael Path and the Deepest Impulses of the Social Question. : Rudolf Steiner, lecture 3 in Dornach on November 23, 1919).
It may be hard to imagine that spiritual beings are influencing humanity; however, in today’s ever growing issues it is imagination that we need most. Imagination is like a muscle and needs to be exercised to be strong and effective and myths help us use images to understand the world around us. In the era of the consciousness soul individuals will interpret and develop their own relationship to the spiritual and material world. In a way we may have been set up by the spiritual world in that humanity now exists in a limited material world with unlimited desires while at the same time we are spiritually asked to share the limited resources. The first step is to acknowledge that we have limited resources so we can start the work to find ways to reduce our wants in order to share physical and material resources. At the same time we must learn how not to destroy the Earth out of freedom. If one is poor there is no freedom or choice but to live a simple low throughput lifestyle, however, if one has means and chooses to live a simple lifestyle; that is the start of freedom. If people start reducing their wants it will reduce demands which results in lowering prices while providing examples of a new way of thinking. Such a life can free a person from advertising and keeping up with the Jones, and one can develop a lifestyle out of a balance between the unseen spiritual forces. “Nothing is more simple than greatness indeed, to be simple is great.” (Emerson). Other spiritual paths have completely different images that help them strive for a better world. As far as the consciousness soul age in the future people will be able to perceive with their senses the spiritual world. Until then we continue to develop the forces of Intuition, Imagination, and Inspiration.