One of the first basic sayings which has to be conquered is the old, beautiful saying of the wise Greeks: “Whoever wants to attain wisdom dare not take notice of his own opinion.” You will find that whoever has really experienced the spiritual scientific route, will say: Yes, my opinion doesn’t provide much; I can give descriptions of experiences, but not regularization principles, not claims of action, and these descriptions should be taken as instructions flowing into the theory of occult science.
Opinions and points of view need be given up by the spiritual researcher. He has no point of view because all observations are like images originating from different points of view, which are as varied as people looking at the world from the most diverse angles. On the one side is the image of the materialistic standpoint, then from the other side that of a spiritual or a mechanistic or the easy-life observation. These are all observation angles.
To not only recognise them theoretically but to live with every worldview in order to create images as to how each observation creates a different side, that is the inner tolerance which is important here. One opinion shouldn’t fight another. As a result an inner and from this an outer tolerance develops which we need if we, mankind, want to meet our healing in future.
Source: Rudolf Steiner: GA 108 – What is Self-knowledge? – Vienna, 23 November 1908
Translated by Hanna von Maltitz
https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/19081123p01.html
Previously posted on 7 July 2019
The great Rudolf Steiner Quotes Site 