An excess of evil powers against a good humanity

The dream of Socrates, that virtue be able to be taught, will come true; more and more it will be possible on earth not only for our intellect to be stimulated and energized by this teaching but, through this teaching, for moral impulses to be spread abroad. 

Schopenhauer said, “To preach morality is easy; to establish it is most difficult.” Why is this? Because no morality has yet been spread by preaching. It is quite possible to recognize moral principles and yet not abide by them. For most people the Pauline saying holds good, that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. This will change, through the moral fire streaming from the figure of Christ. Through this, the need for moral impulses on earth will be increasingly clear to man. 

Man will transform the earth in so far as he feels with ever-increasing strength that morality is an essential part of the earth. In the future, to be immoral will be possible only for people who receive immoral help, who are goaded in this direction, who are possessed by evil demons, by Ahrimanic, Asuric powers, and who strive for this possession.

This is the future condition of the earth: there will be a sufficient number of people who increasingly teach morality and at the same time offer a moral foundation, but there will also be those who by their own free decision surrender themselves to the evil powers and thus enable an excess of evil to be pitted against a good humanity. Nobody will be forced to do this; it will lie in the free will of each individual.

Source: Rudolf Steiner – Ga 130 – The Reappearance of Christ: Lecture IX: The Etherization of the Blood – Basel, October 1, 1911

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Demons / Ghosts / Phantoms

You must realise that in the astral body and in the etheric body, as well as in the physical body, you feel the workings of other beings; all that you do involuntarily, everything to which you are impelled, is due to the working of other beings; it is not born from nothingness. The various members of man’s nature are all the time actually permeated and filled by other beings, and many of the exercises given by an initiated teacher are for the purpose of driving out these beings in order that a man may become more and more free.

The beings who permeate the astral body and make it unfree are known as “Demons.” Your astral body is always interpenetrated by demons and the beings you yourselves generate through your true or false thoughts are of such a nature that they gradually grow into demons. There are good demons, generated by good thoughts; but bad thoughts, above all those that are untruthful, generate demoniacal forms of the most terrible and frightful kind and these interlard the astral body — if I may so express it. The etheric body is also permeated by beings from which man must free himself; these beings are called “Spectres”, “ghosts.” And finally, permeating the physical body there are beings known as “Phantoms.”

Besides these three classes there are yet other beings, the “Spirits,” who drive the Ego hither and thither — the Ego itself also being a Spirit. In actual fact the human being generates such creatures who then determine his inner and outer destiny when he descends to incarnation. These beings work in your life in such a way that you can feel the “demons” created by your astral body, the “ghosts” or “spectres” created by your etheric body and the “phantoms” created by your physical body. All these beings are related to you and approach you when the time comes for reincarnation.

Source: Rudolf Steiner – GA 99 – Theosophy of the Rosicrucian: VI: THE LAW OF DESTINY – Munich, 30th May 1907

Translated by M. Cotterell & D.S. Osmond

Noise in the cities

These days there are books written on how to reduce the noise in the cities and even associations formed to assist with this reduction of noise. However, it is not about reducing the noise but about developing the inner strength through meditation and equanimity of soul to shut it out. It is not the excessive noise in the cities that is harmful but the demons that move through them; these demons are actually kept in check somewhat by the racket. One needs to learn to live with the noise without becoming annoyed by it.

Source (German): Rudolf Steiner – GA 266a – Aus den Inhalten der esoterischen Stunden – Munich, November 8, 1908 (page 429)

Translated by Nesta Carsten-Krüger

Previously posted on October 14, 2017

As blind as a mole

Man is under the influence of many forces and is, in relation to them, as blind as a mole. All the time, he is only aware of one part of reality, although all of reality concerns him. We must have strong impulses that enable us to get away from the reach of harmful demons.

Source (German):  Rudolf Steiner – GA 98 – Natur- und Geistwesen- ihr Wirken in unserer sichtbaren Welt – Hannover, February 24, 1908 (page 257)

Anonymous translator

Previously posted on May 7, 2016

Noise in the cities

These days there are books written on how to reduce the noise in the cities and even associations formed to assist with this reduction of noise. However, it is not about reducing the noise but about developing the inner strength through meditation and equanimity of soul to shut it out. It is not the excessive noise in the cities that is harmful but the demons that move through them; these demons are actually kept in check somewhat by the racket. One needs to learn to live with the noise without becoming annoyed by it.

Source (German): Rudolf Steiner – GA 266a – Aus den Inhalten der esoterischen Stunden – Munich, November 8, 1908 (page 429)

Translated by Nesta Carsten-Krüger

Previously posted on October 11, 2016