Manicheism and Rosicrucianism: Their Kinship in the Past, Present, and Future
October 3 3 pm ET – 2 pm CT – 1 pm MT – Noon PT – 8 pm UK – 9 pm CET
Steve Roberts
Description: Rudolf Steiner consistently emphasized the future importance of the Manichean stream, yet dedicated only one single lecture to the subject. He also stated that the Manichean stream would become more important than the Rosicrucian stream, creating a new form into which future Christianity would “pour”. Stephen will examine these claims in the light of Dutch anthroposophist Bernard Lievegoed’s final writings, and then look at indications given by Steiner to his young pupil Ehrenfried Pfeiffer of early historical links between two young men personally initiated by Christ, namely Lazarus of the John Gospel, who became Christian Rosenkreutz and the ‘Youth of Nain’ of the Luke Gospel who became Mani. Reference is also made to research done by Walter Johannes Stein, also a pupil of Steiner.
Bio: Stephen Roberts (b. 1951 in New Zealand; resident in the U.K. since 1978) met anthroposophy in 1973 and has been involved with the work of Rudolf Steiner ever since – predominantly in curative education, book publishing, his own personal study, and writings/presentations. Steve has focused on the Grail, Knights Templar, Rosicrucianism and other Western Mystery traditions. On recovering from a critical health event in 2022, he was strongly drawn to both Manichaeism and Steiner’s cultic work, the Misraim-Dienst established in 1906 which has continued in an unbroken lineage to these times as the ‘Michael Service’ (Michael-Dienst). Stephen’s biography of English occultist Nevill Meakin (1876–1912), an early pupil of Rudolf Steiner and intimate friend of Edith Maryon, will be published by Holythorn Press (U.K.) in 2027.
Presentations are free,but a $15 suggested donation per presentation or $150 for the entire webinar will help to support this program and provide for a speaker honorarium. Please type “Webinar on Mani” or presenter’s name on the first line of your payment application.
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The Philosophy of Freedom, also titled in other translations as Intuitive Thinking as a Spiritual Path and The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity, is Rudolf Steiner’s foundational philosophical work. Part One explores the basis for freedom in human thinking, gives an account of the relationship between knowledge and perception, and explores the reliability of thinking as a means to knowledge. Part Two analyzes the conditions necessary for freedom of action and develops the moral philosophy Steiner describes as “ethical individualism”.
From the back cover of Intuitive Thinking as a Spiritual Path:
Of all of his works, Intuitive Thinking as a Spiritual Path is the one that Steiner himself believed would have the longest life and the greatest spiritual and cultural consequences. It was written as a phenomenological account of the “results of observing the human soul according to the methods of natural science”.
This seminal work asserts that free spiritual activity – understood as the human ability to think and act independently of physical nature – is the suitable path for human beings today to gain true knowledge of themselves and of the universe. This is not merely a philosophical volume, but rather a warm, heart-oriented guide to the practice and experience of living thinking.
Readers will not find abstract philosophy here, but a step-by-step account of how a person may come to experience living, intuitive thinking – “the conscious experience of a purely spiritual content”.
During the past hundred years since it was written, many have tried to discover this “new thinking” that could help us understand the various spiritual, ecological, social, political, and philosophical issues facing us. But only Rudolf Steiner laid out a path that leads from ordinary thinking to the level of pure spiritual activity – intuitive thinking – in which we become co-creators and co-redeemers of the world.
“When, with the help of Steiner’s book, we recognize that thinking is an essentially spiritual activity, we discover that it can school us. In that sense –Steiner’s sense – thinking is a spiritual path.” (Gertrude Reif Hughes).
These lectures were presented in 2013 by Brian Gray, who at the time was the Director of the Foundation Program in Anthroposophy at Rudolf Steiner College, Fair Oaks, CA.
Course Details:
In this free 17-session video course, Brian presents an in-depth exploration of Rudolf Steiner’s fundamental work.
It was recorded and published in 2013 by Liane Brookhart (Liane’s Lens of Half Moon Bay, CA) and is offered free of charge.
Brian Gray is a musician, teacher, lecturer, and writer on many topics drawn from Anthroposophy – the work of Rudolf Steiner. He loves to share research from the realms of star wisdom, biography, cosmology, Waldorf Education, sacred architecture, and esoteric Christianity. Brian was core faculty at Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, California from 1981-2016. He also served as RSC’s Director of the Foundation Program from 1991-1998, and again from 2006-2016.
Brian earned a BA in Architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. Inspired in 1979 by René Querido – one of his master teachers at RSC – Brian completed a certificate in Waldorf Teacher Education in 1981. Brian has helped lead tours through Europe, Egypt, and the Holy Land, exploring sacred architecture, sacred sites, and Parzival’s quest for the Holy Grail.
Brian is a founding member of Wise Cosmos Educational Initiative, and is the President of the Board of Directors.
Summerfield Waldorf School 7pm on Friday, October 16, 2027
Will the Future: a journey from the everyday self to the higher person that slumbers within. We must face and confront evil in our times to become free and Will the Future. Poets and composers include: Annie Lighthart, Juan Ramon Jimenez, Diane Robitelle, Victor Hugo, Rudolf Steiner, Sergei Rachmaninoff, J.S. Bach, Alberto Ginastera, Franz Liszt. This 70-minute performance is appropriate for all ages 5-105.
Sol Metamorfloses offers professional Eurythmy performances which enkindle the light within to metamorphose darkness, meeting the needs of our times. Joleen Spratt, Lilith & Sebastien Dupuis (Eurythmy) Isaiah Spratt (Piano, Speech)
How can the human heart remain alive in times of grief, violence and evil?
(Facing contemporary evil with Manichaean prayers in communion with the dead)
In moments of trauma, loss and crisis, prayers can seem powerless. Yet “Iron Swords Prayers,” received in the midst of the October 7th war, offer an unexpected way of facing evil without being swallowed by it. They are not prayers of escape, but of transformation: they do not ask us to deny evil, but to ask whether evil has a purpose in the development of mankind.The prayers do not require agreement. They require honesty: a willingness to stand still in the presence of suffering and consider that even here, freedom has not vanished. Every inward act of clarity, gratitude, forgiveness and compassion – and every quiet decision to remain human – contributes to a larger moral horizon. “Iron Swords Prayers” are an invitation into that horizon.
Maureen Amelia, a curative Eurythmist, medical clown, storyteller and Enneagram journey therapist, and Eytan Bloch, a biographical counselor, listening circle (Council) facilitator and focusing teacher, have together accompanied the realization of “Ripples of the Heart” for the last 10 years through books, performances and workshop retreats. Their book, Iron Swords Prayers is available via Amazon.
