billdaedalusunlimited!com all rights reser"ed ARCHANGEL MICHAEL: THE FIERY THOUGHT KING OF THE UNIVERSE HOW CAN WE KNOW HIM? Part III SPIRITUALIZING THE KNOWLEDGE OF SPACE By Bill Trusiewicz #elcome $ %i&e' I go to encounter &or the millionth time the reality o& e(perience and to &orge in the smithy o& my soul the uncreated conscience o& my race! )ames )oyce* Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man +o &ar in this series o& articles we ha"e addressed se"eral imperati"es that one learns to embrace as one progresses in what has been called ,the school o& -rchangel .ichael*/ the 0iery Thought 1ing! 2t will be help&ul to brie&ly reiterate these important points be&ore we begin the present study that ta3es up the matter o& Spiritualizing our Knowledge of Space. #e will be see3ing to penetrate 4udol& +teiner5s words in his last address wherein he encourages us to ta3e up the .ichael 6ower and the .ichael #ill to penetrate the whole o& li&e to meet the challenges o& our time! This must be done by spiritualizing our knowledge of space* one o& the most important imperati"es that we learn to carry out as students in the school o& .ichael! 7ow to reiterate* in 6art 2 we began by e(amining the .ichaelic imperati"e o& questioning. This imperati"e is illustrated in the "ery name8 .i9cha9el* which translates as a :uestion8 ,#ho is li3e ;od</ 2& :uestioning is employed in the right way it can lead us to the spirit behind what we behold in e"eryday consciousness! #e discussed the imperati"e o& ta3ing a path that is uni"ersal* that embraces the whole o& humanity in a spirit o& cosmopolitanism! #e grappled with the imperati"e o& culti"ating universal individualism* in which we recognized how the higher ,2/ is highly indi"idual but is supremely committed to ad"ancing the cause o& human spiritual e"olution harmoniously in the social sphere! #e e(plored the meaning o& the .ichaelic imperati"e o& mirroring the highest in the other that is essential &or ad"ancement in any .ichael community! 2n 6art 22 we discussed the highly signi&icant &act that Archangel Michael is taciturn8 he seldom spea3s to inspire us but waits &or us to ta3e initiati"e in spiritual matters! 2n addressing this &act* we sought to clari&y the essential distinction between =osmic 2ntelligence and the >uman 2ntelligence &or which we must and can stri"e* than3s to the -rchangel5s silence! The act o& &ashioning >uman 2ntelligence &rom =osmic 2ntelligence institutes what 4udol& +teiner called ,re"erse ritual*/ based on the &act that we as human beings can return something to the sphere o& the hierarchies* can return speech to the stars* so to spea3! 2n this third in a series o& articles that ha"e as their goal enabling us as spirit see3ers to better 3now -rchangel .ichael* we will e(plore the statement &rom 4udol& +teiner5s last address :uoted earlier* concerning the ,great crisis/ that human3ind would pass through a&ter the end o& the twentieth century! +teiner said that it would be necessary that ,the .ichael 6ower and the .ichael #ill penetrate the whole o& li&e!/ >e said that these ,are none other than the =hrist 6ower and the =hrist #ill!/ #e will e(plore how it is that through the .ichael 6ower* humanity in our time can and must trans&orm our predisposition to "iew all things in a materialistic way* due to our peculiar 3nowledge o& space! #e will address the :uestion o& how .ichael can help us to spiritualize our 3nowledge o& space and thus ,penetrate the whole o& li&e/ to meet the challenges o& our time! -s we approach the sub?ect o& spiritualizing space* let us recall the &amous line &rom the opera Parsifal by 4ichard #agner* which opera 4udol& +teiner praised as signi&icant* adding to a deeper understanding o& the =hrist @"ent! 1 2n the libretto o& Parsifal the elder ;urnemanz e(claims to the youth&ul 6arsi&al in re&erence to the en"irons o& the ;rail =astle* ,Aou see* my son* here time becomes space!/ 2n other words* time is revealed spatially through the magic o& the ;rail! #ith this picture in mind let us see3 together to enter the ;rail =astle by way o& participation in the drama o& trans&ormation that is ta3ing place in our time under the rulership o& -rchangel .ichael* the zeitgeist or Time +pirit o& our era! To do so we will &irst need to enli"en our thin3ing by penetrating the abstractions represented in the words ,space/ and ,time!/ -s we begin* it is important to realize that it is only in the last &ew hundred years Bsince the 1C th
and 1D th centuriesE that the conception o& space as we understand it today came into e(istence as a widely held idea! 2t will be easy to see the transition &rom the earlier period o& human history in which time predominated in human consciousness i& we realize how art since the 4enaissance di&&ers &rom the art that preceded it! #e 3now that during the 4enaissance the use o& perspective in painting and drawing came into "ogue! 6erspecti"e is the way an artist represents a scene on a picture plane accurately according to what a "iewer sees with his or her eyes! 2t is the technical way to represent how light enters the eye &rom a distant sub?ect* geometrically depicted* to gi"e the illusion o& three9dimensionality! .ost simply* this means that closer ob?ects appear larger and &urther ob?ects appear smaller* con&orming to the natural con"ergence o& lines toward what are called "anishing points! 2n the modern world it is generally assumed that the geometric representation o& space on a picture plane or pictorially in one5s consciousness is the ,correct/ representation! 2& one considers only the way light enters the eye* it may indeed be called ,correct!/ But is this the only "alid means o& representing the human e(perience o& seeing< 2t is common in our time to "iew oursel"es and the world we inhabit as mechanically constructed according to scienti&ic principles that deri"e solely &rom our mechanistic "iew o& the world! The ,correctness/ o& such imagistic constructions is not to be disputed* as such depictions correctly de&ine the material world* i!e!* what appears to our outer senses! 2 2 Beginning in about the 1D th century* the system o& perspecti"e was predicated on solely materialistic grounds! 2n 1C3D %eon Battista -lberti* one o& the earliest proponents o& the theory o& perspecti"e* says in his boo3 n Painting! ,7o one would deny that the painter has nothing to do with things that are not "isible! The painter is concerned solely with representing what can be seen!/ 2 This was a radical statement &or a time in which most art depicted angelic beings and imaginati"e* mystical and spiritual e(periences which were clearly not "isible in the usual sense! The e&&ect o& adopting the theoretical basis described by -lberti and others was e"entually to all but eliminate the representation o& the inner dimension o& seeing in art! This change led to naturalism in painting and what it called ,representational art/ in which the outer world is rendered according to the laws o& geometry that hold in &aith&ully tracing the path o& the re&lection o& light as it approaches the eye! -s we e(plore the transition o& human consciousness that occurred during the 4enaissance* we can begin to get a &eeling &or both the passing state o& consciousness and the newly de"eloping state! The 4enaissance mar3s the end o& a period o& human de"elopmental history in which it was customary to depict inner* spiritual e(perience and uni"ersal soul and spiritual memories o& humanity in imaginati"e pictures! #hat these e(periences were is reasonably clear &rom re"iewing painting and sculpture prior to the 4enaissance* i!e!* during the .iddle -ges and earlier! =learly in the #estern #orld as a whole* religiousFmythicalFspiritual sub?ects predominated with "ery rare instances o& naturalistic art! 3
#hat is o& real interest here is not so much the sub?ect matter o& art as such* but the &orces that are operating "ehind the sub?ects o& art in the souls o& human beings during the period prior to the 4enaissance! #hat may &irst stri3e us is the &act that most art o& the time har3ens bac3 to an earlier historical periodGthe time o& =hrist! #e should ta3e note that while naturalistic painting* depicting nature ,&aith&ully as the eye sees it*/ represents a moment in timeGthe moment when the artist is paintingH art prior to the 4enaissance almost in"ariably Baside &rom standard portraits o& notable personalities and the li3eE depicts past e"ents re9capitulated* re9imagined! 2& we call this earlier art ,timeless/ Bwhich it certainly wasE* we really mean that it depicted something that is ,good &or all time*/ or that* by "irtue o& its uni"ersality* endures &or long spans o& time! #e mean that in a sense it contained or consisted o& a breadth o& time! 2ndeed* i& we sur"ey the record o& human history going bac3 into the distant past* we &ind little that gi"es much attention to space in comparison with time in the sense we ha"e ?ust established! @"en the earliest portraiture Bbe&ore the 4enaissanceE was more symbolic than representati"e* in most cases caring little &or li3enesses! The symbolic character o& art that disregards e(ternal appearances highlights time rather than spaceH it places little emphasis on what appears to the senses in space in the moment* &a"oring collecti"e :ualities o"er sensible indi"idual attributes* choosing the uni"ersal and typical Btime9concentrating :ualitiesE o"er the personal and distincti"e Bspace9conser"ing :ualitiesE! The general tendencies re&erred to here in re&erence to art be&ore the 4enaissance can be seen uni"ersally in the broad spectrum o& the cultures o& the world* in literature* and indeed in all o& li&e! $ne can draw the same parallels when re"iewing the pre9=hristian art o& @urope and the 7ear and .iddle @ast with its rich mythologies and depictions o& its pantheon o& gods! ;enerally spea3ing* little regard is gi"en to space! During these periods* "ery little attention is gi"en to the material world that occupies space compared with the era &ollowing the 4enaissance! 3 3 The ability to &ocus on the material world* ma3ing the physical world o& space come into clear* precise "iew with perspecti"e as the outer eye sees it* shi&ting the &ocus &rom the inner eye* was a monumental accomplishment &or humanity! 2t may be seen as a step towards the &ul&illment o& the biblical dictum gi"en by ;od to -dam* to ,ha"e dominionIo"er the earth*/ C a dominion that would bring human moral order and beauty to the natural world* ele"ating the laws o& nature! #hat is meant here is di&&icult &or modern humanity to grasp* since the sort o& dominion we are used to seeing is "ery di&&erent &rom the noble dominion meant to be carried into the world by ;od5s children! -nd it is especially di&&icult to en"ision since many o& those who claim to be ;od5s children care little &or the earth and the natural world* considering it to be in&erior to and less important than ,hea"en*/ which simplistically de&ines &or them the whole spiritual world! 7e"ertheless* humanity needs to ac:uire this new &ocus because the intention o& the gods is to penetrate this whole planet to its dar3 core with the good* the true* and the beauti&ul to ma3e it radiant with hea"enly light! This &ocus ob"iously will not be possible without the greatest lo"e &or the planet and all o& its inhabitants! #e are describing here the =hristian ideal o& the 7ew )erusalem* the city o& peace* which is the goal o& humanity* a city transparent and permeated by spirit light! The ;arden o& @den* ha"ing &allen into the hands o& an errant humanity* in the end is resurrected by a redeemed humanity and becomes a beauti&ul city in which the dar3ened* physical* aspect o& nature has become transparent Gspiritualized8 nature is ennobled through the e"ol"ed nobility o& the human being! This is the meaning o& the &inal words o& the Bible! D #e can 3eep this picture in mind as we see3 to &ul&ill 4udol& +teiner5s "ision that ,the .ichael 6ower and the .ichael #ill penetrate the whole o& li&e!/ -t the present stage o& human de"elopment we ha"e only ?ust begun to approach the material world to understand it! This is why it is so signi&icant that humanity has adopted the new ,perspecti"e/ o& the material world that artists since the 4enaissance ha"e en"isioned! This new perspecti"e has allowed human understanding to penetrate material reality* yielding tremendous ad"ances in technologyGa process that is only ?ust getting under way! But penetrating the material world is a spiritual matter with spiritual conse:uences e:ui"alent to the traditional esoteric ?ourney into the underworld! .odern humanity has not yet grasped this &act! #hat we &ace as a result o& this penetration o& the material world are the powers that li"e in the underworldGdar3 powers that emerge as human beings encroach on their world! Behind these dar3 guardians are the bene"olent maternal &orces that ha"e been preser"ed &rom the &all* which will also emerge as we penetrate the earth with wisdom and lo"e! But we will need to &ace the guardians o& the underworld and master them be&ore we can unite with the .other &orces o& +hambhala! 0or the tremendous ad"ances in technology* &rom which we all deri"e bene&it in the modern world* we ha"e much to be than3&ul! But the untrans&ormed &orces o& the underworld ha"e ta3en hold o& our thin3ing! They ha"e allowed us to see new "istas o& reality* but as a side e&&ect they ha"e le&t the modern soul hanging o"er an abyss by remo"ing the pictorial language o& the inner li&e that used to nourish the human soul and spirit! -s humanity crosses this abyss in our time Bwhich began with the -ge o& -rchangel .ichael in 1JK9E* we see another monumental shi&t in &ocus* and artists ha"e &aith&ully mirrored this shi&t as they ha"e mirrored changes in consciousness in all ages! Twentieth century art Bo&ten called simply modern art* distinct &rom contemporary art* which usually is considered post9modernE has bro3en away &rom the con"entions established during the 4enaissance* shattering the idea o& perspecti"e and o& the C C superiority o& naturalistic* representational or what might be called ,photo9graphic/ artGart that depicts nature as a representation o& how light bounces o&& ob?ects in space! .odern art has o&&ered bac3 to humanity the ,language o& the inner li&e!/ 2t has come bac3* "ut not as a given! such as in earlier times when artists depicted important spiritual e"ents o& the past or later simply by apprehending what is gi"en by outer nature* as in landscape painting and all representati"e art! 2n 3eeping with the inner pictorial "iew to which modern artists ha"e adhered and which re?ects the ideal o& realism* the wor3 o& these modern artists ha"e been called ,in9 scapes/ rather than landscapes* indicating the inner point o& "iew! The &ragmentation o& the picture plane and the depiction o& dream9li3e and &antastic* abstract* imaginati"e constructions such as ha"e become clichL in our time Bbegun by the pioneers o& .odernismE was a human in"entionGnot given* but created to e(press the reality o& the inner li&e! These pioneers included 6icasso* )uan ;ris* .atisse* Toulouse %autrec* Bra:ue* =ezanne* "an ;ogh* #assily 1andins3y* and in -merica* .arzden >artley* -rthur Do"e* ;eorgia $51ee&e* )ohn .arin* and =harles Demuth* to name a &ew! B4udol& +teiner5s "ery signi&icant contribution to art in the twentieth century is o& another order and cannot be compared with that o& these other artists!E 2t is no accident that this "iewpoint de"eloped coincident with the regency o& -rchangel .ichael! #e could easily point to parallel de"elopments in e"ery sphere o& human culture* including the sciences* in which the traditional* the classical and nearly all the long9standing con"entions o& representing ,reality/ were o"erturned! 2n e"ery case there has been a mo"ement away &rom the merely "isible world and the time9bound* space9bound ways o& understanding oursel"es and our world! - door has been opened to e(ploring the un3nown8 the unconscious* sub9conscious and super9consciousGin a word* the in"isible! .odern artists* as an a"ant9garde o& culture in the #estern world* ha"e re?ected the old idea o& reality! Their "ision has not yet permeated the whole o& society* but the mores which were de&ined by the church or the state ha"e lost their power o"er us! The moral imperati"e o& our time and o& the &uture lies in our power to re9de&ine reality* to li"e true to what we 3now as soul and spiritual beings* as 3nowers oursel"es* no longer beholden to the 3nowledge e(perts o& the past! $& course* the denizens o& the past are all around us ser"ing as a counter9balance to the a"ant9garde that would &ly o&& into the &uture too :uic3ly! 2n con&ronting the in"isible world Bthat we as students o& spiritual science 3now can be represented through imagination* inspiration and intuitionE* humanity has been plunged into a "oid! #e are le&t with a world whose &oundations we can no longer claim to understand or readily de&ine* as pre"iously! +e"eral modern schools o& thought ha"e arisen to underscore this &act* such as8 systems theory* comple(ity science* integral studies* &utures studies* post structuralism* post &ormalism* open systems biology to name a &ew! 6 But more importantly* a moral "oid has opened up! To say that a moral "oid has opened up is not to say we are con&ronted with an immoral "oid! - moral "oid creates an opportunity* an imperati"e! 2t has become imperati"e to create something* to en"ision something! .odern artists would ne"er go bac3 to merely representational painting o& the outer worldGthat has become meaningless and e"en immoral in a certain sense* or at least bac3ward* when so much more potential &or creation e(ists within humanity! 7or would they allow anything that is not authentic and uni:ue to the indi"idual artist! -rtists and art a&icionados absolutely re?ect all such wor3 as ,deri"ati"e/ and there&ore ,not creati"e/ by their standards! D D The "isible world* the world o& space* has lost its power o"er us! The in"isible is now our guide into the &uture* and the act o& spiritualizing space is intimately connected with our ability to re9 de&ine the old notions o& reality and the old understanding o& morality through the power o& our inner li&e* by our own soul and spiritual &aculties! 2& we e(amine what has been presented abo"e we will realize that the world does not merely stand be&ore the threshold o& the spiritual world* but rather it is being pushed o"er the threshold! 2t is no longer enough to de&ine oursel"es by outer perceptionsH humanity is now being re:uired to cross the threshold! -ll o& the di&&iculties o& modern times are the result o& what is con&ronted on the &ront lines* in the throes o& the moral "oid that is encountered at the threshold! 2t is not a metaphor to say that when "iewing modern art one is loo3ing into the abyss o& human consciousness where one might witness chthonic* under9worldly powers* or perhaps catch a glimpse o& a dawning +hambhala!
This situation is all the wor3 o& spiritual e"olution* the result o& the retreat o& -rchangel .ichael* o& his becoming taciturn! -s the &ocus o& human attention on super&icial* outer reality is brea3ing down and yielding to une(plored inner depths* so too .ichael no longer wor3s &rom the outside* but see3s to wor3 within humanity! >ow is it now that -rchangel .ichael will wor3 within us to ,penetrate the whole o& li&e to meet the challenges o& our time</ #e will answer that :uestion once we ha"e addressed how one can de"elop the .ichaelic courage necessary to gain intimacy with him! #e ha"e discussed the abyss* the negati"e side o& the challenges we &ace in the modern worldG things that ha"e to do with .ichael5s retreat* we might say! +urely -rchangel .ichael wor3s in a positi"e way as wellGmo"ing &orward! Aes* much is said o& the iron courage o& those who ?oin the ran3s o& his companions in the struggle &or human &reedom! 2& we 3now .ichael* when we spea3 o& this courage we are clearly not spea3ing o& natural human courage! #e re&er here not to something that comes naturally* but to a :uality that we ac:uire only as we tread the arduous path o& spiritual de"elopment and &ace its guardians! 2t is something that is planted in us by the spiritual world and becomes iron courage in us through our e(ercise! #hat is the seed o& this courage in us< The seed o& this courage is one thing8 an intimate relationship with -rchangel .ichael! -s we approach the sub?ect o& intimacy with a sublime* hierarchical being* we tread on mysterious ground* sacred ground* a tur& that re:uires that we remo"e our shoesGnot ?ust as a sign o& re"erence or to pre"ent damage as we tread* but to ma3e a "ital connection with the earth beneath our &eet! >ere we enter the en"irons o& the grail castle where the mystery o& the union o& the di"ine &eminine and masculine is celebrated in the sword and the chalice! >ere* as spiritual beings* we &eel the earth beneath our &eet again a&ter millennia o& incarnations* but as ne"er be&ore! #e enter again into our ancient wisdom* but it all has become new! Time is laid out be&ore us in space8 ,Aou see* my son* here time becomes space!/ BThe realm o& time* the etheric world* is set be&ore our inner "ision in a panorama!E -nd we can dimly hear the words o& the ancient dictum* remembering how it sounded to the student o& the mysteries stri"ing &or initiation* who &inally beheld the "ision o& the Di"ine +ophia saying8 ,2 am the -ll* 2 am the 6ast* the 6resent and the 0utureH no mortal has yet li&ted my "eil!/ But the dictum has changed! 7ow +ophia says8 ,2 am the >uman Being* 2 am the 6ast* the 6resent* and the 0uture! @"ery mortal should li&t my "eil!/ 6 6 6erhaps we can &eel the grandeur o& these words* but what does it all mean< >ow might these words be &leshed out in real li&e< >ow might we e(perience the depths again a&ter more than a millennium o& being schooled in super&iciality< -s we stand at the gate o& this realm* let us return once more to the :uestion o& space and time that we began withH but now we will attempt to cross the desert o& conceptual abstractions and enter the land o& the pure* li"ing* water and pulsing blood! %et us begin by characterizing this new territory that is not built on the &ormer &oundations o& thin3ing in which outer "ision rules and in which it is assumed that e"erything is contained within the s3in o& a thing! %et us lea"e the strait?ac3et ideation o& mechanistic* materialistic thought! 2n this new land we would mo"e &rom ordinary space ,as the eye sees it/ into time* in the act o& spiritualizing our 3nowledge o& space* with the help o& the Time +pirit! #hat does it mean to mo"e beyond the e(perience o& space* the three9dimensional world* into the world o& time* the &ourth dimension< #e ha"e already gi"en a &ew clues to what the e(perience o& time might be! #e ha"e mentioned the ,timeless/ or symbolic nature o& seeing that was represented by artists be&ore the ad"ent o& perspecti"e! 2t was easy and natural in earlier times to e(perience the permanence o& the timeless or to ha"e what we might call a time# condensed e(perience! >umanity was embedded in a myth9 and symbol9rich world* a culture that was thic3 with ritual and &esti"al to 3eep the ancient memory ali"e and coursing through the blood! The outer world has become such a distraction &or us today precisely because our &ocus is on space* and our concern is with ob?ects in space* "iz!* the material world! The abyss we ha"e &allen into or ha"e been pushed into is a "oid o& time! #e are dimly aware o& this "oidH re&erences to it slip out in our language! #e are perpetually trying to ,sa"e time/ because we ,don5t ha"e enough time!/ +o the modern technology pro"ides us with ,time sa"ing/ de"ices that will gi"e us more time* :uality timeGwith those who are important to us* &or instance! $r we can ,buy time/ to ma3e more money because we 3now that ,time is money!/ -s a culture* we actually 3now that we are running out o& timeH we e"en ac3nowledge the ,end o& time/ with e(pectations based on all sorts o& prophesies regarding the ,end times!/ #e &eel the "oid o& time* sometimes acutely* but we don5t really 3now what it means! #e may say that time is precious but most o& us don5t comprehend the depth o& truth in that statement! $r we simply don5t 3now how to escape the imprisonment o& the time "oid* which is simply the shadow or underside o& un9spiritualized space! 2& we truly understood our predicament we would stop and listen! #e would enter into the silence until we could hear the "oice o& silence* calling us bac3 to oursel"es! #e would hear8 ,@"ery mortal should li&t my "eilI2 am the human beingI2 am the 6ast* the 6resent and the 0uture!/ #e would stop the incessant internal dialogH we would stop our obsession with doingH we would stop our ,wise and prudent/ &ascination with the past and the &uture* and we would simply B@ 64@+@7T! #e would realize once and &or all that the &uture and past ha"e no e(istence outside o& the present momentH they e(ist only in the present moment! -ll else is imaginaryH all else is &antasy! $ne o& the parado(es o& this path is that we can only recei"e the gi&ts o& the past and the &uture in the present! Time is 7ow! The eternal li"es in the present moment! #e only own oursel"es truly in the 7ow! #e can only act 7ow! #hen we draw all o& our &orces o& thin3ing and &eeling into the present* we can awa3en and we can act! #e mista3e outer mo"ement &or action! 4eal action* spirit9action* is &rom withinH it is not outer mo"ement! K K #hat does it mean that the &uture and the past only lie in the present moment< The answer to this :uestion is intimated in ;urnemanz5 words to 6arsi&al8 ,>ere time becomes space!/ $ne o& the &irst steps on the path o& initiation is seeing the panorama* the tableau( o& our li&e spread out be&ore us! #e must cross this threshold! This happens with e"ery near9death e(perience! 2t happens at death! 2t happens when the etheric body separates &rom the physical body! 2t happens with initiation! #e see this tableauGour li&e spread out be&ore us* the past the present and the &uture lying be&ore our eyes as i& in space! >ere time becomes space! #e enter the etheric world! %et us &urther clari&y this enigmatic saying! $ere time "ecomes space means that space is our way o& translating thingsH it is our way o& comprehending time! -t this point in our e"olution we relate most clearly to the spatial! +o when we say ,time becomes space/ we mean that we are able to comprehend time* we are able to ,see/ timeGin spatial terms! #hen we see the tableau( we see time* whereas be&ore it eluded us! 7ow that we ha"e begun to enter into the mood o& time* let us proceed a step &urther away &rom the abstract towards the real! #hat do we see in the moment when we ha"e stilled our thoughts and drawn together our soul &orces< #e ha"e said that we see time spread out be&ore usGour human li&e and its tra?ectory* we might say! -s with all spiritual matters we can tal3 about these things* but it is a "ery di&&erent thing to e(perience them! #e ha"e either e(perienced the tableau( or we ha"e not! 6erhaps we ha"e e(perienced the tableau( but don5t remember it! This is so o&ten the case! #e get distracted! #e don5t 3now what is important* what to &ocus on* so we let "aluable e(periences go* and we lose them! The spiritual li&e has a lot to do with what Don )uan* the 7agual* the teacher and the man o& 3nowledge in =arlos =asteneda5s stories called ,recollecting!/ 2t also has much to do with what he called ,stal3ing!/ +tal3ing is what we do to &ind the spirit! #e watch intently* :uietly! #e bring all o& our &orces o& attention to the tas3Gthat is ,stal3ing!/ #e ha"e e(perienced the tableau( but we need to recollect it! To recollect is ?ust to re#collect an e(perience* to re9li"e it* to resurrect it! +tal3ing and recollecting wor3 together* helping us to bring the past bac3 into the present to see it! -s we do this we will be building our spiritual hut* and we will understand the spirit o& the >ebrew ,&east o& tabernacles*/ the bounty o& ha"ing a spiritual house o& our own! +eeing oursel"es in our past* present and &uture states is not an abstract e(erciseH it is a moral tour de &orce! 2t in"ol"es us in the death process that usually li"es in us without our 3nowledge! #e see the tableau( as the death in us* our mortal nature* ma3es itsel& 3nown to us in a monumental way! 2t is a colossal achie"ement to see this! >a"e we seen this< -re we willing to see this< The tableau( we see reaches &rom the past into the &uture with a center point* the 7$# point* at which we can choose death or li&e in a moment o& spirit9decision! #e can choose death or li&e* but either way we die! 2& we choose spirit* our old sel& separates &rom us BdiesE and we are resurrectedH i& we choose death we remain dead! -s ;oethe says* ,we die and become!/ -ctually he says* ,MaNnd as long as thou art without this dying and becoming thou art but an uneasy guest on the dar3 earth!/ K Through dying and becoming we enter the ;rail =astle and parta3e o& the &east! This is where the sword and the chalice come togetherH where we celebrate a solemn and bounteous &esti"al o& meaningH where our blood is spilt but is captured in the grail cup to be etherized! This dying and becoming becomes an organ in us to see dying and becoming around usGto see the mortal and the immortal! 2t becomes our ,tic3et/ into the etheric world! >a"ing seen this in oursel"es* ha"ing ta3en proper account o& it* we can now see it in others! #e can see J J the tableau( o& a person5s li&e! #e can see the human being* the past* the present and the &uture! #e can see T2.@! ,>ere time becomes space!/ These are ?ust clues! #e must do our own stal3ing and recollecting! To become .ichael5s companions* to become companions o& the Time +pirit* we must be courageous and do the wor3 or we will not be able to spiritualize space* we will not be able to engage ,Othe .ichael 6ower and the .ichael #ill MtoN penetrate the whole o& li&e*/ as 4udol& +teiner entreats us! #e ha"e e(amined this &acet o& spiritual e(perience that is one 3ey to seeing into the etheric world! Through this e(perience we begin to 3now how our new organ o& seeing Time can allow us to see the tableau(* the panorama o& a person5s li&e* allowing us to engage with our &ellow humans on a deeper le"el than might otherwise be possible! %et us elaborate this scenario a bit more be&ore we attempt to globalize the idea o& seeing Time* or ha"ing etheric "ision! #hat does it mean to see another person5s humanity* his or her past present and &uture< 0irst* it means to understand that death wor3s in us all* that we all are chained to the roc3 li3e 6rometheusGthe roc3 o& our material nature! -t that turning point in our li"es when we saw our own tableau(* we met &ace9to9&ace the being o& our earthly nature* the being o& death that wor3s in us! 2& we were &ully conscious we recognized this being as oursel"es* our double! #e ha"e seen our wea3nesses* our &ailings &ace9to9&ace! 2& we ha"e made our meeting &ruit&ul* we will ha"e wal3ed away as a di&&erent person* as a person resol"ed to ta3e the path o& spirit with whate"er little power we ha"e to do so* to ta3e the ris3s and to press through all o& the obstacles that would present themsel"es! The &uture opens to our inner "ision the moment we ta3e the challenge! 2& we &ail to ta3e the challenge we see only dimly* we see a dar3 &uture li"ed without the spar3 o& %i&e* without the &lame o& the etheric burning in it! The new determination* the new resol"e that we ma3e at this point is not the same as our earthly resol"e* our earthly determination* which does not a&&ord us the clarity and depth o& "ision to see what the real obstacle is! 2t is only in seeing the real hindrance that we can de"elop .ichaelic courageH e"erything that comes otherwise is a &ilmy shadow* a wea3 e(cuse &or the spiritual iron that is imparted to us in this encounter with Time* at this meeting with the Time +pirit! This is how spiritual intimacy with -rchangel .ichael is born in us! >e is the one who holds up the being o& death &or our "ision! >e stands behind this being that we call the ;uardian o& the Threshold until we can con&ront it as we should! >e stands preeminently* o& all the archangelic beings* as one who has &aith in the human being! The radiant sun spirit shines li3e the sun upon our &uture* opens up our spiritual &uture once we ha"e ta3en in and ha"e digested the moon o& our 3armic debt* o& our 3armic bondsGin the double! This is what we become aware o&8 that without our determined participation in the &ace o& the double we ha"e no powerH there will be no sun o& the &utureH we are condemned to the dar3ness* to nothing more than the light o& the moon! #ithout this e(perience* all o& what we usually call courage is mingled with moti"es o& our lower nature and cannot be called courage in the highest sense* which must be related to truth! But once we ta3e the step &orward while &acing our double* the presence o& the light o& -rchangel .ichael is there to guide us to truth* and real courage is then born in us! The signi&icance o& this meeting arranged by the Time +pirit* in which we behold his radiance* is that we are hence&orth &illed with unspea3able appreciation &or this presence o& light* this etheric 9 9 "ision that we ha"e ac:uired &rom him* and with gratitude to the spiritual world! #e recognize that without the 3nowledge o& his presence as the light that &ills our world* we were condemned to dar3ness* to a "ision o& the world that does not glow with the good* the true* and the beauti&ul* but with only a pale and distorted re&lection o& these! -nd without the &aith that -rchangel .ichael has in the human being* the &aith to lead us to the ;reater ;uardian o& the Threshold* =hrist* we would be condemned to li"ing on the sur&ace o& things* to seeing only the outer shell o& the world* the hard s3in o& things that is re&lected by the physical light that meets our eye! Through this e(perience we ac:uire the proper appreciation &or .ichaelF=hrist and the humility that does not condemn others but that understands the human predicament! This humility allows a sort o& spirit9beholding o& the etheric world o& time in humanity* and enables us to carry out the .ichaelic mission o& &aith in our &ellow manFwoman* against all odds* shining the light o& the &uture to irradiate the past* the present* and the &uture in the 7ow o& being human! 2n these &ew pages we ha"e concentrated our attention on the seed point o& Time* the gestati"e moment that opens the doors o& perception to etheric "ision* and we ha"e begun to elaborate that sort o& "ision as it applies to the human being and to our seeing o& one another! $& course we need to globalize this "ision to ,penetrate the whole o& li&e*/ as we ha"e set out to e(plain in this article! This wor3 will be le&t mostly to my readers* but we should at least indicate in the broadest stro3es a picture that may be e(tended without limits by the de"oted student o& the school o& .ichael! The most &ertile image 2 can thin3 o& is that o& the new human being who is born in this ,dying and becoming/ we ha"e been discussing8 a human being who is a child again! -nd we must place this new human being who is a child s:uarely be&ore the challenge o& ele"ating human culture abo"e the di"isions o& science* art and religionG,to penetrate the whole o& li&e!/ #e ha"e all become oldH e"en the young ha"e become old! #e are old in our thin3ing! The only way to rebirth culture is to see how our old ways o& thin3ing ha"e created this di"ision o& culture! #e 3now that the old way is rooted in the material aspect o& our human nature as it stands at the present point in world e"olutionH it is the old roc3 o& 6rometheus that must be penetrated by etheric "ision! The roc3 stands as a symbol o& the inertia* the immo"ability* the impenetrability o& thin3ing! 2t represents the tendency to thin3 o& the material world as the starting point &or e"erything* the "anishing point &rom which our "ision is organized* so to spea3! >uman thin3ing has* by and large* &ollowed this ,roc3 nature!/ =hildren and the spirit o& childhood are not sub?ect to this power&ul in&luenceH they are protected &rom it! =hildren ha"e so&t bodies* they ha"e so&t heads* and their thin3ing is mobile* not strongly in&luenced by the torpor o& the old and sclerotic! =hildren are strangers to anything resembling &i(ed ideas as e"idenced so clearly in their art which is so &ull o& Time* o& etheric presence* as we ha"e been describing it* and so de"oid o& the character o& strait9?ac3et* materialistic thin3ing! $ne o& the hallmar3s o& intimacy with .ichael is a child9li3e nature as seen &or instance in the ;erman poet* philosopher and scientist 7o"alis! 7o"alis was a truly child9li3e &igure to whom the di"isions o& culture were completely transparent! 0or him science* art and religion were child comrades on a human ?ourney o& disco"ery* and so must it become &or us! -nything that is not born out o& this youth&ul spirit is doomed to &ailure ?ust as the sclerotic* impotent culture we ha"e created is doomed to &ailure! The child9li3e &igure we are see3ing to en"ision here is actually our 10 10 new9born sel"es* the sel"es we become in our ,dying and becoming!/ -nd it is none other than the child whose nati"ity we celebrate e"ery year at =hristmas who is born in us! 4udol& +teiner was clear that ,the .ichael power and the .ichael will are none other than the =hrist power and the =hrist will!/ -n elaboration o& and a meditation on the child9li3e nature with its characteristic lo"e* awe* spirit o& disco"ery* purity o& perception* and inde&atigable predisposition to wonder would go well here* but we must lea"e that e(ploration &or another time! +u&&ice it to say that we must engage oursel"es in ,recollecting/ and in ,stal3ing/ the spirit to lay hold o& the e(perience o& the .ichael power and the .ichael will* which is born in us as a child and* incidentally* is tended and guarded by another archangelic being by the name o& 4amael! J 2ntimacy with .ichael as we ha"e elaborated it will e"entually lead us to the 3nowledge o& this other sublime being who will play a greater and greater role in the coming times as the s3in o& the old paradigm is cast o&& and the new community o& the grail en"isioned by 4udol& +teiner as leading humanity becomes a reality! PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP 2 opened this paper with a :uote &rom )ames )oyce5s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man because it captures &rom this most characteristic artist o& the early 20 th century* the thought 2 ha"e sought to elaborate in these pages! ,#elcome $ %i&e' I go to encounter &or the millionth time the reality o& e(perience and to &orge in the smithy o& my soul the uncreated conscience o& my race!/ This is the speech o& a new9born spirit* a spirit radiant with hope &or the &uture* an artist with "ision &or the moral &uture o& humanity! 2t is the speech o& one who has ,eradicated &rom his soul all &ear and terror o& what comes out o& the &uture*/ to paraphrase 4udol& +teiner5s meditation ,0or this .ichael -ge!/ 2t is the speech o& a spirit that has con&ronted its shadow* what it &ears the most* and is willing to &ace it again and again ,in the smithy o& his soul/ &or the sa3e o& the &uture o& humanity! 2t is the "oice o& a soul liberated &rom the nets o& language* o& nationality and o& religion! 9 2t is the "oice o& a child8 ,#elcome $ %i&e'/ .ay this same "oice resonate within us< .ay it resound as a clarion call to all who would become .ichael5s companions in the tas3 o& ,&orging in the smithy o& our souls the uncreated conscience o& our race</ 0or this is the spirit that will empower us with ,the =hrist will and the =hrist power/ ,to penetrate the whole o& li&e/ and to spiritualize our 3nowledge o& space to meet the challenges o& our time! 11 11 1 +ee8 Parsifal* 7otes &rom a lecture gi"en by Dr! 4udol& +teiner at %andin on 29 th )uly* 1906 2 -lberti* %eon Battista! n Painting. B=irca 1C3D936E Translated with 2ntroduction and 7otes by )ohn 4! +pencer! 7ew >a"en8 Aale Uni"ersity 6ress! 19K0 M0irst printed 19D6N! 3 Ta3ing up the art o& the 0ar @ast would be "ery interesting to contrast with the #estern perspecti"e but is a completely di&&erent matter that will not be addressed here! C $ol% &i"le* ;enesis 1826 D +ee8 $ol% &i"le* 4e"elations* =hapter 21 6 2 credit )enni&er ;idley &or help with this list o& modern schools o& thought* read* 'volution of (onsciousness and Paradigm (hange* a"ailable on -cademia!edu K Ta3en &rom8 )he M%steries *+ie ,eheimnisse- - =hristmas and @aster 6oem by ;oethe J +ee8 -driana 1oulias8 )he )rinit% of .athan Soul! /idar! and Michael0 In the Past! Present and 1uture Sacrifices of (hrist* Part II* &or an e(planation o& this being and his name! 9 These words Blanguage* nationality* religionE are ta3en &rom )ames )oyce* Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man* =hapter D* p! 203* 6enguin Boo3s* 19K6