The Healing Process: Spirit, Nature & Our Bodies, 11 lectures, Aug. 28, 1923-Aug. 29, 1924 (CW 319)

by Rudolf Steiner, Christopher Bamford

Overview

11 lectures, Aug. 28, 1923-Aug. 29, 1924 (CW 319)

"The anthroposophical approach to medicine and healing has been waiting in the wings of conventional Western medicine for more than seventy-five years. Now with the burgeoning acceptance of alternative, natural medicine in North America, anthroposophical medicine may finally take its rightful place at center stage. Why? Because it offers something that both alternative and conventional models lack: a spiritual model of the human, encompassing states of health and illness." (from the foreword)

Rudolf Steiner, a scientist by training, lectured and wrote, at different times on medical subjects and advised physicians on their work. His view of medicine was both unconventional and precise. He could describe--based on his highly developed powers of observation and his spiritual research--processes of health and disease that escape conventional methods of medical observation.

In all his lectures to doctors and in his explanations of anthroposophic medicine, Steiner emphasized that his medical concepts are not intended to replace conventional Western medicine, but to extend it; diagnosis and healing methods are expanded to include our soul and spirit.

In these broadly ranging talks, Steiner introduces fundamental principles of anthroposophically extended medicine. Some of the most remarkable insights that anthroposophy brings to medicine are contained in this volume. For example, Steiner points out that the heart is not a pump and that its motion is a consequence, not the cause, of rhythmic movements in human beings.

"[Rudolf Steiner's] model of a spiritualized medicine could hold the key for the next growth phase in Western medicine, if it is to survive, flourish, and become consistently and deeply therapeutic instead of merely palliative." (from the foreword)

Topics include:

• Health problems, such as hay fever, migraine, sclerosis, cancer, and childhood diseases
• The polarity between nerve and liver cells
• The functions of the spleen and the gallbladder
• The three basic systems: sensory-nervous, rhythmic, and metabolic-limb
• Regenerative and degenerative processes
• The true nature of the nervous system
• Suggestions for the use of minerals, plants, and artistic therapies

The Healing Process is a translation of Anthroposophische Menschenerkenntnis und Medizin (GA 319).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780880109925
Publisher:	Steiner
Publication date:	10/01/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	768,901
File size:	929 KB

About the Author

Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) was born in the small
village of Kraljevec, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in Croatia), where he
grew up. As a young man, he lived in Weimar and Berlin, where he became
a well-published scientific, literary, and philosophical scholar, known
especially for his work with Goethe's scientific writings. At the
beginning of the twentieth century, he began to develop his early
philosophical principles into an approach to systematic research into
psychological and spiritual phenomena. Formally beginning his spiritual
teaching career under the auspices of the Theosophical Society, Steiner
came to use the term Anthroposophy (and spiritual science) for his
philosophy, spiritual research, and findings. The influence of Steiner's
multifaceted genius has led to innovative and holistic approaches in
medicine, various therapies, philosophy, religious renewal, Waldorf
education, education for special needs, threefold economics, biodynamic
agriculture, Goethean science, architecture, and the arts of drama,
speech, and eurythmy. In 1924, Rudolf Steiner founded the General
Anthroposophical Society, which today has branches throughout the world.
He died in Dornach, Switzerland.
Richard Leviton has written eight other books, including The Galaxy on Earth: A Traveler's Guide to the Planets, Visionary Geography(2002). A professional journalist for 25 years, he has edited a national magazine on alternative medicine. More recently--in his professional capacity as senior editor for Hampton Roads Publishing Company in Virginia--he has developed a line of alternative medicine self-care titles as well as authoritative metaphysical books.

Christopher Bamford (1943-2022) was born in Cardiff, South Wales, and lived for a while in Hungary and then in Scotland. He studied as an undergraduate at Trinity University in Dublin and earned his master's degree at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania. For nearly thirty years, he was Editor in Chief at SteinerBooks (Anthroposophic Press) and its imprints. A Fellow of the Lindisfarne Association, he lectured, taught, and wrote widely on Western spiritual and esoteric traditions. His books include a selection of his numerous introductions, Encountering Rudolf Steiner: Introductions to Essential Works (2022); Healing Madonnas: Exploring the Sequence of Madonna Images Created by Rudolf Steiner and Felix Peipers for Use in Therapy and Meditation (2017); An Endless Trace: The Passionate Pursuit of Wisdom in the West (2003); and The Voice of the Eagle: The Heart of Celtic Christianity (1990). He also translated and edited numerous books, including Homage to Pythagoras: Rediscovering Sacred Science (2001); The Noble Traveller: The Life and Writings of O. V. de L. Milosz (1984); and Celtic Christianity: Ecology and Holiness (1982). Essays by Mr. Bamford are included in The Best Spiritual Writing 2000 ("In the Presence of Death") and The Best American Spiritual Writing 2005 ("The Gift of the Call"). Christopher passed over the threshold on May 13, 2022, at his Mt. Washington, Massachusetts home.

Table of Contents

C O N T E N T S:

Introduction by Christopher Bamford
Foreword by Richard Leviton

1. Healing Methods Based on Spiritual Science
2. Diagnosis, Treatment, and the Production of Remedies Based on Spiritual Science 1
3. Diagnosis, Treatment, and the Production of Remedies Based on Spiritual Science 2
4. Anthroposophical Spiritual Science and Medical Knowledge
5. Medicine and Anthroposophical Insight into the Human Being 1
6. Medicine and Anthroposophical Insight into the Human Being 2
7. What the Art of Healing Can Gain from the Spiritual-Scientific Perspective 1
8. What the Art of Healing Can Gain from the Spiritual-Scientific Perspective 2
9. What the Art of Healing Can Gain from the Spiritual-Scientific Perspective 3
10. The Art of Healing from the Perspective of Spiritual Science 1
11. The Art of Healing from the Perspective of Spiritual Science 2

Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works
Significant Events in the Life of Rudolf Steiner
Index