Sophia Institute online Anthroposophy Studies Program
Untitled (Yellow, Red and Blue) - by Mark Rothko (1953)
Course: Meditation and Initiation / The Sixfold Path as Given in Anthroposophy
A Practical Guide to Meditation
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Recommended ReadingKnowledge of the Higher Worlds by Rudolf Steiner
Theosophy by Rudolf Steiner Occult Science - An Outline by Rudolf Steiner Guidance in Esoteric Training by Rudolf Steiner Enlivening the Chakra of the Heart by Florin Lowndes |
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Introduction
Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Anthroposophy, placed the following sentence at the beginning of his book Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and Its Attainment: "There slumber in every human being faculties by means of which he can acquire for himself a knowledge of higher worlds." When people read this sentence or a similar statement that speaks about the latent possibility of developing oneself in such a way that we can indeed have experiences of the spiritual world, that we can to a certain degree become initiates ourselves, they usually react in some way to this statement, to this idea.
Some people will deny this idea for themselves and resign themselves to the belief that we cannot reach beyond sense perception to worlds they feel are imagined and unreal. They believe that we as humanity have developed from being superstitious and believing in magic and spirit to becoming sense world oriented and scientific, meaning believers in natural science that explores the natural world and states that we cannot explore the world of the soul and spirit with our senses or our thinking that is based on our senses and sense perception. In fact, they might believe, there is no such world of soul and spirit, but only some forms of imagination and perhaps hallucinations. Other people will read the above mentioned statement by Steiner and it will kindle something in their soul. These people can be called Anthroposophists.
For instance, Yvonne who encountered the above mentioned sentence in a café on the Rue Crémieux in Paris, France: "It happened one early afternoon in late fall in Paris. Yvonne had walked through a gentle rain storm that afternoon, noticing the change in the color of the foliage of the trees in the park, and had entered a café on the Rue Crémieux. Yvonne had felt a certain heaviness of soul and moodiness partly caused by the atmosphere of this fall day with its gloom and foreboding of darker and colder days to come, but her mood lifted upon entering through the door and crossing the threshold into the café partly because of the bright and well lit space that she now entered, and partly because of the modern art prints that she noticed on the walls of this café. She felt particularly drawn to a work of art known to her from previous visits by the artist Mark Rothko that depicts three bold colors: yellow, red, and blue. After having ordered coffee and having sat by herself at one of the tables in the back of the small café, there was all of a sudden some commotion. People sprang to their feet and crowded near the window that looked out onto the Rue Crémieux where just then several police cars with the sound of their sirens piercing the otherwise quiet afternoon air and flashing blue lights, sped by. While others lingered by the window Yvonne had returned to her table when she noticed that at the neighboring table an open book had been placed on the wooden surface curiously in such manner that the writing faced her instead of the would be reader seated at said table. Inquisitive against her habit Yvonne read one of the first sentences printed on the page. It contained the following words: "Il sommeille en tout homme des facultés grâce auxquelles il lui est possible d'acquérir des connaissances sur les mondes supérieurs." Returning to her cup of coffee and upon pondering these words, Yvonne felt as if a candle had been lit inside her soul and that the cave like space that she now became aware of as being her soul was now being illuminated dimly by the candlelight. Yvonne knew in this instance that she had found something, that she had turned a corner and was now facing a new world, unknown and mysterious, but real. There was no turning back for her. A longing had been awakened and with a new determination previously unknown to her, Yvonne went out into the streets as if a changed person. Years later, having become a Waldorf teacher and a student of Anthroposophy long since, Yvonne remembers this day, her walk down Rue Crémieux and entering the little café, as if it was yesterday. And a print of Rothko's painting adorns one of the walls in her studio ... "
This course focuses on the sixfold path or six exercises presented by Rudolf Steiner in Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and in several other publications by Steiner, namely Theosophy, Occult Science and Guidance in Esoteric Training.
Some people will deny this idea for themselves and resign themselves to the belief that we cannot reach beyond sense perception to worlds they feel are imagined and unreal. They believe that we as humanity have developed from being superstitious and believing in magic and spirit to becoming sense world oriented and scientific, meaning believers in natural science that explores the natural world and states that we cannot explore the world of the soul and spirit with our senses or our thinking that is based on our senses and sense perception. In fact, they might believe, there is no such world of soul and spirit, but only some forms of imagination and perhaps hallucinations. Other people will read the above mentioned statement by Steiner and it will kindle something in their soul. These people can be called Anthroposophists.
For instance, Yvonne who encountered the above mentioned sentence in a café on the Rue Crémieux in Paris, France: "It happened one early afternoon in late fall in Paris. Yvonne had walked through a gentle rain storm that afternoon, noticing the change in the color of the foliage of the trees in the park, and had entered a café on the Rue Crémieux. Yvonne had felt a certain heaviness of soul and moodiness partly caused by the atmosphere of this fall day with its gloom and foreboding of darker and colder days to come, but her mood lifted upon entering through the door and crossing the threshold into the café partly because of the bright and well lit space that she now entered, and partly because of the modern art prints that she noticed on the walls of this café. She felt particularly drawn to a work of art known to her from previous visits by the artist Mark Rothko that depicts three bold colors: yellow, red, and blue. After having ordered coffee and having sat by herself at one of the tables in the back of the small café, there was all of a sudden some commotion. People sprang to their feet and crowded near the window that looked out onto the Rue Crémieux where just then several police cars with the sound of their sirens piercing the otherwise quiet afternoon air and flashing blue lights, sped by. While others lingered by the window Yvonne had returned to her table when she noticed that at the neighboring table an open book had been placed on the wooden surface curiously in such manner that the writing faced her instead of the would be reader seated at said table. Inquisitive against her habit Yvonne read one of the first sentences printed on the page. It contained the following words: "Il sommeille en tout homme des facultés grâce auxquelles il lui est possible d'acquérir des connaissances sur les mondes supérieurs." Returning to her cup of coffee and upon pondering these words, Yvonne felt as if a candle had been lit inside her soul and that the cave like space that she now became aware of as being her soul was now being illuminated dimly by the candlelight. Yvonne knew in this instance that she had found something, that she had turned a corner and was now facing a new world, unknown and mysterious, but real. There was no turning back for her. A longing had been awakened and with a new determination previously unknown to her, Yvonne went out into the streets as if a changed person. Years later, having become a Waldorf teacher and a student of Anthroposophy long since, Yvonne remembers this day, her walk down Rue Crémieux and entering the little café, as if it was yesterday. And a print of Rothko's painting adorns one of the walls in her studio ... "
This course focuses on the sixfold path or six exercises presented by Rudolf Steiner in Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and in several other publications by Steiner, namely Theosophy, Occult Science and Guidance in Esoteric Training.
Anthroposophy is a Path
Rudolf Steiner formulated in his publication Anthroposophical Leading Thoughts the following words:
"Anthroposophy is a path of knowledge which would guide the spiritual in the human being to the spiritual in the cosmos. It manifests as a necessity of the heart and feeling. It must find its justification in being able to satisfy this need. Only those who find in Anthroposophy what they seek in this respect can appreciate it. Therefore only those who feel certain questions about the nature of man and the world as basic necessities of life, like hunger and thirst, can be Anthroposophists."
These guidelines were originally published in the members' supplement of Das Goetheanum, the Anthroposohical Society's weekly newsletter, Dornach, Switzerland, during the period February 17, 1924 through April 12, 1925.
There are and there will be people who experience this thirst for knowledge beyond the knowledge that we can find in the natural sciences that dominate our thinking and consciousness on the level of humanity in our modern world.
How can we come closer to the words mentioned, the words that stand so to speak at the beginning or we may say at the entrance to Steiner’s work How to Know Higher Worlds?
As an exercise we might for some time want to turn to observing the sleeping human being, a child for instance, or a sleeping animal, or perhaps a landscape that appears asleep.
"There slumber in every human being faculties by means of which he can acquire for himself a knowledge of higher worlds."
Our observation should focus on several things:
We describe this to ourselves and consider it in our mind. We try to become aware of feelings and our inner reaction to the sleeping gesture.
We should concern ourselves in this observation exercise with the question:
We could draw or paint the sleeping form perhaps first in a realistic fashion based on our observation, and later more as a gesture, as an expression of the sleeping being.
Engaging ourselves in this fashion we will be able to make steps in our artistic development, and perhaps in getting closer to experiences that have to do with higher worlds, with initiation.
"Anthroposophy is a path of knowledge which would guide the spiritual in the human being to the spiritual in the cosmos. It manifests as a necessity of the heart and feeling. It must find its justification in being able to satisfy this need. Only those who find in Anthroposophy what they seek in this respect can appreciate it. Therefore only those who feel certain questions about the nature of man and the world as basic necessities of life, like hunger and thirst, can be Anthroposophists."
These guidelines were originally published in the members' supplement of Das Goetheanum, the Anthroposohical Society's weekly newsletter, Dornach, Switzerland, during the period February 17, 1924 through April 12, 1925.
There are and there will be people who experience this thirst for knowledge beyond the knowledge that we can find in the natural sciences that dominate our thinking and consciousness on the level of humanity in our modern world.
How can we come closer to the words mentioned, the words that stand so to speak at the beginning or we may say at the entrance to Steiner’s work How to Know Higher Worlds?
As an exercise we might for some time want to turn to observing the sleeping human being, a child for instance, or a sleeping animal, or perhaps a landscape that appears asleep.
"There slumber in every human being faculties by means of which he can acquire for himself a knowledge of higher worlds."
Our observation should focus on several things:
- What is the sleeping form?
- What is the gesture of the sleeping being?
- What is the mood?
- Is there movement?
We describe this to ourselves and consider it in our mind. We try to become aware of feelings and our inner reaction to the sleeping gesture.
We should concern ourselves in this observation exercise with the question:
- What is it that now slumbers, that is now asleep?
- How is it different from the state of being awake?
We could draw or paint the sleeping form perhaps first in a realistic fashion based on our observation, and later more as a gesture, as an expression of the sleeping being.
Engaging ourselves in this fashion we will be able to make steps in our artistic development, and perhaps in getting closer to experiences that have to do with higher worlds, with initiation.
The Sixfold Path as Given in Anthroposophy
Rudolf Steiner introduced the Sixfold Path to the general public in 1909 as the Six Protective Exercises in Knowledge of the Higher Worlds. The six exercises and their practice constitute the sixfold path. They include:
In Knowledge of the Higher Worlds Steiner points out that the sixfold path, the six exercises, when practiced, develops one of our chakras, namely the chakra in the heart region, which he calls the twelve-petalled lotus. The heart chakra, “ … when developed, reveals to the clairvoyant a deep understanding of the processes of nature.”
In Guidance in Esoteric Training, a selection of writings by Steiner from the years 1904 - 1914, he gives these exercises a different title: Subsidiary Exercises. Steiner states in Guidance in Esoteric Training that “ … the conditions which must be the basis of any occult development are set forth (here). Let no one imagine that he can make progress by any measures applied to the outer or the inner life unless he fulfills these conditions. All exercises in meditation, concentration, or exercises of other kinds, are valueless, indeed in a certain respect actually harmful, if life is not regulated in accordance with these conditions. No forces can actually be imparted to a human being; all that can be done is to bring to development the forces already within him. They do not develop of their own accord because outer and inner hindrances obstruct them. The outer hindrances are lessened by means of the following rules of life; the inner hindrances by the special instructions concerning meditation, concentration, and the like.” (Part 5, General Demands, Guidance in Esoteric Training)
In Steiner’s book Theosophy published in 1904 Steiner describes the six exercises and states: “What is said here about the path of spiritual knowledge can all too easily, through failure to understand it, tempt us to consider it as a recommendation to cultivate certain moods of soul that would lead us to turn away from the immediate, joyous and strenuously active, experience of life. As against this, it must be emphasized that the particular attitude of the soul that renders it fit to experience directly the reality of the spirit, cannot be extended as a general demand over the entire life. It is possible for the seeker after spiritual existence to bring his soul for the purpose of research into the necessary condition of being withdrawn from the realities of the senses, without that withdrawal estranging him from the world. On the other hand, however, it must be recognized that a knowledge of the spiritual world, not merely a knowledge gained by treading the path, but also a knowledge acquired through grasping the truths of spiritual science with the unprejudiced, healthy human intellect, leads also to a higher moral status in life, to a knowledge of sensory existence that is in accord with the truth, to certainty in life, and to inward health of the soul.” (Chapter 4, Theosophy)
Rudolf Steiner chose a slightly different approach to the subject of the six exercises in his monumental work Occult Science - An Outline, published in 1910. Following an extensive description of meditation, meditation practices and content suitable for meditation, Steiner mentions the six exercises almost as if in passing: “In a proper school of spiritual training certain qualities are set forth that require to be cultivated by one who desires to find the path to the higher worlds. First and foremost, the pupil must have control over his thoughts (in their course and sequence), over his will, and over his feelings. The control has to be acquired by means of exercises, and these are planned with two ends in view. On the one hand, the soul has to become so firm, so secure and balanced that it will retain these qualities when a second self is born. And on the other hand, the pupil has to endow this second self, from the start, with strength and steadfastness.” (Part 2, Chapter 5, Occult Science - An Outline)
A sometimes overlooked but quite essential aspect of the exercises is their threefold nature. This threefold nature applies to two different aspects of the six exercises. The exercises address the soul forces of the human being which are: thinking, willing and feeling.
The six exercises relate to thinking, willing and feeling first and foremost as each of the exercises addresses one of the soul forces or a combination of soul forces.
But there is also a threefold nature to be found in each of the exercises in that each exercise has three distinct successive aspects to it. Firstly thinking, secondly feeling, then willing or movement.
Of course one has to also be aware that it is the nature of any exercise that it involves will power. There isn't really an exercise that happens by itself without the human being exerting will forces. Even sitting still and being at rest requires will forces.
For example if you practice the control of thinking exercise you concern yourself primarily with thinking, but you do move through a sequence of actions or parts of the exercise that are clearly structured in the following manner.
If you engage in the control of thinking exercise you will be asked to complete three parts or aspects in a sequential order. The first part of the exercise involves a focused thinking activity. During the second part you engage in becoming aware of a feeling. Finally in the third part of the exercise you consciously perform a movement, by so to speak moving the feeling from one specific location to another specific location.
- Control of thinking or the cultivation of clear thinking
- Control of willing or actions
- Control of feelings or equanimity
- Positivity or positive attitude
- Open-mindedness or impartiality
- Balance or equilibrium of soul
In Knowledge of the Higher Worlds Steiner points out that the sixfold path, the six exercises, when practiced, develops one of our chakras, namely the chakra in the heart region, which he calls the twelve-petalled lotus. The heart chakra, “ … when developed, reveals to the clairvoyant a deep understanding of the processes of nature.”
In Guidance in Esoteric Training, a selection of writings by Steiner from the years 1904 - 1914, he gives these exercises a different title: Subsidiary Exercises. Steiner states in Guidance in Esoteric Training that “ … the conditions which must be the basis of any occult development are set forth (here). Let no one imagine that he can make progress by any measures applied to the outer or the inner life unless he fulfills these conditions. All exercises in meditation, concentration, or exercises of other kinds, are valueless, indeed in a certain respect actually harmful, if life is not regulated in accordance with these conditions. No forces can actually be imparted to a human being; all that can be done is to bring to development the forces already within him. They do not develop of their own accord because outer and inner hindrances obstruct them. The outer hindrances are lessened by means of the following rules of life; the inner hindrances by the special instructions concerning meditation, concentration, and the like.” (Part 5, General Demands, Guidance in Esoteric Training)
In Steiner’s book Theosophy published in 1904 Steiner describes the six exercises and states: “What is said here about the path of spiritual knowledge can all too easily, through failure to understand it, tempt us to consider it as a recommendation to cultivate certain moods of soul that would lead us to turn away from the immediate, joyous and strenuously active, experience of life. As against this, it must be emphasized that the particular attitude of the soul that renders it fit to experience directly the reality of the spirit, cannot be extended as a general demand over the entire life. It is possible for the seeker after spiritual existence to bring his soul for the purpose of research into the necessary condition of being withdrawn from the realities of the senses, without that withdrawal estranging him from the world. On the other hand, however, it must be recognized that a knowledge of the spiritual world, not merely a knowledge gained by treading the path, but also a knowledge acquired through grasping the truths of spiritual science with the unprejudiced, healthy human intellect, leads also to a higher moral status in life, to a knowledge of sensory existence that is in accord with the truth, to certainty in life, and to inward health of the soul.” (Chapter 4, Theosophy)
Rudolf Steiner chose a slightly different approach to the subject of the six exercises in his monumental work Occult Science - An Outline, published in 1910. Following an extensive description of meditation, meditation practices and content suitable for meditation, Steiner mentions the six exercises almost as if in passing: “In a proper school of spiritual training certain qualities are set forth that require to be cultivated by one who desires to find the path to the higher worlds. First and foremost, the pupil must have control over his thoughts (in their course and sequence), over his will, and over his feelings. The control has to be acquired by means of exercises, and these are planned with two ends in view. On the one hand, the soul has to become so firm, so secure and balanced that it will retain these qualities when a second self is born. And on the other hand, the pupil has to endow this second self, from the start, with strength and steadfastness.” (Part 2, Chapter 5, Occult Science - An Outline)
A sometimes overlooked but quite essential aspect of the exercises is their threefold nature. This threefold nature applies to two different aspects of the six exercises. The exercises address the soul forces of the human being which are: thinking, willing and feeling.
The six exercises relate to thinking, willing and feeling first and foremost as each of the exercises addresses one of the soul forces or a combination of soul forces.
- Control of thinking or the cultivation of clear thinking relates to thinking
- Control of willing or actions relates to willing
- Control of feelings or equanimity relates to feeling
- Positivity or positive attitude relates to feeling and willing
- Open-mindedness or impartiality relates to thinking and willing
- Balance or equilibrium of soul relates to thinking, willing and feeling
But there is also a threefold nature to be found in each of the exercises in that each exercise has three distinct successive aspects to it. Firstly thinking, secondly feeling, then willing or movement.
Of course one has to also be aware that it is the nature of any exercise that it involves will power. There isn't really an exercise that happens by itself without the human being exerting will forces. Even sitting still and being at rest requires will forces.
For example if you practice the control of thinking exercise you concern yourself primarily with thinking, but you do move through a sequence of actions or parts of the exercise that are clearly structured in the following manner.
If you engage in the control of thinking exercise you will be asked to complete three parts or aspects in a sequential order. The first part of the exercise involves a focused thinking activity. During the second part you engage in becoming aware of a feeling. Finally in the third part of the exercise you consciously perform a movement, by so to speak moving the feeling from one specific location to another specific location.
Meditation and Initiation/The Sixfold Path/Lesson 3
Tasks and Assignments for Meditation and Initiation/The Sixfold Path/Lesson 3Please study the study material provided (see below) and feel free to use additional resources relating to the subject. Once you feel you are sufficiently acquainted with the subject please complete the following:
1. Give a summary in your own words of the study material for this lesson. 2. Create a drawing, painting, poetry or other artwork that relates to the theme of the following: The sleeping form and the process of an awakening from the state of being asleep as described in the introduction in the section above titled Anthroposophy is a Path. 3. Practice the exercise described in the study material for a minimum of 5 days. Describe in some detail your practice with the meditation exercise including your process and observations, insights, potential difficulties and shortcomings, etc. Structure your descriptions clearly including giving days and time of day of each entry, p.e.: Day 1 / Monday / early afternoon ... Day 2 / Tuesday / early morning ... Day 3 / Wednesday / evening ... Day 4 / Friday / mid-morning ... Day 5 / Sunday / noon ... 4. Reflect on the period of practicing the exercise. What was your experience? What did you learn? What difficulties did you encounter? Submit the completed assignment via the submission form or via email. |
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Study Material for Initiation/The Sixfold Path/Lesson 3
Exercise Two / Control of Willing
The second exercise of the sixfold path is called control of willing or control of action. Rudolf Steiner offers again several descriptions of this exercise which we can find in the different publications mentioned earlier.
As with the previous exercise, the control of thinking, we find the most precise and at the same time most comprehensive description of the exercise of the control of willing in Guidance in Esoteric Training. Steiner uses the following words, and gives similarly to the first exercise also for this exercise a concrete example, which we could decide to use or replace with a similar “insignificant” action. Interestingly we also find here the mention of adding a second, third and possibly several more such actions to complete the requirements of this exercise.
“… try to think of some action which in the ordinary course of life we should certainly not have performed. Then we make it a duty to perform this action every day. It will therefore be good to choose an action which can be performed every day and will occupy as long a period of time as possible. Again it is better to begin with some insignificant action which we have to force ourselves to perform; for example, to water at a fixed time every day a flower we have bought. After a certain time a second, similar act should be added to the first; later, a third, and so on . . . as many as are compatible with the carrying out of all other duties. This exercise, also, should last for one month. But as far as possible during this second month, too, the first exercise should continue, although it is a less paramount duty than in the first month. Nevertheless it must not be left unheeded, for otherwise it will quickly be noticed that the fruits of the first month are lost and the slovenliness of uncontrolled thinking begins again. Care must be taken that once these fruits have been won, they are never again lost. If, through the second exercise, this initiative of action has been achieved, then, with subtle attentiveness, we become conscious of the feeling of an inner impulse of activity in the soul; we pour this feeling into the body, letting it stream down from the head to a point just above the heart.” (Part 5, General Demands, Guidance in Esoteric Training)
The same exercise is being described with different emphasis in Steiner’s Occult Science. Here we find a description that connects to the previous exercise as well and speaks of the self having to become “master”. This idea of the master is further elaborated upon in that Steiner says the world, the physical world might be our master, and via the practice of the will exercise we might become our own master by acquiring obedience to ourselves, which interestingly implies that under normal circumstances we are not obedient to ourselves.
However, no clear example concerning the exercise of the control of will is given in Occult Science, nor is there mention of the idea to fulfill this exercise by practicing with additional or adding additional exercises to the exercise chosen.
“ … as in the world of thought, so also in the sphere of the will, the self has to become master. Here too, as long as we remain in the world of the physical senses, life itself may be said to be our master. Some vital need asserts itself and the will feels impelled to satisfy the need. But one who undergoes a higher training has to acquire the habit of strict obedience to what he tells himself to do on his own initiative. In learning this he will be less and less inclined to cherish pointless desires. Dissatisfaction and instability in the life of will come from setting one's heart on some aim, of the realization of which one has formed no clear notion. Dissatisfaction of this kind can bring the whole inner life into disorder at the moment when a higher self is ready to come forth from the soul. A good exercise for the will is, every day for months on end, to give oneself the command: Today you are to do this, at this particular hour. One will gradually manage to fix the hour and the nature of the task so as to render the command perfectly possible to carry out. In this way we rise above that deplorable state of mind which finds expression in words such as: I would like to do this, I wish I could do that — when all the time there is no real expectation of fulfillment.“ (Chapter 5, Part 2, Concerning Initiation, Occult Science - An Outline)
In Knowledge of the Higher Worlds Steiner touches on the second exercise, the control of will only briefly and in a still different manner, putting emphasis on the sequence of actions rather than on one particular action. We might argue that this is quite a deviation from the description given in Guidance in Esoteric training and in Occult Science.
“ … equal consistency in his actions forms the second requirement (control of actions). All inconstancy, all disharmony of action, is baneful for the … (exercise) here in question. When the student performs some action he must see to it that his succeeding action follows in logical sequence, for if he acts from day to day with variable intent he will never develop the faculty here considered.” (Chapter 6, Knowledge of the Higher World)
Extracting the relevant sentences from the descriptions concerning the path to knowledge as given in Theosophy we find ourselves with the somewhat difficult task of discerning which sections belong to which of the exercises. In Theosophy Steiner presents us with a less easily completed task. The text in question touches on the exercises in the same sequence as in the other publications considered, but with less structure and only brief mention of certain essentials of each of the exercises.
“What the seeker of knowledge strives for in his thinking, he must also strive for in his actions. He must be able to act in accordance with the laws of the nobly beautiful and the eternally true without any disturbing influences from his personality.” (Chapter 4, The Path of Knowledge, Theosophy)
Turning to practicing the exercise of control of will or action we might at first experience a certain inner hindrance at setting up an action that seems to serve no purpose, and we might feel the urge to set up something that does seem to be useful, for instance settling on an exercise that involves completing a task like putting away dishes at a certain time each day.
However, if we want to address the completion of the exercise of the control of will we are well advised to choose something along the line of Steiner’s suggestion: We might indeed obtain a potted plant and start watering it every day at a given time.
The important aspect of selecting a suitable task for this exercise is likely to be found in the suggestion to choose an action to be be performed at a certain time each day that we would normally not have done.
When practicing this exercise we will likely find that some actions are better suited than others. Simple, not depending on props and not location specific actions are more suitable than more complicated tasks that depend on having certain items within reach or needing to be at a certain location.
For instance we might decide to simply look up to the sky for one minute or two every day at a specific time, say at eight in the evening. Or we decide to touch our left ear every day at ten in the morning. Tasks like these can be completed wherever we are and do not depend on the availability of certain items.
Will exercises that depend on location and available props are of course not something to be ruled out, but they have potential drawbacks, as we might find ourselves in the situation that the chosen task can not be completed. For example if we decide to move a coffee cup from one location to another each day at one in the afternoon, we might find ourselves on a given day out in the middle of a beautiful meadow during a hike, when realizing that the appointed time is nearing and no coffee cup is in sight.
Of course for most people the main challenge with this exercise is to actually remember to complete the task one has set for oneself at the chosen time, consistently and each day.
We might want to practice this exercise for one month with the same daily task or perhaps change the task after one week and so forth. Then, as Steiner suggests in the description of the exercise of the control of will in Guidance in Esoteric Training, we might want to add a second, third and perhaps additional tasks to our daily schedule.
As with the exercise of the control of thinking we need to complete the exercise (or exercises) of the control of will in such a way that after each time we have completed the selected task, for instance of looking up to the sky, we take a moment and become conscious of the feeling “of an inner impulse of activity”. This feeling is similar to the feeling of joy that we can become conscious of when embarking on a task that we indeed like to complete very much. After having become conscious of this feeling and holding the feeling in our awareness for a moment, we then perform an inner movement. This movement starts in the head and is directed towards the heart, as we “ … pour this feeling into the body, letting it stream down from the head to a point just above the heart”. (Part 5, General Demands, Guidance in Esoteric Training)
As with the previous exercise, the control of thinking, we find the most precise and at the same time most comprehensive description of the exercise of the control of willing in Guidance in Esoteric Training. Steiner uses the following words, and gives similarly to the first exercise also for this exercise a concrete example, which we could decide to use or replace with a similar “insignificant” action. Interestingly we also find here the mention of adding a second, third and possibly several more such actions to complete the requirements of this exercise.
“… try to think of some action which in the ordinary course of life we should certainly not have performed. Then we make it a duty to perform this action every day. It will therefore be good to choose an action which can be performed every day and will occupy as long a period of time as possible. Again it is better to begin with some insignificant action which we have to force ourselves to perform; for example, to water at a fixed time every day a flower we have bought. After a certain time a second, similar act should be added to the first; later, a third, and so on . . . as many as are compatible with the carrying out of all other duties. This exercise, also, should last for one month. But as far as possible during this second month, too, the first exercise should continue, although it is a less paramount duty than in the first month. Nevertheless it must not be left unheeded, for otherwise it will quickly be noticed that the fruits of the first month are lost and the slovenliness of uncontrolled thinking begins again. Care must be taken that once these fruits have been won, they are never again lost. If, through the second exercise, this initiative of action has been achieved, then, with subtle attentiveness, we become conscious of the feeling of an inner impulse of activity in the soul; we pour this feeling into the body, letting it stream down from the head to a point just above the heart.” (Part 5, General Demands, Guidance in Esoteric Training)
The same exercise is being described with different emphasis in Steiner’s Occult Science. Here we find a description that connects to the previous exercise as well and speaks of the self having to become “master”. This idea of the master is further elaborated upon in that Steiner says the world, the physical world might be our master, and via the practice of the will exercise we might become our own master by acquiring obedience to ourselves, which interestingly implies that under normal circumstances we are not obedient to ourselves.
However, no clear example concerning the exercise of the control of will is given in Occult Science, nor is there mention of the idea to fulfill this exercise by practicing with additional or adding additional exercises to the exercise chosen.
“ … as in the world of thought, so also in the sphere of the will, the self has to become master. Here too, as long as we remain in the world of the physical senses, life itself may be said to be our master. Some vital need asserts itself and the will feels impelled to satisfy the need. But one who undergoes a higher training has to acquire the habit of strict obedience to what he tells himself to do on his own initiative. In learning this he will be less and less inclined to cherish pointless desires. Dissatisfaction and instability in the life of will come from setting one's heart on some aim, of the realization of which one has formed no clear notion. Dissatisfaction of this kind can bring the whole inner life into disorder at the moment when a higher self is ready to come forth from the soul. A good exercise for the will is, every day for months on end, to give oneself the command: Today you are to do this, at this particular hour. One will gradually manage to fix the hour and the nature of the task so as to render the command perfectly possible to carry out. In this way we rise above that deplorable state of mind which finds expression in words such as: I would like to do this, I wish I could do that — when all the time there is no real expectation of fulfillment.“ (Chapter 5, Part 2, Concerning Initiation, Occult Science - An Outline)
In Knowledge of the Higher Worlds Steiner touches on the second exercise, the control of will only briefly and in a still different manner, putting emphasis on the sequence of actions rather than on one particular action. We might argue that this is quite a deviation from the description given in Guidance in Esoteric training and in Occult Science.
“ … equal consistency in his actions forms the second requirement (control of actions). All inconstancy, all disharmony of action, is baneful for the … (exercise) here in question. When the student performs some action he must see to it that his succeeding action follows in logical sequence, for if he acts from day to day with variable intent he will never develop the faculty here considered.” (Chapter 6, Knowledge of the Higher World)
Extracting the relevant sentences from the descriptions concerning the path to knowledge as given in Theosophy we find ourselves with the somewhat difficult task of discerning which sections belong to which of the exercises. In Theosophy Steiner presents us with a less easily completed task. The text in question touches on the exercises in the same sequence as in the other publications considered, but with less structure and only brief mention of certain essentials of each of the exercises.
“What the seeker of knowledge strives for in his thinking, he must also strive for in his actions. He must be able to act in accordance with the laws of the nobly beautiful and the eternally true without any disturbing influences from his personality.” (Chapter 4, The Path of Knowledge, Theosophy)
Turning to practicing the exercise of control of will or action we might at first experience a certain inner hindrance at setting up an action that seems to serve no purpose, and we might feel the urge to set up something that does seem to be useful, for instance settling on an exercise that involves completing a task like putting away dishes at a certain time each day.
However, if we want to address the completion of the exercise of the control of will we are well advised to choose something along the line of Steiner’s suggestion: We might indeed obtain a potted plant and start watering it every day at a given time.
The important aspect of selecting a suitable task for this exercise is likely to be found in the suggestion to choose an action to be be performed at a certain time each day that we would normally not have done.
When practicing this exercise we will likely find that some actions are better suited than others. Simple, not depending on props and not location specific actions are more suitable than more complicated tasks that depend on having certain items within reach or needing to be at a certain location.
For instance we might decide to simply look up to the sky for one minute or two every day at a specific time, say at eight in the evening. Or we decide to touch our left ear every day at ten in the morning. Tasks like these can be completed wherever we are and do not depend on the availability of certain items.
Will exercises that depend on location and available props are of course not something to be ruled out, but they have potential drawbacks, as we might find ourselves in the situation that the chosen task can not be completed. For example if we decide to move a coffee cup from one location to another each day at one in the afternoon, we might find ourselves on a given day out in the middle of a beautiful meadow during a hike, when realizing that the appointed time is nearing and no coffee cup is in sight.
Of course for most people the main challenge with this exercise is to actually remember to complete the task one has set for oneself at the chosen time, consistently and each day.
We might want to practice this exercise for one month with the same daily task or perhaps change the task after one week and so forth. Then, as Steiner suggests in the description of the exercise of the control of will in Guidance in Esoteric Training, we might want to add a second, third and perhaps additional tasks to our daily schedule.
As with the exercise of the control of thinking we need to complete the exercise (or exercises) of the control of will in such a way that after each time we have completed the selected task, for instance of looking up to the sky, we take a moment and become conscious of the feeling “of an inner impulse of activity”. This feeling is similar to the feeling of joy that we can become conscious of when embarking on a task that we indeed like to complete very much. After having become conscious of this feeling and holding the feeling in our awareness for a moment, we then perform an inner movement. This movement starts in the head and is directed towards the heart, as we “ … pour this feeling into the body, letting it stream down from the head to a point just above the heart”. (Part 5, General Demands, Guidance in Esoteric Training)