As I keep revisiting Rudolf Steiner's now-validated century old prophecy; I realise that, although the prophecy is about Western society, and what it needed to do - but hasn't done; and although the prophecy has been fulfilled at this social level - its true implications are for the individual.
The prophecy was based upon an understanding of what would happen if Western man continued in the path of increasing materialism/ positivism, scientism/ reductionism in public discourse and private thinking - and we did continue.
The spiritual realm is now regarded as purely 'subjective' - hence not really real, hence without relevance for social living. Reality is mainstream-structurally-regarded as meaningless, hope-less, going-nowhere; and we our-selves as irrelevant.
It is, of course, a disaster that The West has made these choices; but the lesson of the prophecy was actually for individuals primarily - it was that we must (and must means must) develop our spiritual consciousness into new realms - more exactly into a 'animism of thinking': a recognition that ultimate reality consists of living, conscious, purposive Beings in a creation that has been transformed by Christ.
This means that the modern public discourse has become - in rejecting God, Christ and the Holy Ghost - (quite literally) insane - as well as calamitous and dull.
But this operates at the individual level - and the social level cannot budge without first the transformation of individual consciousness - and this transformation can only be done by conscious choice; it cannot be coerced or compelled; nor can people be induced to do it by unconscious manipulation/ propaganda/ habit-training.
We must now choose the Good - because evil is the default.
The the lesson of the true prophecy is for you, and me, and everyone as an individual. It tells us what we must do if we are to avoid the general fate of our society: mental sickness, despair and demotivation.
2 comments:
We can only achieve what our level of intelligence and degree of consciousness allows us to.
The last three centuries were a ruthless pursuit of the destruction of the spiritual realm.
Our civilisation is one without a conception of what the Divine is or might be. In other words, nothing is sacred, and we're so proud of ourselves.
All is subject to mercantile calculation and everything that cannot be quantified or measured is destroyed or its existence is violently negated - some go as far as negating the existence of conscience itself, e.g. Daniel Dennett.
We are born in a world that cannot stand who we really are. A world that hates us, a world that built for itself systems of hatred: the state, public school, the banking system, the labour market... to separate us from ourselves, i.e. the Divine, to keep us within tight enclosures.
Rudolf Steiner warns us about this more and more deep descent into the material world, and society, it seems, insists on that path: ''In the future the soul will be eliminated with medicine'' - i very much doubt most will resist the call.
Modern Civilisation is a scourge. It cannot last, and i fear its end will be tragic.
@Daniel - Thanks for the comment.
"i fear its end will be tragic."
I fear its end may not rise to the level of tragedy.
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