If we use Ahrimanic as a shorthand term for that kind of bureaucratic, abstract materialism that has grown (over the past couple of hundred years) to dominate The West and The World - and acknowledge that this is an intrinsically evil mode of thinking; then we can begin to see how deeply this has invaded our lives. ...How Ahrimanic habits have become so ingrained that we reach for them even as we try to combat them.
This began with the man who invented this (broad) usage of Ahrimanic: Rudolf Steiner. Having described the terrible consequences to be expected for Man if he continued down the Ahrimanic path; Steiner himself created an Ahrimanic system of spiritual development! - with checklists, methods, training. He made an international, hierarchical bureaucracy to guard and administer his legacy. He preached individualistic Heart Thinking and intuition; but constructed an enormous quasi-factual archive of materialistic information on history and prehistory, the structure of the universe, spiritual techniques, politics and society, education, medicine, agriculture...
The form of the message refuted its content.
The pattern is common, almost universal - especially as the world converges into a single mega-bureaucracy; and clearly most of us find it very difficult to avoid falling into the Ahrimanic trap.
Consider Romantic Christianity. Our first, habitual, response on learning about the fact that it is necessary for each individual person to practise intuitive discernment, to live from his true (divine) self etc - is to ask for a canonical reading list, a course of study, a directory of approved authorities, an organisation to join, a set of bullet points about what to do.
Such advice can only be general - hence the form must work-against the content...
Even on a daily basis; (unless we catch our-selves first) too often we pay primary attention and expend great energy on looking for external guidance and structure - a curriculum to follow; and simply forget to attend to our actually-present intuitions of the heart.
At the bottom line, if we each are individuals (from eternity), and each are experiencing a bespoke (tailored to the individual) mortal life (that God is creating for our benefit, for us to learn-from); then our case is unique, and generic advice can never take us very far, especially not in a positive direction.
(We can reliably be told some generic things Not to do - to avoid; but almost never what we personally ought to be doing, here-and-now.)
I think the Ahrimanic problem arises from our tendency to put-off, to procrastinate, to plan instead of do.
Yet we will never be closer to God than we are Now. The Only time to begin to live from our Heart Thinking is Now. The lessons of mortal life that we need to learn (for our own eternal Good) are all around us - Now.
If this Intuition-Now perspective can perhaps become a counter-habit; maybe we can (starting Now!) begin to roll-back those pervasive Ahrimanic reflexes that have been socially-inculcated, and which work towards our eternal detriment.
