The conception of freedom today is increasingly connected to the realms of economics, politics, and religion. But what really is freedom in its essence, and does it have a spiritual aspect? Through the use of narrative and discussion, Edward Warren helps clarify this central human question, focusing particularly on ideas derived from Rudolf Steiner's The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity. Observing Steiner's wish that his main philosophical book should be reworked for every new generation, Warren treats the theme in a fresh and lively manner.

Spirit, spiritual aspects perceived, and spirituality ingrained have been static, overemphasized and deceivingly unruly in spiritual enslavement for too many millenniums. Times are changing and so is the spiritual nature of everything pertaining to belief systems of mankind. These scriptures offer broad views of spirit, spiritual, and spirituality in concept and compare them from the ancient traditions of beliefs to those more recent and what will likely be future emanation of spiritual concepts and consciousness. Comprehensive aspects of spiritual rigidity and transforming fluctuations, adaptations, and changes are displayed for purposes of gaining more conscious awareness to possible alternatives for everyone interested in a broad and future-minded aspect of how the spirit of many natures may fit in with our lives.

Wake up, Lien. Think for yourself! describes the origins and some of the history and the excesses of Christianity and Islam. It shows how mind-control enters into the formation of these religions, and it urges the reader to free himself or herself from the out-dated notions that may have been implanted in his mind by parents, teachers, and religious functionaries. It suggests the Eastern teaching of reincarnation as a possible substitute as that appears to be a more satisfying and logical belief system.

What happens when three hundred alleged squatters go head-to-head with an enormous city government looking to develop the place where they live? As anthropologist Michael Herzfeld shows in this book, the answer can be surprising. He tells the story of Pom Mahakan, a tiny enclave in the heart of old Bangkok whose residents have resisted authorities’ demands to vacate their homes for a quarter of a century. It’s a story of community versus government, of old versus new, and of political will versus the law. Herzfeld argues that even though the residents of Pom Mahakan have lost every legal battle the city government has dragged them into, they have won every public relations contest, highlighting their struggle as one against bureaucrats who do not respect the age-old values of Thai/Siamese social and cultural order. Such values include compassion for the poor and an understanding of urban space as deeply embedded in social and ritual relations. In a gripping account of their standoff, Herzfeld—who simultaneously argues for the importance of activism in scholarship—traces the agile political tactics and styles of the community’s leadership, using their struggle to illuminate the larger difficulties, tensions, and unresolved debates that continue to roil Thai society to this day.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1860.

Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925), the Austrian founder of Anthroposophy, is frequently viewed by those familiar with his teaching as unique and separate from other spiritual teachers of our modern era. While, Steiner is thought by anthroposophists to be a scientist and a philosopher, as well as an interpreter of events depicted in Christian scriptures, he is nevertheless generally ignored by scientists and philosophers, as well as by both liberal and fundamentalist scriptural scholars and theologians. In this book, Robert McDermott—the editor of American Philosophy and Rudolf Steiner, which investigates Steiner’s philosophy in the context of American philosophers—places Steiner and his work in the context of a variety of spiritual teachers and teachings, both Western and Eastern. In doing so, the reader is guided to new perspectives that show the similarities and contrasts between Steiner’s Spiritual Science and a number of Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, and secular spiritual worldviews. The kindred spirits in this book include His Holiness the Dalai Lama, C. G. Jung, Teilhard de Chardin, Martin Buber, Sri Aurobindo, Rabindranath Tagore, Gandhians, feminists, ecologists, and more. Steiner went as far up the spiritual ladder as any modern individual but, unlike some enthusiasts for Steiner, McDermott is also impressed by other religious thinkers and spiritual practitioners who have been helpful to those of us in need of encouragement and guidance and whose vistas and insights may not have been researched or explained by Steiner. For those with unbiased, open minds, this book presents a fresh look at Rudolf Steiner, a modern spiritual initiate, and his contributions to the world, along with a generous and appreciative view of his kindred spirits of our time.

Drawn from extensive, new and rich empirical research across the UK, Canada and USA, Queer Spiritual Spaces investigates the contemporary socio-cultural practices of belief, by those who have historically been, and continue to be, excluded or derided by mainstream religions and alternative spiritualities. As the first monograph to be directly informed by 'queer' subjectivities whilst dealing with divergent spiritualities on an international scale, this book explores the recently emerging innovative spaces and integrative practices of queer spiritualities. Its breadth of coverage and keen critical engagement mean it will serve as a theoretically fertile, comprehensive entry point for any scholar wishing to explore the queer spiritual spaces of the twenty-first century.

"And however paradoxical it may seem today, the 'Grail mood' is in the fullest sense to be found in Russia. And the future role that Russia will play in the sixth post-Atlantean epoch, a task of which I have so often had to speak, rests firmly upon this unconquerable 'Grail mood' in the Russian people." --Rudolf Steiner (Nov. 3, 1918) Although Eastern Europe has been part of Christian humanity for more than a thousand years, its task and spiritual identity remain a mystery, the answer to which cannot be found unless we look behind outer historical events to the spiritual, meta-historical dimensions of history. This momentous work, breathtaking in its scope and detail, represents just such a penetrating, esoteric study of Eastern Europe in the light of Rudolf Steiner's spiritual research. Prokofieff shows how, from the earliest times, the future "conscience of humanity" flowed from hidden mystery centers in Hibernia to the eastern Slavic peoples. As a result, qualities of "compassion, patience, and willingness for sacrifice" developed in their souls, creating a truly Christian "Grail mood." Despite incalculable suffering--from the persecutions by the Mogul hordes of the thirteenth century to the Bolshevik experiment of the twentieth century--this quality has become an unconquerable force in the depths of their being. In illuminating the maya of outer history, Prokofieff reveals the forces that have been at work to hinder the progress and future intentions of humankind. Those adversarial forces have created a "karma of materialism" that the eastern Slavic peoples have taken upon themselves out of their exalted willingness for sacrifice. Will we be able to use the present opportunity granted by this sacrifice to fulfill the primary purposes of the present cultural epoch? Serious study of this book--intended for students of spiritual science--can lead to a profound awakening to the challenges that face humankind today.

The time is not perhaps far distant when few will believe in miracles who do not also believe in an infallible Church; and then, such books as the present will appeal to a larger circle. But, as things are, the author would beg all those who worship a miraculous Christ without doubt and difficulty to pause here and read no further. The book is not intended for them; it is intended for those alone to whom it is dedicated, "the doubters of this generation." For there are some who feel drawn towards the worship of Christ by love and reverence, yet repelled by an apparently inextricable connection of the story of Christ with a miraculous element which, in their minds, throws a doubt over the whole of His acts, His doctrine, His character, and even His existence. Others, who worship Christ, worship Him insecurely and tremulously. They assume that their faith must rest on the basis of the Bible miracles; and at times they cannot quite suppress a thrill of doubt and terror lest some horrible discovery of fresh truth, resulting in the destruction of the miraculous element of the Bible, may impair their right to regard Christ as "anything better than a mere man." It is to these two classes—the would-be worshippers and the doubtful worshippers of Christ—that the following Letters are addressed by one who has for many years found peace and salvation in the worship of a nonmiraculous Christ.