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The Rudolf Steiner Archive

a project of Steiner Online Library, a public charity

Anthroposophical Leading Thoughts
GA 26

This volume contains a collection of short essays by Steiner for the members of the Anthroposophical Society. They were written near the end of Steiner's life and in a way summarize, in highly concentrated form, the whole of anthroposophy. Each essay ends with a short summary of its contents and these are known as the “leading thoughts.” The leading thoughts are mantras and can be used quite fruitfully for meditation.

Translated from volume in the Complete Edition of Rudolf Steiner's works entitled: Anthroposophische Leitsätze. Der Erkenntnisweg der Anthroposophie. Das Michael Mysterium. (Bibl. No. 26) 6th edition.

Introduction
Anthroposophical Leading Thoughts LT 1 to 37
On the Picture-Nature of Man LT 38 to 61
Understanding of the Spirit; Conscious Experience of Destiny LT 62 to 68
Spiritual Kingdoms and Human Self-Knowledge LT 69 to 75
How the Leading Thoughts are to be Used LT 76 to 78
1.At the Dawn of the Michael Age LT 79 to 84
2.The Condition of the Human Soul Before the Dawn of the Michael Age LT 85 to 87
2a.Aphorisms from a Lecture to Members Given in London on August 24th, 1924. LT 88 to 102
3.The Way of Michael, and What Preceded It LT 103 to 105
4.Michaels Task in the Sphere of Ahriman LT 106 to 108
5.The Experiences of Michael in the Course of His Cosmic Mission LT 109 to 111
6.The Activity of Michael and the Future of Mankind LT 112 to 114
7.The Michael-Christ-Experience of Man LT 115 to 117
8.Michaels Mission in the Cosmic Age of Human Freedom LT 118 to 120
9.The World-Thoughts in the Working of Michael and in the Working of Ahriman LT 121 to 123
10.First Study: At the Gates of the Spiritual Soul (Consciousness-Soul). How Michael in the Spiritual World is Preparing for His Earth-Mission through the Conquest of Lucifer LT 124 to 126
11.Second Study: How the Michael Forces Work in the Earliest Unfolding of the Spiritual Soul LT 127 to 130
12.Second Study (Continued). Hindrances and Helps to the Michael Forces in the Dawn of the Age of the Spiritual Soul LT 131 to 133
13.Third Study: Michael is Suffering Over Human Evolution Before the Time of His Earthly Activity LT 134 to 136
14.A Christmas Study: The Mystery of the Logos LT 137 to 139
15.Heavenly History - Mythological History - Earthly History. The Mystery of Golgotha LT 140 to 143
16.What is Revealed When One Looks Back into Repeated Lives on Earth LT 144 to 146
17.What is Revealed When One Looks Back into Former Lives Between Death and a New Birth - I LT 147 to 149
18.What is Revealed When One Looks Back into Former Lives Between Death and a New Birth - II LT 150 to 152
19.What is the Earth in Reality within the Macrocosm? LT 153 to 155
20.Sleeping and Waking in the Light of Recent Studies LT 156 to 158
21.Gnosis and Anthroposophy LT 159 to 161
22.The Freedom of Man and the Age of Michael LT 162 to 164
23.Where is Man as a Being Who Thinks and Remembers? LT 165 to 167
24.Man in His Macrocosmic Nature LT 168 to 170
25.The Sense- and Thought-Systems of Man in Relation to the World LT 171 to 173
26.Memory and Conscience LT 174 to 176
27.The Apparent Extinction of Spirit-Knowledge in Modern Times LT 177 to 179
28.Historic Cataclysms at the Dawn of the Spiritual Soul LT 180 to 182
29.From Nature to Sub-Nature LT 183 to 185