This collection of lectures contains Steiner's strongest statements on the issues of human relationships in a spiritual community such as the Anthroposophical Society. Occasioned by an unfortunate "scandal" involving people influenced by psychoanalysis, these lectures present Steiner's comprehensive assessment of Freud's work and of psycho­analysis as a whole.

The human being’s life alternates between the great outer macrocosm and the hidden inner microcosm. Steiner discusses the different paths of development that lead to crossing these two thresholds and the transformation of different soul-forces into spiritual organs of perception.