In Transforming the Soul, Rudolf Steiner describes various soul tendencies and predispositions which must be transformed in order to arrive at a healthy, mature and reliable understanding of oneself and of the spiritual realms which give rise to the world we live in.

‘The spiritual-scientific investigator has . . . to transform the soul itself into an instrument; then – when his soul is awakened and he can see into a spiritual world – he experiences, on a higher level, a similar great moment as blind people do when, having been operated upon, they look at a world they have not seen before.’

In his Transforming the Soul lectures on personal development, Rudolf Steiner explains that the central mission of spiritual science is to enable people to ascend, in full consciousness, to a knowledge of spiritual realities. But given that the means to achieve spiritual perception are now becoming increasingly available, there is the danger that some individuals will gain access to the spiritual world whilst harbouring impure motives and poorly developed human faculties. This can lead to a distorted understanding and vision of that world as well as unhealthy effects on the personality. Steiner’s emphasis, therefore, is on the preparatory steps – the metamorphosis and purification of the human soul – required for achieving true spiritual enlightenment. Life itself teaches and prepares us for progress, and anthroposophy explains its inner nature and transforms it into a consciousness process of inner development.

In some of his most lucid lectures, Steiner describes the missions of anger, truth and reverence, the significance of human character, the meaning of asceticism and illness, and the phenomenon of egoism. He also clarifies the differences between Buddhism and Christianity, describes the goal of spiritual science, and makes some esoteric observations about the moon. Throughout the talks Steiner gives insight into many significant historical figures, including St Augustine, Coleridge, Leonardo da Vinci, Madame Blavatsky, Goethe, Homer, and Shakespeare.

Rudolf Steiner Press
9 lectures, Berlin, 14 Oct. – 9 Dec. 1909, GA 58
Trans. Charles Davy & Christian von Arnim, rev. Pauline Wehrle
244pp; paperback
ISBN: 9781855841581

Previously published as Metamorphosis of the Soul – Paths of Experience