A guide to the unseen world? Steiner pt 3
I would say this is a bit of a trippy section. I thought about excluding it as I wasn’t sure it had relevance to the education section. However, I realised that I was trying to fit things inside a box rather than opening the lid of the box and letting things flow out.
Whether or not you believe in the unseen realm is not important to this post. Think about this post this way: Could education look like this? What ideas can you see here that could translate into the classroom or at home? Just because we can’t see it doesn’t mean it is not there. E.g. a lion can see different things than us, so can infrared.
Enlightenment
In this section, Steiner takes us through the process to see the unseen world.
Observation
‘The first step is by observing different natural objects in a particular way; a stone, a plant and an animal.’
‘The student should direct his whole attention to a comparison of the stone and animal.’
Steiner first describes the process of directing attention to three different kinds of things. Whilst observing, the student will feel a flow of different feelings from each of the categories.
Training with intention
‘At first the feelings are only present as long as the observation lasts. Later on they continue, and grow to something which remains living and soul.’
This suggests that students will have to practise this way of esoteric training.
Language we don’t have
‘The student gradually learns, by their means, to see something like soul and spirit colours.’
‘This cannot be explained by ordinary language, for this language was created to suit physical conditions.’
With continual observation and practice, the students will be able to see something beyond or in between the objects. Steiner says that all adjectives and adverbs that we use today to describe the physical world cannot describe what the unseen world has to offer.
This reminds me of a podcast with Yeonmi Park, the North Korean defector. She said that in North Korea they don’t have the word "I" or "me." If you don’t have a word for it, can you think of it? Think about it.
Colours not on our spectrum
‘The colour proceeding the plant is green which little by little turns into ethereal pink.’
‘The wealth of colour in these higher worlds is immeasurably greater than in the physical world.’
Is this so hard to accept? That from our own human eyes we see certain colours, but we are limited to only part of the light spectrum. Technology and other animals can access other parts of the light spectrum.
Intention of learning sympathy
‘Throughout the students' training they must continually increase their moral strength, inner purity and power of observation.’
‘Enlarge their sympathy for animals, the human world and sense for beauty of nature.’
Steiner here is suggesting that there is an intention to teach and train for moral strength, inner purity and observation. I feel that sometimes these are taught as by-products from a different lesson. How do we explicitly train/teach this?
He also says that there is a link between accessing the unseen world, which can be felt inside of us, and helping the world outside of us, being a positive force.
Time spent
‘No student should spend more time and strength upon these exercises than he can spare from his duties, nor should he change anything in the external conditions for his life, for the time being.’
‘Without patience no genuine results can be attained.’
‘After doing these exercises for a few minutes, the student must be able to stop and continue their daily work and no thought of these exercises should mingle with the day’s work.’
This, I feel, is very pragmatic of Steiner. Who can be a monk all day? He realises that there is an importance to be and do things in our everyday life. But what he is suggesting is the connection and the stillness you need for the spirit world. I’ve just been to London, how many people are still here?
Summary
I feel when you read through this section, you can get lost in a world that Steiner believes exists. I think about this section in three different ways.
What would it look like if we were to teach for this? I can’t imagine what it would be like where students take moments out of their daily studying to observe objects and the energy or colours that Steiner is suggesting here.
I can see elements of this through the Waldorf method, or take the underlying idea and implement it in the classroom/home today?
We are taught to say that the plant is green, because it shows the colour green in our daily life. Are we educated out of seeing something else?
