MINDFULNESS AND REVERENCE

Contemporary interest in the meditative schooling of mindfulness is usually associated with Eastern traditions. Rudolf Steiner spoke of the same phenomenon, although he used the terms attentiveness and dedication – or, combining these two, pure perception. This way of mindfulness and reverence is not in conflict with spiritual paths founded on thinking or pure thought. However, as the texts in this anthology indicate, methods based exclusively on thinking cannot be successful if they are not supported by perception, feeling and will. In counterbalance to todays increasing intellectualization, the meditative exercises featured here connect with the perceptive activity of the human beings sensory organs. They could also be understood as exercises for developing empathy, helping to make our relationship with the world around us more conscious and intense. Rudolf Steiners texts are sensitively edited and arranged by Andreas Neider, whose introduction and notes add further clarity to the theme.