Rudolf Steiner’s Esoteric Development: The Control Of Thought
Posted on June 26th, 2019
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We are looking at Rudolf Steiner because the Toronto Waldorf school uses teaching principles and incorporates the educational theories of this twentieth century scholar.
In fact, the entire Waldorf education tradition is founded upon his philosophy and teachings.
Because his works are woven throughout our school and curriculum, we get many questions about who he is; the short answer is that he was an absolutely fascinating man.
Who Was Rudolf Steiner?
Rudolf Steiner was a bit of a renaissance man – he went to university for the sciences, but was so well read that he was also recognized a philosopher, doctor, architect, educator, painter, dramaturge and drama critic, agriculturist, economist, and social reformer.
He was born in Austria and raised in rural Hungary, but lived his adult life in Vienna, Berlin and Switzerland.
As the son of a station master, he was fascinated by the mechanics of the newly-invented trains; his curiosity lead to him reading about all manner of topics, and he resolved to attend university, working as a tutor to make ends meet.
He succeeded, and audited many other classes at his university and another nearby, all while he finished his school work and tutored on the side.
This time immersed in knowledge and learning, however, established the foundation for all his thinking, philosophizing and creativity.
His vision for learning and for living was to recognize how interconnected these disciplines were, and to learn from each of them in order to create the most logical plan to achieve success.
The Control Of Thought
Rudolf Steiner considered controlling your thoughts to be the foundation of all his further esoteric theories.
He believed we all had self-determination, control over our choices, or free will; and in actively applying that to the mind itself, we could reprogram our thoughts to what we choose in order to be our best selves.
This concept has picked up steam in the last couple of decades, thanks to household names like Deepak Chopra, Tony Robbins, Wayne Dyer, and many others.
The reason these celebrities have so many fans is because they are teaching something everyone wants to benefit from; nevertheless, many get stuck executing the teachings.
Learning to control our thoughts is what unlocks the ability to do anything and everything; when we control our thoughts, we have control of the fear that stops us from putting those big plans into action, for example.
However – as they say – if it were easy, everyone would be doing it; Steiner acknowledged this and therefore provided us with examples of ways to teach ourselves and be successful.
The Steiner Method
The Steiner method involves performing an exercise for each of the six fundamentals to his meditative work.
For this first task, he asks us to choose a simple thing to focus on, whether it be a doorknob, an apple, a button, or pen.
For five minutes, consider this object from every angle – how it was made or used, or what it would have looked like a hundred years ago.
The key is to remain logical and realistic in our thinking, and not indulge in flights of fancy or wild imaginings.
Further, he encourages us to do this every day – whether we use the same object or change it.
This is an important activity for the staff here at Waldorf Academy Toronto childcare. It informs our childcare and teaching practice.
Why Is This Important?
By practicing this exercise daily, our minds learn to be stronger and wander less; he believed us to be capable of teaching our own brains how to remain focused longer through deliberate exercise.
In his philosophical work, Rudolf Steiner sets out man to be his own master, which is reflected in his anthroposophical teachings.
He believed people are capable of being awakened to our own inure nature, to the physical and spiritual parts of our world, and to understanding our place in the universe.
In becoming fully and clearly aware of our own humanity in this way, we learn an awareness and reverence for all life.
By having our staff take part in his teachings, we hope to instill exactly this knowledge with our students at the Waldorf Academy Toronto.
We also encourage you to follow along over the following weeks as we continue our dive into his theories of esoteric development.
Contact Waldorf Academy
To find out more about Steiner’s teachings and how we incorporate them here at Waldorf Academy, contact us to book a private tour.
We’ll walk you through our Toronto Waldorf school and help you understand the difference a Waldorf education can make.
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