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Reincarnation and Karma
Their Significance in Modern Culture
4. Examples of the working of karma between two incarnations
21 February 1912, Stuttgart
The lecture yesterday dealt with questions of karma, and the endeavour was made to speak of them in such a way that they appear to us to be linked with inner processes in the soul, with something that is within our reach. It was said that certain tentative measures can be taken and that in this way a conviction of the truth of the law of karma may be awakened. If such questions are introduced again and again into our studies, this is because it is necessary to realise with increasing clarity how Anthroposophy, in the genuine sense of the word, is related to life itself and to the whole evolution of man.
There is no doubt that at least an approximately adequate idea can be formed of the change that will gradually and inevitably take place in all human life if a considerable number of people are convinced of the truths upon which studies such as those of yesterday are based. By steeping themselves in such truths, men's attitude to life will be quite different and life itself will change in consequence.
This brings us to the very important question—and it is a question of conscience for those who enter the Anthroposophical Movement: What is it, in reality, that makes a man of the modern age into an anthroposophist?—Misunderstanding may easily arise when endeavours are made to answer this question, for even to-day many people—including those who belong to us—still confuse the Anthroposophical Movement with some form of external organisation. There is nothing to be said against an external organisation, which from a certain point of view must exist in order to make it possible for Anthroposophy to be cultivated on the physical plane; but it is important to realise that all human beings whose interest in questions of the spiritual life is earnest and sincere and who wish to deepen their world-view in accordance with the principles of this spiritual Movement, can belong to such an organisation. From this it is obvious that no dogmatic, positive declaration of belief can be demanded from those who attach themselves to such an organisation. But it is a different matter to speak quite precisely of what makes a man of the present age into an anthroposophist.
The conviction that a spiritual world must be taken into account is, of course, the starting-point of anthroposophical conviction, and this must always be stressed when Anthroposophy is introduced to the public and reference made to its tasks, aims and present mission in life. But in anthroposophical circles themselves it must be realised that what makes the anthroposophist is something much more definite, much more decisive than the mere conviction of the existence of a spiritual world. After all, this conviction has always been held in circles that were not utterly materialistic. What constitutes a modern anthroposophist and, fundamentally speaking, was not contained in the theosophy of Jacob Boehme, for example, or of other earlier theosophists, is something towards which the efforts of our Western culture are strenuously directed—so much so, on the one side, that such efforts have become characteristic of the strivings of many human beings. But on the other side there is the fact that what particularly characterises the anthroposophist is still vehemently attacked by external culture and education, is still regarded as nonsense.
We do, of course, learn many things through Anthroposophy. We learn about the evolution of humanity, even about the evolution of our earth and planetary system. All these things belong to the fundamentals required by one who desires to become an anthroposophist. But what is of particular importance for the modern anthroposophist is the gaining of conviction with regard to reincarnation and karma. The way in which men gain this conviction, how they succeed in spreading the thought of reincarnation and karma—it is this that from now onwards will essentially transform modern life, will create new forms of life, an entirely new social life, of the kind that is necessary if human culture is not to decline but rise to a higher level. Experiences in the life of soul such as were described yesterday are, fundamentally speaking, within the reach of every modern man, and if only he has sufficient energy and tenacity of purpose he will certainly become inwardly convinced of the truth of reincarnation and karma. But the whole character of our present age is pitted against what must be the aim of true Anthroposophy.
Perhaps this fundamental character of our present age nowhere expresses itself so radically and typically as in the fact that considerable interest is shown in the central questions of religion, in the evolution of the world and of man, and even in karma and reincarnation. When such questions extend to the specific tenets of religions—concerning, let us say, the nature of the Buddha or of Christ—when such questions are discussed to-day, evidence of widespread interest will be apparent. But this interest peters out the moment we speak in concrete detail about how Anthroposophy must penetrate into every domain of external life. That interest dwindles is, after all, very understandable. Men have their places in external life, they hold various positions in the world. With all its organisations and institutions the modern world appears not unlike a vast emporium with the individual human being working in it as a wheel, or something of the kind. This indeed is what he feels himself to be, with his labour, his anxieties, his occupation from morning till evening, and he knows nothing beyond the fact that he is obliged to fit into this outer world-order. Then, side by side with these conditions, arises the question that must exercise every soul who is able to look even a little beyond what everyday life offers: it is the question of the soul's destiny, of the beginning and end of the soul's life, its connection with divine-spiritual Beings and Powers holding sway in the universe. And between what everyday life with its cares and anxieties brings to man and what he receives in the domain of Anthroposophy yawns a deep abyss.
It may be said that for most men of the present age there is almost no harmony between their convictions and what they do and think in their outer, everyday life. If some concrete question is raised in public and dealt with in the light of Spiritual Science or Anthroposophy, it will at once be evident that the interest which was still there in the case of general questions of religion and the like, no longer exists when it comes to matters of a really concrete kind. It cannot of course be expected that Anthroposophy will at once make its way into life, that everyone will immediately bring it to expression in whatever he is doing. But the world must be made to realise that it is the mission of Spiritual Science to introduce into life, to incorporate in life, everything that will emanate from a soul who has become convinced of the truth of the ideas of reincarnation and karma. And so the characteristic stamp of the modern anthroposophist may be said to be that he is on the way to acquiring a firmly based, inner conviction of the validity of the idea of reincarnation and karma. All the rest will then follow of itself.
Naturally it will not do to think: Now, reinforced with the knowledge of reincarnation and karma, I shall at once be able to grapple with external life. That, of course, is not possible. The essential thing is to understand how the truths of reincarnation and karma can penetrate into external life in such a way that they become its guiding principles.
Now let us consider how karma works through the different incarnations. When a human being comes into the world, his powers and capacities must, after all, be regarded as the effects of causes he himself engendered in earlier incarnations. If this idea is led to its consistent conclusion, every human being must be treated as if he were a kind of enigma, as a being hovering in the dark foundations of his earlier incarnations. If this idea of karma is put earnestly into effect a significant change will be brought about, not in methods of education only but in the whole of life. If that were achieved, the idea of karma, instead of being merely an anthroposophical idea, would be transformed into something that takes hold of practical life itself, would become a really potent factor in life.
But all external life as it presents itself to-day is the picture of a social condition which, in its development, has excluded, has indeed refuted, the idea of reincarnation and karma. External life to-day is organised almost as if there were a deliberate desire to quash any possibility of men being able, through their own inner development, to discover the reality of reincarnation and karma. In point of fact there is, for example, nothing more hostile to a real conviction of reincarnation and karma than the principle that a man must be remunerated, must receive wages corresponding to his actual labour. To speak like this seems utterly eccentric! Do not, however, take this example to imply that Anthroposophy would wish to throw to the winds the principles of an established practice and to introduce a new social order overnight! That cannot be. But men must become alive to the thought that no fundamental conviction of reincarnation can ever flourish in a world-order in which it is held that there must be a direct correspondence between wages and labour, in which man is obliged, through the labour he performs, to obtain the necessities of life. Naturally the prevailing conditions must remain, to begin with, for it will be clear, above all to anthroposophists, that what exists is in turn the outcome of karmic law and in this sense is justified and inevitable. But it is absolutely essential for men to be able to realise that what can, nay must, ensue from recognition of the idea of reincarnation and karma, unfolds as a new seed in the organism of our world-order.
Above all it follows from the idea of karma that we should not feel ourselves to have been placed by chance into the world-order, into the positions in which we find ourselves in life; on the contrary, we should feel that a kind of subconscious decision of the will underlies it, that as the result of our earlier incarnations, before we passed into this earthly existence out of the spiritual world between death and a new birth, we resolved in the spiritual world—a resolve we merely forgot when we incarnated in the body—to occupy the very position in which we now find ourselves. Consequently it is the outcome of a pre-natal, pre-earthly decision of the will that we are assigned to our particular place in life and have the actual inclination to steer towards the blows of destiny that befall us. If a man then becomes convinced of the truth of the law of karma, he will inevitably begin to incline towards, even possibly to love, the position in the world in which he has placed himself—no matter what it may be.
You may say: You are telling us very strange things. They may be all very well for poets or writers, or others engaged in spiritual pursuits. To such people you do well to preach that they should love, delight in, be devoted to, their particular positions in life. But what of all those human beings whose situations, in their very nature and with the labours they involve, cannot possibly be particularly welcome but will inevitably evoke the feeling of belonging to the neglected or oppressed?—Who would deny that a large proportion of the efforts made in modern civilisation aim at introducing into life continuous improvements which may help to get rid of the discontent at having been placed in such unpleasant situations? How numerous are the different institutions and sectarian endeavours to better life in all directions in order that even from the external aspect the earthly life of mankind might be bearable!
None of these endeavours reckon with the fact that the kind of discontent inevitably brought by life to numbers of people to-day is connected in many respects with the whole course taken by the evolution of humanity, that fundamentally speaking, the way in which men developed in past ages led to karma of this kind, and that out of the combined working of these different karmas the present state of human civilisation has proceeded. In characterising this state of civilisation we can only say that it is complex in the highest degree. It must also be said that the connection between what man does, what he carries out, and what he loves, is weakening all the time. And if we were to count those people who in their positions in external life to-day are obliged to engage in some activity that goes much against the grain, their number would by far exceed the number of those who affirm: I can only say that I love my external occupation, that it brings me happiness and contentment.
Only recently I heard of a strange statement made by someone to a friend. He said: 'When I look back over my life in all its details I confess that if I had to live through it again from childhood to the present moment, I should do exactly the same things I have done up to now.'—The friend replied: 'Then you are one of those most rarely to be found at the present time!'—The friend was probably right, as far as most men of the modern age are concerned. Not many of our contemporaries would assert that, if it depended on them, they would without hesitation begin life all over again, together with everything it has brought in the way of happiness, sorrow, blows of fate, obstacles, and would be quite content if everything were exactly the same again.
It cannot be said that the fact just mentioned—namely that there are so few people nowadays who would be willing to recapitulate the karma of their present life together with all its details—it cannot be said that this is unconnected with what the prevailing cultural state of humanity has brought in its train. Our life has become more complex but it has been made so by the different karmas of the personalities living on the earth to-day. Of that there can be no doubt at all. Nor will those who have the slightest insight into the course taken by human evolution be able to speak of any possibility of a less complicated life in the future. On the contrary, the complexity of external life will steadily increase and however many activities are taken over from man in the future by machines, there can be very few lives of happiness in this present incarnation unless conditions quite different from those now prevailing are brought about. And these different conditions must be the result of the human soul being convinced of the truth of reincarnation and karma.
From this it will be realised that something quite different must run parallel with the complexity of external civilisation. What is it that will be necessary to ensure that men become more and more deeply permeated with the truth of reincarnation and karma? What will be necessary in order that the concept of reincarnation and karma may comparatively soon instil itself into our education, take hold of human beings even in childhood, in the way that children now are convinced of the truth of the Copernican theory of the universe?
What was it that enabled the Copernican theory of the universe to lay hold of men's minds? This Copernican world-system has had a peculiar destiny. I am not going to speak about the theory itself but only about its entry into the world. Remember that this world-system was thought out by a Christian dignitary and that Copernicus's own conception of it was such that he felt it permissible to dedicate to the pope the work in which he elaborated his hypothesis. He believed that his conclusions were entirely in keeping with Christianity.1Nicholas Copernicus (1473–1543) became a Church dignitary in Frauenburg. His celebrated astronomical work, De revolutionibus orbiurn coelestium, had been dedicated to Pope Paul III, but was not printed until 1543, in Nurnberg. Although protected, to begin with, by the dedication to the Pope, in 1615 it was put on the Index of books forbidden to Catholics, remaining there until 1822, when the ban was officially lifted by the Vatican on works dealing with the earth's motion and the fixed position of the sun. Was any proof of the truth of Copernicanism available at that time? Could anyone have demonstrated the truth of its conclusions? Nobody could have done so. Yet think of the rapidity with which it made its way into humanity. Since when has proof been available? To the extent to which it is correct, only since the fifties of the 19th century, only since Foucault's experiment with the pendulum.2In 1851, at the Pantheon in Paris, Leon Foucault demonstrated the diurnal motion of the earth by the rotation of the plane of oscillation of a freely suspended, long and heavy pendulum, and again the following year by means of his invention the gyroscope. Before then there was no proof that the earth rotates. It is nonsense to state that Copernicus was also able to prove what he had presented and investigated as an hypothesis; this also holds good of the statement that the earth rotates on its axis.
Only since it was discovered that a swinging pendulum has the tendency to maintain the plane of its oscillation even in opposition to the rotation of the earth and that if a long pendulum is allowed to swing, then the direction of oscillation rotates in relation to the earth's surface, could the conclusion be drawn: it is the earth beneath the pendulum which must have rotated. This experiment, which afforded the first actual proof that the earth moves, was not made until the 19th century. Earlier than that there was no wholly satisfactory possibility of regarding Copernicanism as being anything more than an hypothesis. Nevertheless its effect upon the human mind in the modern age was so great that until the year 1822 his book was on the Index, in spite of the fact that Copernicus had believed it permissible to dedicate it to the Pope. Not until the year 1822 was the book on which Copernicanism was based, removed from the Index—before, therefore, any real proof of its correctness was available. The power of the impulse with which the Copernican theory of the universe instilled itself into the human mind finally compelled the Church to recognise it as non-heretical.
I have always considered it deeply symptomatic that this knowledge of the earth's motion was first imparted to me as a boy at school, not by an ordinary teacher, but by a priest.3This was Franz Maraz, the priest at Neudorll, near Wiener Neustadt. Maraz was a Hungarian, later Canon at Oedenburg, and held high offices.
In his autobiography, The Course of my Life, Rudolf Steiner says of him: "The image of this man was deeply engraved in my soul and throughout my life he has come again and again into my memory."—Who can possibly doubt that Copernicanism has taken firm root, even in the minds of children?—I am not speaking now of its truths and its errors. If culture is not to fall into decline, the truths of reincarnation and karma must take equally firm root—but the time that humanity has at its disposal for this is not as long as it was in the case of Copernicanism. And it is incumbent upon those who call themselves anthroposophists to-day to play their part in ensuring that the truths of reincarnation and karma shall flow even into the minds of the young. This of course does not mean that anthroposophists who have children should inculcate this into them as a dogma. Insight is what is needed.
I have not spoken of Copernicanism without reason. From the success of Copernicanism we can learn what will ensure the spread of the ideas of reincarnation and karma. What, then, were the factors responsible for the rapid spread of Copernicanism?—I shall now be saying something terribly heretical, something that will seem quite atrocious to the modern mind. But what matters is that Anthroposophy shall be taken as earnestly and as profoundly as Christianity was taken by the first Christians, who also arrayed themselves against the conditions then prevailing. If Anthroposophy is not taken with equal seriousness by those who profess to be its adherents, it cannot achieve for humanity what must be achieved.
I have now to say something quite atrocious, and it is this.—Copernicanism, what men learn to-day as the Copernican theory of the universe—the great merits of which and therewith its significance as a cultural factor of the very first order are truly not disputed—this theory was able to take root in the human soul because to be a believer in this world-system it is possible to be a superficial thinker. Superficiality and externality contribute to a more rapid conviction of Copernicanism. This is not to minimise its significance for humanity. But it can truly be said that a man need not be very profound, need not deepen himself inwardly, before accepting Copernicanism; he must far rather externalise his thinking. And indeed a high degree of externalisation has been responsible for trivial utterances such as those to be found in modern monistic books, where it is said, actually with a touch of fervour: Compared with other worlds, the earth, as man's habitation, is a speck of dust in the universe.4cp. Herbert Spencer (1820–1903). 66 This is a futile statement for the simple reason that this 'speck of dust,' with all that belongs to it, is a vital concern of man in terrestrial existence, and the other worlds in the universe with which the earth is compared are of less importance to him. The evolution of humanity was obliged to become completely externalised to be quickly capable of accepting Copernicanism.
But what must men do in order to assimilate the teaching of reincarnation and karma?—This teaching must meet with far more rapid success if humanity is not to fall into decline. What is it that is necessary to enable it to take footing, even in the minds of children? Externalisation was necessary for the acceptance of Copernicanism; inner deepening is necessary for realising the truths of reincarnation and karma, the capacity to take in earnest such things as were spoken of yesterday, to penetrate into intimate matters of the life of soul, into things that every soul must experience in the deep foundations of its own core of being. The results and consequences of Copernicanism in present-day culture are paraded everywhere nowadays, in every popular publication, and the fact that all these things can be presented in pictures, even, whenever possible, in cinematographs, is regarded as a very special triumph. This already characterises the tremendous externalisation of our cultural life.
Little can be shown in pictures, little can be actually communicated about the intimacies of the truths embraced in the words 'reincarnation' and 'karma.' To realise that the conviction of reincarnation and karma is well-founded depends upon a deepened understanding of such things as were said in the lecture yesterday. And so the very opposite of what is habitual in the external culture of to-day is necessary if the idea of reincarnation and karma is to take root in humanity. That is why such insistence is laid upon this deepening—in the domain of Anthroposophy too. Although it cannot be denied that certain schematic presentations may be useful for an intellectual grasp of fundamental truths, it must nevertheless be realised that what is of primary importance in Anthroposophy is to turn our attention to the laws operating in the depths of the soul, to what is at work inwardly, beneath the forces of the soul, as the outer, physical laws are at work in the worlds of time and space.
There is very little understanding to-day of the laws of karma. Is there anyone who as an enlightened man in the sense of modern culture, would not maintain that humanity has outgrown the stage of childhood, the stage of faith and has reached the stage of manhood where knowledge can take the place of faith? Such utterances are to be heard perpetually and give rise to a great deal that deludes people in the outside world but should never delude anthroposophists—utterances to the effect that faith must be replaced by knowledge.
But none of these tirades on the subject of faith and knowledge take into consideration what may be called karmic relationships in life. One who is capable of spiritual-scientific investigation and observes particularly pious, devotional natures among people of the present time, will ask himself: Why is this or that person so pious, so devout? Why is there in him the fervour of faith, the enthusiasm, a veritable genius for religious devoutness, for directing his thoughts to the super-sensible world?—If the investigator asks these questions he will find a remarkable answer to them. If in the case of these devout people in whom faith did not, perhaps, become an important factor in their lives until a comparatively advanced age, we go back to earlier incarnations, the strange fact is discovered that in preceding incarnations these individualities were men of learning, men of knowledge. The scholarship, the element of intelligence in their earlier incarnations has been transformed, in the present incarnation, into the element of faith. There we have one of those strange facts of karma.
Forgive me if I now say something that nobody sitting here will take amiss but would shock many in the outside world who swear by and are willing to accept only what is presented by the senses and the intellect that is dependent on the brain. In people who because of strongly materialistic tendencies no longer desire to have faith, but knowledge only, we find—and this is a very enigmatic fact—dull-wittedness, obtuseness, in the preceding incarnation. Genuine investigation of the different incarnations, therefore, yields this strange result, that ardently devout natures, people who are not fanatic but inwardly steadfast in their devotion to the higher worlds, developed the quality of faith they now possess on the foundation of knowledge gained in earlier incarnations; whereas knowledge founded on materialism is the outcome of obtuseness to views of the world in earlier incarnations.
Think how the whole conception of life changes if the gaze is widened from the immediate present to what the human individuality experiences through the different incarnations!
Many a quality upon which man prides himself in the present incarnation assumes a strange aspect when considered in the setting of how it was acquired in the preceding incarnation. Viewed in the light of reincarnation, many things will seem less incredible. We need think only of how, with these inner forces of soul, a man develops in one incarnation; we need observe only the power of faith in the soul, the power of soul that may inhere in faith and belief in something that as super-sensible reality transcends the phenomena of ordinary sense-perception. A materialistic monist may strongly oppose this, insisting that knowledge alone is valid, that faith has no sure foundation—but against this there is another fact, namely that the power of faith in the soul has a life-giving effect upon the astral body, whereas absence of faith, scepticism, parches and dries it up. Faith works upon the astral body as nourishment works upon the physical body. And is it not important to realise what faith does for man, for his well-being, for his healthiness of soul, and—because this is also the determining factor for physical health—for his body too? Is it not strange that on the one side there should be the desire to abolish faith, while on the other side a man who is incapable of faith is bound to have a barren, withered astral body? Even by observing the one life only this can be recognised. It is not necessary to survey a series of incarnations, for it can be recognised in the one. We can therefore say: Lack of faith, scepticism, dries up our astral body; if we lack faith we impoverish ourselves and in the following incarnation our individuality is drained dry. Lack of faith makes us obtuse in the next incarnation, incapable of acquiring knowledge. To contrast knowledge with faith is the outcome of worldly, jejune logic. For those who have insight into these things, all the palaver about faith and knowledge has about as much sense as there would be in a discussion where one speaker declares that up to now human progress has depended more upon men, while the other maintains that women have played the more important part. In the stage of childhood, therefore, the one sex is held to be more important, but at the present stage, the other! For those who are cognisant of the spiritual facts it is clear that faith and knowledge are related to each other as the two sexes are related in outer, physical life. This must be borne in mind as a trenchant and significant fact—and then we shall be able to see the matter in its true light. The parallelism goes so far that it may be said: Just as the sex usually alternates in the successive incarnations, so, as a rule, an incarnation with a more intellectual trend follows one more inclined towards faith, then again towards intellectuality, and so forth. There are, of course, exceptions—there may be several consecutive male or female incarnations. But as a rule these qualities are mutually fruitful and complementary.
Other qualities in the human being are also complementary in a similar way, for example, the two qualities of soul we will call the capacity for love and inner strength.
Self-reliance, harmonious inner life, a feeling of our own sure foundations, the inner assurance that we know what we have to do in life—in this connection too the working of karma alternates in the different incarnations. The outstanding stamp of the one personality is loving devotion to his environment, forgetfulness of self, surrender to what is around him. Such an incarnation will alternate with one in which the individual feels the urge not to lose himself in the outer world but to strengthen himself inwardly, applying this strength to bring about his own progress. This latter urge must not, of course, degenerate into lack of love, any more than the former urge must not degenerate, as it might well do, into a complete loss of one's own self. These two tendencies again belong together. And it must be constantly emphasised that when anthroposophists have the desire to sacrifice themselves, such desire is not enough. Many people would like to sacrifice themselves all the time—they feel happy in so doing—but before anyone can make a sacrifice of real value to the world he must have the strength required for it. A man must first be something before he can usefully sacrifice himself; otherwise the sacrifice of egohood is not of much value. Moreover in a certain respect a kind of egoism—although it is repressed—a kind of laziness, is present when a man makes no effort to develop, to persevere in his strivings, so that what he can achieve is of real value.
It might seem—but please do not misunderstand this—as though we were preaching lovelessness. The outer world is very prone to-day to reproach anthroposophists by saying: You aim at perfecting your own souls, you strive for the progress of your own souls. You become egoists!—It must be admitted that many capricious fancies, many failings and errors may arise in men's endeavours towards perfection. What very often appears to be the principle of development adopted among anthroposophists does not by any means always call for admiration. Behind this striving there is often a great deal of hidden egoism.
On the other side it must be emphasised that we are living in an epoch of civilisation when devoted willingness for sacrifice only too often goes to waste. Although lack of love is in evidence everywhere, there is also an enormous waste of love and willingness for sacrifice. This must not be misunderstood; but it should be realised that love, if it is not accompanied by wisdom in the conduct of life, by wise insight into the existing conditions, can be very misplaced and therefore harmful rather than beneficial. We are living in the age when it is necessary for something that can help the soul to progress—again something that Anthroposophy can bring—to penetrate into the souls of a large number of human beings, inwardly enriching and fertilising them. For the sake of the next incarnation and also for the sake of their activity between death and a new birth, men must be capable of performing deeds that are not based merely upon old customs, but are in essence new. These things must be regarded with great earnestness for it must be established that Anthroposophy has a mission, that it is like a seed of culture that must grow and come to flower in the future. But it can best be seen how this is fulfilled in life if we bear in mind karmic connections such as those between faith and reason, love and self-reliance.
A man who in accordance with the view prevailing nowadays is convinced that when he has passed through the Gate of Death the only prospect is that of an extra-terrestrial eternity somewhere beyond this world, will never be able truly to assess the soul's progress, for he will say to himself: If indeed there is such a thing as progress you cannot achieve it, for your existence is only transitory, you are in this world for a short time only and all you can do is to prepare for that other world.
It is a fact that our greatest wisdom in life comes from our failures; we learn from our failures, gather the most wisdom from the very things where we have not been successful. Ask yourselves seriously how often you have the opportunity of repeating a mistake, in exactly the same circumstances as before—you will find that such a situation rarely occurs. And would not life be utterly without purpose if the wisdom we can acquire from our mistakes were to be lost to earthly humanity? Only if we can come back again, if in a new life we can put into effect the experiences gained in earlier lives—only then does life acquire meaning and purpose. In either case it is senseless to strive for real progress in this earthly existence if it is regarded as the only one, and also for an eternity beyond the earth.
And it is particularly senseless for those who think that all existence comes to an end when they have passed through the Gate of Death. What strength, what energy and confidence in life would be gained by men if they knew that they can turn to account in a new life whatever forces are apparently lost to them! Modern culture is as it is because so very little was gathered for it in the previous incarnations of human beings. Truly, souls have become impoverished in the course of their incarnations.—How is this to be explained?
In long past ages, before the Mystery of Golgotha, men were endowed with an ancient clairvoyance and magical forces of will. And it continued to be so on into the Christian era. But in the final stages of this ancient clairvoyance it was only the evil forces, the demonic forces, that came down from the higher worlds. There are many references in the Gospels to demonic natures around Christ Jesus. Human souls had lost their original connection with the Divine-Spiritual forces and beings. And then Christ came to mankind. Human beings who are living at the present time have had perhaps two or three incarnations since then—each according to his karma. The influence exercised by Christianity until now could only have been what it is, because the souls of men were feeble, drained of force. Christianity could not unfold its whole inner power because of the feebleness of human souls. The extent to which this was so can be gauged if a different wave in human civilisation is considered—the wave which in the East led to Buddhism. Buddhism has the conviction of the truth of reincarnation and karma but in such a form that it regards the purpose and task of progress in evolution to consist in leading men away from life as quickly as possible. In the East a wave was astir in which there was no urge for existence. So we see how everything that should inspire men with determination to fulfil the mission of the earth has fallen away from those who belong to the wave of culture that is the bearer of Buddhism. And if Buddhism were to spread widely in the West, this would be a proof that souls of the feeblest type are very numerous, for it is these souls who would become Buddhists. Wherever Buddhism in some form might appear in the West, this would be a proof that the souls in question want to evade the mission of the earth, to escape from it as quickly as they can, being incapable of tackling it.
When Christianity was spreading in the South of Europe and was being adopted by the peoples of the North, the force of instinct in these Northern souls was strong and powerful. They absorbed Christianity, but, to begin with, its external aspects only could be brought into prominence, that is to say, those aspects which render it so important for men to-day to deepen their experience of the Christ Impulse, so that this Christ Impulse may become the inmost power of the soul itself and the soul grow inwardly richer as it lives on towards the future. Human souls have passed through incarnations of weakness, of uncertainty, and, to begin with, Christianity was an external support. But now the epoch has come when souls must become inwardly strong and vigorous. Therefore as time goes on, what the individual does in outer life will be of little consequence. What will be essential is that the soul shall fund its own footing, shall deepen itself, acquire insight into how the inner reality can be inculcated into the outer life, how the earth's mission can be permeated through and through with the consciousness, the strong inner realisation born from conviction of the truths of reincarnation and karma.
Even if no more than a humble beginning is made in the direction of enabling these truths to penetrate into life, this humble beginning is nevertheless of untold significance. The more we learn to judge man according to his inner faculties, to deepen life inwardly, the more we help to bring about what must be the basic character of a future humanity. External life will become increasingly complicated—that cannot be prevented but souls will find their way to one another through a deepened inner life. The individual may engage in this or that outer activity—but it is the inner richness of the soul that in the anthroposophical life will unite individual souls and enable them to work to the end that this anthroposophical life shall flow more and more strongly into external culture. We know that the whole of our outer life is strengthened when the soul discovers its reality in Anthroposophy; individuals pursuing occupations and vocations of every kind in outer life find themselves united. The soul of external cultural life itself is created through what is given us in Anthroposophy: benediction of the external life. To make this benediction possible, consciousness of the great law of karma must first awaken in the soul. The more we advance into the future, the more must the individual soul be able to feel within itself the benediction of the whole of life.
Outer laws and institutions will make life so complicated that men may well lose their bearings altogether. But by realising the truth of the law of karma the knowledge will be born in the soul of what it must do in order to find, from within, its path through the world. This path will best be found when the things of the world are regulated by the inner life of soul. There are certain things which go on quite satisfactorily because everyone follows the impulse that is an unerring guide. An example is that of walking along the street. People are not yet given precise instructions to step aside to one side of the pavement or the other. Yet two people walking towards each other very rarely collide, because they obey an inner instinct. Otherwise everyone would need to have a policeman at his side ordering him to move to the right or left. Certain circles would really like everyone to have a policeman on one side of him and a doctor on the other all the time—but that is not yet in the realm of possibility! Nevertheless progress can best be made in those things where a man is guided by an inner, spontaneous impulse. In the social life this must lead to respect for human beings, respect for the dignity of man. And this can be achieved only if we understand individuals as they can be understood when the law of reincarnation and karma is taken into account. This social life among men can be raised to a higher level only when the significance of this law takes root in the soul. This is shown most clearly of all by concrete observation such as that of the connection between ardent faith and knowledge, between love and self-reliance.
These two lectures have not been given without purpose. The real importance does not lie so much in what is actually said—it could be put in a different way. But what is of prime importance is that those who profess to adhere to Anthroposophy as a cultural movement shall be so thoroughly steeped in the ideas of reincarnation and karma that they realise how life must inevitably become different if every human soul is conscious of these truths. The cultural life of the modern age has taken shape with the exclusion of consciousness of reincarnation and karma. And the all-important factor that will be introduced through Anthroposophy is that these truths will take real hold of life, that they will penetrate culture and in so doing essentially transform it.
Just as a modern man who says that reincarnation and karma are fantastic nonsense, for it can be seen how human beings are born and how they die—something passes out at death but as that cannot be seen there is no need to take account of it just as a man who speaks in this way is related to one who says: What passes away cannot be seen, but this law can be taken into account and those who do so will for the first time find all life's happenings intelligible, will be able to grasp things that are otherwise inexplicable ... so will the culture of to-day be related to the culture of the future, in which the laws, the teachings of reincarnation and karma will be contained. And although these two laws—as thoughts held by humanity in general—have played no part in the development of present-day culture, they will certainly play a very leading part in all cultures of the future!
The anthroposophist must feel and be conscious of the fact that in this way he is helping to bring about the birth of a new culture. This feeling of the enormous significance in life of the ideas of reincarnation and karma can be a bond of union among a group of human beings to-day, no matter what their external circumstances may be. And those who are eventually held together by such a feeling can find their way to one another only through Anthroposophy.

subset: commoncrawl


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Use the form below to get in touch with us.
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If the climber is under 18 years of age, the waiver must be signed by a parent or legal guardian. This waiver will be kept on file for one year. - All climbers must complete a Gym Orientation with GVC staff before being granted access to any climbing area.
- This orientation is mandatory and will include an introduction to all of our climbing area, climbing systems, facility rules and policies.
- This orientation normally lasts 5-10 minutes and will be kept on file with staff for one year.


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The Designed by Kate Tailor
(The Designed Series #1)
Publication date: January 26th 2015
Genres: New Adult, Science Fiction
(The Designed Series #1)
Publication date: January 26th 2015
Genres: New Adult, Science Fiction
What if the next new drug was you? Raleigh's body produces a drug that could define the future of medicine if the dangerous world surrounding it doesn't kill her first.
Eighteen-year old Raleigh Groves can sense disease in others and is suffering from her own unexplained illness as well. After years and dozens of doctor visits, she has given up hope of ever finding a cure, let alone a diagnosis. Then she meets a man who explains that her talent and curse are linked. Her body produces a drug, Lucidin, which allows her to sense others. She's rare, and the drug she makes is coveted.
Rho has spent the last few years on the run. The Lucidin that is racing through his system makes him a target. Surrounded by addicts and dealers on one side and scientists and doctors on the other, he has to rely on his wits and his team to stay one step ahead. So far he has stayed afloat, but some of his brothers haven't been as lucky.
As Rho and Raleigh collide they must face the perilous world of Lucidin together. Nothing is black-and-white and Raleigh must decide where her alliances lie. Sometimes the hardest heart to sense is your own.
Eighteen-year old Raleigh Groves can sense disease in others and is suffering from her own unexplained illness as well. After years and dozens of doctor visits, she has given up hope of ever finding a cure, let alone a diagnosis. Then she meets a man who explains that her talent and curse are linked. Her body produces a drug, Lucidin, which allows her to sense others. She's rare, and the drug she makes is coveted.
Rho has spent the last few years on the run. The Lucidin that is racing through his system makes him a target. Surrounded by addicts and dealers on one side and scientists and doctors on the other, he has to rely on his wits and his team to stay one step ahead. So far he has stayed afloat, but some of his brothers haven't been as lucky.
As Rho and Raleigh collide they must face the perilous world of Lucidin together. Nothing is black-and-white and Raleigh must decide where her alliances lie. Sometimes the hardest heart to sense is your own.
Kate Tailor lives in Boulder, Colorado. She has a background in molecular biology and pharmacology. Writing has been a passion of hers since she was young.
Author links:
My Review
I have to say that this is one of the best books I have read in awhile. I was hooked right from the start. We start with Rho, and him trying to escape, we do not know why or anything, but we just feel we need to root for him. There is not alot with Rho, but enough to really like him.
Raliegh is the main focus of this book, and I really liked her too. I loved her strength, and how she didn't take crap from anyone. I loved how her "problem" ended up making her very strong.
This book is a sci-fi with a touch of the paranormal, which I love.
I do not want to say too much, but want to say its written extremely well, and an awesome read. I didn't want it to end.
I give this 5 out of 5 stars. I highly recommend.
I was given a copy of this book for my honest review.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Chapter 1
Rho opened his eyes and tried to focus on the whitewashed brick wall to his right. His sense of time had become muddled, and he suspected that he'd lost some days altogether. Initially, he'd held on to a vague hope that he'd be able to mark time by the moon—which he occasionally glimpsed through the paper-thin curtains—but he soon understood that even that small endeavor was impossible. He was rarely conscious long enough to establish the time of day, and a bright morning could give way to the darkness of midnight in the blink of an eye. The sun slipped through the window during the day, but in the pitch black of night the only light emanated from the vitals monitor and the dials on his IV. As his eyes followed the small tube that ran down from the IV bag to the needle that pierced his right arm, he noticed that the white wall was splashed with vivid magenta and tangerine hues. At least he could be certain that it was morning.
All his life, Rho had prided himself on his powers of recollection. Now, any observations he'd made were difficult to remember. He tried to go over what he knew. Every time he awoke he was lying in this small room, and the soreness of disuse was creeping into his muscles and joints. As far as he could tell, he hadn't been moved from the bed. His mouth was dry, and he hadn't had anything to eat or drink. He'd been here for what he considered a long time—far too long to stay alive without eating or drinking—and he realized that the IV bag must contain nutrients and a very strong sedative. Two-man teams sometimes unintentionally roused him when they were checking his vitals and replacing the IV bag. And based on the colors on the walls and the slant of the light, it seemed that they only appeared at sunrise and sunset.
Rho looked over at his left arm. His port was connected to tubes running to and from an extraction machine. The machine whizzed periodically, sounding as harmless as a hair dryer, but Rho knew better. He'd heard about others being drained to death. It wouldn't be the strong sedative or foggy reality that would end him. The greedy extraction machine that siphoned the Lucid from his blood was the real threat.
Lucid was the street name for the complex hormone scientifically known as Lucidin. It had quickly come to define Rho's life, and it was why he'd been captured in the first place. Lucid makes controlling autonomic functions—such as heart rate and blood pressure—as easy as controlling breathing. But that was just one of the properties that made it so coveted. Lucid was a weapon as much as anything else, and Rho knew it could be his salvation…as long as they didn't take every last drop of it from him.
Yesterday, they'd extracted too fast and Rho's body had given up its fight to live. Death claimed him, but only for a minute. His captors brought him back to life with an electric jolt from a defibrillator. Rho's death was unpleasant but quiet, and he thought that if his jailors had any respect for him at all they would've let him die. He'd heard one of the men—presumably a doctor—conclude in a gravelly voice that if they were going to preserve him for a while longer they'd have to drain him more slowly and reduce his dose of sedative. Like an elephant hunted for its tusks, he was going to die because of his captors' insatiable need for Lucid.
The decision to slow extraction and reduce the sedative afforded Rho extended moments of alertness—and a small reserve of Lucidin. He turned his head to the vitals monitor. A little heart in the corner was blinking in rhythm with his heartbeat while a line graph displayed the peaks and dips. Two numbers divided by a line showed his blood pressure. Utilizing the Lucid that the extraction machine had yet to rob him of, Rho lowered his heartbeat and blood pressure. His goal was to keep his vitals hovering just above unconsciousness until the morning team had come and gone. This gave him something to focus on besides the past, the dismal-looking future, and his growing concern that his brothers would suffer the same wretched fate.
A two-man team arrived just as the sunrise was giving way to a sunny, cloudless day. The doctor looked at the readout of Rho's vitals, and the other man walked over to the extraction machine.
"Damn! He's doing worse," announced the doctor in his gravelly voice. "We'll have to slow the extraction and reduce his sedative a bit more."
"What? Are you serious?" screeched the assistant. Lowering his voice, he said, "We already did that yesterday."
"Yes, we did. But if we don't do it again we could lose him…too soon."
"I don't like it. I don't like it at all. No, I don't," said the assistant as he removed the vials of Lucidin from the extraction machine and delicately placed them in a case.
"He can't harm us when he's in this state," the doctor assured him. "Anyway, the longer we keep him alive, the richer we'll be. You like that don't you?"
"Fine, if you insist. I'll do it," agreed the assistant.
Rho felt a pang of joy—his plan was working. He had to concentrate to keep his heart from kicking up a notch. After replacing the IV bag and adjusting the extraction machine, the men left.
Rho took a long breath and sighed with relief. Unlike most prisons, his had no bars or locked gates. The drugs and fatigue were enough to trap him in his own body—but not for much longer. He would make his escape today. His captors were unlikely to lower the extraction and sedative dose any more than they just had, so he had to make his move. He would do it tonight, when the second team came to check on him.
Today was the first day in a long time that he was aware of each and every moment. He darted his eyes across the room. A small seagull was preening itself on the windowsill. One of the guards had once asked why there weren't bars on the window. The answer was that the drop would likely kill Rho, and even if he survived the current would pull him under. Occasionally he'd heard people speaking in French, and he figured that he must be somewhere along the French coast.
Knowing that he could die while making his escape, he savored the hours. Part of him wanted to reflect on his life, but he pushed those thoughts out of his mind as soon as they arose. Those thoughts too closely resembled grieving, and he wasn't about to grieve the life that he was fighting to save….
The sunset was particularly beautiful. Mauve and azure hues playfully painted his room, as though Mother Nature wasn't aware of the suffering he endured. Maybe she was aware of his suffering—and glad to see it. After all, he was an affront to her.
Rho heard voices as the evening pair opened the door to his room. Of all the teams, Rho was most familiar with this one. These two talked the most, and the young man had once taken a phone call in the room, but he was swiftly reprimanded by the old man. The young, unsure little attendant asked a lot of questions, and although the old man seemed to be aggravated by his companion's inquires, he always answered.
"The morning crew said he was doing poorly," the old man said in a sure, deep voice.
"They turned down the machine again. He's not giving us as much Lucid," noted the young man as he retrieved the vials.
"From the look of his vitals, he'll only last a few more days."
"He's going to die, isn't he?" asked the young man. Despite his current job, he wasn't the heartless kind.
"The world will be better off. He's dangerous. They're monsters…all of them. Don't let his angelic looks fool you. He's the devil."
Rho wasn't sure if the last part was true, but the part about him being dangerous certainly was.
The young man put away the vials of Lucidin. He was clearly troubled by Rho's situation, and he didn't respond to the comment. As he leaned over to change Rho's catheter bag, Rho jerked, causing urine to spill out.
"Oops!" exclaimed the young man.
"You need to be less clumsy," the old man scolded.
"It's all over the place. I'll have to clean him up."
"Yes, you will!" barked the old man as he walked around the bed and unfastened the leather restraints that bound Rho's arms and legs. "Get fresh sheets and clothes out of the hall closet…and a sponge and soap," he yelled as the young man hurried out of the room.
The old man disconnected Rho from the vitals monitor and extraction machine and began to undress him. This was the opportunity Rho'd been waiting for. He didn't need a machine to sense the old man's heart. It had a stent and it wasn't strong—not that it mattered. Rho willed it to stop. The old man grasped at his chest, giving Rho a haunted look. A moment later, he fell dead to the floor.
The young man dropped everything as he stepped inside the room. Without giving Rho much thought, he mumbled a curse under his breath and rushed over to position the old man for CPR. Rho knew that the young man was strong and stressed. His lungs were taking in deep breaths…until Rho stopped them from contracting. The effect was akin to drowning on dry land—like a fish left to flounder in the sun—and he was soon slumped over the old man. It was unpleasant for him, but unlike the old man, he would live.
Rho struggled to sit up. His muscles had atrophied from lack of use. Crawling out of the bed was painful, but he managed to get the phone from the young man's pocket. He sent a text message and then quickly deleted it before return the phone to its pocket. Rho whispered a prayer, even though he wasn't sure if people like him deserved a God. Then he pulled himself over to the window, opened it, and jumped.
You can find the rest of the blogs on the tour here


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For camping families, scavenger hunts provide a wealth of opportunities for active fun. Many children, as parents could likely attest to, have a natural urge to explore – which is easily satiated by a good scavenger hunt. Additionally, a well thought out and set up hunt gives parents the opportunity to teach their kids a few things about the outdoors. Coming up with ideas about what exactly to search for in an impromptu scavenger hunt isn't too difficult; all you really need to do is look around you. Below are a couple of ideas to get a great scavenger hunt started.
Scavenger Hunting 101
When making up a scavenger hunt, keeping the kids' interest should be high priority. Have them search for common outdoor objects that won't be difficult or frustrating to find. Of course, safety and supervision are of utmost importance as well. Split up the adults in the party, and assign each one to a small group of kids. Their job will be to provide guidance, give a hint or two, and to keep watch over them.
To make it more interesting for the older kids, a little friendly competition is helpful as well. Incorporate a small prize or treat for the group that can find the most items on your list. Speaking of lists, the best way to come up with one is to explore the environment yourself. Commonly found items like specific types of leaves, flowers, plant products (i.e. fruits, berries, nuts, or seeds), and animal tracks are a great place to start.
With some help from the adults, your little scavenger hunters will be both entertained and engaged until every item gets checked off the list. And though they're very likely to wear you out on the hunt, you can hit the tent that night with a feeling of accomplishment, knowing that you've broadened your children's horizons.
Scavenger Hunt Ideas
As mentioned above, the specific features of your campsite will help determine what to incorporate in the scavenger hunt. Remember, they don't necessarily have to be "found" items. Experiential lists can be just as fun. Below are two examples to provide a little inspiration.
Scavenger Hunt 1 (items in a deciduous forest): An oak leaf, an acorn, a dandelion, a pinecone, raccoon tracks, deer tracks, a piece of pine bark, a "helicopter" maple seed, and one human trash item that can be brought back for recycling.
Scavenger Hunt 2 (the "experiential" scavenger hunt): Catch a fish (panfish are typically easiest), skip a rock, hang from a low tree branch (for the younger kids, tippy-toes count), hike to the top of a hill, see a squirrel, hear a birdsong, and cross a creek bed without getting wet feet.
Alphabet Hike
Find various items with names that begin with each letter of the alphabet. Go in order from A to Z.
Scavenger Hunt
Make a list of items that would most likely be found in the area you are camping and/or hiking in. Here are a few suggestions. You'll need to select items that are age appropriate and also available in your location. Be creative. This activity is a lot of fun for everyone.
__Wild Flowers
__Dead tree
__Pine cone
__Poison ivy
__Stream or creek
__Blade of grass
__Clover leaf
__Pine tree
__Seeds or seed pod
__Eroded soil
__Smooth/shiny rock
__Grain of sand
__Y-shaped twig
__Pine needles
__Acorn or other nuts
__Tree with blossoms
__Hole in a tree
__Ponded area in a creek
__Dark or light green leaf
__Small pebble
__Unusual shaped leaf
__Rocks with many colors
__Different shades of green or brown
__Dew on a flower or leaf
__Fungus on a tree
__Shows next season is coming
__Animal tracks
__Butterfly or moth
__Spider web
__Birds nest
__Insects on a tree
__Deer tracks
__Animal hole in the ground
__Leaf with insect holes
__Evidence of the presence of animals
__Evidence of the presence of people
Listen to:
__Leaves under your feet
__Wind in the trees
__Sound of a bee
__Birds singing
__Water running in a creek
__Noises in the woods
__Tree bark
__Prickly plant
__Wet mud
__Rotten wood
__Wind blowing on face
__Texture of various rocks
__Pine tree
__Green grass
__Fresh air
__Cedar tree
__Animals eating
__Leaf falling to the ground
__Spider web w/insect
__Ant moving something
__Wind blowing the leaves
__Fish jumping
__Clouds going by
__For something funny
__For something unusual
__Sunlight coming through trees
__Sunrise or sunset
__Stars in the sky
__Lightning Bugs
__Reflection in the water
__Trail markers
__Animal homes or shelters
Scavenger Hunt using a Camera
Use a disposal camera. Take pictures of the items on the list. This is a great way for collecting and also for keeping memories in a photo journal.
Other Related Ideas
- Do a leaf rubbing
- Identify foods eaten by various animals
- Play the game – "Twenty Questions" or "What am I?" Make your subjects relevant to what you seen on your hike or about the animals that live in the area
- Write a story about what you saw on your hike
Draw a picture of a:
Identify different types of:
Check out more tips on hiking with kids or visit our Camp Store


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Legendary fighter Bruce Lee remembered2013-8-1 10:31:00 From: China Daily
On July 21, 1973, kung fu legend Bruce Lee died. Since then, the man has remained an inspiration for kung fu lovers around the globe. "He's worthy of all the respect because he's a genius," says Zhang Dawei, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing Martial Arts Association. "At such a young age, he managed to combine the best of East and West." Zhang was speaking at a recent forum commemorating the 40th anniversary of Lee's death. In 1962, Lee had created Jeet Kune Do, a comprehensive way of fighting that incorporates several Chinese martial styles including tai chi and Wing Chun. Lee meant the style to be nimble and reflexive and he named it Jeet Kune Do, which in Chinese means the "way of the intercepting fist". "He merged various martial styles so they fit together. Other Chinese martial schools could never be so open-minded." Zhang says. "He developed a scientific system for his art, which is Western practice and well-accepted in other cultures." Bruce Lee had systematically invented Jeet Kune Do theories, a whole set of combat techniques and a carefully graded training system. "Anyone less than a genius wouldn't be able to do that," Zhang says. Zhu Jianhua, co-chair of the China Jeet Kune Do International Federation, was introduced to martial arts when he read Bruce Lee's Fighting Method, an instruction book which documented Lee's grander ideas. "There is a whole system of philosophy behind it," Zhu said at the book's recent re-launch. "At its core, it says 'be like water' where everything flows and interchanges like liquid. "It's based on the ideas of tai chi, but it has so much more freedom of thought." "Jeet Kune Do is also one of the most practical styles," Zhang says. "During Lee's time, martial arts became largely the practice for performance and showmanship, but his style was practical and tailored toward the individual. "For all he had done, we would always remember him." Bruce Lee was born in San Francisco and brought up in Hong Kong. He started to practice martial arts with the Wing Chun style. He was an avid reader of philosophy and history. He trained rigorously. He worked his way up from nothing, faced and won martial challenges to become the best-known kung fu actor in the history of film. Famous for his roles in Enter the Dragon and Green Hornet, the film star introduced the word "kung fu" to the English lexicon. He passed away at the age of 33. Total:1 Page: 1


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Other benefits
Vacancy details
Nuffield Health is looking to recruit an enthusiastic and motivated Senior Physiotherapist for Maternity cover at Nuffield health Tees Hospital.
You will see a wide range of musculoskeletal conditions from sports to workplace related injuries and will play a key role in helping our patients achieve, maintain and recover to the level of health and wellbeing that they aspire to.
We believe in our people and to help you develop your skills and progress your career in Nuffield Health you will be supported by your regional clinical lead, have protected CPD time, access to a local in-service training program and training events organised by the Nuffield Health Academy including both clinical and leadership courses.
As Nuffield Health continues to grow you can choose to develop your career within clinical roles or by moving into managerial positions. We support and encourage post-graduate education and have formed a partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University which will offer fantastic learning and research opportunities in the future.
About the Role
You will need to deliver high quality, effective clinical care. We strongly adhere to our values and beliefs at Nuffield Health, encouraging behaviour which is enterprising, passionate, independent and caring.
The role would suit individuals with a desire of making a positive impact across a large workforce, while looking to create & build client relationships within a corporate setting.
We encourage flexible working, which can include triage working from home and flexibility with shift patterns.
The Main Clinical Duties and Responsibilities are to:
• Deliver excellent clinical care that is evidence based, Safe, Effective, Caring, Well-led and responsive to our patient's needs.
• Ensure on-going monitoring of the standard of treatment provided
• Be compliant with all professional, clinical and integrated governance standards and participate in clinical audit and other quality assurance processes
Your Qualifications, Experience, Skills and Values
With a BSc in Physiotherapy or equivalent, you'll be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council. You will have evidence of further professional training and continual professional development, reflecting your desire to develop as a practitioner.
You'll be a confident communicator with the ability to engage effectively with the general public and other healthcare professionals. With a commitment to the use of evidence-based practice, you'll also be able to demonstrate excellent manual therapy skills.
We expect you to be a competent and confident IT user and to be well organised – you'll have the ability to prioritise and deal with your varied workload in an effective and timely manner.
It's equally important that you share our values. We believe in putting people first and providing personalised, holistic healthcare. That makes you part of a much wider team, working to create a healthier future for each individual client.
We want you to be the best you can be. So we promise to support you with training, career development and our unique health and wellbeing focused benefits package. This includes free membership of your local Fitness and Wellbeing Club, private healthcare and an annual health assessment, as well as a range of lifestyle and financial wellbeing benefits. We want to help you live well and get the balance right in life, so we'll give you 25 days' holiday in your first years here - and we'll reward you with more annual leave for building your career with us.
Ready to bring out the specialist in you? Apply at nuffieldhealthcareers.com
Nuffield Health is committed to equal opportunities in the recruitment, training, and development of our employees. We have a duty to apply to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for disclosure on successful candidates.
How to apply
Please apply on the Nuffield Website


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I've been making school lunches for a decade now and over the years have tried many different lunch boxes, including Tupperware, Nude Food Movers and Decor. I'm writing this post because I get a lot of questions about the lunch boxes I use for my kids.
I had varying degrees of success with the other lunch boxes:
Tupperware Sandwich Keepers (you can see an example featured in an older lunch box post) – they were good for when my kids were very young but they don't hold enough food now and I found it hard to fine a good sized insulation bag. Plus washing them out was a bit of a pain.
Nude Food Movers – a good concept but they didn't last long before they broke (I think my kids are pretty hard on lunch boxes) and again, washing them out was a real pain; I found it very hard to clean them properly actually.
The Decor lunch boxes I've used before are really sturdy, but I found it hard to pack the food well and needed to use a lot of zip lock bags and glad wrap.
Then I discovered Bento Laptop Lunch Boxes and I've been using them for the past 2 years. I purchased them from Lunch Boxes With Love. I love them and I'll show you why (plus explain some of the stuff I don't really like).
Bento Laptop Lunch Box Review
I look at the boxes in three layers. You need to buy the insulated case separately, but the lunch box and all the inside boxes/cutlery come together.
1. Insulated case
You need the outer case for this lunch box to work well. I use an ice pack inside to keep the food fresh, especially because I sometimes put leftover meat in the lunch box and other perishables like egg and yoghurt. For lunch box safety tips from a Dietitian, read this post: Lunch Box Packing Tips.
2. Laptop lunch box
The lunch box is a simple rectangle shape and acts as a lid for the lid-less containers on the inside.
3. Bento Buddies – inside the lunch box
The lunch box comes with 1 large spill proof container with a lid, a small spill-proof container with lid, a tiny spill-proof container with a lid (for sauce and dip) and two other lid-less containers (1 large & one small).
I mix and match the containers depending on what food I have for the kids that day (plus I find that my circle Tupperware containers fit perfectly too). For example, in the lunch box below, I used all lid-less containers because there are no liquids.
In this lunch box
- Mini quich (I use this recipe)
- Apricot balls
- Strawberries
- Pretzels
- Carrot & Celery Sticks
What I like
- The lunch box and Bento Buddies are sturdy (I've had ours for 2 years and counting) – I needed to replace the insulated cases after about a year because the zip broke.
- It helps me to bring balance and variety to the lunch box
- Saves me time when I pack the lunch boxes
- Keeps food fresh
- Keeps food from getting squashed in the lunch box
- Looks cute & fun – these things are important 😉
- It can fit a small whole apple
- Easy for kids to open and use
- Makes litter-less lunch boxes are a breeze
- Easy to clean (there are a lot of pieces but because the Bento Buddies are a simple rectangle shape, they are easy to clean).
- Dishwasher safe
- Nice size to fit on a child's lap
What I don't like
- There are a lot of pieces which means more bits to clean. Plus, when I first purchased them, I had to make sure the kids put the cases back in the lunch box rather than throwing the small containers in their bag. They do this now all the time so it's not an issue any more.
- Although the lunch box seals easily, it's not a really strong seal. This is good in a way because it's simple for kids to open but I wouldn't use the lunch box without the insulated case. Because of the insulated case, we absolutely never have problems with the lunch box opening, so it's not really an issue, but I'm just being frank here.
- Expense: they are more expensive than many of your regular lunch boxes (I paid $30 for the lunch box & $30 for the insulated case) so it's a bit of an outlay at the beginning.
They are, by far, the best lunch boxes I've used for my kids over the years. The big reason for me is this: they make it easy & quick for me to pack, litter-less healthy lunch boxes with a variety of food. I would go as far to say that these lunch boxes have changed the way I do food in the lunch box (in this post I use a week of left overs dinners in the lunch box).
Road Test (from my daughter)
I decided one day, to ask my daughter (in grade 8) to take a picture on her iPad at lunchtime so I could see how the lunch travelled. And there you have it: beautiful.
* This was the lunch box on Valentine's Day and so I put a chocolate brownie in as a special treat.
It's become a bit of family joke, but sometimes when the kids come home from school, I say, "Do your afternoon jobs or I won't feed you."
The production line that is day-after-day school lunch boxes for four kids means I need a good system going, so as soon as the children walk in the door, part of their afternoon jobs is they need to get the lunch box out of their bag and put it on the bench. Then BEFORE I GO TO BED (don't leave it to the morning, Kelly, it doesn't work) I wash the lunch boxes and have them in the drying rack ready for the morning.
In the morning, I grab the lunch boxes with containers, spread them on the bench in a line and fill. I have a general rule of how I pack the lunch boxes
- Bakery item (I bake this food in batches and then freeze a couple of week's worth at a time).
- Vegetable
- Fruit
- Lunch – pizza, pasta, sandwich, quiche, cold meat & salad etc. – again, some of this food is frozen too, so I can just grab it from the freezer of a morning and put it directly in the lunch box (it thaws just right in time for lunch)
- Something extra if needed – depending on the size of everything I sometimes put in crackers, cheese, fruit balls, yoghurt and little fillers like that if I think the kids need a little extra food.
I used to dislike making school lunches so much. So, so much. And yet, now I have great tools to work with — that suit what's important to me — and a good system, you know what? I don't really notice the chore so much anymore. Most days, I get up and just smash it out like a pro. *Fist Pump*


text:
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Rambam - Sefer HaMitzvos As Divided for The Daily Learning Schedule Negative Mitzvah 113 |
Day 176 | Day 178 |
Negative Mitzvah 113: We are forbidden to use any animal for work that has been designated for sacrifice
Deuteronomy 15:19 "You shall not do any work with the first-born of your ox"Sammy and Yudi were busy constructing an indoor tent in their playroom. Upon completing the frame, they began searching for a large covering to place over the frame and complete the tent.
Yudi's eyes fell upon his father's tallit bag.
"Hey! Sammy," he cried, "I have a perfect idea! Daddy's `tallit' is large and we can use the `tzitzit' to tie it to the chair legs."
Sammy looked at his younger brother in disbelief.
"You can't do that!", he said in shock. "A tallit is a not just another piece of cloth! It's considered holy because it's used for prayer to HaShem!"
Yudi immediately realized his mistake and they found something else to use for a tent.
At the time of the Exodus from Egypt, HaShem claimed that all first-born males and animals are sacred to Him.
There are many Mitzvot that apply to the first - born (see Positive Mitzvot 79-82).
Just as the Torah forbids us to use first-born animals for our own purposes, so, too, we cannot do work with any other animals set aside for sacrifice. For example, we may not harness them to plow our fields or burden them to carry our loads.
Abraham was a tzaddik of a different mold altogether. G-d told Abraham He was about to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gemora -- cities corrupt and evil to the core. Abraham argued, "Perhaps there are righteous people there! Will the Judge of All the Earth not do justice?" Abraham felt a sense of ownership for the world in which he lived. If there was something wrong, it needed to be changed. Even if it had been decreed by the will of G-d.
From: Bringing Heaven Down to Earth by Tzvi Freeman - firstname.lastname@example.com
Day 176 | Day 178 |
Current 613 Commandments PDA | Moshiach General Books | About Children's Corner |


text:
Recourse (from Speculations)
Medium: screenprint in colors, 1995, on Lanaquarelle Watercolor paper, signed and dated '96' in pencil, numbered 14/35, published by Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles, with their blindstamps and presumably their inkstamp on the reverse, in very good condition, not examined out of the frame
Year of Work: 1995
Size: Height 51 in.; Width 31.5 in. / Height 129.5 cm.; Width 80 cm.
Signed, Stamped
Witness (from Speculations)
Medium: Lithograph in colors on Lana Lanaquarelle paper
Year of Work: 1996
Size: Height 68.5 in.; Width 31.5 in. / Height 174 cm.; Width 80 cm.
Signed, Stamped
Daze (from Speculations)
Medium: Screenprint in colors, 1997, from Speculations, signed in pencil, numbered 14/39 (total edition includes 8 artist's proofs), on wove paper, published by Gemini, G.E.L., Los Angeles (and with their blindstamp), framed
Year of Work: 1997
Size: Height 52 in.; Width 31.8 in. / Height 132 cm.; Width 80.7 cm
Signed, Stamped
Please contact gallery for more information.
Robert Rauschenberg was born Milton Rauschenberg on October 22, 1925, in Port Arthur, Texas. He began to study pharmacology at the University of Texas, Austin, before being drafted into the U.S. Navy, where he served as a neuropsychiatric technician in the U.S. Navy Hospital Corps in San Diego. In 1947, he enrolled at the Kansas City Art Institute and traveled to Paris to study at the Académie Julian the following year.
In fall 1948, Rauschenberg returned to the United States to study under Josef Albers at Black Mountain College near Asheville, North Carolina. During intermittent study there through 1952, he met avant-garde creative partners John Cage and Merce Cunningham, with whom he would later collaborate. While taking classes at the Art Students League, New York, from 1949 to 1951, Rauschenberg was offered his first solo exhibition at the Betty Parsons Gallery. Some works from this period include blueprints, monochromatic white paintings, and black paintings. From fall 1952 to spring 1953, he traveled to Europe and North Africa with Cy Twombly, whom he had met at the Art Students League. During his travels, Rauschenberg worked on a series of small collages, hanging assemblages, and small boxes filled with found elements, which he exhibited in Rome and Florence.
On his return to New York in 1953, Rauschenberg completed his series of black paintings, using newspaper as the ground, and began work on sculptures created from wood, stones, and other materials found on the street; paintings made with tissue paper, dirt, or gold leaf; and more conceptually oriented works such as Automobile Tire Print (1953) and Erased de Kooning Drawing (1953). By the end of 1953, he had begun his Red Painting series (1953–54) on canvases that incorporated newspapers, fabric, and found objects and evolved in 1954 into the Combines, a term Rauschenberg coined for his well-known works that integrated aspects of painting and sculpture and would often include such objects as a stuffed eagle or goat, street signs, or a quilt and pillow. In late 1953, he met Jasper Johns; together, Johns and Rauschenberg are now considered the most influential artists who reacted against Abstract Expressionism. They had neighboring studios, regularly exchanging ideas and discussing their work, until 1961. From 1954 to 1964, and again in 1977, Rauschenberg also worked with Cage and Cunningham, contributing scenic, costume, and lighting design to the latter's dance company.
Rauschenberg began to silkscreen paintings in 1962. He had his first retrospective, organized by the Jewish Museum, New York, in 1963 and was awarded the Grand Prize for painting at the 1964 Venice Biennale. He spent much of the remainder of the 1960s dedicated to more collaborative projects, including printmaking, performance, choreography, set design, and art-and-technology works. In 1966, he cofounded Experiments in Art and Technology, an organization that sought to promote collaborations between artists and engineers.
Over the following decades his work continued to encompass a variety of fields. In the summer of 1970, joining a protest movement in the arts against the Vietnam War, Rauschenberg withdrew from the U.S. Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. In September that same year, he founded Change, a nonprofit organization to assist artists-in-need with emergency expenses.
By the end of 1970, Rauschenberg had established a permanent residence and studio in Captiva Island, Florida. He eventually acquired 20 acres of the island to use a workspace and serve as a nature preserve. His first project on Captiva was a 16.5-meter-long silkscreen print called Currents (1970), made with newspapers from the first two months of the year, followed by Cardboards (1970–71) and Early Egyptians (1973–74), the latter of which is a series of wall reliefs and sculptures constructed from used boxes. He also printed on textiles using his solvent-transfer technique to make the Hoarfrosts (1974–76) and Spreads (1975–82), and for the Jammers (1975–76), he created a series of colorful silk wall and floor works.
A retrospective organized by the National Collection of Fine Arts (now the Smithsonian American Art Museum), Washington, D.C., traveled throughout the United States in 1976 and 1978. In 1977 Rauschenberg, Cunningham, and Cage reconnected as collaborators for the first time in 13 years, when the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, New York, performed Travelogue (1977), for which Rauschenberg contributed the costume and set designs.
In 1980, after he settled a copyright lawsuit brought against him for an earlier appropriation of an advertisement, Rauschenberg shifted to exclusively using his own photographs as material for works that involved photography. His return to that medium led to exhibitions in Florida and Paris over the next two years, which, for the first time, featured his black-and-white photographs from the 1950s, as well as his more current photographs taken in various cities around the United States. In 1981 he began work on The 1/4 Mile or Two Furlong Piece (1981–2008), conceived by the artist to be the longest artwork in the world, eventually extending beyond the length designated in the title. It encompassed a wide range of Rauschenberg's techniques and a chronology of his imagery.
Rauschenberg traveled extensively throughout his life. In the mid-1980s his collaborations with artisans and workshops abroad culminated in the establishment of the Rauschenberg Overseas Culture Interchange (ROCI). Announced to the United Nations in December 1984, ROCI involved the artist making and presenting work while traveling with a team of assistants through 11 politically sensitive countries, including China, Tibet, the U.S.S.R., and East Germany, as a way to initiate cross-cultural dialogue. Some works remained in their original sites as gifts and others traveled with the ROCI team to be shared with future participants. Rauschenberg personally funded the project, which concluded in 1991 with an exhibition of over 125 works at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Based on his introduction to painting and screenprinting on copper during ROCI Chile in 1985, Rauschenberg created multiple series, such as Urban Bourbons (1988–95), that focused on different methods of transferring images onto a variety of reflective metals, such as steel and aluminum. In addition, throughout the 1990s, Rauschenberg continued to use new materials while still working with more rudimentary techniques, such as wet fresco, as in the series Arcadian Retreat (1996), and the transfer of images by hand, as in the Anagrams (1995–2000). As part of his engagement with the latest technology, he began making digital Iris prints and using biodegradable vegetable dyes in his transfer processes, underscoring his commitment to caring for the environment. During this time, he also designed costumes and sets for several major productions by the Trisha Brown Dance Company, New York. Despite a stroke in 2002 that paralyzed his right side, he continued to make work in his Captiva Island studio.
The Guggenheim Museum has exhibited the largest retrospective of Rauschenberg's work to date (1997), which traveled to the Menil Collection, Contemporary Arts Museum, and Museum of Fine Arts, all in Houston (1998); and then traveled to Europe (1998–99) with exhibitions at Museum Ludwig, Cologne (1998); and Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (1998–99). Also in 1998, the Vatican commissioned (and later refused) a work by Rauschenberg based on the Apocalypse for Renzo Piano's pilgrimage church in Foggia, Italy. The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, hosted a survey of the artist's Combines (1999), and the Guggenheim Foundation organized the memorial exhibition Robert Rauschenberg: Gluts for the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice (2009), which traveled to the Museum Tinguely, Basel (2009–10); Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (2010); and Villa e Collezione Panza, Varese, Italy (2010–11). Rauschenberg's last stage set was for Cunningham's Xover (crossover) (2007), based on his own painting Plank (2003). Rauschenberg died in Captiva Island, Florida, on May 12, 2008.