IN the 1920s, Rudolf Steiner created a sort of liturgy of the natural and spiritual year in the form of fifty-two short verses. Experience—my own and others—testifies to the powerful effect that a short meditation on the relevant verse throughout the course of the year can have in respect to awakening and sensitizing the soul to each season’s unique quality and gesture.
Below is Dr. Steiner’s original Seelenkalender, or “Calendar of the Soul” verse for this week followed by my translation into English. I have opted to follow, whenever a conflict arose, the spirit over the letter in my translation efforts, attempting to convey the “mood” before the propositional content.
FOURTEENTH WEEK OF THE YEAR 14. An Sinnesoffenbarung hingegeben Verlor ich Eigenwesens trieb, Gedankentraum, er schien Betäubend mir das Selbst zu rauben, Doch weckend nahet schon Im Sinnenschein mir Weltendenken. ∇∆ SURRENDERED to the senses’ revelation I had forfeit my own being’s aim and weavings dreamlike seemed to rend me from my self-experience; but when we dream we dream, then are we near awakening to the dawn of cosmic thought.
Reminded me of this excerpt from The Carasoyn by George MacDonald....
“Well, my dear, I like you; and I will tell you what must be done. You shall carry the silly queen her bottle of Carasoyn. But she won't like it when she gets it, I can tell her. That's my business, however.-First of all, Colin, you must dream three days without sleeping. Next, you must work three days without dreaming. And last, you must work and dream three days together."
"How am I to do all that?"
"I will help you all I can, but a great deal will depend on yourself.”
It seems I have shared this quote over and over again lately, the theme everywhere (at least in my little part of this world) has been about dreaming.
The story can be found here if you’re interested. https://www.george-macdonald.com/etexts/carasoyn.html
Beautiful translation, thank you