The mantras of the Michael School are, in the truest sense of the word, a path for modern human beings--and indeed not just for our time between birth and death, but even more so for the time after death in the spiritual world. In that world, every soul that has crossed the threshold will experience beings and events that it can comprehend only if it has learned something on Earth about the beings there and processes that take place between them. In his eighteenth lesson Rudolf Steiner said: "People who have heard this in esoteric schools on Earth will go through the gate of death and will hear these words again sounding in harmony together--in the esoteric schools here and during the life between death and a new birth there. They will understand what rings forth. Or, people will be dull and unwilling to respond to what the esoteric schools, prepared by general Anthroposophy, have to say. They'll fail to perceive what can be heard through initiation science from the realms of the heights. They pass through the gate of death. There they hear what they should have already heard while here on Earth . . . but they do not understand it. These words of power--when the gods speak to one another--sound to them like an unintelligible clanging, mere cosmic noise." These words alone, heard in real earnestness, should be enough to dispel any reservations about spreading the teaching of the Michael School. This content does not belong only to those who are closely connected with Anthroposophy and its movement; every seeking human being should be able to find them as a path through life on Earth and after death.

During the refounding of the Anthroposophical Society as the General Anthroposophical Society at Christmas 1923/24, Rudolf Steiner also reconstituted, as the School of Spiritual Science, the Esoteric School he had led in three classes from 1904 to 1914, at the same time extending its scope by adding artistic and scientific Sections. However, owing to his illness and later death in March 1925, he was only able to make a beginning by establishing the First Class and the Sections. The actual step from the Esoteric School to the School of Spiritual Science was nevertheless an exceptional one. The Esoteric School from Helena Blavatsky’s time had been secret. Its existence was known only to those personally invited to participate. In contrast, the existence of the School of Spiritual Science was stated openly in the public statutes of the General Anthroposophical Society. From the Christmas Conference onwards, Rudolf Steiner worked within this publicly acknowledged framework. The Class Lessons comprise a complete spiritual course of nineteen fundamental lessons given between February and August 1924, several lessons given at other locations, and seven further lessons from September 1924 which take up the themes of the first part of the nineteen lessons in a modified form. This authentic, accurate and high-quality bilingual edition – with English and German texts printed side by side – is published in conjunction with the School of Spiritual Science at the Goetheanum. A compact four-volume clothbound set, it features plates with Rudolf Steiner’s handwritten notes of the mantras and reproductions of his original colour blackboard drawings. The translations of the mantric verses have been reworked by a committed group of translators, linguists and editors, expressing subtleties of meaning, grammatical accuracy and poetic style whilst retaining the original sound and metre of the German mantric forms. Three versions of the existing English translations are also included.

The modern era has generated a bewildering profusion of popular protest including widespread social movements and sporadic revolutionary upheaval. Despite the seemingly chaotic character of such collective action, social scientists have increasingly noted the remarkable regularities exhibited by even the most tumultuous social change. In this volume, sociologists, political scientists, and historians come together to assess the complementary concepts of repertoires and cycles as tools for illuminating the consistent patterns that emerge from the apparent chaos. The significance of repertoires--recurrent forms or tactics of social protest-- is explored in an essay on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain by the originator of the concept, Charles Tilly. Sidney Tarrow, whose work has most directly linked the concept of repertoires with that of cycles--the recurrent peaks and troughs in the historical incidence of collective action--contributes an essay that focuses on twentieth-century Italy. Other essays investigate the rhythms and logic of social change in contexts as diverse as sixteenth- through nineteenth-century Japan, nineteeth-century Europe, and twentieth-century America. Through inquiries into the consequences of violent repression for social mobilization, the struggle to control the linguistic terms of social conflict, the unacknowledged antecedents of contemporary movements, and the importance of "movement families," this volume demonstrates the usefulness of these two concepts and defines the relationship between them. Collected from past issues of Social Science History, with a new introduction and two new essays, Repertoires and Cycles of Collective Action will reward an interdisciplinary audience of readers with the extraordinary vitality that emerges from this rich blend of historical perspectives. Contributors. Charles Brockett, Craig Calhoun, Doug McAdam, Marc Steinberg, Sidney Tarrow, Charles Tilly, Mark Traugott, James White

Sound is almost always around us, anywhere, at any time, reaching our ears and stimulating our brains for better or worse. Sound can be the disturbing noise of a drill, a merry little tune sung by a friend, the song of a bird in the morning or a clap of thunder at night. The science of sound, or acoustics, studies all types of sounds and therefore covers a wide range of scientific disciplines, from pure to applied acoustics. Research dealing with acoustics requires a sound to be recorded, analyzed, manipulated and, possibly, changed. This is particularly, but not exclusively, the case in bioacoustics and ecoacoustics, two life sciences disciplines that attempt to understand and to eavesdrop on the sound produced by animals. Sound analysis and synthesis can be challenging for students, researchers and practitioners who have few skills in mathematics or physics. However, deciphering the structure of a sound can be useful in behavioral and ecological research – and also very amusing. This book is dedicated to anyone who wants to practice acoustics but does not know much about sound. Acoustic analysis and synthesis are possible, with little effort, using the free and open-source software R with a few specific packages. Combining a bit of theory, a lot of step-by-step examples and a few cases studies, this book shows beginners and experts alike how to record, read, play, decompose, visualize, parametrize, change, and synthesize sound with R, opening a new way of working in bioacoustics and ecoacoustics but also in other acoustic disciplines.

Much has been written on The Philosophy of Freedom, but the advantage of discovering what the author himself had to say about this most important and seminal work is obvious. Not only were the words of the text chosen most carefully, but also its very structure was intended to become a powerful inner experience for the careful reader. Otto Palmer has provided an invaluable service by extracting numerous references from the words of Rudolf Steiner, providing keys to the deeper meanings behind the words.

The instant New York Times bestseller Supermodel and philanthropist Gisele Bündchen shares personal stories, insights, and photos to explore lessons that have helped shape her life. Gisele Bündchen's journey began in southern Brazil, growing up with five sisters, playing volleyball, and rescuing the dogs and cats around her hometown. In fact, she wanted to become either a professional volley player or a veterinarian. But at the age of 14, fate suddenly intervened in in the form of a modeling scout, who spotted her in São Paulo. Four years later, Gisele's appearance in Alexander McQueen's memorably rain-soaked London runway show in the spring 1998 launched her spectacular career as a fashion model, and put an end to the "heroin chic" era of fashion. Since then, Gisele has appeared in almost 400 ad campaigns and on over 1200 magazine covers. She has walked in more than 470 fashion shows for the most influential brands in the world. Gisele has become an icon, leaving a lasting mark on the fashion industry. But until now, few people have gotten to know the real Gisele, a woman whose private life stands in dramatic contrast to her public image. In Lessons, she reveals for the first time who she really is and what she's learned over the past 37 years to help her live a meaningful life--a journey that takes readers from a childhood spent barefoot in small-town Brazil, to an internationally successful career, motherhood and marriage to quarterback Tom Brady. A work of great openness and vulnerability, Lessons reveals the inner life of a very public woman.

The School of Spiritual Science and its individual sections was initiated by Rudolf Steiner at the Christmas Conference (1923-1924). His intention, in his own words, was to present "the esoteric aspect." It was to have three classes, though only the First Class was instituted before Steiner's death in 1925. Recently, the written records on which the teaching of the First Class is based have been published in both German and English, which has given rise to a number of questions. Consequently, the council of the General Anthroposophical Society in Dornach, Switzerland, commissioned Johannes Kiersch to write a history of this unique organization. The result is an overview of the First Class and its development, from the early esotericism developed by Rudolf Steiner while still connected with the Theosophical Society, to the period following World War II. The author provides individual commentaries on the first "mediators" of the school, including Lili Kolisko, Harry Collison, and Count Polzer-Hoditz. The book also presents some thirty-seven original documents in an extensive appendix, which features personal notes, letters, and speeches connected with the Esoteric School. A History of the School of Spiritual Science presents a balanced history of the birth and development of the First Class and its struggles through the controversial splits and conflicts that followed Steiner's death. As Kiersch states, "The aim has been, above all, to come as close as possible to the sources and offer historical material for individuals to form their own opinion."