The Rudolf Steiner Archive

11. Nutritional Issues and Healing Methods

[ 1 ] Today we will discuss, from a humanities perspective, a topic that can be considered of immense value if understood correctly. We will present some insights regarding nutrition and healing methods. Even more so than in any other discussion, however, you must bear in mind that this involves selecting only aphoristic details from an infinitely vast field, and that it is very difficult to speak about this today in language that is generally understandable. Therefore, we can only speak of it in approximate terms, because in such a broad circle we are not dealing exclusively with initiates who would be able to truly perceive the truth value of every word.

[ 2 ] In occult schools whose members have already reached a higher level, it is possible to agree upon a very specific form of expression, so that a certain word conveys a corresponding emotional impulse. All such things, as they can be hinted at today, often have a different meaning in everyday life. But an attempt should still be made to speak about such questions even today, since they also have practical value. Of course, those who do not believe that the effects generated by causes in the spiritual world are much stronger than the effects of the external physical world will not gain much from this. Many will theoretically admit that what must be called the spirit—and which exerts a powerful influence on the world—contains forces similar to those found in electricity, magnetism, and so on. But this only becomes truly significant when everyone develops a deeper sense and understanding of it. Spiritual science faces various challenges in relation to today’s cultural life. Above all, it is misunderstood both by those who wish to continue living conservatively along the old paths and by the numerous people who wish to work for reform in the most diverse areas of life. All these different groups of people approach spiritual science and actually take it for granted that it is not they who come to spiritual science, but that spiritual science comes to them. It is perhaps easy to understand that, for example, a radical animal rights advocate does not place his or her energies and experiences at the disposal of the theosophical movement, but rather becomes angry when not all theosophists immediately join the animal rights movement. You can observe this in all sorts of specialized fields. That is also quite natural. But since the Theosophical Movement is universal, it relates to the various individual movements in the same way that an architect’s plan relates to the work that carpenters, masons, craftsmen, and so on must perform on the house. The latter are individual workers. But whoever directs the entire construction must require the workers to come to him so that they may receive their specific instructions from him. For this reason, theosophy cannot accede to demands from other movements—such as homeopaths, temperance advocates, and others—that theosophy come to them; rather, all these specialized fields must integrate themselves into the theosophical movement, which must strive for a fundamental reform in all areas of life, but from within.

[ 3 ] In particular, theosophy’s relationship to science is very easily misunderstood. It is not only scientists who believe that theosophy is their enemy and wants nothing to do with science. Some friends of Theosophy also hold this view. In particular, a scientifically trained physician who works within the framework of official requirements will easily fall into the prejudice that Theosophy does not employ scientific methods and therefore does not go hand in hand with science. And yet that is not the case.

[ 4 ] These days, you hear people throwing around one catchphrase after another. In a certain sense, the existence of specialists is entirely justified. It is not the experts in these specialized fields themselves, but above all those who parrot them, who use such catchphrases. I would like to highlight one of these catchphrases right away. It is often said that the public becomes downright mesmerized when the term “poison” is used. It seems very plausible when people say: “Poison must not enter the body!” — People then like to speak of “natural medicine.” What, exactly, is meant by “nature”? And what by “poison”? Nature also encompasses the effect that belladonna poison exerts on the human organism, for it is a purely natural effect. Nature naturally includes all effects that are governed by the laws of nature. And what is a poison? Water is a powerful poison if a person consumes it by the bucketful, for it then has a highly destructive effect. And arsenic is a very beneficial substance when used in certain combinations. That is why a truly in-depth study of the human organism and the things found in nature is necessary.

[ 5 ] Paracelsus himself, in his forceful language, pointed out how certain processes in the human body are related to those in the external natural world—such as cholera and arsenic. That is why he also called a cholera patient an “Arsenicus”—because he knew that the same factors are at work in arsenic and cholera, and because he simultaneously recognized how these things harmonize with one another. We are dealing here with a natural process that must first be understood.

[ 6 ] Another obstacle that stands in the way of reaching an understanding with science is the materialistic way of thinking, which has cast all the issues at hand in a distorted light. Recall what was said about the effects of certain metals on the human organism. Now, someone might claim that spiritual science is pure materialism when it explains that the forces in minerals and metals exert material effects on the human organism. Yet spiritual science also knows that the material stands in a certain relationship to the spirit. Anyone who truly holds a spiritual worldview has recognized that such substances are not merely matter, but that spirit and soul live within them just as they do in a being enveloped by skin. In this sense, the theosophist speaks of the spirit embodied in gold, quartz, arsenic, or the poison of belladonna. For the occultist, the world is full of spiritual beings. The spirituality embodied in lead has that relationship to the human organism that you heard about yesterday. For theosophists, it is not a matter of seeking out some strange spiritual beings that have nothing to do with our world, but rather those that are contained in every piece of metal, as indeed in everything that surrounds us. This is how the spiritual-scientific worldview imbues matter with spirit. Spiritual analogies are something based on genuine spiritual research.

[ 7 ] This is not a matter of opposition to specialized science. Specialization is necessary, and one must not ignore external facts. But it is impossible to gain a comprehensive view of the world based solely on specialized knowledge. Even a physician, as a human being, must know something about the higher realms. He will then approach his work quite differently than one who knows nothing of the greater connections. Then, too, symptoms will be interpreted differently. A single observation or experience may be considered quite insignificant when viewed within the context of the whole. Just as anyone working in the field of culture must bring certain prerequisites with them, so too will the future demand physicians educated in the spiritual sciences. It is not merely a matter of empirical ability, but of something entirely different. Take, for example, Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy. There is a great difference between Paracelsus and Hahnemann. The 16th-century physician was, to a certain extent, still clairvoyant. At that time, this was still a widespread trait. Hahnemann was no longer so. He could only test the effects of remedies through sensory experience.

[ 8 ] There is an analogy for the relationship between human beings and the beings and objects of nature referred to here, namely, the relationship between the sexes, which is primarily determined by sympathy. It is a mysterious force that draws the sexes to one another, a force that operates within living beings. The fact that one man feels drawn to one woman should not be understood as something mystical in the negative sense of the word. Anyone who trains themselves to view the world from an occult perspective has a similar relationship to all living things around them—one that can be called universal. Just as there is a specific relationship between a particular man and a particular woman, so too is there a specific relationship between such a person and the phenomena of their surroundings. Those who have developed these powers within themselves attain the knowledge that enables them to recognize the relationship a particular thing has to human beings. From this also arises an understanding of the effects of healing powers.

[ 9 ] Paracelsus did not need to test it first, any more than a magnet needs to test itself to attract iron. He could say that this or that healing power resides in the red foxglove. Such knowledge will return only when the physician recognizes that what matters is not merely intellectual understanding but one’s inner attitude toward life; when he knows that he himself must become a completely different person. Only when he has transformed his temperament, character, and the entire disposition of his soul will he be able to develop that power of insight and perception toward the forces of the world that harmonize human beings. This will be possible in the not-too-distant future. The spiritual-scientific worldview must, above all, set forth certain principles, and some of these will follow this general discussion. Anyone who wishes to do so can gain much from them.

[ 10 ] Four aspects are worth considering here. The first is that there is a certain connection between what is called digestion and what is called thought activity. In other words: what digestion is on a lower level, thought activity is on a higher level. Both are in close contact within the human organism, as it exists on the physical plane. I will now provide some concrete details about this connection. A key aspect of thought activity is the ability to reason logically—to correctly derive one concept from another. This process of reasoning within thought activity is something quite specific. One can perform certain exercises to channel this thought process along a specific path. The same effect that you bring about in this thought process when you perform such logical exercises is produced in the digestive system by a certain substance—namely, coffee. This is not a fanciful assumption; rather, this fact can be substantiated. What you do to your stomach with coffee is the same effect you produce in your thinking when you do practical logical exercises. When you drink coffee, you promote logical consistency in thinking to a certain extent. And when people say that drinking coffee enhances the activity necessary for strengthening thought, that is certainly true. But coffee promotes logical thinking only in a dependent way: it acts as if by compulsion. You feel a certain lack of autonomy within yourself, something like an external influence. If a person wants to think logically while remaining dependent, they may drink a lot of coffee. But if they wish to carry out the act of thinking independently, then they must free themselves precisely from the things that affect the lower regions; they must develop within themselves the forces that emanate from the soul. Then they will also find that, after appropriate exercises, the stomach will return to normal or remain in good order.

[ 11 ] Another point: In contrast to orderly thought is the kind of thinking that cannot hold onto a single thought—unfocused thinking. It has a distracting effect and is characterized by a nature that cannot hold one thought together with another. This kind of thinking, too, has its counterpart in the effect of a certain substance on digestion, and this substance is contained in tea. In fact, tea acts in the lower regions just as that which causes all flight of thought acts in the upper regions. From this you can infer that certain harmful effects of tea can, under certain circumstances, be quite devastating. But do not believe that someone who drinks tea throughout their entire life must ultimately be completely torn apart internally. If they are not adversely affected by tea in this way, it is merely proof that their organism possesses sufficient resilience.

[ 12 ] Just as digestion corresponds to the activity of thought, so the activity of the heart and blood corresponds to the life of the will and desire; thus, everything that affects the blood through certain substances or certain types of food produces a corresponding effect in the activity of the will. This can be observed particularly clearly when one considers the reverse. Today you often hear that the view that one can heal someone through thought is a long-outdated notion; that, for example, a person afflicted with religious madness or even paranoia cannot be healed by corresponding opposing thoughts. What is expressed outwardly in such cases is, in fact, merely a symptom; and if one could eliminate this outward symptom, the illness would shift to another organ and reemerge in a new form. What materialistic medicine has discovered, occultism has known for a long time. And it would never occur to an occultist to try to heal a delusion through a counter-delusion. It is a different matter, however, when occultism intervenes at a much deeper level—namely, at the root cause itself. Suppose a person were afflicted in the sphere of will and desire; this would be due to certain disturbances in specific organs. This involves not only the heart but also many other factors connected to it. Then the materialistic doctor will say: I cannot heal what is manifesting here by instilling correct ideas in the patient. But you must bear one thing in mind: In the organism, one must distinguish not only between two things—not only the material basis and what manifests through it—but there is also a third element known to the occultist. It is true that behind the immediate activity of the soul on the physical plane—that is, behind what is expressed through impulses of the will—there is indeed an organic activity. But behind this organic activity lies the third element: the organ is structured by the spirit; it has arisen from something spiritual. And one must look to this spiritual aspect, which exists behind the organ as its creator. If, for example, you want to instill a correct concept in a religiously delusional person, you have achieved nothing at all. But if you influence them in such a way that you reach the source of the organ’s activity—which is the etheric body—then you can bring about a change in them, not through concepts, but by doing something that appears to have no connection whatsoever with the life of the imagination.

[ 13 ] To understand this, let us begin with the concept of religious truth. You can approach the idea of religious truth in such a way that you grasp it. Then the necessary work for the intellect is done. But no matter how many concepts you grasp, they are absolutely ineffective for your organic life—the life of both the etheric body and the physical body. That is why it is also ineffective to try to instill correct concepts in a sick person through persuasion, for this has absolutely no influence on their volitional activity. Do not, however, merely consider this truth to be effective on an intellectual level; instead, tell the person: You must not only grasp this once, but you must allow these ideas to take effect on you anew every day; this must be repeated rhythmically day after day and must be accompanied by very specific feelings and images. Doing it just once has no effect. But if it happens regularly over a longer period of time, then it penetrates into the organic constitution. This is what is called concentration and meditation. So you don’t influence a person in just one hour. But if you give them instructions and they carry them out daily over many weeks, then you do have a small influence on them, because you reach what lies behind the organ as its builder. Occultism stands on no different ground than scientific healing, but it knows much more. Of course, these ideas cannot yet be publicly proclaimed.

[ 14 ] To the greatest extent, the act of breathing is connected to emotional and sensory life. From this starting point, you can gain insight into many things if you become clear about everything that is connected to the act of breathing and how it can influence emotional and sensory life. Respiration requires that sufficient oxygen be supplied to the blood and that the body’s organic substances be sustained as a result. A person who takes joy in spiritual matters, who possesses a spiritual content that instills a joyful mood and has a lasting effect on them, such a person exerts a healing influence on their organs through the spirit.

[ 15 ] If we now return once more to digestion and thought processes, we will find that there is much to be done in this area in particular. It should be clear that humanity must increasingly adopt a conscious approach to nutrition. Those who gather knowledge in this field today, however, often still make a certain mistake. This mistake consists in the following: People want to learn too much from what they call “nature”; they want to follow nature entirely and exclusively. Paracelsus, on the other hand, says: One should not be a servant of nature. Although the physician should examine nature, he must be an artist; he must carry on the work of nature. - And Paracelsus does not see the true remedies in what is taken directly from nature, but in new products created from the spirit of nature. Thus, Paracelsus anticipates an era of medicine that will use such new products as truly effective remedies. This is solely a matter of continuing nature in this field.

[ 16 ] When people today try to explain why a mixed diet is best for humans, they tend to argue that herbivores are ruminants, who have a specially adapted stomach and corresponding digestive organs. Carnivores, they say, are predators whose digestive systems and dentition are adapted for eating meat. Human teeth and digestive systems, they claim, are a middle ground between those of ruminants and those of predators. Therefore, nature itself points humans toward a mixed diet. — But everything in the world is in a state of flux, of becoming and growing. What matters is not how humans appear today, but how they can change. If humans transition to a plant-based diet, the organs that are more suited to a meat-based diet will atrophy, and the organs necessary for plant-based nutrition will develop. One must consider how things once were and how they may be in the future. Therefore, one does not provide humans with the proper nutrition by basing it on their current state, but only by taking their inner development into account. Through statistics and external facts, you grasp only the external state; you do not, however, grasp the direction in which humanity must move. One must also view the world from a broader perspective.

[ 17 ] Consider for a moment the national character of the Russian peasant as it is today, and that of the Englishman. The Russian peasant will emphasize the “I” as little as possible. With the Englishman, the opposite is true. This is already evident in purely external ways, such as in spelling. The Englishman capitalizes “I.” If one investigates this matter further, one finds that five times as much sugar is consumed in England as in Russia. Here, once again, the mutual correspondence between digestive activity and mental activity becomes apparent. The process brought about in digestion by the intake of a larger quantity of sugar has its counterpart in the higher human being in a greater independence of the thinking function.

[ 18 ] Now, you can probably imagine that, if necessary, corrective measures can be taken to address these circumstances. One person can structure their diet so that they need only a short time to digest, while another might spend a long time doing so. This allows us to look deep into the human organism once again. For when one person eats rice and finishes digesting it quickly, certain energies remain that are then available to them for thinking. Another person, who, for example, eats wild duck and consequently needs a longer time to digest it, may well be intelligent; but when they produce thoughts, it is actually their stomach that is doing the thinking. One may be a weak thinker but think independently, while the other may be a strong thinker but think dependently. From this, you can draw a lesson.

[ 19 ] To touch on another point: The utmost care must be taken to ensure that the body receives neither too much nor too little protein. It is absolutely essential to find the right balance. For within the digestive process, proteins correspond to what takes place in the thinking process during the formation of ideas. The same activity that brings about the fruitfulness of thought is brought about in the lower organism by proteins. If these are not supplied to the human being in balanced quantities, they generate an excess of forces that correspond in the lower bodily activity to what forms the concept in the upper. But human beings are meant to gain ever greater mastery over their mental images. Therefore, the intake of proteins must remain within certain limits; otherwise, they will be overwhelmed by the very mental activity from which they are meant to free themselves. This is what Pythagoras meant when he taught his students: “Abstain from beans!”

[ 20 ] Of course, people will then come along and say: “Look at that Reisesser! He’s a weak thinker.” — Yes, such a person simply hasn’t yet developed in his Reis, but the point isn’t just knowing the rules and thinking that everyone simply needs to follow them. If the lower does not harmonize with the upper, one can also cause harm through this. Take, for example, a person who has recently turned to vegetarianism. In this new vegetarian, the activity in the lower realm proceeds in a very specific way. Certain forces are transformed from material to spiritual. But if they are not utilized, they have a detrimental effect and can even impair brain activity. Anyone whose life consists of nothing more than that of, say, a banker or an ordinary bookworm can cause themselves great harm if they do not absorb spiritual ideas through the forces saved up by their vegetarian lifestyle. Thus, the vegetarian must also simultaneously transition to a spiritual life; otherwise, he would be better off remaining a meat-eater, as his memory could suffer disturbances, certain parts of the brain could be damaged, and so on. It is not enough to subsist on fruits in order to gain access to the highest realms of spiritual life.

[ 21 ] Another correspondence within the organism is as follows. In the higher organism, the so-called “visionary” aspect corresponds to reproductive capacity—that is, in a certain sense, also the imaginative activity of the soul. This is why certain orders required a degree of asceticism; yet this also harbors a source of immense dangers. These dangers can only be averted through a pure inner life, through firm trust in one’s own individuality, and through the ability to remain composed in all situations. If one does not give in to emotions or external influences, one stands firm in this realm and will be able to ward off harmful influences.

[ 22 ] White magic involves not only a pure life, but also a strong and secure one—a firm mastery of one’s inner life and the ability to remain composed in all situations. If, on the one hand, you truly possess so much self-control that nothing can take you by surprise, and if you stand firmly grounded within yourself, then you will also be able to overcome setbacks more easily.

[ 23 ] A new era can begin if we resolve to take theosophical wisdom as our guide in all these matters. In the future, for example, we will need to study how certain forces generated by the organism can be systematically transformed into forces that can be used for spiritual knowledge. One day, a substance will be produced in the laboratory that will be of higher quality than milk. Today, it would already be entirely possible to establish a food research laboratory and thereby also exert an influence on the nutrition of nations. But the time will come when students of spiritual science will conduct chemical work in harmony with nature as it is becoming, not with nature as it has become. Goethe says in this vein:

“Now observe how, little by little, the plant,
guided step by step, develops into flowers and fruit.”

[ 24 ] Take these few points of view—drawn from a broad field—and consider them in such a way that you feel compelled to develop them further. Then you will see how you can draw spiritual nourishment from these things and what practical significance they can hold for you.