The Rudolf Steiner Archive

64. First Aid Course: Lecture One

The Secret of the Wound: The Spirit as a Driving Force

[ 1 ] It is certainly possible that some of us might find ourselves in a position to help this or that person. Sometimes, when we were traveling together in large groups on a train, I would think how nice it would be if our members could provide assistance in the event of injuries and the like. Isn’t that right? We’re often together in large groups, and an accident could happen at any time—an accident in which our members, if they had the necessary knowledge, could provide assistance. Now, we must be clear that the first principle to consider for a spiritual movement—and this applies here as well—is to prioritize a spiritual understanding of the matter. Anyone who is a layperson in the world when it comes to this kind of assistance will not have many opportunities to be called upon to perform significant acts of aid; yet in the case of injuries, it is often of the utmost importance to know the very first thing one can do.

[ 2 ] We must realize that the human organism is, in many respects, an extraordinarily complex entity, but one that can be summarized from various perspectives in relation to the different tasks of life.

[ 3 ] When a person has a wound caused by something, the human organism has more to contend with than a healthy organism does; in such cases, we must recognize that caring for the methods inherent in the context of being itself is of the utmost importance: To come to the aid of the healing forces inherent in the organism of being—that is what is most important. When a person has a wound in their organism, we are no longer dealing with normal conditions, but with a life process that falls outside the specific life process that pulses through the organism in its normal state. A wound sets in motion the universal life that pulses through the world. And everything that must happen at the site of the wound occurs because a universal, omnipresent life takes hold of the organism in the area of the wound. What occurs in small organisms when a wound is present are merely the external symptoms of what has just been stated: They are, of course, enemies of the human organism, but they settle on a wound for the same reason that flies settle when the conditions in a room allow them to live. The universal life process will continue to play a major role in human development in the future.

[ 4 ] In addition to this, we have the intensifying counterprocess of the normal organism itself when a wound is present. Alongside the red blood cells, we have what are known as white blood cells in the organism; they actually migrate to the injured site to perform their work there. This is an expression of the effectiveness of the very same forces that underlie the higher development of our consciousness; today, they are the seeds of the future earthly forces of the human organism. Today, they fulfill their hidden task where our consciousness comes into being within the normal organism. When a wound is present, they gather there and bring about a healing process that, in essence, we can only support.

[ 5 ] The human process of consciousness enters into conflict with the general process of life—and we can support what emerges there as a kind of struggle. Above all, this struggle must inspire us to realize what we have come to grasp as our deepest awareness: that the spirit is an active force, and that faith in it is what must benefit external, material aid.

[ 6 ] What I have just said can be summarized in this thought: A life that is otherwise inactive is active in the presence of a bleeding or healing wound, and within that life lies the healing power for the wound. As the wounding occurs, this counterforce—which is the healing power—is simultaneously summoned. It emerges when something in the human body has been injured. What is currently at odds within these forces will be much more powerful in the future, and people will learn to master it. Human beings themselves will be able to bring these forces into interaction. That which today acts around a wound will then be able to be summoned by human consciousness itself. Today we say: The good spirits send us healing power. And today, a person must be wounded for these forces to take effect; what will be normal in the future must be summoned today through such a wound. But when we take the power of the spirit into ourselves, then we will be able to summon these forces ourselves.

[ 7 ] If we are allowed to intervene to help with the events currently unfolding outside, then, my dear friends, do not lose faith in the Spirit; keep that faith alive even in your every action. We face this wound, strengthened in our hearts by faith in the Spirit and with these words in our hearts:

Source: Blood
In the source, let it work
Vigorous muscle
Stimulate the seeds
Loving care
Warming heart
Be a healing breath!

[ 8 ] These lines contain everything that can be called the secret of a wound. And it is far better than any abstract knowledge: to hold in one’s mind that which is effective within the spiritual context of the world.