The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Second Lecture

[ 1 ] Of course, my first words must be, my esteemed audience, to ask for your forgiveness for not being able to speak in your language, but rather that I will speak to you in German, which will have to be translated, and therefore listening to me will inevitably be somewhat taxing for you, my esteemed listeners. But since I do not have the command of the English language that would be necessary for a lecture, this is simply how it must be. I am very grateful to some friends—above all Mrs. Larkins—that, following the lectures on Spiritual Science I was able to give during the summer courses in Ilkley and Penmaenmawr, I am now also able to speak to you on these evenings about something that has emerged within our Spiritual Science movement as a kind of medical movement—not at all —and I really ask you to bear this in mind—in any kind of opposition to official science or official medicine, but rather with the intention of building upon the great insights and advances found in contemporary science through Spiritual Science. Even within the Spiritual Science movement—which, before such scientific currents came to the fore within it, was concerned primarily with general human, artistic, religious, moral, educational issues, and the like—it was not the case that there was any intention to one day take an agitational stance in the medical field, for example; rather, there were also doctors within this Spiritual Science movement on the continent—doctors who, despite their thoroughly scientific convictions, initially believed they could satisfy their spiritual needs within this Spiritual Science movement. And what they encountered there—a kind of exploration of the spiritual world lying beyond the physical-sensory world—simply led them, little by little, to believe that some of the great doubts, some of the great questions that arise for the practicing physician within contemporary medical science, could find, in this very field, satisfactory, I won’t say immediate solutions, but satisfactory further developments.

[ 2 ] And so a medical movement on the continent has grown out of our so-called anthroposophical Spiritual Science movement. I must say that I do not particularly enjoy speaking about this aspect of our Spiritual Science movement, for you will see throughout the course of these descriptions that I am much more concerned with producing remedies that are truly effective than with talking at length about these matters. But what is seeking to establish itself here rests, above all, on foundations that must first be brought to people’s attention—especially to the scientifically educated people of today.

[ 3 ] I can well imagine—and I am familiar with all the underlying factors that give rise to such things—that you are indeed experiencing one contradiction after another regarding what I am about to say. I fully understand these contradictions. And in fact, it cannot be otherwise today than that such contradictions arise precisely from the scientific convictions held by physicians. That is why our primary concern was not to advocate anything theoretically, but rather to proceed immediately with practical application. And so we responded to the wishes of physicians as well as other scientific physicists, chemists, and biologists by founding scientific institutes—scientific research institutes. The one that is of primary importance is the chemical-pharmaceutical laboratory in Arlesheim. And connected to this within our movement are a biological institute and a physical institute. That we are truly committed to serious research may become clear to you from the fact that, for example, very important work has already been carried out in our biological institute alone, even though these institutes have actually been in existence for only a very short time.

[ 4 ] It is my firm conviction that we have succeeded, at the Biological Institute headed by Dr. Kolisko and Dr. Kolisko, to elucidate—at least with a high degree of probability—the functions of the spleen, namely that we must view the spleen’s function as a regulation of those irregularities that arise in the rhythmic digestive process because humans cannot eat entirely in rhythm. And even if, for my sake, one were to schedule one’s meals quite pedantically—exactly and meticulously—there would still be an interruption in the digestive rhythm due to the varied choice of foods and the like.

[ 5 ] And here we find the curious fact that the function of the spleen consists precisely in compensating for the rhythmic disturbances in the human digestive process that are inevitably caused by human life itself.

[ 6 ] Then, very recently—as described in a paper that has just been published—we at the Biological Institute have succeeded in providing precise evidence that the tiniest entities of various substances do indeed exert effects.

[ 7 ] This is not intended to advocate for any particular school of thought in medicine. Precisely when one proceeds with precision in this field, one finds that one area must be treated in the appropriate manner with correspondingly larger doses, while another area of the human organism must, in fact, be treated with the smallest possible doses. Until now, this field has essentially been based solely on homeopathic belief, not on precise research.

[ 8 ] It now appears that we have indeed succeeded in demonstrating, through very precise methods, that certain substances—for example, antimony compounds (which work even in very strong dilutions)—affect the growth of the wheat grain differently than when the dilution is taken even further; if one dilutes them even further, one always arrives at a rhythmic pattern of maxima and minima. We have done everything in our power to provide conclusive evidence in this field—with full responsibility—that dilutions, even at a ratio of one to one trillion, have definite vital effects. We have caused wheat grains—which we selected very carefully based on their germination rates—to germinate in liquids containing the appropriately diluted substances, so that through the very meticulous approach—which, I believe, Mrs. Kolisko embodies—what until now could only be described, I would say, as a layman’s belief has in fact been placed on a scientific foundation.

[ 9 ] I mention this only by way of introduction, so that it may be shown how we by no means intend to proceed in an unscientific manner, as is often done by laypeople. Insights into the Spiritual Sciences are, in fact, gained through spiritual vision, which I need not discuss in detail here; that is the subject of the lectures I have given elsewhere. The major guiding principles are indeed gained through spiritual insight, and through this spiritual insight I believe I have succeeded in making it possible to formulate with precision the connection between the inner human organization and the constitution not only of natural substances but, above all, of natural processes, so that the deep chasm that—as we must frankly admit— —truly exists today between pathology and therapy, can be bridged by this method. So that in the future we will indeed be able to have a pathology that transitions of its own accord into therapy, because by observing both the healthy organism and, in particular, the diseased organism, we will be able to discover precisely how—as I will illustrate today with a few examples—not only substances originating outside the human organism, but also processes carried out outside the human organism, whether by nature or in the laboratory, can exert a healing effect within the human organism. And it is the therapeutic aspect that matters most to us in this regard. We know very well that pathology today is actually more advanced than it realizes. Pathology today is something that can be taken up at every point and taken a step further. Yet in fact, there is a deep chasm between our understanding of the structure and histology of organs and how the actual remedy continues to act within the human organism. Today, we do not even fully understand the ordinary process of nutrition, which, I believe, is arranged much more wisely by instinct than it could ever be arranged by a scientific theory—let alone that we have an exact understanding of the relationships that exist between substances as well as between the functioning of these substances within the human organism, and outside it—both in nature and in the processes that can be carried out in the laboratory.

[ 10 ] I was led down this path by my belief that, in more than thirty years of research, I have been able to establish that the most important thing for understanding human beings in their entirety is to identify the fundamental difference between three distinct modes of functioning within the human organism. Thus, I have learned to distinguish what is essentially a threefold functioning of the human organism.

[ 11 ] I have divided this threefold functioning—I would say, of course, that all these things are in the process of becoming—first, in the broadest sense, into the nerve-sensory process. I include in this first part everything related to the functioning of the senses in the broadest sense and the nerves connected to them in any way. I now distinguish from this everything that constitutes rhythmic processes in the human organism. And thirdly, I distinguish from these two processes everything that constitutes metabolic and motor processes. Metabolic and motor processes are, of course, intimately connected; every internal and external movement of the human organism is in close contact with a metabolic process and can, in fact, only be considered in relation to it as a function.

[ 12 ] These three types of functions in the human organism are fundamentally different from one another—so much so that what I understand as the processes of the nervous-sensory life are even polar opposites of the processes that can be summarized as motor and metabolic processes. Thus, when we have, for example, any metabolic process, this process—and indeed every metabolic process—triggers a polar opposite process in the nervous-sensory system. The rhythmic processes then serve as the balance between the two. The task now is to identify the real differences between these processes.

[ 13 ] First, I would like to point out that a closer examination of the human organism reveals—though I can, of course, only sketch these things briefly given the limited time available—that when we are dealing with the nervous-sensory system, we are essentially dealing with the effects of the substantial, that is, the various substances in the human organism. So whenever something comes into consideration that is purely within the sensory or nervous system, the essential point for our consideration is that we understand the relationship between any substance found in the human environment and that which, in turn, is substantively present in the course of the nervous-sensory process.

[ 14 ] When we are dealing with a metabolic process related to a movement process, what comes into consideration first and foremost is not the substance itself of what we find in the human environment, but rather the processes occurring within that substance—the processes taking place within the substance itself. I would like to examine this from the other side. If it is a matter of being able to establish that a focus of disease is located in the nervous-sensory system, then I will have to investigate which substances—we will discuss the details later—might be considered as healing factors. If, however, the goal is to bring about healing in a disease process within the musculoskeletal and digestive systems, it is essential to investigate which process—whether a natural process or a laboratory process—must be present in the transformation of substances in order to convert the substances in question into remedies.

[ 15 ] To be more specific—this is a case I will discuss further later—let us suppose we are trying out the healing power of antimony. We will have to distinguish the healing power of antimony in relation to everything that has its source in the human nervous and sensory system. There, we would be dealing with the essential nature of antimony. If the aim is to examine antimony’s therapeutic effect on the motor system and the associated metabolic system, then the task will be to subject antimony to certain processes—combustion processes, oxidation processes—in which the antimony rises as smoke, and the smoke settles as a mirror, and we will have to expect the success of this remedy to depend on the proper execution of these processes. So that we can actually always say, quite fundamentally: we should seek the substances—the healing factors—in the human environment for the nervous and sensory systems. We should regard the processes—whether we bring them about ourselves or nature brings them about—as the healing agents for the metabolic and motor processes in the human organism. Since these two processes are polar opposites, the rhythmic—everything rhythmic—above all the respiratory rhythm, the circulatory rhythm, the digestive rhythms, and the other rhythms in the human being, such as the sleep-wake rhythm—these now act as mediators, and balancing, so that in those processes relating to the organs of the human body’s rhythmic organization—and likewise in the preparation of remedies—one observes the interaction that arises from the preparation of the active substance and the active processes that one allows nature to bring about or brings about oneself.

[ 16 ] This covers only a few fundamental points for now. I would then like to address what has been discussed; after covering the fundamentals today, I will take the liberty of discussing tomorrow some of our remedies, which are produced in the pharmaceutical laboratory in Arlesheim and are being tested in the affiliated clinic, which is under the excellent direction of Dr. Wegman, who is also present here. I will also address the actual therapeutic aspects. From the very beginning, I was firmly of the opinion that Spiritual Science should only provide guidelines but should not produce remedies—except that we have our laboratories in connection with the clinic, so that verification actually takes place at the patient’s bedside in the clinic.

[ 17 ] If one considers this differentiation of the human being into the processes of the nervous-sensory system, the rhythmic system, and the metabolic-locomotor system, one must then recognize that the human being is constituted in such a way that, while these three systems are indeed quite distinct from one another in terms of their functioning, they nevertheless interpenetrate one another at every point within the human organism. This is a more challenging way of viewing the human being than the usual one. In the usual approach, one takes a particular organ or part of an organ and examines it from a histological perspective or in terms of cellular anatomy, and so on.

[ 18 ] Here it is necessary to distinguish, for each organ, to what extent the nervous-sensory process, the rhythmic process, and the metabolic-movement process are involved in the functioning of that organ. For all three forms are involved in every human organ. Only when we focus more on the actual sensory organs of the human being does the nervous-sensory process predominate, while the rhythmic process and the metabolic-locomotor process recede into the background. But when we are dealing with the metabolic-locomotor process, it is actually only this metabolic process that predominates within it. Yet there is nothing in the metabolic and locomotor system that is not permeated by the processes of the nervous-sensory system, which are subordinate here. And the same is true of the rhythmic system.

[ 19 ] One can gain a thorough understanding of the entire human organism when, for the purpose of genuine inner observation, one can examine the corresponding functioning of the organ in question. Let us say, for example, that we are dealing with some part of the brain. One must now be able to observe whether the two opposing organ activities—nervous-sensory activity and metabolic-motor activity—are present in the correct balance, and whether the rhythmic system functions in a way that balances them appropriately. Roughly speaking, this manifests quite differently in the human head organs than, for example, in the digestive organs themselves. On the other hand, however, one can see how this very approach leads to a more precise understanding of the human being—both in substantive and functional terms in relation to their environment—and thereby to a connection between pathology and therapy.

[ 20 ] Let’s look at this using a single example. A condition that is perhaps not considered one of the more serious illnesses, but which can be quite bothersome for some people—and is indeed very bothersome for many—is Catarrhus aestivus, which affects a great many people, especially during a certain season. And to gain an understanding of the underlying process, the following is actually necessary.

[ 21 ] First of all, one must be clear that during a person’s childhood—particularly in early childhood—the overall structure of the three systems just mentioned is different from that in later life. In childhood, we are dealing with a human organism in which the nervous and sensory organs interact with the other two systems in a much more intense way than in later life. In a certain sense, the child is already entirely a sensory organ. All processes unfold in such a way that, throughout the entire organism—albeit in a more intimate and subtle manner—events take place just as they otherwise do at the periphery of the human being in the sensory organs. The child is, in a very real sense, a sensory organ in a more intimate, subtle way. As a result, the child’s entire organism is, in a manner similar to that of sensory organs, more exposed to the external world than the organism of a person in later life. For it is indeed the case that everything connected with the nervous-sensory system is directly exposed to the external world and is directly subject to its influence. The child’s entire organism is therefore subject to the influence of the external world—to a far greater extent, of course, than in later life, when one is entirely dependent on the internal processes of the organs, including metabolic processes in connection with the process of movement. Although movements take place in the external world, the underlying organization tends just as much toward the child’s inner world as the nervous-sensory system tends outward. We therefore find that, under the influence of the predominant nervous-sensory system in children, certain processes may occur that can be summarized under the term “exudative diathesis”—a loosening of the tissues that can actually occur quite generally throughout the child’s organism.

[ 22 ] Later, when the metabolic-motor process counteracts this predominance of the nervous-sensory process throughout the organism in the correct polar balance—as is typical for later life—then, provided the child has been raised with care, the tendency toward such exudative diathesis generally recedes and may later become specialized, so that the troublesome catarrhus aestivus can occur.

[ 23 ] This Catarrhus aestivus* has been attributed—and I need only mention this here—to certain substances said to be contained in the pollen of the grasses. This merely reflects the tendency of our time to attribute pathology to immediate, external, material factors. If we examine both the human organism from a perspective of Spiritual Science and the processes taking place in the human environment during the flowering of the grasses, then we can certainly say: the entire natural process during the season when the grasses are in bloom does not, of course, take place solely around the grasses; it also takes place around human beings, who are specifically exposed to the same atmospheric influences under which the grasses bloom.

[ 24 ] Now, in humans—who, I might say, have specialized their organism specifically in the areas of the nose and eyes—this leads to catarrhus aestivus when that which, under the predominance of the nervous-sensory process, led to exudative diathesis in childhood, specializes inward toward the beginning of the respiratory organs; it is precisely then that this troublesome catarrh occurs. It arises because the person is now also exposed to the same natural processes to which grasses must be subjected during flowering and is particularly sensitive to these natural processes.

[ 25 ] Because the sensory process is not sufficiently paralyzed by the metabolic process—because the sensory process remains predominant in the periphery—we have exposed human beings to the very same atmospheric influences, the influences of their environment, that are particularly favorable for the flowering of grasses.

[ 26 ] If one looks at this process from the outside, if one truly delves into the nature of what is happening there as a natural process during the flowering of grasses, the Gramineae, then one asks oneself: How does one account for this sensitivity that occurs in Catarrhus aestivus? And now, through this insight that one has gained, one seeks to paralyze this process—which, in the case of the grasses, unfolds entirely outward, entirely peripherally, I might say, into the air— — for it is also present in humans when they have Catarrhus aestivus — by shifting the process of fruiting, the rush toward fruiting, which in the grasses looks out into the atmosphere in complete nakedness, so to speak, seeking out where it occurs, not directed peripherally outward but pushed centrally inward. One finds it as such when one takes fruits that are surrounded by leathery husks and in which, within certain substances, the process of fruiting now takes place centrally inward, in a centripetal manner.

[ 27 ] And if one creates in the laboratory the process opposite to the process of fructification in grasses, develops it into a remedy, and attempts to make this remedy effective specifically by administering it through vaccination, —that is, by introducing it directly into the organism—then one can indeed counteract this hypersensitivity to the very same atmospheric influences that are beneficial to grasses but trigger a disease process in humans. With this remedy—which we produce as “Gencydo” and which has proven extraordinarily effective in the vast majority of cases of Catarrhus aestivus—we have indeed been able to see precisely how it is possible to develop remedies by appropriately shaping processes that nature itself demonstrates to us. We simply need to know in which cases we must counteract the natural process. This is the case, for example, when sensory-nervous activity predominates, and we will see later when we must go along with the natural process. One simply needs to know how to proceed in each case. So that we do not merely use what must occur chemically in the laboratory—whether in accordance with or contrary to natural processes—which we regard as healing factors and not merely as substances, but above all pay attention to the method of preparation by focusing on what, in external nature, brings about the process as such and constitutes the dynamic aspect of the process. We attempt to imitate this dynamic in a technical manner in order to thereby extract precisely the healing factors from nature.

[ 28 ] In fact, numerous remedies have already been produced according to these principles at the Clinical-Therapeutic Institute in Arlesheim. They are all manufactured according to this principle, but each is highly specialized.

[ 29 ] For example, I would like to mention the following as a remedy. Of course, I must say that I understand any objections or opposition, since I know that these ideas stem from a way of thinking that is by no means commonplace or widely accepted. I would just like to point out for our sake that guidelines are established in this way and are then thoroughly verified in our clinics, and that this is done with the same level of responsibility as is customary in clinical settings. That is why I may perhaps—I would say—offer somewhat bolder explanations, while fully acknowledging that, as I said, I understand any opposition and find it entirely understandable that a certain unease might arise regarding these matters, which might even seem fantastical to some.

[ 30 ] It is extraordinarily interesting to observe precisely that remarkable process that takes place within the plant itself. After all, in addition to the substances that primarily make up the plant, we find all kinds of other substances contained within it: salts, metals, and so on. Now, for a therapy intended to have a direct, rational effect, it is less important to focus on the plant’s composition than to observe the way in which, for example, let’s say, a certain metal compound or salt passes through the entire process of the plant’s growth and fruiting.

[ 31 ] Let’s take any plant, for example, Cichorium intybus. Anyone who truly wishes to study Cichorium intybus from a Spiritual Science perspective will first examine the peculiar way in which, specifically, the elements that are of primary importance in Cichorium intybus are contained within it: silicic acid and alkaline salts.

[ 32 ] However, silicic acid and its alkaline salts are found in Cichorium intybus in very different forms, resulting from very different metabolic processes in the root, the leaves, and the flowers.

[ 33 ] Anyone who studies this process in Cichorium intybus and observes how the processes—which are linked, on the one hand, to silicic acid and, on the other, to alkaline salts—are interwoven and interlinked in a unique way; anyone who follows this process will then be led back to the human being through the approach of Spiritual Science.

[ 34 ] Now, as I have already said, there are three systems at work within our body, in every organ system, but one always predominates, and each, in turn, acts on behalf of the whole person; if we consider, for example, the function of the gallbladder in the human organism in connection with all the other digestive organs, we find above all that, in addition to all its other functions, it is extraordinarily important that the gallbladder functions—functions properly—precisely for the health of the nervous and sensory system. For when we attribute digestive disorders to disturbances in bile function, we can always observe, to some extent, extremely severe disturbances in the organs of the nervous and sensory system.

[ 35 ] If we examine the process of bile secretion, it only becomes truly interesting when we can view it within the broader context of the human constitution as the process that, originating in the digestive system, supplies the nervous and sensory systems.

[ 36 ] On the one hand, this process is present in human biliary functions, quite apart from the substances involved. On the other hand, outside the human body, it acts—in an almost exact imitation—from the root of Cichorium intybus upward toward the stem and the flower, in the Radix of Cichorium intybus. When we observe how silicic acid and the alkaline salts are processed there, we find in this a precise imitation of what the process of bile secretion in the human organism is, specifically in its effect on the nervous-sensory system.

[ 37 ] Let us now examine the process that takes place in Cichorium intybus. There are lay practitioners who use Cichorium intybus directly to treat digestive disorders. However, although success can certainly be achieved—and this should not be denied—it will very rarely be lasting, since the process that takes place in Cichorium intybus is tied to the plant’s own instability and, when introduced into the human organism, undergoes such a transformation that it is no longer the same. But it is so closely related to the human process that, when we process it in a laboratory setting—specifically, when we process silicic acid— we thus produce a preparation containing silicic acid and alkaline salts—in such a way that, in a certain sense, not strictly chemically but merely through pulverization and the addition of resinous binders, there is a loose bond between the silicic acid and the alkaline salts; rather, there is a fine, natural—I would say—adhesion between them. And when we then introduce this through the digestive tract, we are in fact introducing—not the same substances, but the same process—into the human organism that takes place during bile secretion, insofar as bile secretion is related in its functioning to the nervous-sensory system. The point, then, is to effectively—I would say, continuously—mimic in laboratory work what the plant itself accomplishes; for example, in its process of plant formation, one can observe that: this process is in some way polar or parallel to a certain process in the human organism, so that in this way a genuine interplay between pathology and therapy arises. One can see from the organ itself what is irregular in the interaction of the three processes.

[ 38 ] And by listening closely to nature—by, in a sense, relieving the organism for a time of what it cannot do on its own, and by attempting to investigate this—one is, in effect, —I would say: Cichorium intybus proves to be the “growing bile”—one effectively takes over the bile function in humans for a time, because the organism cannot perform it on its own, until the organism has once again become accustomed to the foreign bile—that which has been manufactured according to the model of Cichorium intybus—and is able to carry out the bile function. Then, so to speak, it functions perfectly correctly again.

[ 39 ] The point is simply that one cannot achieve the desired result through herbal therapy alone—since nature acts much more perfectly—because the plant process is, in turn, destroyed when it is introduced into the organism in any way.

[ 40 ] Since it is already getting late and I do not want to take up too much of your time this one time, I will just mention a few things about a remedy that has proven to be particularly effective and that our doctors have named “Biodoron.”

[ 41 ] This Biodoron came about because the entire complex of symptoms known as “migraine” was first approached from a comprehensive, specifically Spiritual Science perspective. For many people, migraine is, after all, an extraordinarily troublesome condition that manifests in a wide variety of forms. Migraine is based on an irregular predominance of the metabolic process where it does not belong—within that region of the human organism where the nervous-sensory process, in conjunction with the rhythmic process, should actually be the predominant force.

[ 42 ] Now, once again, my aim was to find this entire process—as summarized in the overall picture of the migraine symptom complex—as a process} out in nature.

[ 43 ] He now expresses this in a truly wonderful way—namely, by presenting, on the one hand, the complex of symptoms and, on the other, a counteracting process, similar to the way in which, in the process of Equisetum arvense, the silicic acid is activated by the sulfuric acid salts. Equisetum arvense contains about ninety percent silicic acid. Tomorrow we will discuss the very significant function of silicic acid for the nervous and sensory systems and everything related to them. However, the silicic acid is incorporated into the process in Equisetum arvense in a specific way, such that the formation process within the plant can only occur—through the interaction of silicic acid with the sulfuric acid salts—in the form of a compound like the one found there, bound by a resinous binder.

[ 44 ] If one simply holds the image of Equisetum arvense in mind and observes how this plant forms in a rigid manner, with the process of silicic acid formation predominating throughout, and how it restrains its entire growth from flowering—which, in turn, can be seen in connection with normal metabolic processes— then one immediately gains, through a truly intimate observation of the two processes—the process expressed in the symptom complex of migraine and the entire process that unfolds in such a wondrous way between silicic acid and sulfuric acid salts in Equisetum arvense—the mental image that there are two opposing processes.

[ 45 ] But that does not mean, however, that Equisetum arvense, used directly in any way, helps against migraines. For here the peculiarity becomes apparent: it becomes quite clear that, although certain vegetative processes in the human organism are similar to those in plants, they are, when viewed from within, radically different. The point, then, is not merely to take the process that takes place in Equisetum arvense directly and, say, introduce it into the human organism, but rather—I would say—to “animalize” it first.

[ 46 ] Such things can be achieved by imitating the process in the laboratory in an appropriate manner—but in a way that is internally dynamic—so that one uses silicic acid on one side and sulfur on the other. One can use sulfur directly, since it is the actual active ingredient in Equisetum arvense. However, the binding is now brought about—alongside other binding agents that are of secondary importance—by introducing iron into the process. Now the entire process of Equisetum arvense has been vitalized, and one obtains a preparation for which the method of preparation is of essential importance. For through the way the process is carried out—the process by which the preparation is ultimately obtained—you can see, as it were, that it represents the result of a process taking place between silicic acid, iron, and sulfur. And what one has obtained as a preparation—which, I would say, is initially brought to a state of rest within the preparation—is in turn reactivated, set in motion, when it is introduced into the human digestive process and applied—as I said, our doctors have called it “Biodoron”—specifically to combat troublesome migraines.

[ 47 ] This migraine remedy has, in fact, proven to be extraordinarily effective—I would say, almost without exception.

[ 48 ] So we are simply trying to achieve the healing factors in a more dynamic way by establishing the corresponding processes—that is, for the remedies you receive from the Clinical-Pharmaceutical Institute in Arlesheim. The key is what processes they contain and what processes they trigger in the human organism.

[ 49 ] In this way, we have succeeded—at least, as has been verified in numerous cases—in finding approximately one hundred remedies for the various forms and branches of tuberculosis, for the most diverse diseases of the digestive system, and so on; and we are, so to speak, putting the finishing touches on the process we intend to induce with a certain natural plant-based product for the internal treatment of carcinomas. However, I will take the liberty of speaking in detail tomorrow about these remedies—remedies for tuberculosis, carcinomas, and the treatment of typhoid diseases, among others.

[ 50 ] It will have become clear that what is essential for us is not what is actually contained in the preparation, but rather how the preparation was produced in the laboratory. As a result, the preparation embodies a specific process that, in turn, is triggered within the organism in the same or a different form and either forms part of an organic process or constitutes its polar opposite.

[ 51 ] And in this way, by observing both natural processes and the processes that can be recognized in pathology, one is able to establish the mutual relationship between natural phenomena and processes in the human organism—that is, the interaction that must exist if the relevant natural processes are to be introduced into the human organism as healing processes. What matters is the induction of healing processes through the procedures we carry out in our laboratories. Therefore, it is of particular importance how these remedies are specifically administered, again in accordance with this differentiation of the human organism. The effect differs fundamentally depending on whether a remedy is introduced through the digestive process, directly into the circulatory process via vaccination, or—as I will demonstrate tomorrow—is applied in a manner more closely related to the sensory process, to the nervous-sensory process, such as in the addition of our remedies to baths, washes, and the like.

[ 52 ] So whether one applies the remedy externally, or—as I would say—semi-internally, as with vaccination, or entirely internally, this in turn determines how it affects the human organism. For I would like to say that what is particularly significant about these remedies is this: we do not wish to heal through substances, but rather through processes. And we administer remedies in the hope—that is to say, these things have been verified—that the processes we can carry out by observing nature and the human being together are, so to speak, preserved in the preparation and are in turn triggered in the human organism as healing processes. That is the fundamentally new aspect of the matters we are dealing with. We want to heal through procedures, processes, and the very method of preparation.

[ 53 ] Therefore, for us, it is not so important to specify exactly what is in the preparation; rather, what matters in every case is how things play out internally.

[ 54 ] Tomorrow, I will take the liberty of discussing therapeutic matters, and specifically individual remedies and external procedures.

Question: How long has it been since you tried the remedies for migraines and hay fever?

[ 55 ] Dr. Steiner: Well, it has been a number of years now since these cases have been tested, and above all in a large number of cases. Because our methods are verification methods, this peculiarity arises: on the one hand, just as with a mathematical problem, the outcome is, so to speak, anticipated and then verified. In this way, we are not dealing with a mere empirical method; rather, because—as is also the case with experimental laboratory tests—we find that what can be assumed is verified, the value of the verification is naturally greater than that of mere empirical trial and error. These methods are, of course, still in their infancy, and the point is that we would naturally be pleased if they were tested to the fullest extent possible.

[ 56 ] Verification data for Biodoron has been available for about three to four years now; in a large number of cases, this data is particularly important—for example, in cases where the migraine was a long-standing chronic condition that had persisted for decades, and where this remedy was effective.

[ 57 ] Of course—and I would like to emphasize this—it is extremely important, especially with this remedy, that the diagnosis be correct. Therefore, the remedy can only serve as verification if the diagnosis has been made correctly. Of course, it is not desirable to use Biodoron for just any headache, because that could lead to a large number of negative cases.

[ 58 ] So it must first be properly diagnosed; but once it is, we place a great deal of value on it. The success rate over the past three to four years has been extraordinarily high, precisely because we approach it clinically. In some individual cases, however, it had already been tried earlier by private physicians.

[ 59 ] I would also like to mention that there are reports—including initial debates about the methods as well as reports on the treatment and its success, particularly regarding Biodoron. They have been published by the Clinical-Therapeutic Institute in Stuttgart: “Migraine,” compiled by Dr. Knauer, a report that contains a number of cases—of course, it is not possible to cite them all—but includes a number of characteristic cases, as well as a corresponding casuistry. I believe these reports and descriptions are also available from the Clinical-Therapeutic Institute; unfortunately, they are currently only available in German, but they can be translated into other languages at any time upon request.