Jung and Steiner: The Birth of a New Psychology Paperback – January 13, 2003

The most insightful book on anthroposophy as a spiritual psychology in print. Wehr's contrast of Jung with Steiner not only highlights the similarities and dissimilarities of Jungian psychology to what psychosophy might be, but also gives the reader a deep insight into Steiner's meaning of self-knowledge (which is the central tenet of anthroposophy).Most valuable in this book is the brilliantly written Foreward by Robert Sardello, and the Appendix which includes three terrific lectures by Hans Erhard Lauer ('The Riddles of the Human Soul in the Light of Anthroposophy'): a reconciliation of knowledge and faith through individuation.

Jung and Steiner: The Birth of a New Psychology by Gerhard Wehr is a magnificent book for the spiritual seeker; however, it must be read more than once. The book contains intriguing insights about the soul from the depth psychology perspective of Carl Jung as well as a side by side comparison of the spirit, discerned through the spiritual science of Rudolph Steiner. It also exposes the reader to the thought provoking views of both Robert Sardello and Hans Lauer. Prior to reading this book, I was familiar with the writings of Carl Jung but had no knowledge of Rudolph Steiner and the field of Anthroposophy.The FORWARD by Robert Sardello is indispensable in educating the reader about key concepts of Jungian inner soul life and Anthropological outer spirit existence. Sardello cautions us to read with the whole of one’s being and not just the intellect, and highlights the importance of mythology to grasp images that cannot be understood fully with the cognitive mind. Most importantly, Sardello suggests holding simultaneously the tension from the opposites of inner soul and outer spirit without seeking resolution. He astutely perceives that out of the tension of opposites something new comes into existence, and for Sardello that development is the outlines of a new spiritual psychology. Another way to understand what emerges into consciousness, which could be even more majestic, is to see it as the true nature of humankind.Jung and Steiner both place the utmost priority on the need to expand consciousness and bring into awareness that which lies in the depths of the unconscious or subconscious. The conscious and the unconscious as well as the soul and the spirit are separated by a fragile façade that can be breached by mythology. Sardello suggests that the central element that unknowingly joins the opposites in depth psychology and Anthroposophy is the image of the Grail. The Grail Myth conveys the union of these two diverse systems that seek answers to what, who, and why we are as well as the meaning of this world we share.Pushing the prescience of myth further, in the manner of the great mythologist Joseph Campbell, we begin to comprehend that the real nature of humankind is found in wholeness. Wholeness is the “inner core” of the human being, shared by both the individual and Divinity. The wholeness we are intended to eventually be emerges from the union of the conscious and the unconscious, the soul and the spirit, the living and the dead, the visible and the invisible, and time and eternity. It is further amplified and made complete through the Christ event that begets the archetype for humankind, engendering the metaphysical union of humanity and Divinity.The profuse profundity of mythology is evident in the interpretation of the “fall” and how it foreshadowed the Christ event. However, this transformational incident pleads for either a reinterpretation of the old myth that humankind has largely accepted for over two millennia or a new myth. The symbology of the “fall” might be better interpreted as the ascendancy of the intellect that pushed a preexisting ancient clairvoyance or inspired intuitiveness into the unconscious. To regain that clairvoyance, consciousness has to expand and that which resides presently in the unconscious must be brought back into awareness.Once that objective has begun to be realized an expanded consciousness, sought through the diverse approaches of Jung and Steiner, will make available much wisdom including an enhanced understanding of consciousness itself. It will also become clear that the intellect must be humble and serve the ancient clairvoyance that the developing cognitive mind pushed into the darkness of the unconscious. Humankind will then know that consciousness as well as the collective unconscious does not belong to the individual, but to all of humanity. When human beings are born and start to engage in the development of their “inner core” or true unique identity, which Jung has labeled the “Self” and Steiner the “I,” consciousness is differentiated. However, it is not separated because differentiation is not separation and the entirety that is consciousness stays unified.The theories and beliefs of both Jung and Steiner have strong mythical as well as metaphysical connections. This is particularly apparent in their experiences with the dead, and how the living and the dead are connected. But what is the connection? After rereading relevant portions of Wehr’s book, and meditatively considering the perceptions presented, it appears that there is likely a hidden homogeneity in the design of consciousness subsuming the living and the dead which joins every differentiated spirit being. This speculation brings to mind what Wehr noted when he discussed Jung’s ideas on the soul and the spirit in Chapter 9. Wehr wrote that “We enter the realm of the spirit at the moment when the door is opened to meaning.” Hence, the living and the dead engaged in a combined effort to expand consciousness may be the meaning that unites the multitude of souls and spirits in a grand eternal quest. This might then also help to explain why Jung and Steiner, either knowingly or unknowingly, place such significance on the expansion of consciousness and the relationship between those in this world and the next.The insights for the spiritual seeker offered by Sardello, Wehr, and Lauer who all interpret and enrich the work of Jung and Steiner are multifaceted and incisive. However, many additional insights and interpretations are possible and exist in other books that could be intriguing to those interested in this area of inquiry. One such book that contains similar insights which dovetail with those presented in Wehr’s book, and that might be of interest to the spiritual seeker is Existence With and Without Time: Discovering the True Nature of Humankind. It provides analogous but somewhat different perspectives on the “fall,” the Christ event, the vital need to expand consciousness, and the complex tension of individuality and community in the maturation of the ego into the authentic “Self” or the “I.”

I had hoped this book would be a critical analysis. Nope, it's by an Anthroposophist (Steiner devotee).