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Humanity on the Threshold: Spiritual Development in Turbulent Times “The merit of Lievegoed’s books is, above all, their evocatory effect. They urge one, impel one to go to work, to put into practice what one has read—either in one’s own personal life, or in social life…. He was a true contemporary, a man who takes note of the issues of his time and the needs of a turbulent world.” — Golden Quill literary award by the Netherlands Publishers’ Association Humanity on the Threshold focuses on strengthening human resilience though spiritual development. This lets us see beyond the normal inner and outer limits of consciousness into sound knowledge of the higher self. Deeper wonders of nature can also appear. If boundaries break down without preparation, then mental breakdowns might follow. Guidelines are suggested for working therapeutically with such issues with those experiencing threshold issues. “A profound odyssey through the inner world of experience and the outer world of action, a welcome guide to the mysteries that matter.” — Angus Jenkinson (introduction) C O N T E N T S: A Personal Foreword Biography of the Author Introduction: Inviting Inner Development PART ONE 1. Humanity on the Threshold 2. The Path Inward: The Egyptian Mysteries 3. The Path Outward: The Northern Mysteries 4. Day-self and Night-self 5. Second Self in Us 6. Paths of Development in the Past and Now • The Eastern Path of Development • The Medieval Christian Path • The Christian Rosicrucian Path 7. The Path of Anthroposophy 8. About the Human “Doubles” • Constitution: Temperament and Character • Upbringing and Culture as a Double • The Interference Pattern from a Previous Life • Unredeemed Nature of Beings as Doubles • About the Geographic Double • Male–Female Problems • The Guardian of the Threshold 9. Planetary Processes in the Cosmos and in Human Beings 10. The Development of the Sentient, Intellectual, and Consciousness Souls 11. The Shadow on the Path Inwards 12. The Shadow on the Path Outwards PART TWO 13. Therapeutic Thinking in Anthroposophical Psychotherapy 14. Viewpoints for Diagnosis and Therapy 15. Therapeutic Treatment for Disturbances in Soul Development 16. The Hysteric Constitution 17. Escape Routes 18. The Training of the Therapist Footnotes and Literature Afterword: Personal Notes about Bernard Lievegoed’s Life About the Author Bernard Lievegoed (1905–1992) was born in Medan, Sumatra (Dutch East Indies). At nine, his family moved for three years to Rotterdam, and from 1917 to 1922 he attended high school in Java. From 1924 to 1928, Lievegoed studied medicine. He soon became aware of anthroposophic remedial education, which played a significant role in his life. In 1930 in Amsterdam, he completed his medical degree and became a general practitioner. A year later, he established Zonnehuis, a home in Bosch in Duin for children with disabilities. He also founded the Vrije Hogeschool in Driebergen.Soon after, he helped start the Vrije School of Zeist. He studied music therapy, and in 1946 published the book translated into English as Phases of Childhood. In 1954, he established the Dutch Pedagogic Institute for Economics, NPI. He also worked as chair of a government commission on education and continued to teach and write. Lievegoed also wrote a play (De wadlopers, The Marsh-Flats) and another book, Man on the Threshold. He continued to write on anthroposophic topics until his death in Zeist.
