From Normal to Healthy [Paperback]

Georg Kuhlewind (Adapter)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2000

"I believe that our central problem is that we do not know what or who a human being really is. We lack this knowledge because we have no valid picture of the human WORD, no image of human language, of words in general. This is why we have such trouble with words, why we hit upon the right word so rarely. Everything we do to, for, and against each other is speech of some kind, or ought to be. Yet we are interested in anything but words, these very words by means of which we do everything else. Because we don't know what words are we don't know what humans are." -Georg Kühlewind How much practical time do we usually devote to the general art of being human? This practical guide to the self-healing of consciousness-it is both a spiritual psychology and a contemporary manual of the inner life-begins by laying out very clearly the unhealthy, unfree nature of today's consciousness. Methodical self-observation leads to discovering the key to the liberating consciousness from its habitual blind spots and automatisms: the realization of the universal primacy of cognition and the universal availability of its ground, the free attention. Through attention, a person who practices the author's exercises begins to expand the range of his or her possibilities of understanding and doing. The exercises-based on the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path and Rudolf Steiner's cognitive spiritual path-lead to a new life in which superconscious intuitions gradually take the place of superconscious formations. This new life is a universal human life of improvisatory, living thinking: a life of presence, pure joy, which is health for human beings.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Georg Kühlewind was born in 1924 in Central Europe. At seventeen, he became a student of Karl Kerenyi. He studied psychology, economics, and Rudolf Steiner's spiritual science, which for Kühlewind was the study of consciousness. This theme has dominated his work as a lecturer and writer. He is also the author of Stages of Consciousness, The Logos Structure of the World, and other books on "spiritual psychology."

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Lindisfarne Books (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 094026210X
• ISBN-13: 978-0940262102
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,187,768 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Georg Kühlewind (1924-2006) was a Hungarian philosopher, writer, lecturer, and meditation teacher who worked from the tradition of Rudolf Steiner's spiritual science. Setting aside his early interest in music and psychology, he pursued a successful professional career as a physical chemist. Meanwhile, he continued to deepen his spiritual practice and insights. A prolific author (most of whose works are still only in German), Georg Kühlewind spent much time traveling the world, lecturing and leading workshops and seminars in meditation, psychology, epistemology, child development, anthroposophy, and esoteric Christianity. He was the author of numerous books. Kühlewind died January 15, 2006 at the age of 83.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The greatest Self-Improvement book of all time!, December 16, 2001

By 

Tim D. Smith (Carmel, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Normal to Healthy (Paperback)

This is the very first book that anyone who is interested in spirituality, psychology, anthroposophy, or self-improvement should read. Kuhlewind starts the book off analyzing speaking and thinking, describes why we should use our "superconscious" faculties more than out subconscious ones. Our subconscious faculties lie in the habitual, mechanical realm. In this state our thoughts simply bounce around, going from one association to the next. Association is not thinking, it is mechanical and animalistic. Superconscious abilities, on the other hand, are what we used as children. We were able to learn, see, and experience a great deal more as children than as adults simply because we used our superconscious abilities. Once these things have been learned through our superconscious, our energies used to learn and percieve gradually weaken, consciousness fades, dirt is thrown on our flame, and slowly all of our energies begin to come from the subconscious more and more (think of the first time you saw a particular place.. how rich, new and alive everything you encountered was. Then think of the second, third, fourth and so on, times that you saw this place. Not as powerful of an impression?) Kuhlewind then goes on to describe, in the greatest detail, particular excercises that help free energies from the subconscious where they can be properly used in the superconscious domain. Over time, our inner strength builds and consciousness grows.

And he teaches all this on not just the theoretical level, but also an esoteric level where one can teach oneself. Reading the book is, in itself, a teriffic excercise, as it is incredibly demanding of the reader's attention. It is not a book that is difficult to understand, but because we are not used to dealing with concepts such as these, or with thinking in this way, or to exertion, it can be a bit challenging at times. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From Normal to Healthy, October 28, 2007

By 

M. Post - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: From Normal to Healthy (Paperback)

Georg Kühlewind begins with the premise that war, social injustice, pestilence, pollution, physical and soul illnesses, and natural disasters are a result of our "normal" consciousness. The way we think, feel, and will about things has created or contributed to the sickness and affliction of this world. Only a new consciousness can overcome this sickness.

But what is consciousness? It is not something that can simply be given a definition and be captured in a concept. In FROM NORMAL TO HEALTHY Kühlewind says, "...only consciousness can discover itself as consciousness." He points out that what we find in consciousness initially is thinking and then draws our attention to the fact that, if we look within ourselves, most of us cannot remember ever thinking a new thought. Yet new thoughts--truly new thoughts--are what will develop a new consciousness and heal human and planetary problems. With this book he takes us on a path of discovery and development, to help us become aware of our consciousness as it exists now--what can be called normal--and to move forward from there to develop a healthy consciousness. This path through thinking encourages and empowers each of us to become healers of our world.