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The main cause of death and disease among children under 15 is cancer. This largely due to the many chemical additives in processed foods.

One out of three children in the US is overweight and other countries are following rapidly. These children have the same risk of disease as overweight adults, but at a much younger rate. Juvenile diabetes, cancer, allergies to name a few. The World Health Organization has estimated that – for the first time in history – children born today will not live as long as their parents.

Living Foods build the immune system. Sugar lowers the immune system. A healthy immune system is the best defense against illness and disease.

FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY, you can see the FULL FILM for free at the following link:  www.RaisingKidsRaw.com

In Waldorf schools worldwide, there is a conscious effort to keep school snacks and meals as natural as possible. Most schools have a garden and encourage the growing of vegetable and the grinding of grain. Salads, fruits, nuts and simple soups are the staple of most schools. Rudolf Steiner gave many indications regarding the plant and animal kingdoms and proper nutrition for adults and children.

For further reading, we suggest:

• Foodways by Wendy Cook
• Nutrition by Rudolf Hauscka
• Nutrition 1 & 2 by Eugen Koliso
• Problems of Nutrition by Rudolf Steiner
• When a Child Is Born by Wilhelm zur Linden

“One thing must be thoroughly and fully recognized for this age in a child’s life: the physical body creates its own scale of measurement for what is beneficial to it. It does this by properly developing craving and desire. Generally speaking, we may say that the healthy physical body desires what is good for it. In the growing human being, so long that it is the physical body that is important, we should pay the closest attention to what healthy, craving desire and delight require. Pleasure and delight are the forces that most properly enliven and call forth the organs’ physical forms.

In this manner is is all too easy to do harm by failing to bring children into the proper physical relationship with their environment. This may happen especially in regard to their instincts for food. Children may be overfed with things that make them lose completely their healthy instinct for food, whereas by giving them the proper nourishment, the instinct can be preserved so that they always want what is wholesome for them under the circumstances.”

~Rudolf Steiner

For those of you who partake in cooked food, we also have the following resource available…

• Quality of the Fire & of the Cook

Consider This:

“A wise man, who still knew the secrets of the origin of the world, related; “From a giant arose Heaven and Earth – from his bones the rocks and stones; from his blood the rivers, seas and brooks; from his flesh the crumbly soil; from his hair the grass; the clouds from his thoughts; the wind from his breath. But from the heart of the giant arose the sun. Even today the giant body of Earth is sustained by the Sun as by a warmth-giving and loving heart.

After man came upon the earth, the plants were transformed. God willed that men should see as in a mirror a picture of themselves – the perfect as well as the imperfect – in he plants, which serve them also for nourishment and healing. For this reason the plants have become so many and so different.”

~The Living World of Plants by Dr. Gerbert Grohmann

Raw foods contain the sunlight energies that are stored in their tissues through the process of photosynthesis. He believed that the spiritual progress of humanity as a whole would be enhanced by a progressive increase in a vegetarian eating pattern. Conversely, he felt that a meat/flesh eating diet would exert a negative influence regarding an interest in spiritual life. According to Steiner, plants supply us with their store of the outer light of the sun, which stimulates our INNER light during the process of assimilation. The light released by the plant world helps to stimulate, form and maintain our nervous system. In this way, the taking in of plant food makes a cyclic connection of our inner light with the outer light of the solar system and plant world.

This is a common belief in the practice of Anthroposophical medicine. Steiner said “Nothing clouds the nervous system when nourishment comes from the plant realm. Humanity can more easily delve into the cosmic interrelationships which take place beyond the constricted limitation of the mundane personality.”

~ Rudolf Steiner

According to Dr. Gabriel Cousens, “A strong solar resonance field promotes the evolution of humanity to reach our full potential as human ‘sun beings’. Light supports evolution, and a lack of photons in our bodies hinders it. Light and consciousness are interconnected. Rudolf Steiner taught that the release of the outer light into our systems stimulates the release of an equal amount of inner light within ourselves. The more we increase our ability to absorb and assimilate light, the more conscious we become. The more we transform ourselves by enhancing our absorption of light, the more we become that light.”

Source: Conscious Eating

Raw Foods Coaching & Support

Kytka and her family have been through all of the phases of being Vegetarian, Vegan and Raw. Kytka has done a tremendous amount of research into illness and it’s roots based upon dietary choices and she holds a Doctor of Naturopathy degree. Kytka provides a sharing of her vast resources, delicious recipes and most importantly, SUPPORT for your transition to a raw diet.

Her Raw dietary coaching rates begin at US $400  per month. Click to Inquire

Watch the Raising Kids Raw video, over 90 minutes of Kytka and her family!  www.RaisingKidsRaw.com

Kytka and her mother, Anna, have always had a good relationship, but after the birth of Kytka’s first child, they began to slowly drift apart. Kytka became very interested in health, diet, natural home birth, midwifery, breastfeeding, parenting and hygienic lifestyle. The information she found was very different in the way she herself had been raised and Anna followed a more conventional diet and showed much disapproval and concern.

But Kytka had realized early on that this treasure chest of information she had been so blessed to find was worth fighting for! She tried at every meeting to share this information with her sister Kati, and her mother. She put most of her concentration Anna who was diagnosed with Adult onset (or Type 2) Diabetes five years ago. Kytka tried to inform and educate Anna, and share that it was all diet and lifestyle related. She wanted desperately to help her mother. But Anna wouldn’t listen. Recently divorced, Anna found comfort in eating rich and nutritionally deficient foods, fatty foods and a lot of “junk” foods. As she put on more weight her blood sugar rose higher and higher.

At the young age of 55, when Anna’s weight skyrocketed to 230 pounds, she had a stroke. Before this, Anna had never had any health problems and has worked and owned her own businesses her whole life. She had been proud to tell everyone that she had never been hospitalized, or on any medication. But since the Diabetes began, it was a downward spiral of medications and failed dietary experiments until, finally, Anna had a very close call and almost died.

Lying in the hospital bed, realizing how one can get so caught up in unhealthy day-to-day routines and beliefs, Anna made a very important decision. She checked herself out of the hospital, got on an airplane and went 3,000 miles to Seattle to see her daughter Kytka. This was the daughter she was convinced was “too fanatical” and “completely crazy”. This was the daughter she said “lived like a rabbit” and was “denying her poor children and REAL food”.

This was the daughter, she knew in her heart, had the answers.

In Seattle she promised herself to keep her mouth closed and to keep her ears, eyes and heart open. Kytka began by immediately removing all animal products from Anna’s diet. She eliminated all cooked food for the first week. She didn’t allow Anna to dwell or ponder problems, which one cannot change. She instead took Anna for facials and massages at the local beauty and massage schools. The first thing Anna needed to learn was that a healthy body begins with a healthy mind, and a healthy mind comes when one allows oneself to rest and be cared for.

Kytka began to open the doors to the valuable information she had been trying to share with her mother for over seven years. The difference now was that the “fear of facing death” made Anna sit up and listen. Kytka had faith that the truth itself would speak to her mother. Away from her routines, friends and work, Anna had the time to STOP and listen. After hearing the information, as if for the first time, Anna was hungry for more. They went to the library every day and Anna devoured books, cassettes and videotapes in the same way she used to tear through a bucket of fried chicken!

Anna discovered how much value there is in simple truth and common sense. She realized that television and living in a commercial and consumer’s world affects all of our choices. It’s amazing to learn that the “business” of sickness and medicine is a billion-dollar industry in this country. Kytka showed Anna testimonials from hygienic doctors and shared real life stories of patients who cured themselves of our societies worst and most feared diseases. Cancer, Aids, High Blood Pressure, Diabetes… CAN be controlled and in many cases completely diminished in almost everyone just by diet alone.

We watched a fasting video from True North Health and Anna couldn’t believe how the two main characters in the movie had changed at the end of their fast. (Great video, by the way!) We also watched the video “Diet for a New America” and Anna was shocked when she saw what came out of the arteries of the heart attack patient. She knew right then, before they even said it, that diet was the key to health, good or bad.

For years she had fought with Kytka about the “importance of proteins and meats”, about “the four food groups” etc. Now, while spending a few weeks with Kytka and her healthy family. While seeing how well her children are growing and how radiant her whole family is Anna decided to take the next step. With all of her new knowledge, belief and inspiration, Anna decided to stop looking to Doctors and other “experts” to make her well or give her answers. She decided to take responsibility for herself and make herself well.

They loaded up their car with the whole family and made the 1,300-mile drive to Northern California to True North Health. With a book from the local library on Vegetarian restaurants across the US in hand, they were off. It’s interesting how easy it is to eat healthy on the road. They stopped at local produce stands and filled up their baskets with delicious and ripe seasonal fruits and vegetables. They looked into the phone book of larger towns for health food shops and were pleased that they were plentiful. They tried some excellent new foods at Vegetarian and Vegan restaurants on the way. Making the change wouldn’t be as hard as Anna thought. In fact, it was liberating to not have that full feeling while traveling and to get in some of the local colors while driving. Most car trips in the past had been off the main interstate and through the drive through. This was a perfect example of a new philosophy Anna would embrace: “it’s not the destination, it’s the journey!”

Once at the Center, Anna and her family were made instantly welcome. Anna said she hadn’t looked forward to anything with such excitement since she was a young child. Kytka felt, for the first time since she had moved away from her mother’s house, that her mom would be okay. Funny how kids worry about parents as much as parents worry about their kids! At the center Anna made friends immediately. Everyone is in the same boat, so to speak, so everyone understands and supports what you are going through. That is very important when you are making such a transition. That type of support is very empowering.

Anna’s 21 days of fasting went fairly easily. Her biggest joys were that she is now completely off all of her Diabetic medication and is in control of her health. Her blood sugar remains at a normal rate and it stays there, even when she eats sweet fruit.

She lost a total of 42 pounds while at the center and
another 25 pounds in the 6 weeks she has been back home.

She had minimal discomfort during the fast and didn’t experience any hunger until the very last few days. She made new friends and says that “I learned enough to be a doctor myself.” (smiling) She was very impressed at the level of professionalism at the center and at the knowledge and expertise of the staff. She felt completely safe with resident physicians always near by and agrees that she really did need a good rest. With the nine days of re-feeding, Anna was at the Center for a total of 30 days.  Anna adds:

“The best 30 days of my life!”

Living a Hygienic lifestyle, and the new habits she learned at the Center are easy to follow. Food preparation and cleanup is much easier than before and she has more time to pursue other interests. Where she was always tired before, she is now full of energy and vitality. “It’s a complete life change, for the better” Anna says. She has reprioritized her life and goals and wants to help to spread the word. When Anna got out of the Center, complete with the time she had in the hospital after the stroke and the weeks she spent with Kytka in Seattle, she had been away from work for 2 months. She lost her job as a live-in caregiver for an elderly woman.

The “old” Anna would have fallen into a depression and gone on an eating binge, but the “new and improved” Anna sees nothing but opportunity in this event. She spent a few weeks at Kati’s house trying new recipes and sharing knowledge with Kati. “It’s a time for more growth,” she said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to be placed on a different path and this is just an extension of that. I’m blessed that I have 2 wonderful daughters who are so well informed.”

She adds “I can’t wait to meet new hygienic friends and open my home to a few. I’m glad to make life a bit easier and more pleasant for the community of older hygienists”. Anna has set up “Anna’s House: Healthy, Hygienic and Independent Living in St. Petersburg Beach, FL.” This is a resident facility for the elderly folks who are seeking a resident home with like minded individuals where she offers housekeeping, transportation to shopping, events and appointments and, of course, three wonderful, Organic (when available), healthy, and delicious hygienic meals a day.

“Taking all that I have learned from my daughter and at Center saved my life. Being able to share that knowledge and make life a bit more enjoyable and easier is my goal with Anna’s House” said Anna. “I feel so fortunate to have found this information and way of life and I think there is strength in building and creating a community for both our children and our elderly. My daughter, Kytka, is constantly writing and sharing her knowledge. I’m proud that she has educated herself and is raising three  healthy hygienic children. Here on the East Coast, I will care for a few elderly folks in my home. Between the two of us, maybe we can make a little change, and the world, a little better place.”

Life goes by quickly, so quickly that many of us just seem to miss it. Then one day, we wake up in the hospital (if we wake up at all), and we realize that it can be so healthy, so abundant and so fulfilling! It’s our choice and our birthright to have a good, healthy and productive life. 35 years ago I gave my daughter life, and 3 months ago, she gave a new life to me. The information she shared with me and all that I learned at the Center is the best gift, the biggest jackpot, and the most wonderful prize of anyone’s dreams.

With my new found health, I have won the ultimate Lotto!

Needless to say, Anna, Kati and Kytka are now closer than ever. They have deepened their bonds and found a new level of respect for one another. Kytka’s children are pleased to have their grandmother well again, who “has so much more energy now that she isn’t chubby!” and “who doesn’t try to make us eat pets anymore!” Kati has already tried many of the recipes from her new Health Promoting Cookbook on her husband and in-laws and is excited to be a part of “Anna’s House”. Anna looks and feels great, better than she has in years. When asked if there is anything any of them would change, they say “nothing at all”. When asked if there is anything any of them would wish for, they all look at each other with mischievous grins and unanimously agree that “a handsome and nice hygienic fellow would be a welcome addition to their family.”

Suggested Reading

Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Anthroposophy, once gave a lecture on the merits of vegetarianism to a small group of people. From the expression on their faces he could see that they had not understood the real essence of his words. At the end of the lecture he said he was going to have dinner at a particular restaurant and those who wished could join him. Most of them went along. At the restaurant Steiner ordered for himself a “schnitzel” (cutlet of meat.). The others were aghast and expressed their astonishment, just as he expected. He answered saying, “Schnitzel essen it besser als in Schnitzeln denken!” “Schnitzel” also means “a piece, scrap or fragment” and his answer meant “eating a piece of meat is better than thinking in pieces.”

This essay is not meant to praise vegetarianism or deride non-vegetarianism, but to look at these holistically, leaving the readers to draw their own conclusions and decide on what to eat.

1. Definition.

This is not so simple as many think. Various conceptions exist as to what vegetarian food consists of.

A misconception in the west amongst some non-vegatarians is that vegetarianism means eating only raw salad vegetables! They do not know that innumerable delicious dishes can be cooked with vegetables only to suit every taste.

In the western world even about 40 years ago, eggs, fish and often poultry were considered to be “vegetarian”. In short, only the meat of mammals was excluded. The difference was “white meat” as against “red meat”. This conception is still valid in India amongst certain groups and in certain areas. The monks of the Ramakrishna Order, as well as most Buddhists in the world follow this principle, refrain from eating the “red” meat only.

The rarest interpretation is the exclusion of all animal products, including milk. Very few people live according to this, because most of them die early! To keep to this diet and still survive, one has to nourish oneself very carefully, frequently eat the only known complete substitute for meat: true soy beans. (There are pseudo soy beans, which are insufficient.)

The commonest form of vegetarianism is to exclude all animal products EXCEPT milk and milk products: lacto-vegetarianism.

2. Biological Factors.

In nature, every form of life is anatomically constructed to suit its nourishment. The anatomy reveals the feeding habits.

The human body is NOT designed to be purely vegetarian. A truly vegetarian mammal has certain essential or typical anatomical features: very large, multiple stomach, capable of breaking down cellulose; missing canine teeth; toes showing little separation, but forming hooves or semi-hooves; eyes set on the sides of the head rather than in the front.

The need for breaking down cellulose is obvious, for the cells in plants are generally covered by cellulose, which has to be removed to assimilate the contents of the cells. Canine teeth are unnecessary, for no tearing of flesh is done. Fingers and claws are not required, for nothing has to be caught or grabbed. The feet are suitable for walking on soft ground, and for carrying the weight of the big stomach and its contents. The eyes are on the sides to be alert for danger from both sides: nature plans that the herbivores are the food of the carnivores.

Herbivorous animals spend most of their time eating! Because it derives or synthesizes its protein from plants, which – with exceptions – contain little protein or ingredients thereof, they have to eat a lot. To process the large amount, the stomach is also large. The breaking down of cellulose and generating complex protein from simple forms requires separate chambers, successively used, each providing the right enzymes for each stage of conversion and digestion.

A purely carnivorous mammal has a small stomach, which cannot break down cellulose. It has large canine teeth, separated toes with claws. The eyes are in the front to provide stereoscopic vision, essential for gauging distance, locating and capturing the prey.

Most carnivorous animals eat only at large intervals, which can be as long as a week! Most of their bodily needs are supplied in concentrated form by the meat they eat, they need to eat less in bulk than the herbivores and require only small, single-chamber stomachs. The claws and teeth are needed to grab and tear the prey.

Man is an omnivorous animal. His stomach is small, single-chambered and incapable of dealing with cellulose. But his canine teeth are relatively small, his claws – if the nails are allowed to grow naturally – not very strong. His feet resemble those of carnivores, but the hands are much more developed. His food is a mixture, the need for meat is there, but low. Nature designed him to prey upon small animals and also eat vegetables, but not grass. But he has learned to capture, and later on to domesticate, larger animals for food by using his ingenuity.

His closest cousins, the humanoid apes, are predominantly vegetarian, but every now and then eat meat. Frequently this is a sort of cannibalism: they often eat monkeys! This is controlled by nature in a most subtle manner: the occurrence is fairly regular, but the victims get no warning, for the species as such is never threatened! This is similar to the situation of domesticated animals: their daily life is generally free of danger, but they suddenly get slaughtered without warning.

There are 22 kinds of proteins that the human body needs, 4 of which it cannot obtain from vegetables other than the true soy bean. The moong bean is a partial substitute for meat. The Indian Urud could be a full substitute, but I have no laboratory analysis for it. If the soy bean is not available, milk and cheese becomes essential.

What most people do not know: the average adult expends about 32,000 Joules of energy per day, but only about 7000 Joules are acquired from food! The remaining 25,000 Joules are absorbed from cosmic and geomantic energies, which explains why people who live in the open, like farmers, are more healthy than those who spend their lives in office buildings!

Most of what we eat is actually only water! The water content practically everything we actually eat varies from about 70% in nuts and dry cheese to 95% in cucumber or spinach.

A normal adult needs 3 to 4 ounces dry protein per day, of which 1 ounce should be meat or equivalent. This means about 5 ounces of meat in the raw state.

3. General Possibilities and Preferences and Consequences.

Being a pure vegetarian is not possible in many places on earth, for milk and soy beans are not available. Even in India some 40 years ago, except for the Indo-Gangetic plain, milk was very difficult to get. Urud beans were the only substitute, which, as I said, may not be sufficient. For some reason the true soy bean was unknown outside China till recently and production is far from being enough for the world to turn vegetarian. The reasons may be economical or agricultural.

In Africa and in the lands of the Eskimos, both milk and soy beans are generally absent. Of late milk is available in parts of Africa, mainly as imported powdered or condensed milk.

In Europe soy products are difficult to get, except in Asian shops.in the big cities. Algae products

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In Waldorf schools worldwide, there is a conscious effort to keep school snacks and meals as natural as possible. Most schools have a garden and encourage the growing of vegetable and the grinding of grain. Salads, fruits, nuts and simple soups are the staple of most schools. Rudolf Steiner gave many indications regarding the plant and animal kingdoms and proper nutrition for adults and children.

“One thing must be thoroughly and fully recognized for this age in a child’s life: the physical body creates its own scale of measurement for what is beneficial to it. It does this by properly developing craving and desire. Generally speaking, we may say that the healthy physical body desires what is good for it. In the growing human being, so long that it is the physical body that is important, we should pay the closest attention to what healthy, craving desire and delight require. Pleasure and delight are the forces that most properly enliven and call forth the organs’ physical forms.

In this manner it is all too easy to do harm by failing to bring children into the proper physical relationship with their environment. This may happen especially in regard to their instincts for food. Children may be overfed with things that make them lose completely their healthy instinct for food, whereas by giving them the proper nourishment, the instinct can be preserved so that they always want what is wholesome for them under the circumstances.” ~Rudolf Steiner

Consider This

“A wise man, who still knew the secrets of the origin of the world, related; “From a giant arose Heaven and Earth – from his bones the rocks and stones; from his blood the rivers, seas and brooks; from his flesh the crumbly soil; from his hair the grass; the clouds from his thoughts; the wind from his breath. But from the heart of the giant arose the sun. Even today the giant body of Earth is sustained by the Sun as by a warmth-giving and loving heart.  After man came upon the earth, the plants were transformed. God willed that men should see as in a mirror a picture of themselves – the perfect as well as the imperfect – in he plants, which serve them also for nourishment and healing. For this reason the plants have become so many and so different. ~ The Living World of Plants by Dr. Gerbert Grohmann

Steiner Said

Raw foods contain the sunlight energies that are stored in their tissues through the process of photosynthesis. He believed that the spiritual progress of humanity as a whole would be enhanced by a progressive increase in a vegetarian eating pattern. Conversely, he felt that a meat/flesh eating diet would exert a negative influence regarding an interest in spiritual life. According to Steiner, plants supply us with their store of the outer light of the sun, which stimulates our INNER light during the process of assimilation. The light released by the plant world helps to stimulate, form and maintain our nervous system. In this way, the taking in of plant food makes a cyclic connection of our inner light with the outer light of the solar system and plant world.

This is a common belief in the practice of Anthroposophical medicine. Steiner said “Nothing clouds the nervous system when nourishment comes from the plant realm. Humanity can more easily delve into the cosmic interrelationships which take place beyond the constricted limitation of the mundane personality.”

According to Dr. Gabriel Cousens, “A strong solar resonance field promotes the evolution of humanity to reach our full potential as human ‘sun beings’. Light supports evolution, and a lack of photons in our bodies hinders it. Light and consciousness are interconnected. Rudolf Steiner taught that the release of the outer light into our systems stimulates the release of an equal amount of inner light within ourselves. The more we increase our ability to absorb and assimilate light, the more conscious we become. The more we transform ourselves by enhancing our absorption of light, the more we become that light.”  ~ Source: Conscious Eating

Recommended Reading

Raw Foods Coaching & Support

Kytka and her family have been through all of the phases of being Vegetarian, Vegan and Raw. Kytka has done a tremendous amount of research into illness and it’s roots based upon dietary choices and she holds a Doctor of Naturopathy degree and is a certified coach. Kytka provides a sharing of her vast resources, delicious recipes and most importantly, SUPPORT for your transition to a raw diet.  Learn more by visiting Health and Wealth Is Easy and/or the site of Dr. Kytka

Find Your Local Farmer’s Market – Directory by State

“To make good food choices in this society you almost have to be a fanatic! ”

- Investigative Report, A&E Network

Raw Foods in the 17th Century:

The following little snippet is from the famous late 17th century diary of Samuel Pepys… From Volume 7, written in 1666:

“… very pretty discourse of Dr. Charleton concerning Nature’s fashioning every creature’s teeth according to the food she intends them. And that man’s, it is plain, was not for flesh, but for fruit… the Doctor, I think, did well observe that creatures do naturally, and from the first, before they have had experience to try, do love such a food rather then another. And that all children love fruit, and none brought to flesh but against their wills at first.” [R. Latham and W. Matthews (eds.), The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Vol. 7 (London, 1971), pp. 223-224].

For further reading, we suggest the following books:

• Foodways by Wendy Cook
• Nutrition by Rudolf Hauscka
• Nutrition 1 & 2 by Eugen Koliso
• Problems of Nutrition by Rudolf Steiner
• When a Child Is Born by Wilhelm zur Linden

SOURCE: Ask Kytka Archives, March 3, 2002

Please take the time to watch this important video.

David Wolfe is a best selling author, and a world famous expert on the importance of quality food and nutrition. Maybe you’ve seen things on the Internet or TV about his world famous bionic burger video? It’s a real eye-opener. I really admire David, and truly feel he is brilliant.

You’ll see what I mean when you watch the video.

David is one of the most passionate and committed people you’ll ever meet. You see, David approaches the topic of food and nutritionas an essential ingredient to EVERYTHING else in your life. It just makes sense to fuel your machine with the highest quality fuel, for maximum performance, right?

He explains it all beautifully in this video…

It’s kind of funny when you think about it but having a WOLFE at your door could be the best thing that ever happened to you AND your health.

Please do yourself a favor and WATCH this video!

If you have even the tiniest thought that your life would be so much better in so many ways, if you just took better care of yourself–you really owe it to yourself to meet David right now…

More than food for thought, this is food for your SOUL!

To your continued growth and journey!

Rudolf Steiner saw man primarily as a fourfold being. To understand this concept we need to consider Steiner’s views on the human being in relation to the kingdoms of nature:

Firstly consider the mineral kingdom. It is dead, inanimate – a stone does not move unless an external force is applied to it. It is physical structure only, without life of its own. Steiner called this the “physical body”. In the human body the skeleton is the most mineralized, “stone-like” part and can be likened to the mineral kingdom.

Then there is the plant kingdom. Clearly the plant has a physical body, but equally unlike a stone it possesses a life force which enables it to grow, to have shape, to live. Steiner named this the “etheric body”.

Next the animal kingdom. An animal has a physical body and an etheric body, like the plant. Animals differ from plants, however, in that they achieve a certain level of conscious awareness. They have feelings which express themselves through drives, desires, pain and pleasure. We can say, then, that animals are not only living beings, but “ensouled beings” with feelings. Steiner called this the “astral body”.

Human beings share with all three kingdoms of nature with the “physical body”, the “etheric body” and the “astral body “- but the human being is unique. Humans differ from animals in that they have self awareness. Humans, unlike other living beings, possess an “ego”. The power of this individual ego enables humans to walk erect, to speak and think, to be creative, to develop (and also to destroy) civilizations. It also enables them to enter into the spirit of things in a way that is unique among living beings. We see evidence of this in the artistic and social achievements of humanity. The human being has certain capacities which animals lack. Animals do not have a creative culture. Wasps build their nests the way they have always done, and nothing new has been consciously developed by them over the centuries. Foxes use the same technique as their ancestors did for catching chickens. They do not look back upon their history and apply what they have learned to developing new and more effective techniques. They do not participate consciously in the process of their own development and evolution.

Knowledge of man in the true sense must be sought in the way we have indicated. Starting from the processes of nutrition, it must be followed through the processes of healing to the processes of human and world education in …

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Steiner Speaks on Nutrition

The following passage is excerpted from Community Life… Lectures and Documents by Rudolf Steiner, pages 21-23.

If any of you need to be convinced of the implications of what I am saying, you are welcome to make the following experiment: Choose some topic – vegetarianism, for example – and observe how certain adherents of spiritual science talk about this topic in the outside world. Make a chart, and each time you hear spiritual scientists telling other people that they are vegetarians, jot down the reasons they give. It will soon become clear that on the subject of vegetarianism, adherents of spiritual science often say absolutely scandalous things to people in the outside world. When the outside world then comes to the conclusion that we are a society of fools, it should come as no great surprise.

Ehrenfried Pfeiffer’s asked Rudolf Steiner why people today appear unable
to develop and act according to all they learn and seem to know.
Steiner replied: “This is a problem of nutrition.”

In Anthroposophical circles, I have frequently mentioned a very simple way of responding to the question of why

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