Each month one of these world views will be expanded.

Spiritualism
The acknowledgement of a spiritual world is one of the pillars of spiritualism. The other pillar is the assumption that the Spirit – spiritus – is everything, and matter is nothing. In between these a relationship can develop, even an interdependence, e.g. spirit densifies into matter, matter dissolves itself into spirit. Between these extremes would develop the balancing rhythm of creating in all its variations and nuances. Spiritualism in its pure form is the actual atmosphere and breath of religion.

The twelve apostles, which were called together by Jesus Christ at the beginning of his working on earth, can be seen to represent twelve different ways to finding and living with Christ. The most well-known disciples are Peter and John (see Jn: 21). They are polar opposites and have different tasks. Peter founds the church on earth, has the task of ‘embodying’ the pre-existing spirit of Christ, giving it another solid earthly home on earth after the crucifixion for its further unfolding in the visible world.

John walks a solitary inner path, becomes the only disciple able stand as witness under the cross.

He continues his inner development of ‘walking with Christ’ and becomes the visionary, who again becomes the witness, this time to the Cosmic Christ (as described in the Book of Revelation chapter 1). He recognises the spiritual dimension of Christ as the guiding spirit of our earthly cosmos and the One who gives meaning and purpose to its every expression.

In this way one could say Peter has a task of a birthing nature, to embody spirit in such a way that it leads to individualisation. John has the task of dealing with death processes, of accompanying the expansion of the individual out of the body while still maintaining its cohesion of Self. In this way John is a representative of spiritualism.


A quote in relation to the Twelve World Views from Blaise Pascal (17th century physicist, mathematician & philosopher):
“When we wish to correct with advantage, and to show another that he errs, we must notice from what side he views the matter, for on that side it is usually true, and admit that truth to him, but reveal to him the side on which it is false. He is satisfied with that, for he sees that he was not mistaken, and that he only failed to see all sides. Now, no one is offended at not seeing everything; but one does not like to be mistaken, and that perhaps arises from the fact that man naturally cannot see everything, and that naturally he cannot err in the side he looks at, since the perceptions of our senses are always true.”

by John-Peter Gernaat

Joachim provided insight into the origin of his interest in birds and the depth to which this interest has developed over the years. He shared the countries he has visited and the birding projects he has been involved with. He posed the question as to why birders pursue their interest: was it merely to collect experiences – part of the hunter/gatherer human instinct?
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He opened up some of the knowledge Spiritual Science has provided. In the time of Old Sun birds were developing their heads. They developed more rapidly that other beings, but this development ceased with the development of the head. That is why in this time of Earth development they have such spindly legs and such small stature. But look at their heads and the first thing we notice is that have the ability to see through 360 degrees. The entire bird serves the idea of the head. The legs merely run to the purpose set by the head; the wings carry the bird to the goal set by the head. Some falcons can eat on the wing with no need to land. A bird cannot flex its body, it uses its feather to direct the movement of the body.

When we look at an owl with its forward pointing eyes, we note that the feathers on the head (of nocturnal owls) are shaped to direct sound into its ears. Its ears are an integral part of its seeing. Furthermore, its head swivels 180 degrees.

In the Book of Revelation we are introduced to the Four Living Creatures in the midst of the Throne. These have the face of a lion, a bull, an eagle and a man. The four Gospels have been associated with these four living beings. The Gospel writers were each inspired by the essence of one of these four living beings.

Mark is connected with the lion. He is short and sharp. When a lion eats he feels it in his blood and this brings him balance.

Luke is connected with the bull. The Gospel begins like a fairy story and is ruminating in its style. It is very much connected with the earth.

John is connected with the eagle. The prologue to this Gospel can live only in our thinking, it is not an earthly story. Thinking is a self-contained entity within us. Sun powers make this possible. The human body creates a space for this entity of thinking. An eagle flies over the earth using thermals to rise up towards the sun. It has the ability to zoom with its eyes to see great detail on the ground below. In birds the ability we have from the sun’s powers is translated into their feathers. The feathers are the thinking of birds. With its feathers a bird thinks its surroundings.

Joachim then spent considerable time looking at various birds and describing how the feathers of the bird think its surroundings. For example, he showed us a snow grouse (Willow Ptarmigan). The most common explanation for its colouration is that it is used for camouflage, but this is not so. Its colouration changes as the seasons change as it “thinks” its surroundings.

Forest birds in temperate climes all look very similar – pale green and non-descript – as they all think their common surroundings.
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Ducks will remain on the water for months without suffering the consequences of the constant moisture through the thinking of their feathers. When a flock sleeps on the water the ducks along the outer edge sleep with half their brain and one eye awake, the side facing outwards from the flock, and they will swap positions with birds in the inner part of the flock all while asleep. The white feather on the underside of water birds makes them invisible from below while black or dark feathers above make it impossible to see them in the ocean’s waves, e.g. the puffin.

The beak of a bird is constructed of keratin (horn) also related to thinking. The bills of sea birds that spend time at sea have a bulge that contains a salt filter allowing the birds to drink seawater, e.g. the shearwater. These birds live in a very harsh environment with constant winds, salt and the sun from above and reflected from below. These birds have developed specialised feather on their wings that allow them to remain airborne in the strongest winds. (Joachim had a little derisive undertone towards seagulls in comparison to shearwaters because they like to sit on the land and their need to clean their wings with fresh water.)

During Old Moon all animals migrated around the moon in order to experience the sun. This migratory instinct has remained in those birds who migrate in the Earth Epoch. What animals do, resides in their organs, this is instinct. Animals are unable to indulge in the way we humans do, by over-eating, partying, etc. Animals indulge in their relationship to their environment, such as an eagle flying on thermals.

​Joachim spoke of special adaptations birds have for their migratory habits. Red Knot waders will fly from Mauritania and arrive in Europe with all muscle fat used up, almost unable to stand. The must first eat to regenerate their liver and stomach to be able to digest food. Once they have regained their muscle fat they will fly on to Greenland where the females eat a diet rich in calcium to add as much as 10% calcium to their skeleton in order to lay their eggs in Canada where the breeding areas are calcium poor.

Starlings flying in flocks have a single eye within the flock that allows the flock to move as one. After this Earth Epoch on Jupiter we will be able to see the spiritual world with our eyes and have the ability to move using our thoughts.

Raptors use thermals whey they migrate, rising and gliding and also have a flock eye to guide them.

Swifts live on the wing and don’t have the ability to take to flight from being stationary. They build their nests so they can fall from the nest to give them the velocity to fly. These birds eat on the wing, sleep on the wing and mate on the wing without the need to land.

​Where there are a lot of form forces in the environment of the birds their feathers become more showy, as in the tropics. Honey birds consume nectar which is the greatest form force of the plant and from this form force they emerge with spectacular colours.

​Some birds do not develop colour as a result of form forces but instead develop song, e.g. the nightingale. Songbirds send their songs into the highest atmosphere where it is fructified with etheric force which then descends to fructify the earth. The earth would not be fertile without the song of birds. In this way birds mediate between heaven and earth.

Joachim posed the question: What is a king? He took us into the history of humanity through the Old Testament. Enoch and Noah still had undiminished clairvoyance and acted in accordance with the Spiritual World. After them, the Patriarchs no longer had the same clairvoyance, but they were able to have conversations with God. With time our consciousness emerged. Moses was the first leader to show human consciousness. The Judges received messages from an angel; conversations with God were no longer possible. Samuel was the first Man of God, he acted as the messenger of God, no longer an angel. Samuel anointed Saul as the first king. This was a new step for the Spiritual World – having a king on earth who longer had a connection to the Spiritual World. Saul had to fight to remain human. His soul was pulled in diabolical directions manifested by his moods. David was the first human with his Thinking, Feeling and Willing fully engaged in the task of kingship.
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Joachim showed us an image of Michelangelo’s David facing Goliath. He looks balanced but also vulnerable. That vulnerability develops when he takes the wife of another man.
From David there are two lines of decendants we see represented in the New Testament. The line from David’s son Nathan is represented in the Gospel of Luke and the line from Solomon is represented in the Gospel of Matthew. In the Solomon line the Babylonian exile is a key milestone. Joseph, the son of David, heads a wealthy family. He is the prince in the House of David. So when Jesus is born, a crown prince to the throne of David is born. Only the Essene community may have celebrated this event, not the ordinary citizens of Israel, or Herod.

The historian Josephus tells us that Herod sowed enmity with the Jewish people. He was also desperate to hold onto power and had his own sons murdered. He was a thorough materialist. He had his own secret police. Herod used the Chief Priests and Scribes to institutionalise his power among the Jews. It is into this world that the Priest Kings arrive. The Scribes bring information which is analysed to determine the location of the birth. This is the first mention of the tool of analysis in human development. Why does Heron send the Priest Kings to Bethlehem instead of going himself? He fears the child after all and wants it dead.

The Priest Kings were highly initiated into the religion of Zoroaster. They were true kings over themselves. Zoroastrianism had taught them to look to the stars to know when the next appearance of Zoroaster would occur. These kings stand as representatives of the earlier Cultural Epochs:

Why these gifts? The Priest Kings knew that Thinking, Feeling and Willing had been developed through the Cultural Epochs to their highest form under the guidance of Lucifer. A new impulse was needed to develop these qualities further. This impulse would come from the being Zarathustra spoke of as Ahura Mazda. It is Lucifer that guided the kings to Herod. On meeting the child, it is independent thinking that brings these kings the insight to go home another way.

The Priest Kings offer Thinking, Feeling and Willing to the baby Jesus – to the Christ. What does it mean today when we offer our Thinking, Feeling and Willing to Christ? We will experience that the adversary powers will present counter-ideas to distract us.
Bringing our ideals into reality is the real communion for our time. When we act from the place of “not I, but Christ in me”.
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In a side note after the talk, Joachim mentioned that the lineage of the Solomon child, into which the spirit of Zarathustra incarnated, had to be free of the development of Lucifer in order for the child to offer his soul to the Nathan child at the age of twelve when the Nathan child visits the Temple with his parents and is found among the scribes answering questions with great insight. He also mentioned who the Priest Kings has been in their previous incarnation.