From the Contents of Esoteric Classes

73. EL, Stuttgart, 12-24,31-'10

Our esoteric feeling of responsibility must become keener; we must acquire theosophical conscientiousness. It's seldom found in the outside world. Examples: 1. A gentleman who want to write a big book and wants to incorporate something about theosophy in it asks R. Steiner to tell him what it's about since he doesn't have time to study it. 2. an American goes to lectures by R. Steiner here, summarized them — to the extent that he understands them — and prints them as his own publications in America.

We must acquire theosophical tact and only speak about the school and esoteric things in the right place, and never at meals.

Our physical body is tightly fused with the etheric body. There's two ways to loosen them: 1. In an exoteric way through physical exercise and a vegetarian diet. 2. In an esoteric way through training, meditation, etc. This works on the astral body and that works on the etheric body, so that it gets loosened. One could say that a front cord with lotus flowers is built up by meditation, concentration, etc., as a counterpart to the physical spinal cord in the rear and the brain. That's the right way which permits no injury to the physical body. Whereas if one only uses outer means of loosening of the etheric body occurs, but it hasn't been strengthened by meditation or an influx of theosophical truths. The result is diseases I the physical body or confusion, etc., when the etheric brain becomes loosened from the physical one.