Knowledge Of The Higher Worlds And Its Attainment: On Consciousness, Dream Life and Initiation by Rudolf Steiner

In human life joy is usually something one has not deserved through previous actions.

When we investigate karma by occult means, we always discover that in most cases joy has not been earned, and we should accept it gratefully as sent to us by the gods, as a gift of the gods, and to say to ourselves: The joy which comes to meet us today ought to kindle in us the will to work in such a way as to take into ourselves the forces streaming to us through this joy, and to apply these usefully. We must look upon joy as a sort of prepayment on account for the future.

The quintessential guide for the spiritual seeker from the deeply gifted mystic.

Preface To the Edition of May 1918 Preface to The Sixth Edition Preface to The Third Edition
I. How Is Knowledge of The Higher Worlds Attained?
II. The Stages of Initiation
III. Some Practical Aspects
IV. The Conditions of Esoteric Training
V. Some Results of Initiation
VI. The Transformation of Dream Life
VII. The Continuity of Consciousness
VIII. The Splitting of The Human Personality During Spiritual Training
IX. The Guardian Of The Threshold
X. Life And Death: The Greater Guardian Of The Threshold Appendix