Concerning the brief comment about Russia I would encourage people to look at Terry Boardman or Adriana Koulias for an interesting perspective on the spiritual nature of the battle between the anglosphere and the central-european sphere.

http://threeman.org/?p=3040

I am not able to share the Adriana’s facebook page so have added the beginning of a very interesting article from her.

Events in the Ukraine these last months show quite clearly the lengths that the western powers will go to to control Russia and the Sixth Epoch. But as they strive to harness Russia and use it for their own aims the Jesuits strive to control the other contender for the Sixth Epoch, Brazil. The Control of the Sixth epoch is for the control of clairvoyance. The Western Brotherhoods know that the sixth epoch, the Russian epoch will begin the development of the Spirit Self. To control this ‘Spirit Self’ they must control Russia. They have already managed to spread a super materialism throughout the world, and are close to extending this materialism in the soul to the physical body as well. In this way they hope to unite the ego with the physical body by way of the consciousness soul – whose elaboration is the task of the west. The human soul would then be completely cut off from higher spiritual worlds and would be connected only to the lower spiritual worlds giving rise to an Ahrimanic clairvoyance – a school of black magic. We already have the school it is called ‘the internet’. The internet will become the source of all knowledge and if the western brotherhoods have their way, the source of all Clairvoyance. This binding of ego to the physical body will destroy the connection of the Russian people with their angels and finally their folk soul. The folk soul will then desert its people, leaving the Western Brotherhoods in control, with Ahriman as a ‘folk soul’.This is how the Western Brotherhoods wish to control the 6th epoch.Sergei O Prokofieff spoke regarding this danger and said that in a personal conversation, Rudolf Steiner communicated that,’In the event of Eastern Europe being unable to fulfil its mission in the 6th Epoch (which would in itself be a great misfortune, not only for it but for humanity as a whole) this mission would be passed on to South America and especially to Brazil.'(Sergei O Prokofieff, The Spiritual Origins of Eastern Europe and the Future Mysteries of the Holy Grail, note 125 page 509.)Why is this so?

The article “2022 The Ukraine War” in this edition of The Present Age will also be an eye opener for those who limit themselves to mainstream media

and the video referenced in the article

The article I referred to concerning Fichte, Steiner and the personality of Lazarus in the Gospel of John. It is a good example of how the conceptual life that we create in ourselves together with higher beings allows us to revitalize, re-enchant and re-imagine the world.

https://southerncrossreview.org/99/wood-johannine-question-2.html

Sharing a few links related to the talk this evening.

The story that John references is here on Soundcloud. There is a wealth on insight multiple issues confronting the times we live in.

Angus, I understand The Philosophy of Freedom as a gym for those whose minds are so intellectuised that entry into Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and iIts Attainment is not immediately possible. That is to say some already have that tone of soul that b can go to KoTHW immediately, but many of us require a kind of purging and softening first, that PoF can effect if sincerely and faithfully followed. I only realised this quite late – it would have saved alot of time if it was clearer earlier! What to you think?

Jonathan, you make several interesting points. TPOF is definitely the gym that I was destined to go to :). Like many others I have also put considerable efforts into KoTHW and much other anthroposophical literature without any obvious fruits until quite recently. The fruits of these esoteric efforts are now harmonizing with the fruits of digging even deeper into TPOF.

Furthermore, by being blind we have been spared the painful experience of having spiritual visions/experiences in an age almost incapable of conceptualizing them. By recognizing my blindness I am forced to confront the reality of living in a physical world. Many years ago I did a deep dive into the Near Death Experience literature and many of those people then had to spend decades processing their beautiful, but also traumatic experiences that made them feel that the world did not understand them, that they did not belong here. This was one of the interesting fruits of listening to the talk with Dawn Langman (linked above)