Enno Schmidt speaks with Birgit Ebel about a possible way of accessing the etheric realm. When we consider how the different types of ethers work within human beings, we shed light on another layer of reality.
Enno Schmidt: There are more and more events taking place these days that focus on the etheric. You’ve been researching the etheric for many years. Why are more and more people seeking to explore this topic?
Birgit Ebel: Life itself wants to enter our consciousness today. We talk about time at work as an essential part of our lives, referring to our quality of life, and about the Earth as a living organism. This was less so in the past. We have a stronger awareness that this is “our” life. This also applies to meaning in our lives as a question of life itself, not just as an extra bonus. We are also increasingly dealing with destructive forces: the digital world and global threats. Where can we find constructive forces, connecting forces? Developing access to the etheric realm leads us further in this direction.
Humans have an etheric body, as do plants and animals. Does the etheric body enable life?
Yes. The physical body is just the net in which substances are stored. There’s no life in it. Nothing alive can exist there. The physical body is only the form body.
The heart would not beat without etheric forces?
The heart is the etheric organ par excellence. Blood is compressed in the heart chambers and then flows out of them with great force and speed. Constriction—and zhoop! This is a process of etherization. In the physical world of objects, we bump up against boundaries and limitations. We can’t go any further. The principle of the etheric is a collision that releases something so that it can continue. This bumping up against resistance, against a counterpart, is present in everything that has to do with life. As I walk, the ground provides a surface for me to push against, so I can create a counterforce and rise. This means that I don’t really feel my sixty kilos of body weight. But if I’m carrying a bag of cement, those forty kilos feel quite heavy.
The bag of cement has no etheric body.
We can even consider our present conversation. You are a different person; you are listening to me. That is the counterpart you are presenting to me. So again, we have a boundary, a collision with another. This frees something and allows it to go on further. All life emerges through the creative processes of the etheric. The etheric is not the physical principle of addition, optimization, and improvement. It is the living forces that we see in children, especially. It is the primal plane of reality from which every human being and every project that exists in the physical realm has emerged.
The fact that I listen to you and that something then happens could also be seen as a soul process or as a function of the ‘I.’
It’s also that. But this all takes place through the etheric forces. You are able to be present and act as an ‘I’ and as a soul within the body only on account of the etheric forces. One reason it’s so challenging to perceive the realm of etheric forces at work is that it has this function of mediation. In and of itself, it’s nothing. That is why ancient philosophers only spoke of body, soul, and spirit. The etheric was somewhere outside; it was the blue sky. Paracelsus asked himself: What actually heals? Then, he came to this realm. He called it Archeus. Wilhelm Reich also came to this realm with his question of what life is and in his research on “bions.” The Asian martial arts, Tai-Chi, the philosophy of Yin and Yang, and Ayurvedic cooking are all based on knowledge of etheric life forces. Rudolf Steiner introduced the concept of the etheric, thereby making it something we can know in itself.
Rudolf Steiner differentiated the effects of etheric forces into four types of ether. He speaks of the life ether, the chemical ether, the light ether, and the warmth ether.
The life ether is the force that allows me to experience wholeness. It is also the power to sense that something is still missing. This etheric force enables us to perceive something as a whole, as a unity. For example, to experience oneself as a member of the human family. Rudolf Steiner also calls the life ether the “ether of meaning.” It enables us to perceive meaning and to perceive what is meaningful. For example, a concept only has life when connected to the whole. Otherwise, it’s just a label, not a concept. A concept cannot exist without the life ether.
When I experience a concept, I actually experience something like a life force and a force of will that follows on from it. And meaning, yes, human beings seek meaning. From your description, I can perceive that my constant endeavor to find meaning in everything is the activity of a force. Without meaning, there’s no life. Can you give another example of the life ether?
We can see its effect very clearly when we look at how the branches of a tree form an evenly rounded crown. That is the formative force of the life ether. Ether forces also act as formative forces, but as a form that moves within itself, constantly changing and yet remaining one form. You can see this in a flock of birds, say in the flocks of starlings during the summertime. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” said Aristotle. That is etheric activity. As soon as something is to take on form, spiritual beings need this realm of etheric forces to be able to enter into the earthly, mineral, concrete world.
Does the life ether make it possible for me, as a spiritual being, to enter a physical body and become active in the earthly realm?
Yes, so that you, as a being of spirit and soul, can reach all the way to the ground with your perceptions and sensations, with your sense of ‘I,’ right down to your toes. Rudolf Steiner also calls it the physical ether. But the four types of ether always work together simultaneously.
The chemical ether is the force of differentiation, of exchange in a conversation, for example, of taking in and giving out; not as sympathy/antipathy, not as soul, not as conceptions, not as judgment, but as the activity of a force. Steiner also calls it the thought ether. It has to do with the power of thinking. For example, it has to do with our ability to enter into the thoughts of another person who goes against what I myself think, thoughts which I reject, but still being able to think those thoughts. I do this by means of this etheric force. Steiner also says that thinking is etheric sensing.
Regarding the light ether, I would say that something new arrives, and the new is never perceived through what came before. Imagine a lemniscate with one side open; not so that I fly out, but that I remain present and aware that a force comes from outside. This is the new. I must let go of my intentions and be open to what comes to me. Light ether is not a reaction, like when people lack food and decide that they need more food. The etheric is not “action followed by reaction.” The etheric is different from the systemic. There is always a “more” in the etheric. It’s a different approach that always deals with what is not-yet-existent. In contrast to the life ether and chemical ether, which have an inner gateway, the light ether has a peripheral gateway. There is a turning point outside of me, not inside. Through the light ether, I arrive at a new situation that offers me a new way of dealing with a process. I notice something outside myself, in the other.
The perception outside of me is the turning point for my next action, for what’s needed. When I look at a person and try to behold their inner process, I can arrive at a feeling of coherence or continuity. For example, when dealing with children, we can ask, “What is the best next step, what is needed, what needs to be done?” Not, “What do I feel like doing, what’s annoying me, or what do I want,” but “What would be coherent here, what’s consonant?” It’s not a process of cognition where I’m thinking contextually, but rather where, through the light ether, the outer and inner come together simultaneously, and this can give rise to a certain quality of my inner sensations that allows me to notice something about a person. A permanent crossing of boundaries from me to the other and from the other to me, where I am constantly passing through a zero point.
The artistic process is the same. It constantly passes through these zero points. Initiating and releasing. And, yes, the criterion is coherence.
This process truly finds itself at home in the arts.
When viewing a work of art, one can have the feeling, “This is coherent.” Or one may feel that something’s not right. In the latter case, it wouldn’t be a proper work of art. Coherent [Stimmig] is not the same as harmonic [harmonisch]. Through the light ether, do I become aware of something more than what can be seen or imagined?
You offer your light, which is able to cross over boundaries depending on how inwardly sensitive you are to the person. And the other person comes towards you with their being.
I’m offering my light ether, making it available?
The light ether gives me the possibility of gaining knowledge. It is the type of ether through which sentient consciousness takes place. When you say, “I offer my light ether, I make it available,” that is already a part of the light ether that has been freed up, and now you’re able to work with it. It’s the part that’s not being used for building up the body. The etheric body is given to us. It serves the whole of life and enables life to function. This is the etheric activity that is bound to the organism, to the interpersonal, toward all life processes, and the very life that we live. But, as Rudolf Steiner describes, the life ether in human beings has begun to dissolve since the fifteenth century, and in the human beings of today, the connection between the etheric body and the physical body is loosening. We can say that a part of the etheric body in human beings is becoming free. Today, it’s possible for me to leave the work of the etheric forces to the organism and, at the same time, to act within it and to be awake in it. In order to be able to act and be awake in it, we need the gateway to nothingness. Otherwise, I remain in the soul and in the center, taking my knowledge and will merely from myself and in reference to myself.
Gateway to nothingness? So, I have to give up my habits and desires, even my prized convictions, so as not to cover up the etheric with my own soul, in order to perceive it as something in itself, and even to be able to operate within it?
Yes. And the prerequisite is that you develop a conceptual framework beforehand. This will enable you to say something about your experience after the zero point. I presume that I would not be able to sustain myself as a human being after the zero point if the Christ force, the greater ‘I,’ were not present. And without Michael, one’s own thinking force is not possible. The access point is the ‘I’ that experiences, which must include the force of thinking. The power of thinking carries me through. The force on its own has no content, and I must have strengthened this force itself before going through the zero point. This power of thinking gives me the possibility of finding something again after the zero point, or as Rudolf Steiner calls it, “in the nothingness.”
A power of thinking that, as a pure force of thinking, can also exist where there is no content, so that I am able to remain present?
This brings us to the warmth ether, the force of presence. Not presence as self-awareness or engagement with exciting topics, but rather presence without the usual supports. It is the force that gets me through the “eye of the needle.” When I leave aside the content of everything I’ve acquired, everything I know, all my professorial titles, this force allows me to be present, to pass through the threshold of the zero point and enter the realm of the etheric. It is the force that enables me to be present, even when everything is falling apart, even when everyone is shunning me. It’s all about actively, independently developing these forces. This is what forms substance. It’s all about a kind of training by means of the different types of ether.
With the life ether, we perceive what is meaningful, the whole, and at the same time, we get to the point. With the chemical ether, we perceive whether something is true or not. Not philosophical truth, but whether there is truthfulness in what the other person says—distinguishing between truth and lies. The light ether is about the relationship between inner and outer, about coherence. For example, the coherence and continuity of the next little step. For example, there is coherency when I put myself fully, in all my humanness, even into just this next little step. It’s the inner force that prevents me from taking a step too big for my abilities as they currently stand. The warmth ether is about developing the force to see what is essential; for example, in what someone says. Not what is necessary or right, but what is essential. It’s about finding the difference between human and non-human. Recognizing and addressing the human being as a spiritual being.
You said, “developing abilities.” Do you consider it essential that we distinguish between the action of the etheric in nature and the action of the etheric in humans?
I am not aware of what distinguishes me as a human being, then it doesn’t matter whether I’m an animal, plant, or human being. In order to perceive living etheric processes, I need to have my own living etheric movements within myself. To do this, I must develop certain abilities. If you want to work with these forces, you must be these forces yourself. Without distinguishing between different types of etheric activity in nature and in humans, I cannot come to know the essence of the human being. The human being is organized by the Logos. Our orientation is from the Logos. When considering human beings, if I start with the etheric forces in nature by bringing the qualities of the elements to life within myself, then I remain within the realm of nature. Nature does not lead me to that which is unique to human beings.
Is the difference that humans have access to etheric forces that have been freed?
The ability to distinguish between the types of ether in nature and in humans makes it possible for me to think about resurrection. In nature, the types of ether work with necessity; they work unconditionally, for example, in growth, osmosis, seed formation, adaptation to the environment, and the production of variations. When a plant dies, that’s the end. Nature comes to an end. This is not the case with humans. The organization of the human organism allows for freedom in the etheric forces and enables new things to come into the world. In humans, everything must be viewed in terms of spiritual possibility, of potentia, in both of its meanings: in terms of a potential range of possibilities and in terms of a primal, potent force. The evolution of the Earth and of earthly humans began with the subtle etheric Earth, from which emerged the life and chemical ethers. So, the life ether was at the beginning of evolution. According to Steiner, it is this ether that gives meaning to our thoughts. Meaning is inherent in the life ether. The entire development of the Earth is meaningful. And the development of the Earth is oriented towards human beings. The human being is the wholeness. Nature is only a part. It is part of the Human-Earth evolution. Not the opposite. In plants and animals, all types of ether come from outside. In humans, they work from both within and without.
If I look at the organization of the human being, it is divided into lower and higher types of ether. Some push outward centrifugally from below, others push inward peripherally from above. Where they meet and collide, there begins the interesting field of freedom. The boundary where they collide is a fluctuating vortex. The fact that we are organized this way is the basis of human freedom. It is at this boundary that human beings create reality. Human beings are the place where something is transformed. In human beings, everything becomes inward through the interaction with etheric forces. As soon as the etheric body grasps something, it’s mine. In humans, it’s something internal; in nature, it’s the given etheric forces. There is no zero point for nature. The zero point is decisive; it is the point where I transform something given into something I have created myself.
A stroke of destiny, for example. With everything that has led me to this point, I can go no further. I feel cornered, under pressure. Then, I reach a moment when I stop defending myself; I stop explaining things to myself, stop feeling sorry for myself, stop longing for the past. A moment of nothingness. But I’m present. My gaze widens to a level where I become aware of the connections. Another level of reality where, contrary to my firm conviction, I realize how I myself have willingly led forth what has now come to be.
This is a spiritual plane of reality. It is a spiritual awareness, conveyed etherically. The moment of turning is the looking away from oneself while in the midst of being affected. This is what is meant by “going through the zero point,” leaving behind what we have become in regard to our individuality. The individual appears as an abyss. Turning means directing one’s gaze away from being affected towards something outside oneself with a sense of the connection. Through the turning, I enter a sphere of activity that I identify as the etheric forces. The place of turning is a creative process of knowledge. It is not a representational, descriptive process of knowledge, but a prescriptive one. This process of knowledge is not conceivable without the experience of an abyss in the soul or the drama of corporeality.
The individual appears as an abyss. I find that essential.
Humans create something new by leaving behind what has already been created. Nature cannot do this. And so, the new things created by humans are of a completely different kind than the things in nature that are constantly renewing themselves according to their species. Only humans have the ability to release ether. Only the human organism is organized in such a way that free ether processes can take place. This is because in humans, not all ether processes are bound to the organic realm. Everyone is familiar with the free life processes that are present in human encounters. The freeing of etheric forces is the basis for everything new and free. But it is us humans who are the ones who have to do this. And we must be aware of doing it. “If I were a king and did not know it, would I be a king?” If I were a human being and did not know it, would I be a human being?
What if I take the viewpoint, “Etheric forces are already at work. So, what’s new about it?”
The new thing is that you realize, “I’m going to do it or I’m not going to do it.” What is new is that I see myself as a turning point in world events by releasing etheric forces.
You try to become aware of the etheric forces and learn how to deal with them?
I am trying to find access to the etheric, yes. It’s about developing a sense of reality. Because what is present is no longer reality now. The new level of reality is that I am dealing with something that I cannot grasp. This means that when I encounter a person, I am no longer concerned with content, behavior patterns, or judgments. I don’t dwell on these things. Instead, I allow myself to enter into the etheric, where I become aware of what new substance is being created.
Through knowledge of the workings of the human etheric forces, I can become aware of the next stage of human development: the etheric world. Experiencing the etheric forces makes it possible to lead humanity and nature back into wholeness and unity. Reality plays out in the midst of the etheric world. Not in the physical world anymore. While human beings developed self-awareness, reality was in the physical world. Time has moved on. Now it’s about harmonious connections between unique individuals and with the spiritual world. Since the etheric has access to both the World Word and the earthly, it forms a permeable fabric for the spiritual and the earthly worlds. Just as everything in the physical realm has to do with separation, with individual self-consciousness, so the task of the present stage is to establish connections, interactions, and harmonies between the two poles, the earthly and the cosmic. An external view of the etheric activities remains exoteric. The esoteric approach requires that I myself be within this interplay of forces. This is not possible without a threshold.
This threshold seems unpleasant, like a moment of death. Is it necessary?
For something new to come through, we can’t take hold of it with our old ways. We cannot become aware of the new by means of what we already know. And we must establish a certain assurance so we don’t go fishing in unknown waters, where I might overshadow the new that’s trying to come in by only referring it back to myself, or if I might want to jump straight into already applying what is new, thereby bypassing its own processes of life. The zero point does not allow for self-love and utilitarian intentions. In the etheric, we are always dealing with death and resurrection. That’s what I mean by Christian. If I don’t seek out this threshold, I still arrive at the etheric. But it is important to find the etheric that is specifically human, the freeing Christ event.
Nothingness as a gateway to the etheric process is a certain guarantee that I will reach the tip of reality. This is a small point of death. Death is connected with what is earthly; it is the only reality on Earth for which there is no archetype in the spiritual world. If I begin with this principle of the earthly, the etheric in human beings, with the reality of the earthly, with death, then I have a certain guarantee that I am entering a realm of reality. That is why the zero point is unavoidable. Every problem in life has to do with being active at this boundary, not wanting to avoid it, not wanting to evade it, but rather developing abilities. I don’t avoid the stumbling block. The stumbling block is actually the jumping off point, where nothing is moving forward. I jump, and what moves forward then forms a certain reality.
Robots don’t do any of that. As artificial intelligence takes over more and more work, humans will be free to take on greater challenges and new work. A science of the human ether could demonstrate who human beings are, not just what they are and what they can do, but why humans are something completely different and always more than some technically improved post-human species that can do everything better. Humanity could reassure itself. You once called it an “ethics of the living.”
Self-assurance is one thing. It is also about dealing with forces concretely. It’s about people realizing that they can develop constructive forces, healing forces, consolidating forces. I can enter the realm where life itself is occurring, where formation occurs, where creation occurs. We can take the work that human beings have to do seriously, the work of coming onto the Earth. For me, this is a moral quality, not a soul quality. In the past, morality was a content, a soul content. Today, I understand morality to mean taking things seriously. I would say that human beings produce moral substance. The entire etheric organization of the human being is thoroughly organized by the ‘I.’
These moral substances are marked by the fact that they are kissed by the ‘I.’ For example, the moral quality of being selflessly present in the here and now by means of the warmth ether. With the life ether, it is the inner humility and responsibility that I am willing to stand with my feet firmly on the ground and not to keep one toe up with the angels, where it’s still so pure and beautiful. Morality has to do with developing sincerity towards my own existence as a human being, that I am now really on the Earth, and that I fit myself into the earthly conditions. This also has to do with letting go of all that is so beautiful in the spirit. I would call that morality. When I learn to deal with the etheric in this way, something completely different can work through spiritually. When I take the etheric types into my hands, inwardly, make them accessible to me, make them experiential, this also has relevance for being able to become aware of the working of Christ. Not only as a fact that I know, not only in my soul experience, but also because I have already prepared the ether where Christ is now working. The Christian etheric is given to us as a possibility. It can always be produced.
The human being is the possibility.
Human beings are nothing without possibilities. “The ‘I’ is a spirit composed of possibility and reality,” said Themistius, a philosopher of the fourth century AD.
We covered death. What is resurrection?
Because the life ether has its center on the physical plane, it has the ability to guide the human ‘I’ into the physical body. The physical body is a form body. When the ‘I’ encounters this physical form body, I come into contact with the archetype of our physical body, the phantom body. The phantom body doesn’t just enable reconnection to the original in its various stages; it also creates presence in the earthly realm, thereby freeing something spiritual. The phantom body makes this possible on the physical plane. So, I no longer have to somehow leave the Earth; instead, the spiritual, the etheric, takes place on the physical plane. And resurrection has to do with the fact that I take the Earth with me. That is why resurrection takes place in the body. Ultimately, everything is connected with the question of resurrection, the entire evolution of humanity. That is the pivotal point. Does the human being come into contact with and gain an understanding of the resurrection event? Only the human being can have this understanding. Everything can be thought of, even the types of ether, in relation to resurrection. In earthly events, in the perception of what is actually happening, proceeding from the concrete, the substance-creating event takes place. Every human encounter is the place for such an event. The place for a new substance for building.
Translation Joshua Kelberman
Title image Birgit Ebel at the Mantra Workshop 2024. Photo: Enno Schmidt
