Brussels, Belgium. 2025 is the 100th anniversary of Rudolf Steiner’s death. How does he live on in specific individuals? Michaela Glöckler, pediatrician, author and President of the Board of ELIANT, the European Alliance of Initiatives of Applied Anthroposophy, gives her answers.
Which sentence by Rudolf Steiner particularly touched you and why?
“Nature makes of man merely a natural being; society makes of him a being that acts according to law; only he can make a free being of himself.”1 This sentence encompasses the mystery of development, but also the imperative of development of us humans.
How is it recognized in your environment that you are interested in Rudolf Steiner?
By the fact that I talk about it when the situation allows or requires it.
Where has anthroposophy irritated you?
It hasn’t irritated me—but in view of its enormous perspectives for development, I have always had to reflect anew on what I can already achieve here and now so that I don’t overtax myself.
In what human encounter did Rudolf Steiner come close to you?
In conversations with people who knew him, and through the sentence in the epilogue of How to Know Higher Worlds in which he indicates his personal willingness to talk.
For which questions in life is anthroposophy particularly important to you?
It was the question of evil, of the madness that made the Holocaust possible, that brought me to anthroposophy.
What thought would you like to add to anthroposophy?
For me, anthroposophy is self-knowledge—in other words, a process that is open to development.
How has anthroposophy changed your life?
It is the center of my personal and professional work.
If anthroposophy were a mythical creature—what would it look like?
Like a complete human being!
More michaela.gloeckler@goetheanum.ch
Translation Charles Cross
Image Michaela Glöckler. Photo: Heike Sommer
