I

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Seal of the fourth mystery drama by Rudolf Steiner.

I (Middle High German: ich, Old High German: ih, Gothic: ik, GermanIch, Greekἐγώ / Latinego; from idg. *eĝom, eĝ[ō]; Hebrewאָנֹ֖כִי ânochî, anokhi or אֲנִי âni[1] ) is in Modern English the personal pronoun with which every person can only refer to himself. In the deeper spiritual sense, however, it does not merely denote the earthly embodied personality, but the divine spark (Hebrewנִיצוֹץ Nitzotz) in man, the spiritual core of man's being, his actual I-being. In the Indian theosophical tradition it is approximately called kama-manas, by which, however, the lower self, the ego, hardened in egoism, is more understood. With reference to Solomon, the I is also called Itiel (Hebrewיתיאל "God is with me[2]; possessor of power") according to Rudolf Steiner (Lit.:GA 116, p. 83). Man's higher self, his spirit self, is the astral body consciously transformed by the I.

Awareness of one's own I is promoted in particular by the fourth subsidiary exercise, positivity. Rudolf Steiner shows a meditative way to experience the I-body or thought body in (Lit.:GA 16, p. 55ff).

Literature

References to the work of Rudolf Steiner follow Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works (CW or GA), Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach/Switzerland, unless otherwise stated.
Email: verlag@steinerverlag.com URL: www.steinerverlag.com.
Index to the Complete Works of Rudolf Steiner - Aelzina Books
A complete list by Volume Number and a full list of known English translations you may also find at Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works
Rudolf Steiner Archive - The largest online collection of Rudolf Steiner's books, lectures and articles in English.
Rudolf Steiner Audio - Recorded and Read by Dale Brunsvold
steinerbooks.org - Anthroposophic Press Inc. (USA)
Rudolf Steiner Handbook - Christian Karl's proven standard work for orientation in Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works for free download as PDF.

References

  1. אֲנִי âni probably corresponds largely to the lower ego and אָנֹ֖כִי, ânokî' to the divine I. However, as in most ancient languages, in Hebrews the I is often not written on its own, but added to the prefix or suffix for grammatical marking of the 1st person to the verb. âni is the origin of the prefix Aleph, which is used to indicate that I am the doer in it; the suffix ni, also derived from âni, indicates that I am the passive object of the action, such as in the Psalms referring to Christ's word on the cross: Hebrewאֵלִ֣י אֵ֭לִי לָמָ֣ה עֲזַבְתָּ֑נִי LUT Greekἐλώι ἐλώι λεμὰ σαβαχθανί , "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani" (My God, my God, why have thou forsaken me) (Mathew 27:46Template:Bibleverse with invalid book). Also significant is the Aleph prefix in the name of God that Moses hears from the burning bush: אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה , "ähejäh 'aschär 'ähejäh" (I am the I-am) (Exodus 3:14); הְיֶ֖ה , "hejäh denotes being par excellence and becomes I-ness through the Aleph prefix." [1]