In this text, we gain insight into the intellectual work behind the spiritual-scientific research that underlies the content of this book. The insight provided by Dr. Ben-Aharon reveals something we generally haven't learned from Rudolf Steiner himself—namely, the personal spiritual experiences he had while investigating and developing an understanding of spiritual laws, processes, and beings. Rudolf Steiner gave us his personal biography up to 1907 and also the results of his spiritual-scientific research, but he almost never speaks directly about his own personal experiences that concern only him (one of the important exceptions being Steiner's descriptions of the difficulties in his unfinished manuscript). Anthroposophy – A Fragment(to find a usable language for grasping sensory experiences). Ben-Aharon shows us elements of his research method and the organic and moral way in which communication with the spiritual world unfolds. These research elements, and the underlying moods and moral insights, contribute important new knowledge to spiritual science research (as direct experience, not as speculation or a combination of quotations as in academic studies). Visionary ecstasy as an end in itself, talk of occult powers, symbolic transformations of the physical body, and/or authoritarian instructions from spiritual leaders play no part whatsoever in this story. Nor does the psychological dimension, with its spectacular, mythological, and heroic elements found in science fiction, religious literature, occultism, New Age, Theosophy, and even some branches of so-called anthroposophical secondary literature, appear in this unique, modest, and straightforward account of the maturation of a spiritual enigma and a spiritual infant through its stages of life. Instead, it shows how independent, clear-thinking, and creative human research unfolds with sober patience while waiting for the tiny, freely given signal from the spiritual world that an opening and a conversation are possible. Only then can a legitimate entry into the essence of the matter be attempted. He describes the spring, summer, autumn, and winter aspects of the entire research process:

"The first phase is the youthful part of spiritual research, motivated by the heart's forces, the sense of wonder, devotion, and love that underlie the search for the human and cosmic mysteries of existence, life, and consciousness. ... The second phase begins as a period of intensifying crisis, in which a major problem emerges and matures, long resisting all efforts at a conscious solution. ... This core is, spiritually speaking, strongly guarded by its own essential spiritual nature. ... The more I am willing to let go of my personal desire for a solution, and the more I relinquish the problem, the more I begin to sense a complementary gesture from the spiritual world revealing and offering itself as a gift. ... The third phase follows, ... which is more of an 'involutive' phase of spiritual gestation and embryonic soul life, in which the spiritual researcher regains their spiritual activity, but now in the opposite direction to that of the spring of research." …The fourth phase is then the actual physical birth, the physical expression, be it through the spoken word, artistic creation, social initiative, or, as in our case here, in the form of a physically written book.” (pp. 6–7)

The foundation of his work lies in the new, liberating experience of encountering and working with the etheric Christ manifestation in our time, and in how spiritual research unfolds naturally within a living Anthroposophy, as the three seeds planted by the etheric Christ in a person's body, soul, and spirit grow and develop freely. These seeds and this path are now also available to every child, woman, and man who seeks this path. Dr. Ben-Aharon shows us how spiritual research must develop slowly over the years and decades, in harmony with the rhythmic, cosmic activity of Michael and Christ, and not at a pace desired by the researcher himself.

In this book, he has gifted us with a "Christmas story" about the culmination of his research and development of Michaelic Yoga, depicting a crucial encounter between soul and spirit and the creative, hindering, maturing, twisting, and expanding inner and outer growth and development of a spiritual enigma. This story inspiringly demonstrates how the new Michaelic mediation between the gods and humanity can manifest in a coherent, balanced, and human way. Ben-Aharon writes:

“…the true spiritual development, the problematization, fertilization and conception, pregnancy and birth of a concrete spiritual research project in physical life [is] the result of a long and complex creative process [...]. Before a book is written down, a research problem must mature and be open to genuine spiritual fertilization and pure supersensible growth and transformation in the spiritual world itself. Then it undergoes a process that can be compared to the process of conception, pregnancy, and birth of a human being in the physical world. While the finished book or work of art is, on the one hand, a personal creation, the genesis of which is naturally nourished and shaped by the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of our individual human soul, it is, on the other hand, also an independent spiritual entity that has a life of its own. And this constant creative interplay and the reciprocal relationships between the human soul and the spiritual worlds is the living essence of this entire life cycle of creation and creativity.” (p. 7)

In this text, which describes the birth story of the spirit of a book, Ben-Aharon shows how precise methods of conscious and creative development, intensified by minor and major crises and setbacks, are followed by courageous, calm, and creative resignation while waiting for the true destiny of the book's spiritual essence to be born in a cooperative and conscious development of one's own conditions and the essence of spirit within the soul and expressed in earthly words. In particular, he describes how the difficult problem of consciously "breathing in" the perceptions of color, smell, sound, and all the senses into the body unfolded during the exploration and development of the new Michaelic or Cognitive Yoga, but was also blocked and hindered over the years. He then recounts how, during the Holy Nights of 2012/13, the spiritual world finally opened a door to the solution of this problem, allowing him to pass through the lower gateways to ignite the spiritualization of the body. He discusses how to prepare for the opening of the door to the spirit, in other words, how to prepare for the demanding transitional area of the threshold, where balance, self-awareness, and moral strength are required to a very high degree. One must cultivate a fully present state of spiritual alertness in order to await the spiritual sign coming from the other side, indicating that the moment of crossing the threshold or the revelation of the solution to a problem in its spiritual essence is near. Ben-Aharon writes:

"This specific state of alert and awakened consciousness requires that in such moments my feelings of devotion support an inner, awake listening, without a

certain expectation or a particular desire. I also know that if I can listen deeply enough and maintain that listening continuously for long enough, I will soon hear the inviting word or tone, and if I follow its steps, I will be able to cross over safely and peacefully and experience the lucid awakening of supersensible knowledge in tranquility and inner balance and harmony. Then I can be safely called to the other side." (p. 20)

The text describes the intimate experiences Ben-Aharon had in the spiritual world during this Christmas event, as he crossed the threshold and, in the presence of his principal spiritual teacher and their collaborators, learned the first steps to contribute in a human way to the creation of a "spiritual mountain." Because Ben-Aharon had worked so diligently with his teacher's works on Earth, he could now hear the spiritual essence of his voice in the spiritual world, resounding with all-encompassing love, inspiration, and infinite creative power. But despite all this, it was all the gentler, more human, and more uplifting for the spiritual student. Through this, Ben-Aharon was able to understand the universal significance of Rudolf Steiner's work, Anthroposophy, and the Foundation Stone, and their spiritual-creative sources and potentials as new seeds for future humanity, and the relationship of these elements to the celestial star of the New Jerusalem. In a sense, this spiritual experience gave birth to a spiritual child within Ben-Aharon. He then describes the process of "pregnancy" with the essence of the book (Cognitive or Michaelic Yoga). He writes:

“…my maternal womb [is] a ‘shared womb’ [...], because the developing spiritual research project is just as much outside my soul in the outer spiritual world as it is within it… I am aware that this developing being lives, moves, and kicks both within my inner life and in the spiritual world, where it is carried and protected by a community of creative beings… The two processes, in my own soul and in the spiritual world, are mutually interactive and supportive. Thus, it is particularly evident that each of them also regards the research project as its own baby, and moreover, they all experience themselves together as a community, as the maternal and paternal guardians and benefactors of its earthly becoming.” (p. 30)

He describes how to nurture the growing baby of the book by creatively returning to the spiritual source of all life, to the spiritual, individualized gift of the I AM Christ, who now lives in the earth with us and as a future seed in every human being. Having nourished the child through meditation and collaboration with his spiritual community, Ben-Aharon begins to feel the condensation of spiritual forces within the body itself, and he follows the persistent urge, or "birth pangs," to write down sketches and outlines in physical words. He makes it clear that one cannot remember an imaginative experience in the ordinary sense, but that conscious spiritual-scientific research must continually return to the Source in new ways, together with the community working from the side of the spiritual world. These ongoing experiences from the spiritual event must therefore be consciously de-spiritualized, condensed, and carefully translated into ordinary consciousness, into words and ideas. Finally, when the book is actually born into words and paper, the content of Cognitive or Michaelic Yoga reveals its full essence and meaning as follows:

“This breathing rhythm between the physical and the spiritual world, the mutual fertilization and the shared conception of research, in their entirety become the expression of the Michael impulse in the present Michael Age. This impulse must find a way to transform the spiritual human being in his entirety and also to penetrate the physical body itself. By working in the manner described above and seeking Michael’s help in overcoming the lower physical threshold, one may find the strongest support; one knows that the path to Christ, both in his etheric revelation and in the depths of human bodies, can be traversed through truly active spiritual-scientific work.” (p. 37)

I find this book to be a true gem and a most worthy addition to anthroposophical spiritual-scientific literature. Its fabric is vibrant and healthy. It is of the highest caliber and offers keys and insights not found in other books by Dr. Ben-Aharon. This newly written book continually assists me in my own spiritual-scientific research in a multitude of fields. The book is truly inspiring because it shows us that Rudolf Steiner's impulse lives on, grows directly from within him, and also connects with his faithful, loving, and courageous students, and that every person can shape their own free process of inquiry in order to consciously enter the spiritual world, step by step—ever further into the future of this new age of light, love, and the life of Christ.

Scott Elliot Hicks, author of The Resurrection of Thinking and Earthly, Transcendental, & Spiritual Logic.