"Cosmic Nutrition" : A Cornerstone of Health
Earthly Nutrition, Cosmic Nutrition
and External Nursing Therapies
In the course of his life, Rudolf Steiner gave many statements and indications concerning nutrition, some of which are important to the practice of nursing. In working with doctors and nurses, Steiner often suggested “external applications” of natural substances for patients. The variety of substances and illnesses for which they were recommended is considerable. Such treatments in some cases coincide with traditional and folk remedies, but the explanations Steiner gave for them are anything but traditional. For a nurse, the effects of these therapies can be a source of wonder and gratitude. Steiner’s accompanying concepts can also be a stimulus to lifelong study and observation.
A central concept underlying external nursing therapies is “cosmic nutrition,” as differentiated from “earthly nutrition,” the food we eat. For the sake of comparison, it’s perhaps best first to look at Rudolf Steiner’s comments on earthly nutrition.
Steiner described earthly nutrition as a process in which foods taken by mouth are not only broken down into the finest particles, but even briefly destroyed altogether—carried out of earthly existence into the spiritual world, “into the realm of the warmth ether.” At this level, forces of the spiritual world permeate and transform what has been carried over, so that when it again materializes it is no longer food substance, but human substance, suitable for fashioning and individualization into our various tissues and organs.
The quality, types, amounts, and also the rhythms of our food intake can either support our individual constitutional needs, or serve to harm them. Whether our foods are grown with chemical fertilizers, or by organic / biodynamic methods also makes a difference in the forces of life they lend us. Synthetic nutrients, additives, preservatives, dyes—not to mention genetically engineered foods or pesticide residues— may simply not be recognizable to the spiritual forces in our digestion. Their effect will be to weaken the constitution and/or act as foreign bodies. Our capacities to break down and carry substances out of physical existence, and to work further on the substances that re-emerge, are also important factors. If the forces needed for this work are weak or out of balance, various constitutional problems can arise.
By cosmic nutrition, Rudolf Steiner referred to substances and forces that approach and penetrate the human being constantly from all directions of the surrounding environment. Examples of these include warmth, sunlight, air, sounds and visual impressions— also traces of mineral and metallic substances that enter the earth’s atmosphere from cosmic space. These cosmic influences enter via the skin, via respiration, and, Rudolf Steiner indicates, also via our sense organs. Here again, questions can arise concerning the kinds, quality and sources of this “nutrition.” Whether or not we find time to take a walk in Nature daily, the amount of time we spend watching television, the beauty or lack of it in our homes and surroundings, can truly make a difference. The chemical or natural content of our cosmetics, detergents, and skin care products, the synthetic or natural content of our clothing and bedclothes, may also either contribute to our health in the course of years, or gradually wear it away.
Rudolf Steiner indicated that the task of our earthly nutrition is to give us the substances we need to build up particularly our brain and nervous system; and the forces we need for will activity, and the functioning of our metabolic organs. Our cosmic nutrition, in contrast, provides us substances for our metabolic organs, muscles and blood; and forces particularly for thought activity.
For nurses, these concepts open a world of possibilities for therapy. Nursing therapies in anthroposophical medicine include compresses, inhalations, baths, and applications with the hands, using various plant, mineral and animal-derived substances. Differentiated experiences of temperature, touch and rhythm, accompanying sounds, smells and visual impressions, and the active, attentive caring of the nurse all contribute to this new realm of healing work. Both doctors and patients are coming to see these measures as a crucial, effective adjunct to medications by injection or mouth.
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Earthly Nutrition, Cosmic Nutrition
and External Nursing Therapies
In the course of his life, Rudolf Steiner gave many statements and indications concerning nutrition, some of which are important to the practice of nursing. In working with doctors and nurses, Steiner often suggested “external applications” of natural substances for patients. The variety of substances and illnesses for which they were recommended is considerable. Such treatments in some cases coincide with traditional and folk remedies, but the explanations Steiner gave for them are anything but traditional. For a nurse, the effects of these therapies can be a source of wonder and gratitude. Steiner’s accompanying concepts can also be a stimulus to lifelong study and observation.
A central concept underlying external nursing therapies is “cosmic nutrition,” as differentiated from “earthly nutrition,” the food we eat. For the sake of comparison, it’s perhaps best first to look at Rudolf Steiner’s comments on earthly nutrition.
Steiner described earthly nutrition as a process in which foods taken by mouth are not only broken down into the finest particles, but even briefly destroyed altogether—carried out of earthly existence into the spiritual world, “into the realm of the warmth ether.” At this level, forces of the spiritual world permeate and transform what has been carried over, so that when it again materializes it is no longer food substance, but human substance, suitable for fashioning and individualization into our various tissues and organs.
The quality, types, amounts, and also the rhythms of our food intake can either support our individual constitutional needs, or serve to harm them. Whether our foods are grown with chemical fertilizers, or by organic / biodynamic methods also makes a difference in the forces of life they lend us. Synthetic nutrients, additives, preservatives, dyes—not to mention genetically engineered foods or pesticide residues— may simply not be recognizable to the spiritual forces in our digestion. Their effect will be to weaken the constitution and/or act as foreign bodies. Our capacities to break down and carry substances out of physical existence, and to work further on the substances that re-emerge, are also important factors. If the forces needed for this work are weak or out of balance, various constitutional problems can arise.
By cosmic nutrition, Rudolf Steiner referred to substances and forces that approach and penetrate the human being constantly from all directions of the surrounding environment. Examples of these include warmth, sunlight, air, sounds and visual impressions— also traces of mineral and metallic substances that enter the earth’s atmosphere from cosmic space. These cosmic influences enter via the skin, via respiration, and, Rudolf Steiner indicates, also via our sense organs. Here again, questions can arise concerning the kinds, quality and sources of this “nutrition.” Whether or not we find time to take a walk in Nature daily, the amount of time we spend watching television, the beauty or lack of it in our homes and surroundings, can truly make a difference. The chemical or natural content of our cosmetics, detergents, and skin care products, the synthetic or natural content of our clothing and bedclothes, may also either contribute to our health in the course of years, or gradually wear it away.
Rudolf Steiner indicated that the task of our earthly nutrition is to give us the substances we need to build up particularly our brain and nervous system; and the forces we need for will activity, and the functioning of our metabolic organs. Our cosmic nutrition, in contrast, provides us substances for our metabolic organs, muscles and blood; and forces particularly for thought activity.
For nurses, these concepts open a world of possibilities for therapy. Nursing therapies in anthroposophical medicine include compresses, inhalations, baths, and applications with the hands, using various plant, mineral and animal-derived substances. Differentiated experiences of temperature, touch and rhythm, accompanying sounds, smells and visual impressions, and the active, attentive caring of the nurse all contribute to this new realm of healing work. Both doctors and patients are coming to see these measures as a crucial, effective adjunct to medications by injection or mouth.
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More articles on cosmic nutrition
Enhancing Cosmic Nutrition in Everyday Life
Cosmic Nutrition and Children
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Enhancing Cosmic Nutrition in Everyday Life
Cosmic Nutrition and Children
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