Photochemical Degradation of Pharmaceutics Experiment

Photochemical Degradation of Pharmaceutics Experiment Experimental Methodology Experimental methodology executed for accomplishment of a project is one of the most important parts of study, deciding the ultimate outcomes of the study. For the present study It aimed at metal doped MCM-41 for the removal of pharmaceutics by then degradation under UV irradiation. The present investigation was therefore designed to avoid discrepancies as much as possible, and to maximize the outcomes. The photochemical degradation of pharmaceutics has become an important index in ecological environment safety evaluation of drugs. To elucidate the photodegradation profiles of drugs in the environment, many investigators have focused on solution photolysis in organic solvents or in a dilute aqueous solution. The present study was based on photo degradation of two commonly used pharmaceutics i.e., salts of diclofenac and atorvastatin in different solvents. Another perspective of the present study was to determine the metal dopped mesoporous silicates materials as catalyst for the photo degradation of pharmaceutics under UV radiations, sunlight and in absence of light. The details of the experimental methodology adopted are spelled out as under: 3.1 The glassware/ volumetric Apparatus The proper and appropriately cleaned and calibrated glassware and volumetric apparatus is necessary for accurate and precise analytical measurements. Thus, high quality pyrex glass-ware was used during the course of experiment. This apparatus was given through wash with detergent solution, diluted HNO3 and finally with distilled water. All the glassware used was dried at 100oC in an electric oven before use. All the apparatus like beakers, measuring flasks, pippets and graduated cylinders were calibrated prior to use. 3.2 The Reagents Synthesis of mesoporous silica, metal dopping on synthesized mesoporous material and degradation studies required various reagents. In addition to other parameters, the success of experimental methodology also depended on their purity and quality. So in order to ensure quality analytical grade chemicals which were purchased from Uni-chem (China), E.Merk (Germany), Riedel-deHaen (China) and Sigma Aldrich were used. Sodium silicate, cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB), H2SO4,(NH4)2 Ce(NO3)6, Cu(NO3)2.3H2O and copper acetate were obtained from sigma Aldrich with a crtified purity of 99.9%. In order to avoid any photo degradation, all the reagents were kept in dark. 3.3 Equipments/ instruments used a. The following equipments were used for the successful completion of the present study. Magnetic stirrer/ Hot plate Oven Shaker Muffle furnace UV-irradiator pH meter b Instrument Used UV- Visible Spectrophotometer The spectro photometric measurements were performed on a UV–visible double-beam spectrophotometer (U-2800). It operates on the principle of measurement of the intensity of light after passing through a sample (I) and comparing it to the intensity of light before it passes through the sample (Io). The ratio (I/I0 ) is called the transmittance, and is usually expressed as a percentage (%T). The absorbance, A is calculated by the following equation: A= log (%T/100) The basic compartment of a spectrophotometer include; light source, sample holder, a diffraction grating or monochromator to separate the different wavelengths of light, and a detector. The radiation source is often a tungsten filament (300-2500nm) and a deuterium arc lamp, which is continuous over the ultraviolet region (190-400nm). More recently, light emitting diodes (LED) and xenon arc lamps for visible wave length have also been incorporated. The detector is typically a photodiode or CCD (charge couple device detector to enhance the uv spectrophotometer performance). Photodiodes present with monochromators filter the light so that only light of single wavelength reaches the detector. Diffraction gratings with CCDs collect light of different wavelength on different pixels. 1og10Io/I= Æ lc Æ = greek letter, epsilon l= length of solution the light passese through(cm) c = concentration of solution (mol dm-3) The expression 1og10Io/I is known as the absorbance of the solution and is measured by the spectrometer. For the present study the UV spectrophotometer was used for determining the degradation of different pharmaceutical products under different conditions. For this purpose the absorbance of diclofenac sodium was recorded at a wavelength of 276 nm and that of atorvastatin was recorded at wavelength of 246 nm. c Bruker alpha ATR spectrophotometer The Platinum ATR is a single reflection diamond ATR sampling module that is designed to significantly ease analysis. The ergonomic one finger clamp mechanism simplifies the sample positioning. The robust diamond crystal allows analyze nearly all kind of liquid and solid samples. For the present study the IR analysis of MCM-41, Cu/MCM-41 and Ce/MCM-41 was c SDT-Q600 Thermo Gravimetric Analyser The TA Instruments SDT-Q600 Simultaneous TGA / DSC provides simultaneous measurement of weight change (TGA) and true differential heat flow (DSC) on the same sample from ambient to 1,500  °C. It features a field-proven horizontal dual beam design with automatic beam growth compensation, and the ability to analyze two TGA samples simultaneously. For the present study the thermogravimetric analysis of mesoporous silicate was: 3.2 Analytical Methodology 3.2.1 Preparation of mesoporous silica For the preparation of mesoporous silica the method of Taron et.al was used. [i] In this method the sodium silicate was used as a source of silica and cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) used as a surfactant. Briefly, a 15.75g part of sodium silicate was dissolved in 45.75g of DDW and stirred for 15 minutes at room temperature in a poly propylene container (A). A 13.535g of CTAB was separately dissolved in 200 ml of doubly distilled water at room temperature to prepare an aqueous solution of CTAB (B). To a stirred solution of precursor (A), the template solution (B) was added drop wise. After the completion of addition, the solution was further stirred for about 1h. Subsequently the pH of the contents was maintained at 10.5 by using 1:1 H2SO4, (6.7ml) which yielded a gel that was further stirred for about 45 minutes. The polypropylene container was then sealed and allowed to age for twenty four hours at room temperature without stirring. The gel thus obtained was filtered, washed with doubly distilled water to get rids of ions present as impurities and dried in an electric oven at 120oC. Thus dried product was allowed to calcine at a heating rate of 3oC/min for 6 hours while maintaining a maximum temperature of 550oC. The product obtained after calcinations was mesoporous silica MCM-41, that was used for further experiments. 3.2.2 Metal impregnation of mesoporous silica a) Preparation of CeO2/MCM-41 Li et.al method was adopted for the synthesis of MCM-41/CeO2.[ii] This is based on grinding of precursors. In this method, 0.6402 g of (NH4)2Ce(NO3)6 and 0.3g of synthesized MCM-41 were placed in a mortar and ground significantly at room temperature conditions. The obtained solid was calcined at a heating rate of 5oC/min until the maximum temperature obtained 550  °C in air for 3 to 4 h to remove the surfactant molecules[iii] b) Preparation of copper supported mesoporous silica (Cu/MCM-41) The copper was loaded on the mesoporous support material through wet impregnation of silica. 2g of silica was stirred in 0.025M of 20mL copper acetate for 24 hours at room temperature. The copper impregnated silica was washed with distilled water to remove free copper and acetate ions and then dried at 70oC for 12h. The copper impregnated silica was calcined at 600oC for 4 h to get silica supported copper sample (Cu-MS).[iv] c) Preparation of Cu-dopped MCM-41 with different percentages: The MCM-41 mesoporous powder material after drying at 120oC over night was impregnated with solutions of different concentrations separately under continuous stirring for 12 h at room temperature, and then they were dried at 100oC. The obtained materials were calcined in air from room temperature to 150oC at 5oC/min and held at 150oC for 1 h, and then heated from 150oC to 250oC at the rate of 5oC/min and held at 250oC for 1 h, at last heated from 250oC to 330oC at 5oC/min and held at 330oC for 2 h. By using this procedure, samples containing 5, 10 and 15 wt% Cu-MCM-41 was prepared. [v] 3.2.3 Degradation studies Preparation of Pharmaceutics Standards Pharmaceutics Stock Solution Preparation A primary standard solution of pharmaceutics with concentration 1000 ppm was prepared by dissolving 0.1 g of pharmaceutics in 100 mL of solvent. The solution was kept in refrigerator at 4oC prior to use. Pharmaceutics Spiking Solution Preparation The intermediate standard solutions of pharmaceutics were prepared by diluting 0.5, 0.4. 0.3, 0.2 and 0.1mL of 1000ppm of stock solution upto 10mL of solvent to prepare 50, 40, 30, 20 and 10 ppm of standards. Effect of light Effect of time Effect of metal Effect of metal loading levels Effect of pH REFERENCES: [i] H. W. Lee , H. J. Cho , J.H. Yim , J. M. Kim , J.K. Jeon , J. M.Sohn , K.S. Yoo , S.S. Kim , Y.K. Park , Removal of Cu(II)-ion over amine-functionalized mesoporous silica materials, Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry (17) 504–509(2011) [ii] H. R.Pouretedal, M.Ahmadi, Synthesis, characterization, and photocatalytic activity of MCM-41 and MCM-48 impregnated with CeO2 nanoparticles, journal of International Nano Letters, 2:10(2012) [iii] (Li, Y, Yan, B, Functionalized mesoporous SBA-15 with CeF3: Eu3+ nanoparticle by three different methods: synthesis, characterization, and photoluminescence. Nanoscal. Res. Lett. 5, 701–708 (2010). [iv] Manish dixit, Manis mishra, P.A.Joshi, D.O.Shah, â€Å"Study on the catalytic properties of silica supported copper catalysts†, journal of procedia engineering, 51, 467-472(2013). [v] Ye Wan, Chao Chen, Weiming Xiao, Lijuan Jian, Ning Zhang, â€Å"Ni/MIL-120: An efficient metal–organic framework catalyst for hydrogenation of benzene to cyclohexane† , Microporous and Mesoporous Materials 17, 1 9–13(2013).

General Knowledge

http://www. rsarchive. org/Books/ SUPERSENSIBLE KNOWLEDGE: Its Secrecy in the Past and Publication in our Time THERE are two experiences whence the soul may gain an understanding for the mode of knowledge to which the supersensible worlds will open out. The one originates in the science of Nature; the other, in the Mystical experience whereby the untrained ordinary consciousness contrives to penetrate into the supersensible domain.Both confront the soul of man with barriers of knowledge — barriers he cannot cross till he can open for himself the portals which by their very essence Natural Science, and ordinary Mysticism too, must hold fast closed. Natural Science leads inevitably to certain conceptions about reality, which are like a stone wall to the deeper forces of the soul; and yet, this Science itself is powerless to remove them. He who fails to feel the impact, has not yet called to life the deeper needs of knowledge in his soul.He may then come to believe that it is imp ossible in any case for Man to attain any other than the natural-scientific form of knowledge. There is, however, a definite experience in Self-knowledge whereby one weans oneself of this belief. This experience consists in the insight that the whole of Natural Science would be dissolved into thin air if we attempted to fathom the above-named conceptions with the methods of Natural Science itself.If the conceptions of Natural Science are to remain spread out before the soul, these limiting conceptions must be left within the field of consciousness intact, without attempting to approach them with a deeper insight. There are many of them; here I will only mention two of the most familiar:  Matter  and  Force. Recent developments in scientific theory may or may not be replacing these particular conceptions; the fact remains that Natural Science must invariably lead to some conception or another of this kind, impenetrable to its own methods of knowledge.To the experience of soul, of which I am here speaking, these limiting conceptions appear like a reflecting surface which the human soul must place before it; while Natural Science itself is like the picture, made manifest with the mirror's help. Any attempt to treat the limiting conceptions themselves by ordinary scientific means is, as it were, to smash the mirror, and with the mirror broken, Natural Science itself dissolves away. Moreover, this experience reveals the emptiness of all talk about ‘Things-in-themselves,’ f whatsoever kind, behind the phenomena of Nature. He who seeks for such Things-in-themselves is like a man who longs to break the looking-glass, hoping to see what there is behind the reflecting surface to cause his image to appear. It goes without saying that the validity of such an experience of soul cannot be ‘proved,’ in the ordinary sense of the word, with the habitual thoughts of presentday Natural Science. For the point will be, what kind of an inner experien ce does the process of the ‘proof’ call forth in us; and this must needs transcend the abstract proof.With inner experience in this sense, we must apprehend the question: How is it that the soul is forced to confront these barriers of knowledge in order to have before it the phenomena of Nature? Mature self-knowledge brings us an answer to this question. We then perceive which of the forces of man's soul partakes in the erection of these barriers to knowledge. It is none other than the force of soul which makes man capable, within the world of sense, of unfolding  Love  out of his inner being.The faculty of Love is somehow rooted in the human organisation; and the very thing which gives to man the power of love — of sympathy and antipathy with his environment of sense, — takes away from his cognition of the things and processes of Nature the possibility to make transparent such pillars of Reality as ‘Matter’ and ‘Force. ’ To t he man who can experience himself in true self-knowledge, on the one hand in the act of knowing Nature, and on the other hand in the unfolding of Love, this peculiar property of the human organisation becomes straightway apparent.We must, however, beware of misinterpreting this perception by lapsing again into a way of thought which, within Natural Science itself, is no doubt inevitable. Thus it would be a misconstruction to assume, that an insight into the true essence of the things and processes of Nature is withheld from man because he lacks the organisation for such insight. The opposite is the case. Nature becomes sense-perceptible to man through the very fact that his being is capable of Love. For a being incapable of Love within the field of sense, the whole human picture of Nature would dissolve away.It is not Nature who on account of his organisation reveals only her external aspect. No; it is man, who, by that force of his organisation which makes him in another direction capable of Love, is placed in a position to erect before his soul images and forms of Reality whereby Nature reveals herself to him. Through the experience above-described the fact emerges, that the scientific frontiers of knowledge depend on the whole way in which man, as a sense-endowed being, is placed within this world of physical reality. His vision of Nature is of a kind, appropriate to a being who is capable of Love.He would have to tear the faculty of Love out of his inner life if he wished no longer to be faced with limits in his perception of Nature. But in so doing he would destroy the very force whereby Nature is made manifest to him. The real object of his quest for knowledge is not, by the same methods which he applies in his outlook upon Nature, to remove the limitations of that outlook. No, it is something altogether different, and once this has been perceived, man will no longer try to penetrate into a supersensible world through the kind of knowledge which is effec tive in Natural Science.Rather will he tell himself, that to unveil the supersensible domain an altogether different activity of knowledge must be evolved than that which he applies to the science of Nature. Many people, more or less consciously aware of the above experience of soul, turn away from Natural Science when it is a question of opening the supersensible domain, and seek to penetrate into the latter by methods which are commonly called Mystical. They think that what is veiled to outwardly directed vision may be revealed by plunging into the depths of one's own being.But a mature self-knowledge reveals in the inner life as well a frontier of knowledge. In the field of the senses the faculty of Love erects, as it were, an impenetrable background whereat Nature is reflected; in the inner life of man the power ofMemory  erects a like background. The same force of soul, which makes the human being capable of Memory, prevents his penetrating, in his inner being, down to that e xperience which would enable him to meet — along this inward path — the supersensible reality for which he seeks.Invariably, along this path, he reaches only to that force of soul which recalls to him in Memory the experiences he has undergone through his bodily nature in the past. He never penetrates into the region where with his own supersensible being he is rooted in a supersensible world. For those who fail to see this, mystical pursuits will give rise to the worst of illusions. For in the course of life, the human being receives into his inner life untold experiences, of which in the receiving he is not fully conscious. But the Memory retains what is thus half-consciously or subconsciously experienced.Long afterwards it frequently emerges into consciousness — in moods, in shades of feeling and the like, if not in clear conceptions. Nay more, it often undergoes a change, and comes to consciousness in quite a different form from that in which it was experien ced originally. A man may then believe himself confronted by a supersensible reality arising from the inner being of the soul, whereas, in fact, it is but an outer experience transformed — an experience called forth originally by the world of sense — which comes before his mental vision.He alone is preserved from such illusions, who recognises that even on a mystic path man cannot penetrate into the supersensible domain so long as he applies methods of knowledge dependent on the bodily nature which is rooted in the world of sense. Even as our picture of Nature depends for its existence on the faculty of Love, so does the immediate consciousness of the human Self depend upon the power of Memory. The same force of the soul, endowing man in the physical world with the Self-consciousness that is bound to the bodily nature, stands in the way to obstruct his inner union with the supersensible world.Thus, even that which is often considered Mysticism provides no way into the supersensible realms of existence. For him who would penetrate with full conscious clarity of understanding into the supersensible domain, the two experiences above described are, however, preparatory stages. Through them he recognises that man is shut off from the supersensible world by the very thing which places him, as a self-conscious being, in the midst of Nature. Now one might easily conclude from this, that man must altogether forego the effort to gain knowledge of the Supersensible.Nor can it be denied that many who are loath to face the painful issue, abstain from working their way through to a clear perception of the two experiences. Cherishing a certain dimness of perception on these matters, they either give themselves up to the belief that the limitations of Natural Science may be transcended by some intellectual and philosophic exercise; or else they devote themselves to Mysticism in the ordinary sense, avoiding the full enlightenment as to the nature of Self-consciou sness and Memory which would reveal its insufficiency.But to one who has undergone them and reached a certain clarity withal, these very experiences will open out the possibility and prospect of true supersensible knowledge. For in the course of them he finds that even in the ordinary action of human consciousness there are forces holding sway within the soul, which are not bound to the physical organisation; forces which are in no way subject to the conditions whereon the faculties of Love and Memory within this physical organisation depend. One of these forces reveals itself in  Thought.True, it remains unnoticed in the ordinary conscious life; indeed there are even many philosophers who deny it. But the denial is due to an imperfect self-observation. There is something at work in Thought which does not come into it from the faculty of Memory. It is something that vouches to us for the correctness of a present thought, not when a former thought emerging from the memory sustains it, but when the correctness of the present thought isexperienced directly. This experience escapes the every-day consciousness, because man completely spends the force in question for his life of thought-filled perception.In Perception permeated by Thought this force is at work. But man, perceiving, imagines that the perception alone is vouching for the correctness of what he apprehends by an activity of soul where Thought  and  Perception in reality always flow together. And when he lives in Thought alone, abstracted from perceptions, it is but an activity of Thought which finds its supports in Memory. In this abstracted Thought the physical organism is cooperative. For the every-day consciousness, an activity of Thought unsubjected to the bodily organism is only present while man is in the act of Sense-perception.Sense-perception itself depends upon the organism. But the thinking activity, contained in and co-operating with it, is a purely supersensible element in which the b odily organism has no share. In it the human soul rises out of the bodily organism. As soon as man becomes distinctly, separately conscious of this Thinking in the act of Perception, he knows by direct experience that he has himself as a living soul, quite independently of the bodily nature. This is man's first experience of himself as a supersensible soul-being, arising out of an evolved self-knowledge. The same experience is there unconsciously in every act of perception.We need only sharpen our selfobservation so as to Observe the fact: in the act of Perception a supersensible element reveals itself. Once it is thus revealed, this first, faint suggestion of an experience of the soul within the Supersensible can be evolved, as follows: In living, meditative practice, man unfolds a Thinking wherein two activities of the soul flow together, namely that which lives in the ordinary consciousness in Sense-perception, and that which is active in ordinary Thought. The meditative life thu s becomes an intensified activity of Thought, receiving into itself the force that is otherwise spent in Perception.Our Thinking in itself must grow so strong, that it works with the same vivid quality which is otherwise only there in Sense-perception. Without perception by the senses we must call to life a Thinking which, unsupported by memories of the past, experiences in the immediate present a content of its own, such as we otherwise only can derive from Sense-perception. From the Thinking that co-operates in perception, this meditative action of the soul derives its free and conscious quality, its inherent certainty that it receives no visionary content raying into the soul from unconscious organic regions.A visionary life of whatsoever kind is the very antithesis of what is here intended. By self-observation we must become thoroughly and clearly familiar with the condition of soul in which we are in the act of perception through any one of the senses. In this state of soul, fu lly aware that the content of our ideation does not arise out of the activity of the bodily organism, we must learn to experience ideas which are called forth in consciousness without external perceptions, just as are those of which we are conscious in ordinary life when engaged in reflective thought, abstracted from the enter world. As to the right ways of developing this meditative practice, detailed indications are given in the book‘Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and its Attainment’  and in several of my other writings. ) In evolving the meditative life above-described, the human soul rises to the conscious feeling perception of itself, as of a supersensible Being independent of the bodily organisation. This is man's first experience of himself as a supersensible Being; and it leads on to a second stage in supersensible self-knowledge.At the former stage he can only be aware that he  is  a supersensible Being; at the second he feels this Being filled with real content, even as the ‘I’ of ordinary waking life is felt by means of the bodily organisation. It is of the utmost importance to realise that the transition from the one stage to the other takes place quite independently of any co-operation from outside the soul's domain — namely from the mere organic life. If we experienced the transition, in relation to our own bodily nature, any differently from the process of drawing a logical conclusion for example, it would be a visionary experience, not what is intended here.The process here intended differs from the act of drawing logical conclusions, not in respect of its relationship to the bodily nature, but in quite another regard; namely in the consciousness that a supersensible, purely spiritual content is entering the feeling and perception of the Self. The kind of meditative life hitherto described gives rise to the supersensible self-consciousness. But this self-consciousness would be left without any supersensibl e environment if the above form of meditation were unaccompanied by another. We come to an understanding of this latter kind by turning our self-observation to the activity of the  Will.In every-day life the activity of the Will is consciously directed to external actions. There is, however, another concomitant expression of the Will to which the human being pays little conscious attention. It is the activity of Will which carries him from one stage of development to another in the course of life. For not only is he filled with different contents of soul day after day; his soul-life itself, on each succeeding day, has evolved out of his soul-life of the day before. The driving force in this evolving process is the Will, which in this field of its activity remains for the most part unconscious.Mature self-knowledge can, however, raise this Will, with all its peculiar quality, into the conscious life. When this is done, man comes to the perception of a life of Will which has absolut ely nothing to do with any processes of a sense-perceptible external world, but is directed solely to the inner evolution of the soul — independent of this world. Once it is known to him, he learns by degrees to enter into the living essence of this Will, just as in the former kind of meditative life he entered into the fusion of the soul's experiences of Thinking and Perception.And the conscious experience in this element of Will expands into the experience of a supersensible external world. Evolved in the way above described, and transplanted now into this element of Will, the supersensible self-consciousness finds itself in a supersensible environment, filled with spiritual Beings and events. While the supersensible Thinking leads to a self-consciousness independent of the power of Memory which is bound to the bodily nature, the supersensible Willing comes to life in such a way as to be permeated through and through by a spiritualised faculty of Love.It is this faculty of Love which enables the supersensible self-consciousness of man to perceive and grasp the supersensible external world. Thus the power of supersensible knowledge is established by a self-consciousness which eliminates the ordinary Memory and lives in the intuitive perception of the spiritual world through the power of Love made spiritual. Only by realising this essence of the supersensible faculty of knowledge, does one become able to understand the real meaning of man's knowledge of Nature. In effect, the knowledge of Nature is inherently connected with what is being evolved in man within this physical world of sense.It is in this world that man incorporates, into his spiritual Being, Self-consciousness and the faculty of Love. Once he has instilled these two into his nature, he can carry them with him into the super sensible world. In supersensible perception, the ordinary power of Memory is eliminated. Its place is taken by an immediate vision of the past — a vision for whi ch the past appears as we look backward in spiritual observation, just as for sense-perception the things we pass by as we walk along appear when we turn round to look behind us.Again the ordinary faculty of Love is bound to the physical organism. In conscious supersensible experience, its place is taken by a power of Love made spiritual, which is to say, a power of perception. It may already be seen, from the above description, that supersensible experience takes place in a mood of soul which must be held apart, in consciousness, from that of ordinary Perception, Thinking, Feeling and Willing.The two ways of looking out upon the world must be kept apart by the deliberate control of man himself, just as in another sphere the waking consciousness is kept apart from the dream life. He who lets play the picture-complexes of his dreams into his waking life becomes a listless and fantastic fellow, abstracted from realities. He, on the other hand, who holds to the belief that the essence of causal relationships experienced in waking life can be extended into the life of dreams, endows the dream-pictures with an imagined reality which will make it impossible for him to experience their real nature.So with the mode of thought which governs our outlook upon Nature, or of inner experience which determines ordinary Mysticism: — he who lets them play into his supersensible experience, will not behold the supersensible, but weave himself in figments of the mind, which, far from bringing him nearer to it, will cut him off from the higher world he seeks. A man who will not hold his experience in the supersensible apart from his experience in the world of the physical senses, will mar the fresh and unembarrassed outlook upon Nature which is the true basis for a healthy sojourn in this earthly life.Moreover, he will permeate with the force of spiritual perception the faculty of Love that is connected with the bodily nature, thus tending to bring it into a deceptive rela tionship with the physical experience. All that the human being experiences and achieves within the field of sense, receives its true illumination — an illumination which the deepest needs of the soul require — through the science of things that are only to be experienced supersensibly. Yet must the latter be held separate in consciousness from the experience in the world of sense.It must illumine our knowledge of Nature, our ethical and social life; yet so, that the illumination always proceeds from a sphere of experience apart. Mediately, through the attunement of the human soul, the Supersensible must indeed shed its light upon the Sensible. For if it did not do so, the latter would be relegated to darkness of thought, chaotic wilfulness of instinct and desire. Many human beings, well knowing this relationship which has to be maintained in the soul between the experience of the supersensible and that of the world of sense, hold that the supersensible knowledge must on no account be given full publicity.It should remain, so they consider, the secret knowledge of a few, who have attained by strict self-discipline the power to establish and maintain the true relationship. Such guardians of supersensible knowledge base their opinion on the very true assertion that a man who is in any way inadequately prepared for the higher knowledge will feel an irresistible impulsion to mingle the Supersensible with the Sensible in life; and that he will inevitably thus call forth, both in himself and others, all the ill effects which we have here characterised as the result of such confusion.On the other hand — believing as they do, and with good reason, that man's outlook upon Nature must not be left to grope in utter darkness, nor his life to spend itself in blind forces of instinct and desire, — they have founded self-contained and closed Societies, or Occult Schools, within which human beings properly prepared are guided stage by stage to supe rsensible discovery. Of such it then becomes the task to pour the fruits of their knowledge into life, without, however, exposing the knowledge itself to publicity.In past epochs of human evolution this idea was undoubtedly justified. For the propensity above described, leading to the misuse of supersensible knowledge, was then the only thing to be considered, and against it there stood no other circumstance to call for publication of the higher knowledge. It might at most be contended that the superiority of those initiated into the higher knowledge gave into their hands a mighty power to rule over those who had no such knowledge.None the less, an enlightened reading of the course of History will convince us that such conflux of power into the hands of a few, fitted by self-discipline to wield it, was indeed necessary. In present time, however — meaning ‘present’ in the wider sense — the evolution of mankind has reached a point whenceforward it becomes no t only impossible but harmful to prolong the former custom. The irresistible impulsion to misuse the higher knowledge is now opposed by other factors, making the — at any rate partial — publication of such knowledge a matter of necessity, and calculated also to remove the ill effects of the above tendency.Our knowledge of Nature has assumed a form wherein it beats perpetually, in a destructive way, against its own barriers and limitations. In many branches of Science, the laws and generalisations in which man finds himself obliged to clothe certain of the facts of Nature, are in themselves of such a kind as to call his attention to his own supersensible powers. The latter press forward into the conscious life of the soul. In former ages, the knowledge of Nature which was generally accessible had no such effect.Through Natural Science, however, in its present form — expanding as it is in ever widening circles — mankind would be led astray in either of two directions, if a publication of supersensible knowledge were not now to take place. Either the possibility of a supersensible world-outlook would be repudiated altogether and with growing vehemence; and this would presently result in an artificial repression of supersensible faculties which the time is actually calling forth.Such repression would make it more and more impossible for man to see his own Being in a true light. Emptiness, chaos and dissatisfaction of the inner life, instability of soul, perversity of will; and, in the sequel, even physical degeneration and illhealth would be the outcome. Or else the supersensible faculties-uncontrolled by conscious knowledge of these things-would break out in a wild tangle of obtuse, unconscious, undirected forces of cognition, and the life of knowledge would degenerate in a chaotic mass of nebulous conceptions.This would be to create a world of scientific phantoms, which, like a curtain, would obscure the true supersensible world from the spiritual eye of man. For either of these aberrations, a proper publication of supersensible knowledge is the only remedy. As to the impulse to abuse such knowledge in the way above described, it can be counteracted in our time, as follows: the training of thought which modern Natural Science has involved can be fruitfully employed to clothe in words the truths that point towards the supersensible.Itself, this Science of Nature cannot penetrate into the supersensible world; but it lends the human mind an aptitude for combinations of thought whereby the higher knowledge can be so expressed that the irresistible impulsion to misuse it need not arise. The thought-combinations of the Nature-knowledge of former times were more pictorial, less inclined to the domain of pure Thought. Supersensible perceptions, clothed in them, stirred up — without his being conscious of it — those very instincts in the human being which tend towards misuse.This being said, it cannot on th e other hand be emphasised too strongly that he who gives out supersensible knowledge in our time will the better fulfil his responsibilities to mankind the more he contrives to express this knowledge in forms of thought borrowed from the modern Science of Nature. For the receiver of knowledge thus imparted will then have to apply, to the overcoming of certain difficulties of understanding, faculties of soul which would otherwise remain inactive and tend to the above misuse.The popularising of supersensible knowledge, so frequently desired by overzealous and misguided people, should be avoided. The truly earnest seeker does not call for it; it is but the banale, uncultured craving of persons indolent in thought. In the ethical and social life as well, humanity has reached a stage of development which makes it impossible to exclude all knowledge of the supersensible from public life and thought. In former epochs the ethical and social instincts contained within them spiritual guiding forces, inherited from primaeval ages of mankind.Such forces tended instinctively to a community life which answered also to the needs of individual soul. But the inner life of man has grown more conscious than in former epochs. The spiritual instincts have thus been forced into the background. The Will, the impulses of men must now be guided consciously, lest they become vagrant and unstable. That is to say, the individual, by his own insight, must be in a position to illumine the life in the physical world of sense by the knowledge of the supersensible, piritual Being of man. Conceptions formed in the way of natural-scientific knowledge cannot enter effectively into the conscious guiding forces of the ethical and social life. Destined as it is — within its own domain — to bear the most precious fruits, Natural Science will be led into an absolutely fatal error if it be not perceived that the mode of thought which dominates it is quite unfitted to open out an underst anding of, or to give impulses for, the moral and social life of humanity.In the domain of ethical and social life our conception of underlying principles, and the conscious guidance of our action, can only thrive when illumined from the aspect of the Supersensible. Between the rise of a highly evolved Natural Science, and present-day developments in the human life of Will — with all the underlying impulses and instincts — there is indeed a deep, significant connection.The force of knowledge that has gone into our science of Nature, is derived from the former spiritual content of man's impulses and instincts. From the fountain-head of supersensible Realities, the latter must now be supplied with fresh impulsive forces. We are living in an age when supersensible knowledge can no longer remain the secret possession of a few. No, it must become the common property of all, in whom the meaning of life within this age is stirring as a very condition of their soul's existence .In the unconscious depths of the souls of men this need is already working, far more widespread than many people dream. And it will grow, more and more insistently, to the demand that the science of the Supersensible shall be treated on a like footing with the science of Nature. Knowledge of the State Between Death and a New Birth The following thoughts are intended as aphoristic sketches of a domain of knowledge that, in the form in which is it characterised here, is almost entirely rejected by the culture of our time.The aphoristic form has been chosen in order to give some idea of the fundamental character of this field of knowledge, and to show — at least in one direction — the prospects for life which it opens up. The narrow frame of an essay requires one to refer the reader to the literature of the subject for further information. The author is fully aware that precisely this form of presentation may easily be felt as presumptuous by many who, from the well-foun ded habits of thought of the culture of the day, must find what is here brought forward directly pposed to all that is scientific. It may be said in answer to this that the author, in spite of his ‘spiritual-scientific’ orientation, believes that he can agree with every scientist in his high estimation of the spirit and significance of scientific thinking. Only it seems clear to him that one can fully accept Natural Science without being thereby compelled to reject an independent Spiritual Science of the kind described here.A consequence of this relation to Natural Science will, at all events, be to guard true Spiritual Science from that amateurishness which is noticeable in many quarters to-day, and which usually indulges the more presumptuously in phrases about the ‘crude materialism of Natural Science’ the less the speakers are able to judge of the earnestness, rigour and scientific soundness of Natural Knowledge. The writer wished to make these introduc tory remarks because the brevity of the discussions in this article may possibly obscure from the reader his attitude towards these matters.He who speaks to-day of investigating the spiritual world encounters the sceptical objections of those whose habits of thought have been moulded by the outlook of Natural Science. His attention will be drawn to the blessings which this outlook has brought for a healthy development of human life, by destroying the illusions of a learning which professed to follow purely spiritual modes of cognition. Now these sceptical objections can be quite intelligible to the spiritual investigator.Indeed it ought to be perfectly clear to him that any kind of spiritual investigation which finds itself in conflict with established ideas of Natural Science cannot rest on a sure foundation. A spiritual investigator with a feeling for, and an understanding of the earnestness of scientific procedure, and insight into the achievements of Natural Knowledge for human life, will not wish to join the ranks of those who, from the standpoint of their ‘spiritual sight,’ criticise lightly the limitations of scientists, and imagine their own standpoint so much the higher the more every kind of Natural Knowledge is lost for them in unfathomable depths.Natural Science and Spiritual Science could live in harmony if the former could rid itself of the erroneous belief that true spiritual investigation necessarily requires we [human beings] to reject attested knowledge of sensible reality and of the soul-life bound up with this. In this erroneous belief lies the source of innumerable misunderstandings which Spiritual Science has to encounter. Those who believe they stand, in their outlook on life, on the ‘firm ground of Natural Science’ hold that the spiritual investigator is compelled by his point of view to reject their knowledge.But this is not really the case. Genuine spiritual investigation is in full agreement with Natural Sci ence. Thus spiritual investigation is not opposed on account of what it maintains, but for what people believe it could or must maintain. With regard to human soul life the scientific thinker must maintain that the soul activities which reveal themselves as thinking, feeling and willing, ought, for the acquisition of scientific knowledge, to be observed without prejudice in the same way as the phenomena of light or heat in the outer world of Nature.He must reject all ideas about the entity of the soul which do not arise from such unprejudiced observation, and from which all kinds of conclusions are then drawn about the indestructibility of the soul, and its connection with the spiritual world. It is quite understandable that such a thinker begins his study of the facts of soul-life as  Theodor Ziehen  does in the first of his lectures on â€Å"Physiological Psychology. † He says: â€Å"The psychology which I shall put before you, is not that old psychology which attempte d to investigate soul phenomena in a more or less speculative way.This psychology has long been abandoned by those accustomed to think scientifically. † True spiritual investigation need not conflict with the scientific attitude which may he in such an avowal. And yet, among those who take this attitude as a result of their scientific habits of thought, the opinion will be almost universally held to-day that the specific results of spiritual investigation are to be regarded as unscientific.Of course one will not encounter everywhere this rejection, on grounds of principle, of the investigation of spiritual facts; yet when specific results of such investigation are brought forward they will scarcely escape the objection that scientific thinking can do nothing with them. As a consequence of this,one can observe that there has recently grown up a science of the soul, forming its methods of investigation on the pattern of natural-scientific procedure, but unable to find the power to approach those highest questions which our inner need of knowledge must put when we turn our gaze to the fate of the soul.One investigates conscientiously the connection of soul phenomena with bodily processes, one tries to gain ideas on the way presentations associate and dissociate in the soul, how attention acts, how memory functions, what relation exists between thinking, feeling and willing; but for the higher questions of soul-life the words of Franz Brentano remain true.This acute psychologist, though rooted in the mode of thinking of Natural Science, wrote: â€Å"The laws of association of ideas, of the development of convictions and opinions and of the genesis of pleasure and love would be anything but a true compensation for the hopes of a  Plato  or an  Aristotle  of gaining certainty concerning the continued life of our better part after the dissolution of the body. † And if the recent scientific mode of thinking really means â€Å"excluding the questi on of immortality,† this exclusion would have great significance for psychology (see  Note 1).The fact is, that considerations which might tend in the direction of the ‘hopes of a Plato and an Aristotle’ are avoided in recent psychological writings which wish to satisfy the demands of scientific thought. Now the spiritual investigator will not come into conflict with the mode of procedure of recent scientific psychology if he has an understanding of its vital nerve. He will have to admit that this psychology proceeds, in the main, along right lines insofar as the study of the inner experiences of thinking, feeling and willing is concerned.Indeed his path of knowledge leads him to admit that thinking, feeling and willing reveal nothing that could fulfil the ‘hopes of a Plato and an Aristotle’ if these activities are only studied as they are experienced in ordinary human life. But his path of knowledge also shows that in thinking, feeling and willing something lies hidden which does not become conscious in the course of ordinary life, but which can be brought to consciousness through inner soul exercises.In this spiritual entity of the soul, hidden from ordinary consciousness, is revealed what in it is independent of the life of the body; and in this the relations of man to the spiritual world can be studied. To the spiritual investigator it appears just as impossible to fulfil the ‘hopes of a Plato or an Aristotle’ in regard to the existence of the soul independent of bodily life by observing ordinary thinking, feeling and willing, as it is impossible to investigate in water the properties of hydrogen. To learn these one must first extract the hydrogen from the water by an appropriate procedure.So it is also necessary to separate from the everyday life of the soul (which it leads in connection with the body) that entity which is rooted in the spiritual world, if this entity is to be studied. The error which casts b efogging misunderstandings in the way of Spiritual Science lies in the almost general belief that knowledge about the higher questions of soul-life must be gained from a study of such facts of the soul as are already to be found in ordinary life. But no other knowledge results from these facts than that to which research, conducted on what are at present called scientific lines, can lead.On this account Spiritual Science can be no mere heeding of what is immediately present in the life of the soul. It must first lay bare, by inner processes in the life of the soul, the world of facts to be studied. To this end spiritual investigation applies soul processes which are attained in inner experience. Its field of research lies entirely within the inner life of the soul. It cannot make its experiences outwardly visible. Nevertheless they are not on that account less independent of personal caprice than the true results of Natural Science.They have nothing in common with mathematical truth s except that they, too, cannot be proved by outer facts, but are proved for anyone who grasps them in inner perception. Like mathematical truths they can at the most be outwardly symbolised but not represented in their full content, for it is this that proves them. The essential point, which can easily be misunderstood, is, that on the path pursued by spiritual investigation a certain direction is given, by inner initiative, to the experiences of the soul, thereby calling out forces which otherwise remain unconscious as in a kind of soul sleep. The soul exercises which lead to this goal are described in detail in my books â€Å"Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and its Attainment† and â€Å"Occult Science. † It is only intended to indicate here what transpires in the soul when it subjects itself to such exercises). If the soul proceeds in this way it inserts — as it were — its inner life into the domain of spiritual reality. It opens to the spiritual world its organs of perception so formed, as the senses open outwardly to physical reality. One kind of such soul exercises consists in an intensive surrender to the process of thinking.One carries this surrender so far that one acquires the capacity of directing one's attention no longer to the thoughts present in thinking but solely to the activity of thinking itself. Every kind of thought content then disappears from consciousness and the soul experiences herself consciously in the activity of thinking. Thinking then becomes transformed into a subtle inner act of will which is completely illuminated by consciousness. In ordinary thinking, thoughts live; the process indicated  extinguishes the thought in thinking.The experience thus induced is a weaving in an inner activity of will which bears its reality within itself. The point is that the soul, by continued inner experience in this direction, may make itself as familiar with the purely spiritual reality in which it weaves as sense observation is with physical reality. As in the outer world a reality can only be known as such by experiencing it, so, too, in this inner domain. He who objects that what is inwardly real cannot be proved only shows that he has not yet grasped that we become convinced of an outer reality in no other way than by experiencing its existence together with our own.A healthy life has direct experience of the difference between a genuine perception in the outer world and a vision or hallucination; in a similar way a healthily developed soul life can distinguish the spiritual reality it has approached from fantastic imagining; and dreamy reverie. Thinking that has been developed in the manner stated perceives that it has freed itself from the soul force which ordinarily leads to memory. What is experienced in thinking which has become an inwardly experienced ‘will-reality’ cannot be remembered in the direct form in which it presents itself.Thus it differs from what is experien ced in ordinary thinking. What one has thought about an event is incorporated into memory. It can be brought up again in the further course of life. But the ‘will-reality’ here described must be attained anew, if it is to be again experienced in consciousness. I do not mean that this reality cannot be indirectly incorporated into ordinary memory. This must indeed take place if the path of spiritual investigation is to be a healthy one. But what remains in memory is only an idea (Vorstellung) of this reality, just as what one remembers to-day of an experience of yesterday is only an idea (Vorstellung).Concepts, ideas, can be retained in memory: a spiritual reality must be experienced ever anew. By grasping vividly this difference between the cherishing of mere thoughts and a spiritual reality reached by developing the activity of thinking, one comes to experience oneself with this reality outside the physical body. What ordinary thinking must mostly regard as an impossib ility commences; one experiences oneself outside the existence that is connected with the body. Ordinary thinking, regarding this experience ‘outside the body’ only from its own point of view, must at first hold this to be an illusion.Assurance of this experience can, indeed, only be won through the experience itself. And it is precisely through this experience that one understands only too well that those whose habits of thought have been formed by Natural Science cannot, at first, but regard such experiences as fantastic imaginings or dreamy reverie, perhaps as a weaving in illusions or hallucinations. Only he can fully understand what is here brought forward who has come to know that the path of true spiritual investigation releases forces in the soul which lie in a direction precisely opposite to those which induce pathological soul experiences.What the soul develops on the path of spiritual investigation are forces competent to oppose pathological states or to diss ipate these where they tend to occur. No scientific investigation can see through what is visionary — of an hallucinatory nature — when this tries to get in man's way, as directly as true spiritual science, which can only unfold in a direction opposed to the unhealthy experiences mentioned. In that moment when this ‘experience outside the body’ becomes a reality for him the spiritual investigator learns to know how ordinary thinking is bound to the physical processes of the body.He comes to see how thoughts acquired in outer experience necessarily arise in such a way that they can be remembered. This rests on the fact that these thoughts do not merely lead a spiritual life in the soul but share their life with the body. Thus the spiritual investigator comes not to reject but to accept what scientific thought must maintain about the dependence of the life of thought on bodily processes. At first the inner experiences described above present themselves as an xious oppression of the soul. They appear to lead out of the domain of ordinary existence but not into a new reality.One knows, indeed, that one is living in a reality; one feels this reality as one's own spiritual being. One has found one's way out of sense reality, but one has only grasped oneself in a purely spiritual form of existence. A feeling of loneliness resembling fear can overtake the soul — a loneliness to experience oneself in a world, not merely to possess oneself. Yet another feeling arises. One feels one must lose again the acquired spiritual self-experience, if one cannot confront a spiritual environment. The spiritual state into which one thus enters may be roughly compared to what would be experienced if one had to clutch with one's hands n all directions without being able to lay hold of anything. When, however, the path of spiritual investigation is pursued in the right way, the above experiences are, indeed, undergone, but they form only one side of the soul's development. The necessary completion is found in other experiences. As certain impulses given to the soul's experiences lead one to grasp the ‘will-reality’ within thinking, so other directions imparted to the processes of the soul lead to an experience of hidden forces within the activity of the will. (Here also we can only state what takes place in the inner being of man through such soul experiences.The books mentioned give a detailed description of what the soul must undertake in order to reach the indicated goal). In ordinary life the activity of the will is not perceived in the same way as an outer event. Even what is usually called introspection by no means puts one into the position of regarding one's own willing as one regards an outer event of Nature. To achieve this — to be able to confront one's own willing as an observer stands before an outer fact of Nature — intensive soul processes, induced voluntarily, are again necessary.If these are induced in the appropriate way there arises something quite different from this view of one's own willing as of an outer fact. In ordinary perception a presentation (Vorstellung) emerges in the life of the soul and is, in a certain sense, an inner image of the outer fact. But in observing one's own willing this accustomed power of forming presentations fades out. One ceases to form presentations of outer things. In place of this a faculty of forming real images — a real perception — is released from the depths of willing, and breaks through the surface of the will's activity, bringing living spiritual reality with it.At first one's own hidden spiritual entity appears within this spiritual reality. One perceives that one carries a hidden spiritual man within one. This is no thought-picture but a real being — real in a higher sense than the outer bodily man. Now this spiritual man does not present himself like an outer being perceptible to the senses. He does not reveal his characteristic qualities outwardly. He reveals himself through his inner nature by developing an inner activity similar to the processes of consciousness in one's own soul.But, unlike the soul dwelling in man's body, this higher being is not turned towards sensible objects but towards spiritual events — in the first place towards the events of one's own soul-life as unfolded up till now. One really discovers in oneself a second human being who, as a spiritual being, is a conscious observer of one's ordinary soul-life. However fantastic this description of a spiritual man within the bodily may appear, it is nevertheless a sober description of reality for a soul-life appropriately trained. It is as different from anything visionary or of the nature of an illusion as is day from night.Just as a reality partaking of the nature of will is discovered in the transformed thinking, so a consciousness partaking of the nature of being — and weaving in the spiritual — is discovered in the will. And these two prove, for fuller experience, to belong together. In a certain sense they are discovered on paths running in opposite directions, but turn out to be a unity. The feeling of anxiety experienced in the weaving of the ‘will-reality’ ceases when this ‘will-reality,’ born from developed thinking, unites itself with the higher being above described. Through this union man confronts, for the first time, the complete spiritual world.He encounters, not only himself, but beings and events of the spiritual world lying outside himself. In the world into which man has thus entered, perception is an essentially different process from perception in the world of sense. Real beings and events of the spiritual world arise from out of the higher being revealed through developing the will. Through the interplay of these beings and events with the ‘will-reality’ resulting from developed thinking, these beings and e vents are spiritually perceived. What we know as memory in the physical world ceases to have significance for the spiritual world.We see that this soul force uses the physical body as a tool. But another force takes the place of memory in observing the spiritual world. Through this force a past event is not remembered in the form of mental presentations but perceived directly in a fresh experience. It is not like reading a sentence and remembering it later, but like reading and re-reading. The concept of the past acquires a new significance in this domain; the past appears to spiritual perception as present, and we recognise that something belongs to a past time by perceiving, not the passage of time, but the relation of one spiritual being or event to another.The path into the spiritual world is thus traversed by laying bare what is contained in thinking and willing. Now feeling cannot be developed in a similar way by inner initiative of soul. Unlike the case of thinking and willin g, nothing to take the place of what is experienced within the physical world as feeling can be developed in the spiritual world through transforming an inner force. What corresponds to feeling in the spiritual world arises quite of itself as soon as spiritual perception has been acquired in the described way.This experience of feeling, however, bears a different character from that borne by feeling in the physical world. One does not feel in oneself, but in the beings and events which one perceives. One enters into them with one's feeling; one feels their inner being, as in physical life one feels one's own being. We might put it in this way: as in the physical world one is conscious of experiencing objects and events as material, so in the spiritual world one is conscious of experiencing beings and facts through revelations of feeling which come from without like colours or sounds in the physical world.A soul which has attained to the spiritual experience described knows it is in a world from out of which it can observe its own experiences in the physical word — just as physical perception can observe a sensible object. It is united with that spiritual entity which unites itself — at birth (or at conception) — with the physical body derived from one's ancestors; and this spiritual entity persists when this body is laid aside at death. The ‘hopes of a Plato and an Aristotle’ for the science of the soul can only be fulfilled through a perception of this entity.Moreover the perception of repeated earth-lives (between which are lives spent in the purely spiritual world) now becomes a fact inasmuch as man's psychic-spiritual kernel, thus discovered, perceives itself and its own weaving and becoming in the spiritual world. It learns to know its own being as the result of earlier earthlives and spiritual forms of existence lying between them. Within its present earth-life it finds a spiritual germ which must unfold in a future eart h-life after passing through states between death and a new birth.As the plant germ contains the future plant potentially, so there develops, concealed in man, a psychic-spiritual germ. This reveals itself to spiritual perception through its own essence as the foundation of a future earth-life. It would be incorrect so to interpret the spiritual perception of life between death and a new birth as if such perception meant participating beforehand in the experience of the spiritual world entered at physical death.Such perception does not give a complete, disembodied experience of the spiritual world as experienced after death; it is only the  knowledge  of the actual experience that is experienced. While still in one's body one can receive all of the disembodied experience between death and a new birth that is offered by the experiences of the soul described above, that is to say, when the ‘will-reality’ is released from thinking with the help of the consciousness set free from the will.In the spiritual world the feeling element revealing itself from without can first be experienced through entrance into this world. Strange as it may sound, experience in the spiritual world leads one to say: the physical world is present to man in the first place as a complex of outer facts, and man acquires knowledge of it after it has confronted him in this form; the spiritual world, on the other hand, sends knowledge of itself in advance, and the knowledge it kindles in the soul beforehand is the torch which must illumine the spiritual world if this world is to reveal itself as a fact.It is clear to one who knows this through spiritual perception that this light develops during bodily life on earth in the unconscious depths of the soul, and then, after death, illumines the regions of the spiritual world making them experiences of the human soul. During bodily life on earth one can awaken this knowledge of the state between death and a new birth. This knowledg e has an entirely opposite character to that developed for life in the physical world.One perceives through it what the soul will accomplish between death and a new birth, because one has present in spiritual perception the germ of what impels towards this accomplishment. The perception of this germ reveals that a creative connection with the spiritual world commences for the soul after death. It unfolds an activity which is directed towards the future earth life as its goal, whereas in physical perception its activity is directed — although imitatively and not creatively — towards the outer world of sense.Man's  growth(Werden) as a spiritual being connected with the spiritual world lies in the field of vision of the soul between death and a new birth, as the  existence  (Sein) of the sense world lies in the field of view of the bodily man. Active perception of spiritual Becoming (Werden) characterises the conditions between death and a new birth. (It is not the task of this article to give details of these states. Those interested will find them in my books  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Theosophy†Ã‚  and  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Occult Science†).In contrast to experience in the body, spiritual experience is something to which we are completely unaccustomed, inasmuch as the idea of  Being  as acquired in the physical world loses all meaning. The spiritual world has nothing of the nature of  Being. Everything is  Becoming. To enter a spiritual environment is to enter an everlasting Becoming. But in contrast to this restless Becoming in our spiritual environment we have the soul's perception of itself as stationary consciousness within the never-ceasing movement into which it is placed.The awakened spiritual consciousness must accommodate itself to this reversal of inner experience with regard to the consciousness that lives in the body. It can thereby acquire a real knowledge of experience apart from the body. And only such knowledge can embrace the states between death and a new birth. â€Å"  . .  . .   In a certain sense all human beings are ‘specialists’ to-day so far as their souls are concerned. We are struck by this specialised mode of perception when we study the development of Art in humanity.And for this very reason a comprehensive understanding of spiritual life in its totality must again come into existence. True form in Art will arise from this comprehensive understanding of spiritual life   . .  . .  Ã¢â‚¬  RUDOLF STEINER (From  Ways to a New Style in Architecture) We lose the human being from our field of vision if we do not fix the eye of the soul upon his entire nature in all its life-manifestations. We should not speak of man's knowledge, but of the complete man manifesting himself in the act of cognition. In cognition, man uses as an instrument his sense-nerve nature.For feeling, he is served by the rhythm living in the breath and the circulation of the blood. When he wills metabolism b ecomes the physical basis of his existence. But rhythm courses into the physical occurrence within the sense-nerve nature; and metabolism is the material bearer of the life of thought, even in the most abstract thinking, feeling lives and the waves of will pulsate. *| *| *| *| The ancient Oriental entered into his dream-like thinking more from the rhythmic life of feeling than does the man of the present age.The Oriental experienced for this reason more of the rhythmic weaving in his life of thought, while the Westerner experiences more of the logical indications. In ascending to super-sensible vision, the Oriental Yogi interwove conscious breath with conscious thinking, in this way, he laid hold in his breath upon the continuing rhythm of cosmic occurrence. As he breathed, he experienced the world as Self. Upon the rhythmic waves of conscious breath, thought moved through the entire being of man.He experienced how the Divine-Spiritual causes the spirit-filled breath to stream conti nuously into man, and how man thus becomes a living soul. The man of the present age must seek his supersensible knowledge in a different way. He cannot unite his thinking with the breath. Through meditation, he must lift his thinking out of the life of logic to vision. In vision, however, thought weaves in a spirit element or music and picture. It is released from the breath and woven together with the spiritual in the world.The Self is now experienced, not in connection with the breath in the single human being, but in the environing world of spirit. The Eastern man once experienced the world in himself, and in his spiritual life today he has the echo of this. The Western man stands at the beginning of his experience, and is on the way to find himself in the world. If the Western man should wish to become a Yogi, he would have to become a refined egoist, for Nature has already given him the feeling of the Self. which the Oriental had only in a dream-like way.If the Yogi had sought for himself in the world as the Western man must do, he would have led his dream-like thinking into unconscious sleep, and would have been psychically drowned. *| *| *| *| The Eastern man had the spiritual experience as religion, art, and science in complete unity. He made sacrifices to his spiritual-divine Beings. As a gift of grace, there flowed to him from them that which lifted him to the state of a true human being. This was religion. But in the sacrificial ceremony and the sacrificial place there was manifest to him also beauty, through which the Divine-Spiritual lived in art.And out of the beautiful manifestations of the Spirit there flowed science. Toward the West streamed the waves of wisdom that were the beautiful light of the spirit and inspired piety in the artistically inspired man. There religion developed its own being, and only beauty still continued united with wisdom. Heracleitos and Anaxagoras were men wise in the world who thought artistically; Aeschylos and Sop hocles were artists who moulded the wisdom of the world. Later wisdom was given over to thinking; it became knowledge. Art was transferred to its own world.Religion, the source of all, became the heritage of the East; art became the monument of the time when the middle region of the earth held sway; knowledge became the indepen

Nigerias premier and largest indigenous integrated energy services - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 12 Words: 3575 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Energy Industry Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? Section 1 Company Analysis Oando Plc was founded in 1956, and is Nigerias premier and largest indigenous integrated energy services provider, with primary listing on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) and a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange of South Africa. The company currently has a market capitalisation of approximately US $1.3 billion and is in the top ten (by market capitalisation) Nigerian controlled companies quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. (OANDO PLC, 2007-2009) Comprising of 5 major business units, the Oando group is vertically integrated, originating from downstream petroleum products marketing and rapidly expanding to Supply Trading, Gas Power, Exploration Production and Oando Refining. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Nigerias premier and largest indigenous integrated energy services" essay for you Create order All these subsidiaries provide integrated energy services in Nigeria West Africa, with presences in Bermuda the British Virgin Island. Financial Performance This will be analysed using the IFRS  [1]  (International Financial Reporting Standards) figures rather than the NASB  [2]  (Nigerian Accounting Standards Board) for ease of interpretation. Table 1 OANDO PLC: FINANCIAL SUMMARY  2009 2008 2007  US$000 US$000 US$000 Revenue 2,283,557 2,686,544 1,501,794 Gross Profit 241,614 326,105 173,280 Operating profit 152,610 138,057 64,129 Profit before income tax 94,831 90,925 60,692 Profit for the year 75,234 74,579 49,804     Return on net operating assets (RNOA) 9.10% 10.25%  Financial leverage (FLEV) 274.88% 207.12%  Return on equity (ROE) 21.20% 20.74%  Assets turnover 1.72 2.43  Over the past 3 years, Oando group has witnessed a notable performance with an increase in revenue YoY  [3]  . According to reports by financial analysts in May 2010 (Meristem Analysts, 2007), Oandos profit after tax has grown at a CAGR of over 50% on the average. In the recent FY09 results, PAT  [4]  was about 21 %( See Table 1 above). This growth is as a result of expansions in its downstream operations, exploration and production upstream earnings as well as increased income from its gas distribution subsidiary. Although the companys turnover is advancing at a CAGR  [5]  of 35% (VETIVA, 2010), assets turnover decreased from 2.43 in 2008 to 1.72 in 2009. This decline was driven by the 15% reduction in sales from US$2.7 billion in 2008 to US$2.3 billion in 2009 and a 20% increase in average net operating asset. Table 2 This may signify that Oando was not efficient in using its assets to drive revenue in 2009 but Oandos strategy to expand upstream led to huge C APEX  [6]  due to ongoing financing of EP assets  [7]  . Also profit margins have been low due to issues with market price caps in Nigeria  [8]  in downstream marketing which is Oandos largest revenue contributor to date. Another significant financial factor for the company is the increase in financial leverage from 207.12% in 2008 to 274.88% in 2009. This increase was driven by the increase in average net debt and the slight reduction in average book value of equity from US$360m in 2008 to US$355m in 2009. The large debt to equity ratio is attributable to expansion plans and trading activities of Oando in importing refined products to Nigeria. As noted by VETIVA, a capital investment company and a reliable source of companys financial analysis in Nigeria, Oando group uses debt financing to fund its asset acquisitions and utilizes short term facilities such as import finance (VETIVA, 2010) to fund its working capital requirements, leading to the reduction in Return on Ne t Operating Assets and high interest payments. Oando enjoys relatively large Returns on Equity (ROE) as a resultant effect of its high financial leverage. Fin24, South Africas leading and biggest source of business, economics and personal finance news reported Oandos explanation of the groups drop in revenue in 2009 as a result of depreciation of the local currency (naira) to the US dollar by about 26%, the Group revenue reduced by about 15% compared with the corresponding period of 2008. (Fin24, 2009) Capital Cash Flow Growth In an effort to raise capital for further expansions into gas and power (to refinance its acquisition of upstream assets by buying onshore oil blocks from multinational oil majors: Shell, Chevron, AGIP and some West African Oil Companies to boost production  [9]  ), Oando has raised about $142 Million this year through the capital market in Nigeria and South Africa. This will also reduce its financial leverage and provide operating capital. In a recent newspaper publication (OSO, 2010), Oando has plans to raise about $250 million by selling up to 49% stake. Cash flow has been on the rise in 2009 due to one of the increasing production of the OML125 asset. Non-Financial Performance Market Position The market position of Oando is based on the companys strengths and weaknesses and how it will use these factors to align explore opportunities or mitigates risks posed by threats in the sector. Strengths: Oando, integrated into almost all the segments in the oil and gas value chain, has a very strong brand perception in the industry and country as a whole. The company has moved fast to become number one in the downstream sector in Nigeria, with above industry average earnings and turnover growth. With strong competences in downstream marketing distribution, it is pioneering the development of Sub-Sahara Africas largest gas pipeline network Independent power plants in strategic locations in Nigeria. Oando leveraged its capabilities in oilfield services to integrate backward into upstream EP. The companys entry into Refinery makes Oando poised to exploit opportunities presented by the new laws requiring indigenous companies obtain contracts and win bids so long as they are capable, in order to promote the Nigerian content the oil industry. Weaknesses: Oandos major weakness is its high gearing as a result of its capital intensive operations, high costs of interests and extended payback periods in some of its subsidiaries due to high sunk costs. Production and Reserves Growth Oando operates about four oil blocks in different stages of development. In 2008, it acquired a 49.8% stake in OML 125 OML 134 from Shell Nigeria Exploration Production Company (SNEPCo). These deep offshore blocks, co-owned by Italian oil giant, AGIP were won in an international bidding process in competition with BP, two Chinese national oil companies and the Korean National Oil Company, making Oando the first indigenous oil and gas company in Nigeria to have a stake in a producing deep offshore asset. (RIGZONE, 2008). Although data for proved/unproven reserves has been difficult to find via available resources, analysts research has shown that Oando is fast adding new assets with quick production yields and hopefully, this will help sustain their production and reserves growth. Costs Oando in the last 3 years has pursued its future strategy to be the no 1 Integrated Energy Solutions Provider in Africa and this has led to high capital expenditures as well as operating costs. Their FDA  [10]  costs in 2008 in the EP segment was above US$625.7 million  [11]  and the cost of capital (interests) attributed to the observed increase in its financial gearing. Costs in the downstream and distribution segments will decrease as soon as the refinery goes into operation. Section 2 Sector Analysis According to the Reference case projection from the International Energy Outlook 2010, (International Mining, 2010), world marketed energy consumption is set to grow 49% between 2007 and 2035, driven by economic growth in the developing nations of the world. This demand has led to the sectors strong drive to create and manage the supply and as such has defined the energy terrain with the following trends: Increasing difficulty in developing and improving the efficiency of traditional fossil fuels The dynamism of the roles of government and other institutions such as regulatory bodies and stakeholder expansion Reducing the GHG emissions from the burning of fossil fuels Exploring alternative sources that can be integrated into, leveraging current assets and competences These trends have affected the business strategies of oil and gas companies and their entire value chain. It has impacted governments and new regulations have to be put in place especially due the risk p osed current and future activities of the sector to our environment. Trend in the Oil and Gas Sector in Nigeria Looking at the sector within the Nigerian context, the upstream oil industry is the most important sector in the Nigerian economy and the VETIVA research publication of January 2010 revealed that the sector attracted Foreign Direct Investments and earnings and had led to the enormous growth in government revenue and GDP as shown in the Figure below: The Federal Government intends to boost production levels to about 4 million barrels per day, while also increasing the countrys oil reserves which currently stands at about 36.2 billion. Looking more closely at the factors affecting Oando with respect to the trends, the oil and gas sector is characterized by three types of ownership structure: National Oil Companies, International Oil Companies (IOCs) and the Local Oil Companies. Oando is indigenous and privately owned and in competition with IOCs and other local oil and gas companies. In the distribution and Supply segment where Oando has its largest turnover, the company leads all others in terms of market share as stated in the 2008 NNPC Annual Statistical Bulettin, where , Oando has the largest market share(Oando had 17.87%, Total 15.84%, African Petroleum 14.44%, Conoil 7.52%, NNPC Retail 5.13%, Mobil 4.58% and Texaco 4.47%.) (Placeholder11) Most of the LOCs listed above are mid-sized firms focused on the petroleum products marketing segment of the industry. Oando, in line with its growth strategy has delved into upstream business as well as refining, thereby competing with IOCs like Mobil, Agip, Total Chevron(Texaco) in the integrated energy business from exploration(onshore, offshore and deep offshore) to products marketing. With the bulk of Oandos operations being in the downstream petroleum marketing and supply and distribution segments, it faces the challenge of its products being commoditized and price dominated in the future hence to enhance its earnings; it is highly committed to building a 360,000 capacity refinery in Lagos. (Meristem A nalysts, 2007) Opportunities: High Demand for Petroleum Products: Nigeria is in the emerging market phase with a lot of petroleum consumption and demand driven by businesses individuals. According to the EIA, in 2009, total oil production in  Nigeria  was slightly over 2.2 million bbl/d, making it the largest oil producer in  Africa. (US EIA, 2010) This may be attributed to GDP growths leading to automobiles affordability and the poor power supply in the country, characterized by consumers generating power (electricity) in homes and offices across the country. The current and forecasted high demand for petroleum products in Africa has necessitated a need to increase power production to homes and businesses. The BMI Report forecasts that between 2010 and 2019, there will be an increase in Nigerian oil and gas liquids production of 55.3%, with volumes rising steadily to 3.40mn b/d by the end of the 10-year forecast period. Oil consumption is set to increase by 82.9%, with growth slowing to an assumed 7.5% per annum towards the end of the period and the country using 708,000b/d by 2019. Gas production is expected to rise to 126bcm by the end of the period. With demand rising by 205.3% between 2010 and 2019, export potential should increase to 65bcm, largely in the form of LNG. (Business Monitor International, 2010). Source: Nigeria Oil Gas Report from BMI (Business Monitor International, 2010) 2001 2009 2014 African Oil Use 2.98mn b/d 3.60mn b/d 4.14mn b/d Africa Oil Export 4.86mn b/d 6.08mn b/d 7.66mn b/d Africa Oil Production 7.84mn b/d 9.69mn b/d 11.79mn b/d Abundant Oil and Gas Reserves: The oil and gas reserves are huge and this gives latitude for production growth, especially when the reserves-to-production ratios are high. Nigerian Fuel Market Deregulation: The Nigerian government plans to implement a full deregulation policy in the petroleum products market which will eliminate the price caps on the products. This policy will encourage companies to invest in the refining segment and reduce the importation of refined products into the country. Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) The PIB was recently signed into law (April 2010) and is aimed at reforming the oil and gas sector. Its aim is to turn the National Oil Company and its subsidiaries into profit making ventures and local content participation in the sector, especially important to Oando is the  privatization of downstream  activities, the release of unused assets previously owned by IOCs and the planned increase of natural gas production to fuel power stations in the country. Threats Niger Delta Violence  [12] One of the most recent threats has been the resistance and violence in the Niger Delta area in demands for regional resource sovereignty which hampered exploration and production operations, lowering production output since 2007. Pipeline vandalism is another threat to the oil and gas sector in Nigeria as it sabotages production efforts by the companies (bunkering activities). Lack of Adequate Infrastructure Nigeria is rated as the worlds 10th largest exporter of petroleum products  [13]  , yet, due to poor refinery facilities as well as transportation in Nigeria has led to a substantial amount of gas flaring and heavy reliance on road transport, increasing carbon footprint. In spite of the high reserves to production rates, poor distribution facilities have left Nigeria importing almost all its fuel. This is a key reason why vertical integration in the sector is popular as companies have to develop their own infrastructure to support their businesses and reliance on others within the value chain may cause unwanted variability. Another limiting factor in the sector is the problem of ports congestion which delays imported products time to market. Delayed Subsidy Payments The delays in the subsidy payments by the government pose a big threat to increased investment and negatively impact the cash flow of the companies in the sector. This is further aggravated by the delay in passing the fuel market deregulation bill. Low Carbon Future The effect of the future low carbon economy will be enormous on the oil and gas companies in emerging markets as they will be jumping on the train too late. This implies that Fossil fuel production in Nigeria may increase at a time when export demand for it will decrease. The US is the largest importer of crude from Nigeria, accounting for 40% of (the 80% total Production volumes) total crude exported out of Nigeria. With the drive to lower GHG emissions and increasing utilization of alternative energy sources, export demand will drop by over 50% in the next 10-20 years. The discovery of unconventional gas which may likely be cheaper poses a threat to the companys gas operations. Source: (EIA, 2010) Volatile Oil Prices The sudden increase in oil prices translates to lower margins for operators in the downstream sector due to importation of refined products which is tied to crude oil prices. Oando incurs high costs due to exchange rates and instability of Nigerian Naira. In summary, the business strategy of Oando which is aimed at serving the West African Market reduces its dependence on the global trends in the short run as these do not align with the local trends peculiar to Oandos region of operation. Section 3 Scenario Analysis Oando Business Strategy Oandos key strategy is diversification into upstream oil and gas production while maintain leadership position in the downstream sector in West Africa. Most of its recent strategy implementation has been geared towards actualizing this goal. Oando is currently investing in infrastructure to gain competitive advantage in the industry by moving the company into a price setting position in the market. The commencement of the pipe-laying project across the country is to strategically equip the company for domestic gas distribution nationwide, making it the number one energy supplier of choice to homes and businesses. The Institute for the Analysis of Global Security has highlighted that due the USAs search for sources of crude oil and the move to reduce the worlds dependence on the reserves in the Middle East(After 9/11), oil production in Africa, especially Nigeria has boomed. (Placeholder1) But as Nigerias oil reserves have been predicted to peak within a decade from now (oil rese rves will decline by 2020), Oandos EP operations need to be focused on delivering energy through traditional crude quickly and expanding its operation into alternative energy sources or renewable in order to boost the efficiency of their integrated operations providing energy and becoming the leader in market share in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. The Shell 2050 Scenarios Former Shell CEO, Jeroen Van Der Veer predicted that Energy demand will double between now and 2050, based on forecasts that world population is set to grow by 50%, thereby causing increased CO2 emissions. CO2 concentrations need to be limited to 450ppm (parts per million) The decisions that will be made in the next few years by OG companies will shape the future of the planet. Business managers in the energy sector need to consider the future of energy, alternatives that may abound and align their strategies to avoid risks and exploit opportunities inherent in the scenarios for their companies. The 2050 scenarios present two outlooks for future trends in energy supply and demand, and the climate change impacts of each. . These scenarios are described briefly below (Taken from the Shell Energy Scenarios to 2050 report): Scramble: Where policymakers pay little attention to more efficient energy use until supplies are tight and GHG emissions are not seriously addressed until th ere are major climate shocks. Blueprints Where growing local actions begin to address the challenges of economic development, energy security and environmental pollution. A price is applied to a critical mass of emissions giving a huge stimulus to the development of clean energy technologies, such as carbon dioxide capture and storage, and energy efficiency measures with the aim of lowering carbon dioxide emissions. Scenario 1 SCRAMBLE With 40% of the US crude oil imports from Nigeria alone, it brings Nigerias Oil and gas market to the forefront as a major global supplier. As earlier mentioned, the USA is pitting against the Middle East oil producers by encouraging African countries to increase their production of crude oil for export purposes to maintain existing lifestyles. There is little collaboration seen between nations as each is trying to maximize their energy supplies. In Nigeria, we see this scramble in the recent activities in the sector with the Chinese OG firms competing rigorously for oil blocks and refineries in Nigeria. As China must import about 60% of its oil needs, this scramble reflects that the interest and inter-country trades are aimed to ensure continued supplies and economic prosperity, rather than building a sustainable global future. Oandos business strategy in partnering with Russias Gazprom  [14]  to develop oil and gas assets and infrastructure in Nigeria and some parts of Wes t African, though seen as a profitable strategic alliance by Wale Tinubu (CEO, Oando), smacks of Russias deliberate intent to monopolize the European gas market by sabotaging EU chances of getting oil via the Trans-Saharan gas pipeline from Nigeria within the next decade. (IHS Global Insight, 2008) The Nigerian governments involvement in the deal is also to promote FDI and grow its GDP. Chinas interest in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria and its fierce bid for about 90% of the government offered oil blocks in 2008, along with the resistance from American and European IOCs in the country show that lowering climate stresses are not the priority for these investments, rather the 5 to 10 year strategy of these international trade relationships is to ensure the security of energy imports. Oando is currently investing in upstream oil projects and the focus for the future is addressing increasing demand and supply pressures. Online research on Oandos strategy has not produced any low carbon initiatives support which allows me to suggest that climate change is low on the companys focus priorities in the near future and this can be said to of Nigeria. Some other reasons why Oando may not be exploring alternative energy production such as renewable may be due to lack of infrastructure to carry out these innovations, the countrys relatively low CO2 emissions w.r.t. USA and China may give companies in Nigeria a false air of not contributing to the risk of the GHG emissions, the cost associated with addressing climate change. Scenario 2 BLUEPRINTS One of the trends in Nigeria that will spur a move towards energy efficiency is the deregulation of the downstream market. The increase in price of petroleum products will bring about a change in the use of these products, towards efficiency and finding alternative sources. Oandos diversification strategy necessitates that it pursues new oil and gas discoveries as well as drilling technologies to tap into conventional and unconventional reserves in Nigeria and West Africa. Oandos strategy for the future (15 30 Years) should be to collaborate with the IOCs and government, leverage their technical competence, and boost production of both oil and gas. With the move towards lowering the demand for crude by the developed nations, Oando has invested in infrastructure that will enable the company meet local demands adequately. The gas distribution network is also a good foundation for Oandos long term strategy, contributing to the success of Nigerias plan in developing and monet ising the countrys Liquefied Natural Gas plans. The advent of alternative energy sources in other countries around the world may bring about its importation into Africa and lead to demand reduction for fossil fuels. Oando has to leverage its gas station networks to provide charging bays for electric vehicles across West Africa. Proactive strategic alliances with international companies skilled in carbon capture and storage technology to enhance oil recovery post its assets oil peak. In an article on The Future of CCS in Nigeria , West Africa, and particularly Nigeria, represents the highest potential for CO2-EOR and CO2 storage in oil and gas fields. (ANASTASSIA, FREDRICK, MALCOLM, 2009) Oando can enter into an agreement under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)  [15]  via the Nigerian government with government of other nations interested in Nigerias reserves, pioneering the promotion of low carbon emissions in the country. This is another source of competitive advanta ge and will ensure business sustainability.

A Growth Of Human Rights Violations - 1437 Words

In Northern Uganda there has been a growth of Human Rights violations for the last thirty years due to power of Joseph Kony and the LRA. The Lord s Resistance Army started when Joseph Kony took over the Holy Spirit Movement, and founded the LRA. The LRA is an army focused on overthrowing the Ugandan government and replacing it with a government rule using the 10 commandments. The LRA has committed constant Human Rights on the citizens of Uganda over the last thirty years. The LRA has kidnapped over 25 thousand children (boys and girls) and forced them to join the LRA. The LRA has been known to ruthlessly destroy villages, to kill the old, and kidnap the young, only to later force the kidnappees to murder or torture their parents and†¦show more content†¦After Lakwena’s exile, Joseph Kony began to lead the movement. Joseph Kony claimed to be Lakwena’s cousin(War Child, Linton House). Without a clear objective Joseph Kony rebranded the movement from the Holy Spir it Movement to the Lord’s Resistance Army(LRA). Joseph Kony intended to take over the Ugandan Government and run the country based on the Christian ten Commandments. Kony’s movement quickly lost support, so he started abducting children to increase the popularity and dominance, thus starting the Human Rights Violations. The Children once kidnapped would be turned into soldiers (boys) or sex slaves(girls). Joseph Kony made it a point of his invasions to violate the basic human rights of the kidnapees as well as their families. The attacks were often without a purpose, only to assert dominance over the rest of the population(War Child, Linton House). The Soldiers would masquerade as military soldiers, or other trusted figures, or wait until the majority of villagers were in one gathered space, and launch their ruthless attacks. The Soldiers would kidnap those who they thought could be useful, and kill those who did not have a significant up side. Joseph Kony’s rep eatedly violated human rights, because of his blatant lack of respect or boundaries when pertaining to others(War Child, Linton House). The â€Å"raids† on innocent villages often ended with unnecessary and