According to Steiner's view of history, in earlier periods people were capable of direct spiritual perceptions, or clairvoyance, but not yet of rational thought; more recently, rationality has been developed at the cost of spiritual perception, leading to the alienation characteristic of modernity.
Steiner proposed that humanity now has the task of synthesizing the rational and contemplative/spiritual components of cognition, whereby spiritual perception would be awakened through intensifying thinking.
[1] He considered this relevant not only to personal development, but as a foundation for advanced scientific research.
According to the spiritual philosophy Steiner founded, anthroposophy, moral development:[3][page needed][4][5] Steiner described three stages of meditative progress: imaginative cognition, inspiration and intuition.
[6] Steiner stresses[8] that in order for a spiritual training to bear "healthy fruits," a person would have to attend to the following:[4][5][7][9] Steiner suggested that certain exercises should accompany all meditational practices as a measure of protection against possible negative influences caused by the meditation in the life of the individual.