Anatomy
To understand the review, you must understand what actually "dies." Steiner taught that a human being is composed of four distinct parts: the Physical body (probably don't have to explain that), the Etheric body (our life force and memory), the Astral body (our feelings and desires), and the Ego (or "I").
During our lifetime, these four parts are tightly interlocked. The physical body acts as a kind of anchor, holding the other spiritual parts down. At the moment of death, this anchor stops working; The physical body is left behind, but the Etheric, Astral, and "I", rise together.
You do not lose consciousness; rather, you lose the filter of the physical brain. You are now a being of pure spirit and memory, unencumbered by gravity or biology.
The Panorama
Immediately following this separation, the dead experience a phenomenon often described in near-death experiences: "my life flashed before my eyes." In Anthroposophy, this is sometimes called the life review.
It's not a "movie" that plays scene by scene, it's a kind of big panorama. It is spatial, not temporal. Imagine standing on a mountain peak and looking down at a valley; you can see the beginning of the winding river and its end at the same time.
In this state, you perceive your entire life, every event, every interaction, every hidden moment, laid out in a single, grand picture. It is vast, detailed, and incredibly clear. Crucially, this viewing is entirely objective. You do not yet feel the pain you caused others or the joy of your successes (that comes in a later stage). For now, you simply observe the content of your life with a cool, detached clarity.
Why It Happens
Steiner explains that this phenomenon is mechanical, not random. During life, the Etheric body (which holds memories) is compressed into the physical body. It’s like a sponge squeezed tight in a fist; the water (memories) is held inside.
The physical body essentially "dampens" our spiritual perception so we can focus on living. If we saw our whole memory stream constantly, we couldn't function in the here and now.
When we die, the physical body releases its grip. The Etheric body, suddenly freed from that pressure, instantly expands into the cosmos. As it expands, all the memories that were tightly packed inside are released at once. The "life review" is simply the Etheric body returning to its natural, expansive state.
Duration
This profound vision does not last forever. Steiner was very precise about its duration: it lasts approximately three to three-and-a-half days.
This time limit exists because the Etheric body is effectively a battery. During life, it is "recharged" by sleep. Once separated from the physical body, it can no longer recharge. It holds its form only as long as a human being could theoretically stay awake; roughly 72 hours.
After the energy of the Etheric body is exhausted, the memory tableau begins to fade. The cohesive force dissolves, and the Etheric body disperses and fades into the universe, much like a physical body returns to the earth.
The Second Separation
At the end of these three days, a second death occurs. The soul (Astral body and Ego) must now step out of the dissolving Etheric body to move on to the next stage of the spiritual journey.
We do not leave empty-handed, however. While the detailed parts of our memories dissolve with the Etheric body, the Ego retains an "extract" or essence of the life lived. We carry forward the spiritual fruits of our experiences; what we learned and how we grew, leaving the shell behind.
For further reading on this topic, see below;
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