Just as the day cycles, the year cycles and the terrestrial life cycles have their four principles of the seasons or four seasons, so the spiral cycles of evolution each have their four principles of the seasons or four seasons. As we are now familiar with the four principles of the seasons and their specific natures, it is not difficult to see where terrestrial mankind is situated at the moment in this great cosmic spiral cycle. We must then observe which of the four seasons or principles of the seasons mankind's way of being harmonises best with. What then is the greatest and most generally applicable feature of terrestrial mankind's way of being? The greatest and most generally applicable feature of terrestrial mankind's way of being is the killing principle. People slaughter and murder animals by the million, and believe that eating meat or animal products is a vital necessity. They also wage wars, country against country and man against man. They murder and kill, mutilate and cause unnatural death. It is not very difficult to see that mankind lives in the principle of winter, which is the principle or domain of darkness and coldness. But after winter the spring comes. Is there then nothing that might indicate that mankind is heading towards a cosmic spring? Yes, absolutely, there certainly is! There are all the many initiatives to bring about peace and the abolition of war, and to work to secure human rights, together with religious missionary work, the Red Cross movement, all humane organisations, hospitals and infirmaries, help to the developing countries, care of the sick and the aged, the beginnings of the protection of animals and so on. Everything that works in a humane direction is thus cosmic sunshine and will lead mankind towards true peace, joy and happiness, which are the "spring" of the cosmic spiral cycle. After this spring mankind will pass into the cosmic "summer" of the spiral cycle. This epoch in the spiral cycle is the very highest state of life experience. Here beings live in a culmination of cosmic consciousness, in intuition and bliss; then, after an enormous span of time, they pass into the "autumn zone" of the spiral cycle. Here the memories of the spiral cycle that is now drawing to a close begin to fade. And, with increasing cosmic unconsciousness, the being slips towards the "zone of winter" of a new spiral cycle. We will return to this in the symbol explanation. But we have now seen that all experience of life occurs in cycles, each of which constitutes a complete whole. Such a whole or cycle constitutes in turn a single link in a chain of such cycles, whether it be the day cycle, the year cycle, the terrestrial life cycle or whether it be one of the gigantic cosmic spiral cycles. The cosmic laws thus show us terrestrial life, that is the beings' physical life, as a link in a chain of corresponding lives. Thus it here becomes apparent that reincarnation or rebirth is a natural link in the beings' evolution and eternal existence.