Spiritual Evolution (51—100)

51. We cannot counsel with our spirit-life upon anything but the important things of life. Such as the good, the beautiful, the true—spiritual things. If we seek to counsel our spirit-life on the trivial—the ordinary—things of life, it is silent—makes no answer—has nothing to say.

52. The more highly developed we are spiritually, the nearer our lives become a harmony, a poem, a song.

53. Poets are spirits that are highly developed, and all spirits must some time become poets because all spirits will some time reach that stage in their development where all things are poetical; will reach that stage in their development where all is harmony and no discord can prevail.

54. Though all spirits will reach that stage in their development where all things are poetical and will become poets, not all will give expression to the beauty and to the grandeur that will be theirs.

55. Most spirits that are in human form are not sufficiently developed to live wisely—are not sufficiently developed to get the most out of life.

56. Most spirits that are in human form possess but imperfectly developed consciousness—are yet far from the end of their journey in human form.

57. To the spirit-life that has not yet reached a high state of development, the trivial things of life may appear great, and the great things of life may not appear at all.

58. Each spirit-life must attain the same amount of development before it can cross the bridge into the land where no material bodies are to be found or are necessary.

59. Spirit-life never sleeps. Only the physical mind sleeps. And during the slumber of the physical mind, the spirit-life often leaves its material abode for brief periods of time; often leaves its material abode and goes forth into the spiritual world to visit and to learn much that it should know.

60. Spirit-life knows no rest, nor seeks any, nor desires any until it has completed its journey. But. when spirit-life is retarded in its development—when it is held back because it is out of harmony with the good—it grows restless and suffers much anxiety.

61. Not all human spirits understand the law of Spiritual Evolution.

62. The spirit-life that is in man is related to the spirit-life that is in the flower, or in the tree, and when man observes the beauty of these it is their inner—or spirit-beauty that he most often observes. It is their inner—or spirit-beauty that most often astonishes him and excites his admiration.

63. Spirit-life is not interested in the things that concern material life—is not interested in the things that are not of the spiritual sphere of life.

64. Trust your subconscious nature—your spiritual self—with any important mission you may desire because your spirit-life can be trusted and can be depended upon to learn secrets and secure information that is beyond the ability of your intellect to otherwise learn or secure.

65. Your spirit-life may be able to fulfil the mission assigned to it in a day, or in a week, or in a year,—but be patient!—your spirit-life will fulfil the mission assigned to it.

66. The food of the spirit—of the spirit-life—is love and sympathy, and trust and goodness, and kindness. All the virtues are the food of the spirit.

67. He knows most of God who is the most highly developed spiritually, for spiritual development leads to God through nature.

68. Nature speaks to us of God. Does, in fact, reveal to us God's laws, and work, and beauty.

69. Nature is the source of all our wisdom. It is from nature that all truths are to be learned.

70. All depends upon our attitude whether we are to learn from nature or not.

71. If we would speak with nature, we must approach her with expectations, and humbly, as we would approach God.

72. A knowledge of nature and of nature's God cannot be learned or acquired from others. It must be attained through experience; through a close and harmonious communication with nature. And this communication with nature can come only through spiritual evolution and the gradual blending of our life with all the life that is in nature.

73. Nature never speaks to those who are unworthy of being spoken to—to those who lack sufficient spiritual development, or to those who approach her as though they merely wished to counsel with her upon some important question.

74. We can never get too close to nature; can never learn too much of her.

75. Out in the silence with nature, goodness reigns, virtue is to be found, and every evil either takes to its heels or ceases to be.

76. In the silence with nature or in solitude, we have a chance to enjoy our own society, to get acquainted with our spirit-life, and perchance to learn who we are and what we are, and why we are.

77. That society in which none intrude save the silence and the harmony of nature is the best possible society, and the most companionable, and lofty, and serene, and godlike.

78. All nature is a temple; a sacred place where each man should go alone to worship, or to live if he would be near to God.

79. Just as there is a harmony that prevails and fills all nature, so is there a discord that is to be found everywhere in society, or where two or more human beings are gathered together.

80. Nature is able to reach us even in the heart of a great city and to help us to live wisely though we are far from her temple and too much a slave of commercialism to behold all her beauty or understand most of her laws.

81. Nature loves us—calls to us—and will not, in any case, allow any of us to become completely, entirely lost to her. Nature will not allow any of us to entirely escape from her temple, or out from under her care, or parental influence.

82. Out in the silence with nature man becomes conscious of the fact that all nature is filled with harmony.

83. The harmony that is in nature, which men hear only in solitude, or in the silence with nature, thrills the highly developed spirit-lives more completely than does that highly cultivated music of society.

84. The music that is in nature is the loftiest of all music and has the most elevating influence of all music upon those of us who are able to hear it.

85. Nature is the only healing force in the world and .nature is more able to heal us out in the silence than anywhere else.

86. Nature discloses to us just as much of her beauty as we are prepared to appreciate and no more.

87. All nature is set to music, is by nature musical, and each separate thing in nature has its own melody that it prefers to render.

88. He cannot be otherwise than good who spends his life in the silence of nature.

89. It is when we are out in the silence of nature that most of our lofty thoughts come, and they come unattended and unannounced, and as direct as if fired at us from the barrel of a gun.

90. He who lives alone with nature fears no danger—is afraid of no foe—dares to look life in the face.

91. To those who are out of harmony with the purpose of life, nature sometimes appears as a cold, heartless, relentless force that is to be feared and is feared.

92. From nature, we can learn all that it is necessary for us to know in this life.

93. Nature is the supreme authority of God and, therefore, in life.

94. He who fears to be and to live in the solitude with nature does not fear nature but nature's God—is not living as wisely nor as well as he should—has some sin from which he should depart.

95. Nature reveals herself to those only who go forth to meet her in sympathy and love.

96. Nature conceals her real beauty, her innerself from all save those who love her, and who go forth alone into the silence with expectations, hoping to meet her.

97. If you would know God, first try to become in some way worthy of God's acquaintance and then go seek God alone in the silence of nature, for it is in the silence of nature that God is most often to be found.

98. Not to obey the laws of nature is to be an outlaw—is to be forever and eternally on the side of the bad—is to live out of harmony with the purpose of life.

99. Nature never conceals her beauty. Her beauty is always apparent—always to be seen—but some persons are resolved not to see the beauty of nature. Some persons turn their eyes away and focus them on the more trivial things and deny to themselves the most beautiful pleasure upon earth.

100. Nature has a language with which to converse with him who has an ear to hear but she never speaks to him who comes merely to observe and to study her. Nature reserves all her communications and conversations for those who love her—for those who are in sympathy and harmony with her.

Spiritual Evolution—Thoughts on the Evolution of Spirit-Life and Various Other Subjects, Benjamin F. Woodcox, Woodcox & Fanner, Battle Creek, Michigan, 1921