mBody Spirit

I happened upon this inspirational piece which was written way back in 1915 by Chas. A. Peckham. It speaks volumes of truth to me..

THE DEVOTIONAL ATTITUDE
by Chas. A. Peckham

In this intellectual age, with its hurry and..

hustle, its vain pleasure seeking and mad

rush for wealth, there are few who seek to

live a life of devotion to high ideals or to cul-

tivate within themselves that attitude of mind

which seeks the good and the beautiful in all

things.

With the great mass of mankind material

perception seems to be the sole basis of

understanding: what they are wont to see

with the outward senses they believe to be

true, but what they cannot see with the phys-

ical eye they do not believe.

The  mystic, on the other hand, perceives

an ulterior meaning, a hidden beauty and sig-

nificance in all the objects, acts, and events

of daily life.  To him there is nothing mean or

sordid in the universe, but he regards all

things, from the tiny blade of grass to the

shining constellations in the blazing pathway

of the zodiac, as symbols of the Divine.

Thus in the things which the average per-

son looks upon with indifference, owing to

the constant familiarity therewith, the mystic

perceives a hidden meaning that reveals to

him their spiritual import.  In the brightness

of the sun he sees a symbol of God’s great love for

humanity; in the clouds, which oft obscure it,

the worldly pre-occupations and material pursuits which pre-

vent that love from manifesting.

In the glory of the sunrise he sees the

promise of a glorious future towards which

he yearns, and in the gorgeous colors of the

sunset the assurance of a continuance of life

beyond the dark night of the death of the

body.  The brook pursuing its tortuous and stormy

pathway in untiring efforts to reach the sea is

an apt symbol of the soul upon the path of

attainment, treading the maze of the material

world, seeking its way to truth and light.

Every little flower growing by the wayside

speaks most eloquently of the path of chasti-

ty which all must tread who reach that goal.

In each tiny seed is revealed the history of

evolution, and the great possibilities of the

human soul.  In the transformation of the

caterpillar to the butterfly we gain a hint as to

what man has been and also what he is des-

tined to become.

Such is the attitude which the mystic sus-

tains towards all things in Nature.  He looks

upon everything with a spiritual vision that

sees in each object a symbol of divine pur-

pose and seeks within the depth of his inner-

most being to learn a lesson therefrom.

Likewise, all the acts and events of daily

life are regarded by the mystic as symbols of

higher things, and he performs his duties in

the spirit of devotion, as unto the Lord, and

to him they become as sacraments.

When he eats, each meal is to him the Holy

Supper, to be approached with reverence and

eaten in remembrance of Him who said:

“This is my body,” for he sees truly that the

bread which he eats is indeed a part of the

body of the great Christ Spirit who sacrifices

Himself for the good of humanity.

The bath he sees as a symbol of that inner

purification so essential to one who seeks to

tread the path.

Marriage he regards as a high and holy

thing, for in that union of soul with soul is

prefigured that greater and holier union the

mystic marriage between God and the soul.

It is thus by cultivating within himself that

devotional attitude of mind which sees only

the good, the true, and the beautiful in all

persons and things and perceives the inner

meaning that is contained in all experiences,

that the mystic opens up his soul to the

inflow of the divine life which illumines his

understanding, and endows him with a spiri-

tual vision that enables him to read the

secrets contained in the book of Nature.

Ever seeking instruction in things spiritual,

he strives to daily refine his senses from the

mere perception of the outward forms of

things that he may more clearly perceive

4 RAYS FROM THE ROSE CROSS

their spiritual import. Yet it must not be

supposed that he disregards the things of

ordinary life or spends his time in idle

speculations upon metaphysical subjects.

He regards the world as a school wherein

he is placed to learn by experience the

lessons of life, and so he goes through life

with an alert, wide-awake mind keenly

observing all things and carefully weighing

and testing all experiences, thereby extract-

ing from each the greatest possible amount of

benefit.  Thus he is one of the most practical

of men, doing his work in the world to the

very best of his ability, yet ever keeping in

mind the true purpose of life and constantly

striving to understand the spiritual signifi-

cance of all things.

Everyone who aspires to tread the path of

spiritual attainment must assiduously culti-

vate within themselves this devotional atti-

tude of mind.  It is the first step upon the path

that leads to the higher knowledge and is of

enormous and far-reaching importance.

Everywhere in our environment we should

look for that which evokes in us feelings of

respect and veneration.  Such feelings are to

the soul what food is to the body.

It is by cultivating our devotional nature that

we feed the soul, thereby causing it to expand and

grow strong.  Feelings of hate, disrespect,

and antipathy, on the other hand, bring about

starvation and withering of its activities.

Therefore we should avoid such feelings as

these and bend all our energies to the task of

developing the devotional attitude within

ourselves.  Then we have firmly planted our

feet upon the higher path which will eventu-

ally lead to God.

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