Melting Snow

My Dual Nature

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

"In man there are two natures; his spiritual or higher nature and his material or lower nature. In one he approaches God, in the other he lives for the world alone...."
‘Abdu’l‑Bahá, Paris Talks, 18. The Two Natures in Man

The "Blogging Circle of Friends "  prompt for DAY
What evil lurks in your heart? Describe it us as if you were mixing an alcoholic drink for someone to imbibe. Tell us not just how to mix it but how to drink, savor it and what the side effects are. Have fun.

Like every other human being, I have a dual nature. One is unselfish and the other is selfish. One is spiritual and the other is material. My spiritual nature longs to please God, while my material nature wants to please itself. These natures are always at war. Sometimes, when I act unselfishly, my spiritual nature wins. At other times, when I act selfishly, my material nature wins. Prayer, especially the prayers revealed by Bahá'u'lláh, the Báb and ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá, help me overcome my material nature in order to express my spiritual nature.

I'm not going to focus on the mix of evil or selfishness in my heart because that's an issue between God and myself. I'm sure I haven't encountered everything about my lower nature that there is to know. I suspect I will discover more of it as I progress through the remainder of my physical existence on this planet. There are several issues I'm working on at this point. Most of those issues are overcoming the prejudices and selfish fears I learned as a child.