There are many meanings which have been attached to this term and it is well to try to gain some clear idea of what it is. It must be evident to all that the Spiritual Life is not the life of the body, although the Spiritual Life may be lived while we are in the body. Also it must be equally clear that such a life can only be known to those who life it, and direct their ordinary life according to its laws.

Now we have St Paul's distinction in the Epistle to the Corinthians in which he defines a very clear difference between the life of the body and the life of the Spirit. He especially points out that there is a spiritual body and that the glory of the natural or terrestrial body is distinct from that of the spiritual body. In this same Epistle are also pointed out some of the rules by which the Spiritual Life is lived, and these have their culmination in that noble chapter on Charity or Spiritual Love. And here it may be said that the Greek word Charis, which is translated by Charity, is more closely akin to Grace with the meaning attached to it by those who follow the religious life.

It may be asked whether it is necessary to live what is ordinarily known as the religious life to live the Spiritual Life. The reply would be that if the Spiritual Life is lived, that life cannot fail to be a religious life. But that does not mean that it is a life apart from the world. Rather, such a life would mean so passing through things temporal that the life eternal is made manifest. That the light in such a human being so shines before men that they see the good works and give thanks to the Father -- the Spirit in the kingdom of Heaven.

By some it has been taken that it is first necessary to undergo the change known as death before

the Spiritual Life can be lived. With the utmost earnestness we may say that this is not the case. The Spiritual Life can be lived here and now, while we occupy these bodies, on this earth. But to do so we have to live according to certain Rules, developing certain qualities and disciplining the body and mind, forming certain qualities of body and character in order that the instrument we use may be able to show forth the soul and Spirit which animate them.

How, then, may this task be accomplished? It is a task, and it is a very arduous one. It is not sufficient to consider the subject and feel some warm emotion or tide of sympathy with the object. The task is plainly before each of us who reads St Paul's words with the hope of gaining light. It needs all our resolution to accomplish it in any degree and a never ceasing determination to try and to keep on trying. We have to mould our lives in accordance with certain rules and to exchange the temporary mortal objects of our ordinary lives for the eternal verities of the soul and Spirit.

It is convenient for our purpose of clearness to use the threefold division of the human constitution into Body, Soul, and Spirit. Now the body is, as said before, only the instrument by means of which human beings are in contact with the external world of circumstances. We know something of these and how what is called character is acquired. We also know that certain qualities can be acquired, while some may be said to be innate, and come out during the process of human development. There are thus two sides of the relation of soul to body and it would appear that there is a constant interchange from body to soul and from soul to body. Just as in plant life, the plant is fed from the roots and also from the leaves. For the proper growth of the plant both are necessary to its proper development as a plant. For the proper development of the human being, the body must be properly cared for in order to preserve contact with the world of experience, but the thing which experiences and observes in that world is the Soul. The Soul gathers the result of these experiences and makes use of them, in such ways forming the character. This may be said to form the vesture of the soul, for character is not the Soul itself. It is a meeting point, or resultant, from the interaction of the Soul and Body.

If we regard the lives around us, we are familiar with the effects on character in those who live for one or for the other. Some consider that the body with its instincts and desires, its comforts and means by which there are gained, and the pleasures thereof, is the sole object of life. On the other hand, there are those who regard these as of little value and consider that they can be neglected-- nay, rather, consider this neglect is a positive duty. From what has been said before, it would seem that both are in error, both being exaggerations through forgetfulness of the purpose of life. If we grant that the purpose of life is for the soul's experience, we see that this must be so.

Now, in regard to the body, we know that for the purpose of its growth and development, it must be fed. And it is not enough to crowd into it food-substances in any quantity which it will contain. It must be fed on food which it can deal with, which it can assimilate, and, having assimilated make use of and get rid of the waste. In this process there must be proper exercise of its faculties. In like manner there must for the Soul be proper food which it can assimilate and proper exercise and action of the Soul. And it is this interaction of Soul and Body amid external circumstances which promotes the growth of the plant of character. It would therefore right to call character the expression of the Soul: we also see that such an expression is modified according as the Soul dominates circumstances or as the body is swept away by them and throws a screen between itself and the Soul.

Thus far we have dealt with the life of the body and the life of the Soul with their interaction forming what we call the character. We must go back a little to look at the qualities of animal evolution as contrasted with those of the human. Within the limits of this essay one cannot analyse in too great detail the various qualities. Let us accept Drummond's summing up that the law governing animal life is expressed as the "struggle for life," while the human is characterised by a "struggle for the life of others." the animal life evolves under the pressure of circumstances, being moulded by alterations brought about by natural selection and the survival of the fittest, wherein the forcing process accentuates the strength of the individual. But as the real source of continuing life proceeds from the universal to the particular, it is obvious that the evolution of the animal body ( which includes the human body) and its qualities alone, leads nowhere to except change and decay. The evolution of the animal per se leads to the persistence of the type only. But the evolution of the human by means of the conscious pursuit of doing the best one can, leads to the evolution and development of character, and entails a survival of this character as a more enduring formation than the mortal body. It would therefore appear that the accentuation of the personal man in itself is prejudiced to the formation of a really enduring character; and that in order to possess such enduring qualities the character must proceed from the action of the Soul.

What, then, are such qualities? Most of them are included in the quality which leads to the sacrifice of self in the struggle for the life of others. It is the destruction of the selfish element in ordinary human nature which leads to the evolution of the truly human character. Mostly they can be rendered by the words Love, faith, Obedience, Trust, Sympathy, Gentleness, Patience. These qualities applied as forces from the Soul in dealing with external circumstances, build the character in such fashion that it is no longer subject to decay; on the contrary it goes on expanding and, the limits of rigid form are done away with.

The character as the expression of the Soul is evidence of life lived in the body from the point of view of the Soul. It is as if in each act and thought of our lives we asked "What would the soul do?" acting under such circumstances, and were not swayed by the emotion and mood of the moment. By such means we can become increasingly able to live our lives from this point of view. Exercise gives strength and such exercise is what has been alluded to before. Such aspirations-- to live the life of the Soul in each act and moment-- are the necessary food of the Soul. In this way life becomes the conscious existence of the Soul and in this the body, as such, is put in its proper place and receives its guidance from the Soul, being continuously guided thereto. Each act and thought is submitted to the touchstone of some higher impulse than the passing emotion of the moment. Each act and thought is consecrated on the altar of the heart.

It may be asked what this higher ideal is, and to what are each act and thought consecrated. We reply that the purpose is of the Soul itself, its manifestation in and therefore the infusing of itself into all external circumstances. Is this Spiritual Life? Only in part. For as the body is to the Soul, so are the character and the Soul to the Spirit within. Thus the Spiritual Life by effort lived consciously leads to the manifestation of the At-one-ment by still greater sacrifice.

Various methods have been put forward for the purpose of aiding the aspirant on the path which leads to the Spiritual Life. Some were in the form of mystery plays to delineate the path of the Soul through external life. Others were by means of a definite rule of conduct and observation which tested the devotion and fervour of the aspirant. Others by an ascetic rule of constant self-denial a of all that had been previously regarded as pleasant. But all had for their basis the constant preservation of an intense concentration on some interior object, to which all other and external conditions were sacrificed. By this means the Soul began to live a life of its own, its consciousness and self-consciousness gradually increasing.

Having cultivated this faculty of intense concentration on some interior object, the Soul then has to deal with the brain-mind-- or the result of the action of experience; and the Soul has to conquer this in order to guide the human being to live its own life. In other words the brain-mind is the destroyer of the life of the Soul. The choice to the human being lies whether he will live in the body and its senses or will live the live of the Soul. We know the life of the body and its temporary character; we also regard the Soul as more enduring and more worthy of attention. From the point of view of the Soul, the life of the body and its senses and pleasures, is a temporary illusion-- a swiftly passing dream.

Having so decided and acquired the power of concentration, the brain-mind with its false idea of separate existence is put in its proper place. The Soul receives the nourishment of vital effort and the false importance of the brain-mind is destroyed because it is starved to death. The thoughts are silenced and the whole attention of the Soul is fixed on the Master as the object of the interior concentration. Thought of self is transmuted, ambition, desire of life, of comfort, of personal aggrandizement, of pleasure of mental or psychic sensation-- all these are silenced and find no place when the whole attention of the Soul is fixed upon the master-- on the Christ Light in every human being.

When these desires of the personal man are done away with by a process of starvation and transmutation so as to be perfectly under control, the Soul turns consciously to those aspirations

which are itself and lead to the Spiritual Life. In so doing the Soul leads its own life. Then the Soul can utilize its senses, senses which it has created and trained for its use, and see, hear, speak and stand in the presence of the Master, being a fully conscious entity, not in the semi-gloom of the psychic regions but in the full light of the spiritual world.

In the Bhagavadgita Krishna teaches Arjuna the life which Arjuna, as the personified Soul, has to live in order to attain liberation. In the Voice of the Silence the path of discipline in its various stages is shown. In Light on the Path a further detail is entered on in the form of paradoxes in relation to outer life and of positive instruction to the Soul when it has grown to a conscious life of its own. These throw light on the mystical teachings of the Catholic Church and of the Anglican ritual and give point to the discipline enjoined in such works as those of Fenelon, Tanler, Scupoli, Brother Laurence and the Divine Cloud of Father Baker. But the essence lies in treating the life of the Soul as a reality and ever more and more trying consciously to live its life and infuse the outer with the reality and action of the Soul.

It is obedient to a nature and law of its own and the Soul passes along the path guided by the experience of those who have gone before, aided and encompassed by a great cloud of witnesses. The Soul may seem alone, but it never is. Much has been written of the discipline which lies on the hither side of the Golden gates which give admission the interior life. Of that which lies beyond some few have written in what appears to be paradoxical language. The positive facts of the life of the Soul are the negations of the animal instincts and desires. But those paradoxes teach us of a reality which we may at first dimly appreciate, and by later effort know in full as the life of the soul, leading on to the real joy of life and finally to the peace which passes all our present understanding.

What then is the Spiritual Life as expressed in the terms of our daily experience? What must we do-- actually and practically-- in order to live it here and now? How would a man live that life amid the daily round-- a common task? Concentration must be the keynote of his day. On waking he would recall himself into the presence of his Soul and the master, persistently trying to express the Soul in and by means of the body, by means of his every act. Every hour would be consecrate. If he lost the thread of his meditation in the presence of external life he would turn his wandering and excited thought back to the inner life, the interior purpose. He would claim and keep fast hold of the Will of the Soul. He who thus lives the life of interior concentration upon the will and purpose of the Soul and who manifests the Soul in the smallest action of his day, he it is who lives the life of the Soul, treads the path of the Spiritual Life, who "stands in the Presence of the Masters."

LIST OF BOOKS RECOMMENDED

THE BIBLE especially The Sermon on the Mount. Parables, St Paul in I Cor.XIII and XV 34 to end. Epistles of John.

MEDITATION by Prof. Mitchell.

THE PERFECT WAY OR THE FINDING OF CHRIST by Dr Anna Kingsford

PARABLES OF THE KINGDOM by Charles Johnstone.

LETTERS TO WOMEN AND LETTERS TO MEN by Abp. Fenelon.

THE PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD by Brother Lawrence.

THE DIVINE CLOUD by Father Baker.

LIGHT ON THE PATH by M[abel] C[ollins]

SONG CELESTIAL (Bhagavadgita) in poetry by Sir Edwin Arnold, prose by Charles Johnstone.

VOICE OF THE SILENCE by H.P.Blavatsky.

This rare pamphlet, which is not dated and only has Anna's initials, was put out by the Women's Guild, whose motto was:

"While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things that are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." II Cor. IV. 18

President: Mrs Graves.

Treasurer: Mrs T.N. Alexander.

Secretary: Mrs Binks, Westoe Village, South Shields.