Expressing Spirit in the World of Matter

Expressing Spirit in the World of Matter

Image: Photo of a painting by Mark Tobey titled “Forest Fire” – courtesy Arthur Dahl

Strive ye with heart and soul to make this world the mirror image of the Kingdom, that this nether world may teem with the blessings of the world of God, … and signs and tokens of the bounties and bestowals of Bahá’u’lláh may encompass all the earth.

Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá

22 December 2025, Christine Muller

When living a coherent life, we express spirit – love – “in the world of matter”. We are turning away from our lower self – the ego – and, with a “world-embracing vision”, we are focusing on serving our fellow humans. We are “anxiously concerned with the needs” of our age and try to make the world a better place. In this manner we are fulfilling our twofold moral purpose: Serving the well-being of the community and developing our spiritual capacities, two aspects of our life’s purpose that cannot be separated; they are one. The following words of Baháu’lláh encompass both: Let your vision be world-embracing, rather than confined to your own self. ¹(Gleanings from the Writings of Baháu’lláh XLIII)

For such a coherent life, we need knowledge: What are the “needs of the age we are living in”? How can we contribute to addressing the serious social and environmental problems that are facing humanity? And how can we express spirit – love – in daily actions and activities, big and small?

Knowledge about the existential threats of climate change, of the loss of wild plants and animals and the pollution of our air, water, and soil, and learning what we can do about them is a prerequisite for meaningful actions motivated by love.

Offering sprinkles of such knowledge has been the objective of these Sustainable Living Tips and Conversations that were featured in the Wilmette Institute newsletters every month during the past nine years. This is the last one of these brief articles, and there are a couple of important things I like to share with you:

First, acquiring knowledge is an ongoing effort. We are never done with learning.

You can still read most of the 108 Sustainable Living Tips and Conversations on the Wilmette Institute website where they are listed in chronological order.

You can also read them on the website of the Bahá’í-inspired International Environment Forum where they are ordered under categories. The categories are:

• Food
• Gardening and yard
• Transportation
• Shopping and consumption
• Waste and garbage
• Energy
• Around the house
• Lifestyle and health
• The big picture – spiritual reflections
• Public discourse, social action and education

In addition, you can find a wealth of resources on the website of the Bahá’í-inspired International Environment Forum. Among many other things, you can find:

• Compilations from Sacred Texts

• Links to Statements from the Bahá’í International Community

• Educational Materials, among them free course materials:
– Course on Sustainable Development and Human Prosperity
A course in 6 units that you can study or share with a group
– Scientific and Spiritual Dimensions of Climate Change
An Interfaith Study Course in 10 units for study circles or self-study

Concluding this series, it is appropriate and the desire of my heart to express my warmest thanks to some wonderful people who have made the Sustainable Living Tips and Conversations possible:

• Dr. Betty Fisher, the former editor of the Wilmette Institute newsletter, who brought up the idea at the end of 2016. Betty was personally interested in what she could do in her life to reduce her environmental impact! She also diligently and professionally edited all the articles in the first years which I much appreciated.

• Dr. Robert Stockman, the long-time director of the Wilmette Institute for his consistent support and collaboration.

• Niki Casserly who has beautifully and reliably posted all these articles every month from January 2017 to December 2025!

And, of course, I thank you, dear reader, and wish you much happiness and fulfillment in reflecting the following words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha in your life: “’Progress’ is the expression of spirit in the world of matter.”²

1 Gleanings from the Writings of Baháu’lláh XLIII
2 Paris Talks

Christine Muller, Teacher of Music and the Environment

Board Secretary, International Environment Forum

I was interested in environmental issues already at a young age and became a Bahá’í when I was 17, which was the beginning of a life-long study of the Bahá’í Faith. As the environmental crisis was worsening, I began to systematically study climate change at a time when not much information was easily available. I also searched the Bahá’í teachings for a spiritual solution to the climate crisis. At that time, climate change was not known to most people and there were no educational materials available. That’s why I wrote Scientific and Spiritual Dimensions of Climate Change – an Interfaith Study Course, which the International Environment Forum posted in 2009. I joined the Wilmette Institute as support faculty for its Sustainable Development course in 2011 and created its Climate Change course the following year. I also teach a course on climate change for the Environmental Sciences Department of the Baha’i Institute of Higher Education (BIHE) in Iran. I have served on the board of RI Interfaith Power&Light for more than a decade. In recent years, much of my time is spent serving the Bahá’í-inspired International Environment Forum (iefworld.org) as its secretary. My formal academic background is in music, and I enjoy part-time piano teaching, playing and - when there is time - composing music. A recent composition is Humans on Earth – a Ballad of Our Time for two singers, string orchestra, piano, and percussion. Its lyrics include quotations from scientific sources and the Bahá’í Writings. 
Christine’s articles on BahaiTeachings.org

*Source: https://wilmetteinstitute.org/expressing-spirit-in-the-world-of-matter/

Originally published in Wilmette Institute Newsletter.