Veil of Matter

 Offer Me not the sacrifice of blood, for I take not delight in the hurt of any creature; and you, My children, if you love Me, are friend to every living thing, and the soul of every maid is your sister.

 Thus starts the Teaching "The Veil of Matter", starting by reminding us that we are intrinsically linked with every other being in this world, and should remember this as we interact with both other humans, animals, and any and all living beings great and small. All of life is imbued with sacred aspect.

Therefore, for evil words offer not evil words again and for evil acts return not evil acts, but where ill is given let your return be good; and for injustice return not justice merely, but generosity.

For truly is it written that no creature shall gain good for herself by any evil act; and whatever you shall cast upon the wheel of life, that shall return to you sevenfold.

I see within these passages a gentle request to try and imbue more good in the world than harsh, and add to the goodness and love that exists. As we are intrinsically linked with each other and the very fabric of creation, we affect ourselves and everything around us. If we can take time to add to creation more love, care, and dedication, we can help to improve ourselves and every part of creation.

The rest of the Teaching goes on to describe the illusory nature of the world, and warns against attachment to these.

Truly, when the prisoner of matter thinks that she is unobserved, she is as a blind maid in a lighted chamber, thinking herself shrouded by darkness.

For matter is like to a veil that darkens the eyes, giving them to see only a little part of the things that lie about them.

 The admonition is to not fully rely on what exists in this world, what you can sense, what you can think, what is apparent around you. While this informs you and helps you navigate this existence, there is more to life that just this iteration that we perceive. There lies beneath the veil more, there is Truth and Spirit at the Center. It is something that is so very difficult to perceive fully or experience within this existence of ours, and ones that other traditions have tried to lead people to.

It is sometimes also referred to as the Veil of Maia within our traditions, and it is a precisely like others who have talked of the Veil of Maya. A most concise description can be found here. Our spiritual path should be helping us to remove the Veil, and learn to perceive of Spirit and Truth.

This is not to say, however, that we should fully deny our material existence. That is precisely why I feel that the first portion of the text starts as it does. We must remember that this world too holds Spirit within it, as we all do. We must take care to remember this and act in such a manner; we should hold nature sacred too, and make effort to protect and safeguard other beings, be them great forests, our oceans or air, animals or creatures great or small, and other humans. 

Generosity goes hand in hand with justice, and to bring about more of both brings about more harmony in the world and brings us all towards Good and Spirit. 

Take time to care for your self, and connect with those around you. Wherever you reside, see what creatures live around you, see what grows native amongst you. However you can, get to know all these elements. Walk and get to know and see how it is that you can connect to the souls of your sisters, how you can encounter and get to know that nature that exists surrounding you. I live near mountains and great forests, yet I can also reach a great desert close by. Others may know the ocean or great plains; see how these are and how beings interact with each other.

Delight in this world, knowing that it is truly a beautiful gift to us all, and know that something greater exists beyond, and hold that getting to know both is such a gift that we are given.