Our Rational Souls

Today's excerpt from Reality gives us a unique perspective on our own Perspective--how we Perceive what surrounds us in the world.

[I should indicate that the original language of these quotes (mostly Persian) has gender-neutral words for people...]

"The first condition of perception in the world of nature is the perception of the rational soul. In this perception and in this power all men are sharers, whether they be neglectful or vigilant, believers or deniers. This human rational soul is God’s creation; it encompasses and excels other creatures; as it is more noble and distinguished, it encompasses things. The power of the rational soul can discover the realities of things, comprehend the peculiarities of beings, and penetrate the mysteries of existence. All sciences, knowledge, arts, wonders, institutions, discoveries and enterprises come from the exercised intelligence of the rational soul. There was a time when they were unknown, preserved mysteries and hidden secrets; the rational soul gradually discovered them and brought them out from the plane of the invisible and the hidden into the realm of the visible. This is the greatest power of perception in the world of nature, which in its highest flight and soaring comprehends the realities, the properties and the effects of the contingent beings."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Some Answered Questions, Chapter 58: The Degree of Knowledge Possessed by Man and the Divine Manifestations, pp.
217-218