Logopraxis

Arcana Coelestia 7573... As regards truth Divine in heaven and in hell, which truth is signified by the “voices,” the case is the same as it is with thunders on earth. On high mountains thunders are heard as a mild and gentle sound, whereas below on the earth they are heard as a terrific noise; and in the same way in heaven truth Divine is mild and gentle, but in hell is terrible. [2] That “voices” which are thunders signify truths Divine that enlighten and perfect those who are in heaven, and that terrify and devastate those who are in hell, is plain from the following passages: There shall be joy of heart; as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountains of Jehovah, unto the Rock of Israel; then shall Jehovah cause the glory of His voice to be heard, and shall make His arm see rest; in the indignation of anger, and the flame of a devouring fire, in scattering, and in inundation, and in hailstone. For by the voice of Jehovah shall Asshur be dismayed (Isaiah 30:29-31); here “the voice of Jehovah” denotes truth Divine, which enlightens and perfects those who are in good, and terrifies and devastates those who are in evil. In Joel: The earth quaked before Him, the sun and the moon were blackened, and the stars withdrew their shining; and Jehovah uttered His voice before His army, His camp is very great; for numberless is he that doeth His word; for the day of Jehovah is great and very terrible (Joel 2:10-11); where the meaning is similar. [3] In the same: Jehovah shall roar from Zion, and shall utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but Jehovah shall be a refuge for His people, and a stronghold to the sons of Israel (Joel 3:16).

Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to maintain focus on understanding the Text’s application to the inner life while reinforcing key LP principles highlighted in the exchanges.

On the history of the churches

True Christian Religion 762. That four churches have existed on this earth since the creation of the world is in accordance with Divine order, which requires that there be a beginning and then its end before a new beginning starts in. Therefore every day begins with morning, progresses, ends in night, and then begins anew; also every year begins with spring, progresses through summer to autumn, closes in winter, and then begins again; and in order that these changes may take place the sun rises in the east progresses therefrom through the south to the west, and finishes its course in the north, after which it rises again. It is the same with churches; the first, which was the Most Ancient, was like morning, spring, and the east; the second or Ancient church was like day, summer, and the south; the third was like evening, autumn, and the west; and the fourth like night, winter and the north. From these orderly progressions the wise men of ancient times inferred four ages of the world, the first of which they called the golden age, the second the silver age, the third the copper age, and the fourth the iron age, by which metals, moreover, these churches are represented in Nebuchadnezzar's statue. And again, in the Lord's sight the church is seen as a single man, and this larger man must pass through his stages of life like an individual, that is to say, from infancy to youth, from this to manhood, and finally to old age; and then, when he dies, he will rise again. The Lord says: Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth [alone]; but if it die, it beareth much fruit (John 12:24).

Arcana Coelestia 8211 [4] Since 'morning' means a state of enlightenment and salvation of the good, and a state of thick darkness and perdition of the evil, 'morning' also means the time of the last judgement, when those governed by good are to be saved and those ruled by evil will perish. It consequently means the end of a former Church and the beginning of a new Church, which are meant by a last judgement in the Word, 900, 931, 1733, 1850, 2117-2133, 3353, 4057, 4535.

Apocalypse Explained 680... That three signifies what is complete, and thus the end, may be seen above (n. 435, 506, 532). This is evident also from the signification of coming quickly, as being certainly, at hand, and coming to pass; that quickly signifies certainty may be seen also above (n. 7, 216). What this third woe that was to come quickly involves, can be seen from what follows, namely, that it involves the final state of the church, when there is no longer any truth or good, and the state of separation at that time of the evil from the good, and of the good from the evil, and at length the Last Judgement, which is effected by a full separation, and then the casting down of the evil into hell, and the elevation of the good into heaven.

AC 2118. By the Last Judgment is meant the last time of a church, and also the last state of each person’s life. As regards the last time of the church, it was the Last Judgment of the Most Ancient Church, which was before the flood, when their posterity perished; whose destruction is described by the flood. The Last Judgment of the Ancient Church, which was after the flood, was when almost all who were of that church became idolaters, and were dispersed. The Last Judgment of the Representative Church, which succeeded among the posterity of Jacob, was when the ten tribes were carried away into captivity, and were dispersed among the nations; and when later, after the Lord’s coming, the Jews were driven out of the land of Canaan, and were scattered throughout the world. The Last Judgment of the present church, which is called the Christian Church, is what is meant by John in Revelation by the “New Heaven and the New Earth.”

From the LP reading on casting into hell and raising into heaven

AC 7541[2] It is according to order that one plague should follow another, and the evil be thus successively cast down into hell, and therefore it is here said that it might come to pass that they would all rush in together. As the man of the church has no knowledge about the state of the life after death, he believes that after his life in the body a man is either at once uplifted into heaven, or cast into hell; when nevertheless this takes place successively, although with much variety in respect to times and in respect to states. With the good who are to be uplifted into heaven, evils are successively separated, and the good are filled with goods according to the faculty of reception acquired in the world. And with the evil who are to be cast into hell, goods are successively separated, and the evil are successively filled with evils, according to the faculty of reception acquired in the world. [3] Moreover a man in the other life enters into new states, and undergoes changes. Those who are being uplifted into heaven, and afterward when they have been uplifted, are perfected to eternity; but those who are being cast down to hell, and afterward when they have been cast down, endure evils continually more grievous, and this until they dare not do evil to anyone. After this they remain in hell to eternity, whence they cannot be taken out, because it cannot be given them to will good to anyone, but only, from fear of the penalty, not to do evil, the desire to do it always remaining.

AC 7545....How the case is with this communication has already been told, namely, that those who infest the upright in the other life are such as in the world have been in the church and have read the Word, and have known the doctrinal things of faith of their church and have also professed them, but have lived a life of evil. So long as such in the other life retain the things of faith, they have communication with heaven, and so long they cannot be cast down into hell; and therefore it is these things that are by degrees taken away from them; and after these have been taken away, the evil no longer have anything to hold them up; but then like weights without support, or like birds with their wings cut off, they fall downward, or into the deep. From all this it is evident what is meant by the possibility of the communication being taken away from them.

Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to maintain focus on understanding the Text’s application to the inner life while reinforcing key LP principles highlighted in the exchanges.

Transcript

There are levels to work and so what serves for meeting as a group is our work over the period and that's what we bring. But there is that live aspect of work, work in vivo, so far as if you think of the Life Group container, which presents an opportunity to really be in touch with states that are arising. And this is another level of work; being able to frame that in terms of those universal spiritual principles and being able to bring that to the group. That's another aspect to work that we could definitely start to explore, and just mentioning it opens things up for that possibility.

So in terms of that, it's about trust and by that, I mean trusting the process. It's not so much as in your traditional growth groups which is trusting other people. That's really not necessary here because we know what proprium is … that can't be trusted. So it's a different level of work. But what you can do is be aware of your states and trust the process. That what you're being given is being given to you by the Lord, and that shifts the whole thing. It’s that sort of material, when it is able to be framed in the light of spiritual work, that becomes nourishment for the group as an entity.

So it's not about any individual; it's about the group as a living entity. And that way the group becomes a repository for understanding on the level of group processes. And that capacity to listen, to be aware of what's arising, to be able to frame what's arising in the context of the spiritual principles that we've been working with for a long time, then adds a whole new dimension to what listening is about.  

Think of the Life Group as a practise group. It's where you practise these skills. And the reason for that is because, you know, life is just busy and full of stuff. Whereas here is a kind of a hermetically sealed opportunity to actually get in touch with things that we're not normally in touch with. And to be able to use those skills that we have developed in the way that we interact with one another. And that will transfer out of here. You'll find that in your daily life there will be moments and opportunities for listening in the way that you listen here. Something will remind you to do that and as you do it, then you lift the quality of the contact.

So, Logopraxis isn't about, for want of a better term, spilling your guts. It's about getting in touch with what's of spiritual benefit to the whole, that supports the end, which is the regeneration of the human mind. And then something special makes its presence felt and that's the Lord in the midst.

So fear, anxiety, feelings of … how is going to be received? etc… all of that is bubbling away out of that sense of self that's grounded in the love of self and the love of the world. And there's no need to fear anything here because we're working with process. So, we put ourselves in an interesting position, right? Like there's an aspect of us that feels vulnerable, but the flip side of vulnerability is trust. If there's no vulnerability, there's no trust. It's easy to be vulnerable when there's no anxiety or fear or anything like that. Often, we think trust is about having it together, whereas really trust is about stepping beyond our normal boundaries, so far as our sense of self and its safety is concerned.

So there's always going to be resistance and a sense of separation until you make the share. But once you speak it, that sense of separation and fear disappears, it dissipates because there was no reason for it to begin with. It's just that these sorts of psychodynamic structures will bind us in any way they can to maintain the status quo, whereas the work of the Lord is to break down the status quo and to move us into new vistas of the reality that He Is.

Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to maintain focus on understanding the Text’s application to the inner life while reinforcing key LP principles highlighted in the exchanges.

Apocalypse Revealed 78. And that thou canst not bear the evil, signifies that they cannot bear that evils should be called goods, and the reverse, because this is contrary to the truths of doctrine. That this is the signification of these words, is evident from what follows, by which is signified that they scrutinize those things in the church which are called goods and truths, when yet they are evils and falsities. To know goods, whether they are goods or evils, is of doctrine, and is among its truths, but to do goods or evils is of the life; this is said, therefore, of those who primarily regard the truths of doctrine, and not the goods of life, (73). By the evil in the spiritual sense, are not meant the evil but evils, because this sense is abstracted from persons.

From the Logopraxis Workbook...

Spiritual Literacy

Let those who have ears to hear, hear what the spirit is saying to the Churches

(Revelation 2:29)

Thinking spiritually, or practising spiritual literacy skills, underpins all of our Logopraxis work. It refers to the ability to ‘read ’what presents into our conscious awareness, in the light of what the Text teaches is true. In cultivating these skills, we seek to observe spiritual principles and from these, to then recognise states of thought or feeling that arise in us while engaging with it, and also while engaging with others in external life.

Our day-to-day activities and relationships are the field in which our inner reactions and responses can be observed and seen to illustrate what the Text teaches regarding the nature of self and the nature of the Divine, of the Lord. Natural or material thinking is dominated by worldly concerns that involve people (including ourselves), places, events, memories of the past, or projections regarding the future - and in general terms, this mode of thought functions from the belief that what the senses perceive are ‘real’ things. Spiritual thinking is not concerned with that but rather is focused on those things that belong to our ‘states of mind’: the relations of goods and truths, thoughts and affections, motivations and intentions, beliefs and attitudes, shunning evils and falsities, and the activity of the hellish proprium and hell versus what is of the Lord and heaven.

So, the practise of spiritual literacy skills involves working to remove the natural material world elements of person, place, time, and space from the content of what we are ‘reading’ or listening to, and to hold the intention to see how what’s being offered might be framed in a way that captures the universal aspects of spiritual process. This divided attention of observing both internal and external states is a valuable tool in stilling the mind and helps us to be consciously present to what arises both within ourselves and with what is being presented before us either through the Text or through others.

Consequently, Logopraxis Life Groups are practise groups as they are an opportunity to practise spiritual literacy as we speak and listen when we meet.  They offer a hermetically sealed container within which the material gathered from each individual's practice can serve as the basis for creating a unique environment. It is where we may learn to be with others in a new way, and where the practise of the Word is what is central.

Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) 5253{2}... time nor space exists in the spiritual world. These two elements belong properly to the natural order, which also accounts for its being said that those who die depart from the realm of time, leaving temporal concerns behind them. And the reason why in the spiritual world they do not see anything that has to do specifically with some person is that any focusing, when they speak, on some particular person narrows down and limits the idea they have in mind; such a focusing prevents any broadening or removal of limits to their idea. Their use, when they speak, of broadened and unlimited ideas renders their language universal, a language that includes and enables them to express countless and also wondrous ideas. This is what the language used by angels is like, especially that used by celestial angels, which, compared with that employed by others, knows no limitations. This being so, the whole of their speech reaches into what is infinite and into what is eternal, consequently into the Divine of the Lord.

Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to maintain focus on understanding the Text’s application to the inner life while reinforcing key LP principles highlighted in the exchanges.

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7694 Verses 16-20. And Pharaoh hastened to call Moses and Aaron; and he said, I have sinned to Jehovah your God, and to you. And now forgive I pray my sin only this once, and supplicate ye to Jehovah your God that He may remove from before me this death only. And he went out from before Pharaoh, and supplicated unto Jehovah. And Jehovah turned an exceeding strong sea wind, and took up the locust, and cast it into the sea Suph; there was not left one locust in all the border of Egypt. And Jehovah made firm Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let go the sons of Israel. And Pharaoh hastened to call Moses and Aaron, signifies fear then of truth from the Divine; and he said, I have sinned to Jehovah your God, and to you, signifies confession that they have not obeyed the Divine and the truth; and now forgive I pray my sin only this once, signifies that their disobedience should not be regarded; and supplicate ye to Jehovah your God, signifies intercession; that He may remove from upon me this death only, signifies that this falsity may not torment; and he went out from before Pharaoh, signifies separation; and made supplication unto Jehovah, signifies intercession; and Jehovah turned an exceeding strong sea wind, signifies the cessation of Divine influx through heaven; and took up the locust, signifies the end of this state; and cast it into the sea Suph, signifies into hell; there was not left one locust in all the border of Egypt, signifies that these falsities in the extremes appeared no more; and Jehovah made firm Pharaoh's heart, signifies that the infesters were determined; and he did not let go the sons of Israel, signifies that they did not leave those of the spiritual church.

7695 And Pharaoh hastened to call Moses and Aaron. That this signifies fear then of truth from the Divine, is evident from the signification of hastening, as being from fear, for all haste arises from some affection that is excited, here from the affection of fear, as is plain from the words of Pharaoh, I have sinned to Jehovah your God, and to you, supplicate ye that He may take away from me this death only; from the representation of Pharaoh, as being those who infest, of which frequently above; and from the representation of Moses and Aaron, as being truth from the Divine, Moses the internal, and Aaron the external (see n. 7089, 7382).

7696 And he said, I have sinned to Jehovah your God, and to you. That this signifies confession that they have not obeyed the Divine and the truth, is evident from the signification of sinning, as being to do contrary to Divine order (see n. 5076), and to avert and separate one's self from it, thus from good and truth (n. 5229, 5474, 5841, 7589), consequently it also denotes not to obey the Divine and the truth, for he who does not obey averts himself. The Divine is what is meant by Jehovah your God, and the truth by Moses and Aaron (n. 7695).

7697 And now forgive I pray my sin only this once. That this signifies that they should not regard the disobedience, is evident from the signification of forgiving, as being not to regard, for to forgive is not to regard anyone from evil but from good; and from the signification of sin, as being disobedience (as just above, n. 7696).

7698 And supplicate ye to Jehovah your God. That this signifies intercession, is evident from the signification of supplicating to Jehovah, when done for another, as being intercession (see n. 7396, 7462).

7699 That he may remove from upon me this death only. That this signifies that this falsity may not torment, is evident from the signification of removing this death, as being that it may not torment; for by death is signified damnation and hell (see n. 5407, 6119), thus also torment. That they who infest deprecate this falsity is because they no longer have the capacity of reasoning against the truths of faith, for they have been devastated in respect to these truths, and consequently have an infernal darkness which torments them. (That it is undelightful to the infernals to reason from mere falsities, but delightful to reason from truths falsified by fallacies and appearances, see n. 7392.)

7700 And he went out from before Pharaoh. That this signifies separation, is evident from the signification of going out, as being separation (see n. 6100, 7404).

7701 And he made supplication unto Jehovah, signifies intercession, as above (n. 7698).

7702 And Jehovah turned an exceeding strong sea wind. That this signifies the cessation of the Divine influx through heaven, is evident from the signification of a sea or west wind, as being the cessation of Divine influx through heaven; for by the east wind was signified a means of destruction, by reason of the Divine influx through heaven (see n. 7643, 7679); and therefore by a wind of the sea, or a west wind, which is opposite to the east wind, is signified the cessation of this influx.

7703 And took up the locust. That this signifies the end of this state, is evident from the signification of the locust, as being falsity in the extremes (see n. 7643). The taking away of the state of this falsity, thus the end of this state, is signified by taking up the locust, in like manner as before in regard to the hail (n. 7597, 7610).

7704 And cast it into the sea Suph. That this signifies into hell, is evident from the signification of the sea Suph, as being hell (of which in what follows, where, of the Lord's Divine mercy, the passage of the sons of Israel through that sea, and the destruction of the Egyptians therein, is to be treated of). By being cast into hell is not meant that the falsity was taken away from the infesters, and cast elsewhere; but that it remained with them, and that by means of it they were conjoined with the hells, where such things are. For in the other life, by every state of evil and falsity into which they enter, the evil are conjoined with the hells, where are all things that belong to such a state. Thus conjunction is effected successively with many hells before they are fully devastated, but of this more will be told from experience elsewhere.

7705 There was not left one locust in all the border of Egypt. That this signifies that these falsities in the extremes appeared no more, is evident from the signification of the locust, as being falsity in the extremes; and because it denotes falsity in the extremes (n. 7643), it is said in all the border of Egypt, for the border denotes that which is outermost, or extreme, and Egypt denotes the natural; that by there was not left a locust is signified that it did not appear, is manifest; the like is said of the hail (n. 7611).

7706 And Jehovah made firm Pharaoh's heart. That this signifies that the infesters were determined, is evident from the signification of making firm the heart, as being to be determined (see n. 7272, 7300, 7305). (That by its being said that Jehovah made firm Pharaoh's heart, in the internal sense is signified that Pharaoh made firm his own heart, see n. 7632; and that the evil which in the Word is attributed to Jehovah is from man, n. 2446, 6071, 6991, 6997, 7533.)

7707 And he did not let go the sons of Israel. That this signifies that they did not leave those of the spiritual church, is evident from the signification of to let go, as being to leave; and from the representation of the sons of Israel, as being those who are of the spiritual church (see n. 7474, 7515, 7617).

7708 Verses 21-23. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Stretch out thy hand toward heaven, and there shall be thick darkness upon the land of Egypt, and one shall grope in the thick darkness. And Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven; and there was dense thick darkness in the whole land of Egypt three days. They saw not a man his brother, and there rose not up anyone from what was under him for three days; and all the sons of Israel had light in their dwellings. And Jehovah said unto Moses, signifies instruction; Stretch out thy hand toward heaven, signifies the rule of the power of truth Divine in heaven; and there shall be thick darkness upon the land of Egypt, signifies a complete privation of truth and good; and one shall grope in the thick darkness, signifies the density of the falsity from evil; and Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, signifies the rule of truth Divine in heaven; and there was dense thick darkness in all the land of Egypt, signifies the complete privation of truth and good; for three days, signifies a full state; they saw not a man his brother, signifies that they did not perceive the truth of any good; and there rose not up anyone from what was under him, signifies that there was no elevation of mind; for three days, signifies a full state; and all the sons of Israel had light in their dwellings, signifies that those who were of the spiritual church had enlightenment everywhere in their minds.

7709 And Jehovah said unto Moses, signifies instruction (as before, n. 7672).

7710 Stretch out thy hand toward heaven. That this signifies the rule of the power of truth Divine in heaven, is evident from the signification of stretching out the hand, as being the rule of power (of which above, n. 7673); from the representation of Moses, who was to stretch out his hand, as being truth Divine (see n. 6723, 6752, 7010, 7014, 7382); and from the signification of heaven, as being the angelic heaven. How it is that the rule of the power of truth Divine in heaven should produce a new state among the infesters, which is signified by the thick darkness, is evident from what was shown above (n. 7643, 7679), namely, that the Lord is continually setting heaven in order, and endowing those who are there, and those who newly arrive, with celestial and spiritual good. The effect of this setting in order is that the evil are gradual

Transcript

The Lord doesn't love, the Lord IS love. So what love does is that it has to bring into being what is other than itself. In order for love to exist, there has to be two. But the Lord can't bring into being a being that is Divine like Himself, because that would be loving Himself. So what the Lord brings into being is what is other than Himself. Now if you define Divinity, Divinity is to have life in oneself. That's what Divinity is. To be the source of life itself. To not be Divine, is to be a receiver of life.

So everything that is created is not the Lord, it is a receiver of the Lord's life. Now in order to have a reciprocal relationship, that life has to be received by the creature, or what is created, in a way whereby it feels it to be its own. So the feeling has to be there that I am a self. But the understanding is that that feeling is a product of the Lord's in flowing life. It's not something sourced in myself, although by all appearances it does. Then you have the conditions for reciprocity, which is what love is. It's communion and connection. So that's the only way the Divine Being as love, can have love manifest as if there is another being that for all intents of purposes operates as if it is Divine but knows that it's not. And the more that you know that you don't have life in yourself, then the more infilling there is from the Divine and the more fully you feel alive. So there's kind of a paradox that sits in there.

Now from our perspective, where we believe we have life in ourselves, it all looks like - My goodness, if I have to give this up then I am nothing! And so you spiral into - What is it all about?

Well what the Word says is that every human being that comes into being has come into being through a need within the Grand Man to fulfill a use in the whole of the community, a unique use that only that being can fulfill. And so that's what's behind human beings being born, is that they're being born for heaven to infill these uses in this community of heaven. So an example is like when you are in a use that you love, you give no thought to yourself. Like your sense of self just doesn't exist in that time stands still, or time doesn't exist either. You're fully in the joy of what you're doing and it's not self referencing. Well that's angelic consciousness, and angels do not self reference but they're more fully alive and feel the life in the joy and the purpose and the meaning of being itself because they don't have that belief in oneself getting in the way and obscuring the Lord's life.

So the Lord's desire is to give all that He is to another. That's what love does, and love can't do anything else but that, because the Lord is the fullness of all we can imagine from a perspective of happiness and joy and meaning and purpose. The more we can receive of Him, the greater our sense of meaning, happiness, joy and purpose is.

So the other aspect to it is that what we can say is that that life is nothing like how we experience life at this particular point in our development. So we struggle to see what joy and happiness is without self referencing whereas it's actually true joy, true peace. True love is when the self is no longer something that's looking to take for itself what it wants or what it believes will make it happy because humility, happiness, joy, all of these things arise when the self is put off. That's what we become and that's what heaven is.

So all there is, is as of self. There is no self other than the Lord. The Lord is the only Self. So just by extension, there can only be as of self and all sense of me being a self falls into the realm of falsity. So we are receivers of the Lord's life. We don't have life in our self and by definition only that which has life in itself is a self. So the Lord is the only self. The struggle we have is around trying to live out of an as of self as opposed to out of my-self. Well, you can't do it because that effort is coming from self, that thinks it can sort of conjure up an as of self state. It can't do it. What you can do is recognize when self is owning what is the Lord's and shunning that evil as a sin. And then as that process moves forward, the as of self becomes the default mode of being.

It's already here. It's all that's possible. Everything else is a delusion because it separates us from the Lord. As soon as I say I am an autonomous independent being, I separate myself from the Lord because the Lord alone is an autonomous independent being that has life in itself. And so if I'm in a state where I believe myself, my ego, my proprium to be everything, then of course that separates. It separates not just from the Lord but from everybody else. And that it is not true can be seen in the fact that we constantly have to defend it. And we have to push our right to be. Well the very fact that we have to do that, that we have to put our self forward all the time...

And I know what pop psychology and the rest of it, or it not even pop psychology, actual psychology says, that it's about self-esteem and affirming the self and individuation and all of these terms that float around, but they're all built on the idea that there is a self that can actually achieve something. And that's where it all breaks down. So it's about dying to self. It's dying to that self which has been built up and acquired from the loves of self and the world being active for most of our lives. That self has to die in order for the Lord to provide us with a new self which is an as of self. This is a full recognition that it's from the Lord and is the Lord in us. And that's why you have to go to the Word and work with its truth because what those truths do is strip back the love of our self. That love of self is really the love of the feeling that I am a self.

So the term metanoia which is usually translated repentance, it means aftermind. The literal meaning of it is aftermind or it can also mean higher mind, meta, like metaphysics, like it's the same prefix there. But it means literally a changing of mind in the sense of turning around, inverting. So these ideas are in the doctrines. The idea of there having to be this inversion that occurs and it's often described in terms of where truth leads and good is held to be secondary. There has to be an inversion whereby we come to see that good is first and has always been first or lover is primary and truth flows from that.

So we have this sort of low level of existence which in a sense actually establishes us in freedom because we don't feel the influx of heaven or hell really. We're kind of in the state of having to respond to the Word as of self. And that's what builds a new will. And there's no other way that a new sense of self can be implanted unless there is a response or a cooperation on our part so far as our engagement with the Word is concerned.

So yeah, you know, like .. and every day it's a battle. But the thing is is that we only see what's going on at a surface level. The Lord's undertaking to change those mental structures and the affections and all of that realm, that's all the Lord's work. So long as there's something from our side that is at least looking to apply truth to life, you know, like as long as there's something of that activem - then a lot can be done. It's like the two fish and the five loaves, or the small amount of meal, or the oil in the cruse, or the mustard seed... there only has to be a little for it to be expanded, but it's not expanded until that work is complete. 

Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to maintain focus on understanding the Text’s application to the inner life while reinforcing key LP principles highlighted in the exchanges.

Arcana Coelestia 7542... The inmost with the good is love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor, but the inmost with the evil is the love of self and the love of the world; it is this inmost that is here meant. The things that are around this inmost and make as it were its circumferences, are evils with the falsities which favor them; and these are disposed in the order in which they favor. In the other life these are unrolled according to the order in which they have been disposed; first come forth those which occupy the outermost circumferences; afterward those which occupy the more interior ones; and at last the inmost is made manifest. Hence it is that a man in the other life passes through many states, and that by degrees, successively, the evil run into plagues, before they are cast into hell, according to what has just been said. The inmost, to which they finally come, is hell itself with them, for it is the evil itself which had been of their love, thus the end for the sake of which they had done all things, and which in the world they had most deeply hidden.

Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to maintain focus on understanding the Text’s application to the inner life while reinforcing key LP principles highlighted in the exchanges.

Heaven and Hell 156. Together with the state of the angels’ interiors which pertain to their love and wisdom, the states of various things outside them appearing before their eyes are changed. For the things outside them take on an appearance in accordance with the things within them. 

Divine Love and Wisdom (40)... love and wisdom are the subject itself, and that what is perceived outside of it and as hovering and floating is nothing but an appearance of the state of the subject in itself. There are several reasons why this has not hitherto been seen, one of which is, that appearances are the first things out of which the human mind forms its understanding, and these appearances the mind can shake off only by the exploration of the cause; and if the cause lies deeply hidden, the mind can explore it only by keeping the understanding for a long time in spiritual light; and this it cannot do by reason of the natural light which continually withdraws it. The truth is, however, that love and wisdom are the real and actual substance and form that constitute the subject itself.

Heaven and Hell 54. It can in no sense be said that heaven is outside of any one; it is within him. For it is in accordance with the heaven that is within him that each angel receives the heaven that is outside of him. This makes clear how greatly misled is he who believes that to come into heaven is simply to be taken up among angels, without regard to what one’s interior life may be, thus that heaven is granted to each one by mercy apart from means; when, in fact, unless heaven is within one, nothing of the heaven that is outside can flow in and be received. 

Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to maintain focus on understanding the Text’s application to the inner life while reinforcing key LP principles highlighted in the exchanges.

Arcana Coelestia 7550. And that My name may be told in the whole earth. That this signifies that thus where the church is the Lord may be acknowledged as the only God, is evident from the signification of “name,” as being everything in one complex by which the Lord is worshiped (see n. 2724, 3006, 6674); and as the veriest essential of worship is the acknowledgment that the Lord is the only God, and that His Human is Divine, and that from this proceeds all faith and love, therefore by the “name of Jehovah being told” is signified that the Lord is to be acknowledged as the only God (that the Divine Human of the Lord is the “name of Jehovah,” see n. 2628, 6887), and from the signification of “the earth,” as being the church (see just above, n. 7547). That Jehovah or the Lord in this and in many other passages wills that His might and power may appear, and His name be told, and elsewhere that He be humbly worshiped and adored, seems as if He desires to show forth His glory, and as if He loves adoration for the sake of Himself. But quite different is the real case. It is not for the sake of Himself, but for the sake of the human race; not from self-glory, but from love; for He wills to be conjoined with the human race, and to give them eternal life and happiness. This cannot be done unless the man is in humble worship; and there can be no humble worship unless the man acknowledges and believes that he himself is dust and ashes, that is, nothing but evil, and that Jehovah or the Lord is the Greatest and the Holiest, and that he dare not from himself approach Him. When man is in such humble worship, then the Lord can flow in with the life of His love, and give heaven and eternal happiness. This is the reason why Jehovah or the Lord so greatly extols His own power and glory in the Word.    

AC 7541(2)... With the good who are to be uplifted into heaven, evils are successively separated, and the good are filled with goods according to the faculty of reception acquired in the world. And with the evil who are to be cast into hell, goods are successively separated, and the evil are successively filled with evils, according to the faculty of reception acquired in the world.

Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments offered in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to keep the focus on understanding the Text in terms of its application to the inner life along with reinforcing any key LP principles that have been highlighted in the exchanges.

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7651 Verses 7-11. And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, and let them serve Jehovah their God; knowest thou not yet that Egypt is perishing? And Moses and Aaron were brought back unto Pharaoh; and he said unto them, Go ye, serve Jehovah your God; who and who are going? And Moses said, We will go with our boys, and with our old men; with our sons and with our daughters, with our flock and with our herd, will we go, because we have a feast of Jehovah. And he said unto them, So shall Jehovah be with you when I let you go, and your babe; see ye that evil is before your faces. Not so; go I pray, ye that are young men, and serve Jehovah; because this ye seek. And he drove them out from the faces of Pharaoh. And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, signifies a warning from those who are in fear; How long shall this man be a snare to us? signifies that thus they would be caught by their own evil; let the men go, and let them serve Jehovah their God, signifies that it would be prudent to leave them, so that they may worship the Lord their God; knowest thou not yet that Egypt is perishing? signifies that from what has happened it can be known that all who harass those simple ones are cast down into hell, whence there is no escape; and Moses and Aaron were brought back unto Pharaoh, signifies the presence of truth Divine in consequence; and he said unto them, signifies inclination; Go ye, serve Jehovah your God, signifies that they shall be left, so that they may worship the Lord; who and who are going? signifies whether any would remain; and Moses said, signifies the answer; We will go with our boys, and with our old men, signifies the simple and the wise; with our sons and with our daughters, signifies those who are in the affection of truth, and those who are in the affection of good; with our flock and with our herd will we go, signifies those who are in interior good, and those who are in exterior good; because we have a feast of Jehovah, signifies the worship of the Lord by all and each; and he said unto them, signifies derision; So shall Jehovah be with you when I let you go, and your babe, signifies as if the Lord would be with them if they were left; see ye that evil is before your faces, signifies that in the desire there is no good; not so, signifies denial; go I pray, ye that are young men, and serve Jehovah, signifies that they who are in confirmed truths shall be left so that they may worship the Lord; because this ye seek, signifies that thus they have what they wish; and he drove them out from the faces of Pharaoh, signifies that the will of the infesters was quite contrary to truth Divine.

7652 And Pharaoh's servants said unto him. That this signifies a warning from those who are in fear, is evident from the signification of saying, when done by those who see their own destruction, to those in the society who are determined, as being a warning; and from the signification of Pharaoh's servants, as being those who infest who are of a lower condition and are in fear; that they are in fear, is plain from their words, how long shall this man be a snare to us? Send the men away, that they may serve Jehovah their God, knowest thou not yet that Egypt is perishing? which words are clearly from fear; and also from the fact that by Pharaoh's servants are meant the evil who infest, and the evil never advise what is good except from fear (see n. 7280).

7653 How long shall this man be a snare to us? That this signifies that thus they would be caught by their own evil, is evident from the signification of this man being a snare, as being to be caught by their own evil, and thus brought into the evil of the penalty.

7654 Let the men go, and let them serve Jehovah their God. That this signifies that it would be prudent to leave them, so that they may worship the Lord their God, is evident from the signification of to let go, as being to leave; and from the signification of serving Jehovah, as being to worship the Lord their God (as above, n. 7500, 7540, 7641).

7655 Knowest thou not yet that Egypt is perishing? That this signifies that from what has happened it can be known that all who harass those simple ones are cast down into hell, whence there is no escape, is evident from the signification of knowest thou not yet? as being that from what has happened it can be known; from the signification of to perish, as being to be cast down into hell, whence there is no escape-in the spiritual sense this is signified by perishing, in like manner as by dying or death, which denotes damnation and hell (see n. 5407, 6119, 7494);-and from the signification of Egypt, as being infestation (n. 7278), thus also those who infest. But as it is these infesters who are speaking, it is not said who infest, but who harass; for the evil excuse their evil and make light of it; nor is it said that they harass those of the spiritual church, but those who are simple, for the evil call all those simple who are of the church and live according to its truths and goods, that is, a life of faith and of charity.

7656 And Moses and Aaron were brought back unto Pharaoh. That this signifies the presence of truth Divine in consequence, is evident from the signification of being brought back, as being to be made present; and from the representation of Moses and Aaron, as being truth Divine, Moses internal, and Aaron external (see n. 7089, 7382).

7657 And he said unto them. That this signifies inclination, is evident from what follows, in that under the impulse of fear he was willing to let them go. This will or inclination is contained in he said unto them.

7658 Go ye, serve Jehovah your God. That this signifies that they shall be left, so that they may worship the Lord, is evident from the signification of serving Jehovah, as being to worship the Lord (see n. 7500, 7540, 7641, 7654). That go ye, or go ye away, when said by Pharaoh to Moses with respect to the sons of Israel, denotes that they should be left is evident.

7659 Who and who are going? That this signifies whether any would remain, is evident without explication.

7660 And Moses said. That this signifies the answer, is evident.

7661 We will go with our boys, and with our old men. That this signifies the simple and the wise, is evident from the signification of boys, when joined to old men, as being the simple, for old men denote the wise (see n. 3183, 6524, 6890).

7662 With our sons and with our daughters. That this signifies those who are in the affection of truth and those who are in the affection of good, is evident from the signification of sons, as being the truths of the church (see n. 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 3373), thus the affections, because truths without affection are not anything; and from the signification of daughters, as being goods (n. 489-491), thus the affections of good (n. 2362, 3963).

7663 With our flock and with our herd will we go. That this signifies those who are in interior good and those who are in exterior good, is evident from the signification of flock, as being interior good; and of herd, as being exterior good (see n. 5913, 6048). By the words in this verse, that they would go with their boys and their old men, and with their sons and with their daughters, and with their flock and with their herd, is meant in the internal sense everything that belongs to the church, both the external and the internal church. The things of the external church are meant by boys, sons, and herd; and the things of the internal church by old men, daughters, and flock; for old men denote wisdom; daughters, the affections of good; and flock, good itself, which are of the internal church; whereas boys denote simplicities; sons, the affections of truth; and herd, external good, which are of the external church.

7664 Because we have a feast of Jehovah. That this signifies the worship of the Lord by all and each, is evident from the signification of a feast, as being worship from a glad mind (see n. 7093). That it denotes the worship of the Lord is because Jehovah in the Word denotes the Lord (n. 1343, 1736, 2921, 3023, 3035, 5663, 6303, 6905, 6945, 6956); that it denotes worship by all and each, is plain from what immediately precedes, where it is said that they would go with their boys and their old men, with sons and with daughters, and with flock and herd.

7665 And he said unto them. That this signifies derision, is evident from the words which Pharaoh says: So shall Jehovah be with you when I let you go, and your babe, which are words of derision, and which signify, as if the Lord would be with them if they were left.

7666 See ye that evil is before your faces. That this signifies that in the desire there is no good, is evident from the signification of faces, as being the interiors in respect to the affections and the derivative thoughts (see n. 358, 1999, 2434, 3527, 3573, 4066, 4797, 5102, 5168, 5695, 6604); and as faces denote the affections, they denote also the desires. Hence it is that evil before your faces signifies that in the affections or in the desire there is no good.

7667 Not so. That this signifies denial, is evident without explication.

7668 Go I pray, ye that are young men, and serve Jehovah. That this signifies that they who are in confirmed truths shall be left, so that they may worship the Lord, is evident from the signification of go ye, as being that they shall be left (as above, n. 7658); from the signification of young men, as being truths confirmed (of which in what follows); and from the signification of serving Jehovah, as being to worship the Lord (as above, n. 7654, 7658, 7664). That young men denote those who are in confirmed truths, is because by sons,...