Logopraxis

Arcana Coelestia 6405 [2] But who they are that are here signified by “Gad,” shall be told. They are such as fall into illusion with respect to truth, and yet do works from this; thus works not of truth, still less of good. By such works they are driven away from truth, for as soon as a man who is in truth and not yet in good brings anything into act from his religiosity, he afterward defends it as if it were the veriest truth, and abides in it, nor does he admit any amendment of it, except insofar as he comes into good; for by so acting he imbues himself with it and loves it. Thus works drive him away from truth. Besides, he believes those things to be truths which are not truths, for these persons also, like those signified by “Dan,” judge from what is sensuous, thus without judgment. Let this be illustrated by examples. When one who counts everyone equally his neighbor, and thus benefits the evil equally with the good, and by thus conferring benefits on the evil does harm to others, has committed such acts repeatedly, he afterward defends them, saying that everyone is his neighbor, and that it is not his concern what his quality is, but only to confer benefits on him; thus he does works without judgment, and also contrary to the truth itself; for the truth itself is that all are the neighbor, but in a different degree, and that they are the neighbor more than others who are in good (see n. 2417, 3419, 3820, 5025).[3] By “Gad” are also signified those who make all salvation consist in works alone, like the Pharisee of whom the Lord says in the parable:

The Pharisee standing by himself prayed thus, God, I thank Thee that I am not as other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess (Luke 18:11-12);

thus holding external things as the veriest truths.

 

6328. GENESIS 49

1. And Jacob called his sons, and said, Gather ye yourselves together, and I will tell you what shall befall you in the end of the days.

2. Assemble yourselves and hear, ye sons of Jacob, and hear unto Israel your father.

3. Reuben, my firstborn, thou art my strength, and the beginning of my forces, excellent in eminence, and excellent in power.

4. Light as water thou shalt not excel, because thou wentest up on thy father’s bed, then profanedst thou it; he went up on my couch.

5. Simeon and Leviticus are brethren; instruments of violence are their swords.

6. Into their secret let not my soul come; in their assembly let not my glory be united; for in their anger they slew a man, and in their good pleasure they unstrung an ox.

7. Cursed be their anger for it was vehement, and their wrath for it was hard. I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

8. Judah, thy brethren shall celebrate thee, thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies, thy father’s sons shall bow down to thee.

9. Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey my son thou art gone up; he bowed, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

10. The scepter shall not be removed from Judah, and a lawgiver from between his feet, even until Shiloh come; and to him is the obedience of the peoples.

11. He binds his young ass unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washes his clothing in wine, and his covering in the blood of grapes:

12. His eyes are red with wine, and his teeth are white with milk.

13. Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the seas, and he shall be at a haven of ships, and his side shall be toward Zidon.

14. Issachar is a bony ass, lying down between the burdens.

15. And he shall see rest that it is good, and the land that it is pleasant; and he shall bow his shoulder to bear, and shall be a servant to tribute.

16. Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.

17. Dan shall be a serpent upon the way, an arrow-snake upon the path, biting the horse’s heels, and his rider shall fall backward.

18. I wait for Thy salvation, O Jehovah.

19. Gad, a troop shall ravage him, and he shall ravage the heel.

20. From Asher, his bread is fat, and he shall yield the delights of a king.

21. Naphtali is a hind let loose, giving discourses of elegance.

22. Joseph is the son of a fruitful one, the son of a fruitful one over a fountain, of a daughter, she marches upon the wall.

23. And embitter him, and shoot at him, and hate him, the archers.

24. And he shall sit in the strength of his bow, and the arms of his hands are made strong by the hands of the mighty Jacob; from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel.

25. By the God of thy father, and He shall help thee, and with Shaddai, and He shall bless thee, with the blessings of heaven above, with blessings of the deep that lieth beneath, with blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

26. The blessings of thy father shall prevail above the blessings of my progenitors, even to the desire of the hills of an age: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of the Nazirite of his brethren.

27. Benjamin is a wolf; he shall seize in the morning, he shall devour the spoil, and at even he shall divide the prey.

28. All these are the twelve tribes of Israel; and this is what their father spake to them and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.

29. And he commanded them, and said unto them, I am being gathered unto my people; bury me unto my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite;

30. In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is upon the faces of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a sepulcher.

31. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah:

32. The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the sons of Heth.

33. And Jacob finished commanding his sons, and he gathered up his feet unto the bed, and expired, and was gathered unto his peoples.

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Genesis 50

1. And Joseph fell upon the faces of his father, and wept upon him, and kissed him.

2. And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father; and the physicians embalmed Israel.

3. And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of the embalmed; and the Egyptians wept for him seventy days.

4. And the days of weeping for him passed away, and Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If I pray I have found grace in your eyes, speak I pray in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,

5. My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my sepulcher which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. And now I pray let me go up, and bury my father, and I will return.

6. And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.

7. And Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,

8. And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their babes, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.

9. And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen; and the army was exceeding great.

10. And they came to the threshing-floor Atad, which is in the passage of the Jordan, and they wailed there a very great and grievous wailing; and he made a mourning for his father seven days.

11. And the inhabitant of the land, the Canaanite, saw the mourning in the threshing-floor Atad, and they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians; wherefore they called the name of it Abel-mizraim, which is in the passage of the Jordan.

12. And his sons did unto him as he had commanded them:

13. And his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a sepulcher, from Ephron the Hittite, upon the faces of Mamre.

14. And Joseph returned into Egypt, he and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.

15. And Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, and they said, Peradventure Joseph will hate us, and returning will return unto us all the evil that we requited to him.

16. And they commanded Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,

17. Thus shall ye say unto Joseph, I pray forgive I pray the transgression of thy brethren, and their sin, because they requited evil to thee; and now forgive I pray the transgression of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.

18. And his brethren also went and fell down before him; and they said, Behold we are thy servants.

19. And Joseph said unto them, Fear ye not; for am I in God's stead?

20. And you thought evil against me, but God thought it for good, in order to do as it is this day, to keep alive a great people.

21. And now fear ye not: I will sustain you, and your babes. And he comforted them, and spake upon their heart.

22. And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father's house; and Joseph lived a hundred and ten years.

23. And Joseph saw Ephraim's sons of the third generation: the sons also of Machir the son of Manasseh were born upon Joseph's knees.

24. And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die; and visiting God will visit you, and will make you go up out of this land unto the land which He sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

25. And Joseph took an oath of the sons of Israel, saying, Visiting God will visit you, and ye shall make my bones go up from hence.

26. And Joseph died, a son of a hundred and ten years; and they embalmed him, and he was put in an ark in Egypt.

6497. The Contents

After treating of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, by whom in the supreme sense is represented the Lord, this last chapter of Genesis in the internal sense treats of the church-that after the celestial church had perished, a spiritual church was instituted by the Lord. The beginning and progress of this church are described in the internal sense, and at the close of the chapter, its end; and that in its stead the mere representative of a church was instituted among the descendants of Jacob.

6498. The Internal Sense.

Verses 1-3. And Joseph fell upon the faces of his father, and wept upon him, and kissed him. And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father; and the physicians embalmed Israel. And forty days were fulfilled for him, for so are fulfilled the days of the embalmed; and the Egyptians wept for him seventy days. And Joseph fell upon the faces of his father, signifies the influx of the internal into the affection of good; and wept upon him, signifies sorrow; and kissed him, signifies the first conjunction; and Joseph commanded his servants the physicians, signifies preservation from the evils which hindered; to embalm his father, signifies lest it should be infected with any contagion; and the physicians embalmed Israel, signifies what was done for the preservation of the good which is from truth; and forty days were fulfilled for him, signifies states of preparation by means of temptations; for so are fulfilled the days of the embalmed, signifies that these are states of preservation; and the Egyptians wept for him, signifies the sadness of the memory-knowledges of the church; seventy days, signifies a full state.

6499. And Joseph fell upon the faces of his father. That this signifies the influx of the internal into the affection of good, is evident from the signification of falling upon the faces of anyone, as being influx; from the representation of Joseph, as being the internal (see n. 5805, 5826, 5827, 5869, 5877, 6177, 6224); from the signification of the face, as being affection (n. 4796, 4797, 5102); and from the representation of Israel, who is here the father, as being spiritual good, or the good of truth (n. 3654, 4598, 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833). Hence it is evident that by Joseph fell upon the faces of his father is signified the influx of the internal into the affection of spiritual good. That the influx of the internal into the affection of spiritual good is signified, is because in the internal sense the subject treated of is the spiritual church, that it was instituted by the Lord; for by Israel is signified the good of truth, or spiritual good, and this good makes the spiritual church, wherefore also by Israel this church is signified (n. 4286, 6426). In order that this good may come into existence, there must be influx from the internal celestial, which is represented by Joseph; for without influx from this, spiritual good is not good, because it is of no affection. In what follows in the internal sense the institution of this church is continued (n. 6497). That this church is described by Israel now dead and presently to be buried, is because in the internal sense by death is not signified death, nor by burial burial, but by death is signified new life (n. 3498, 3505, 4618, 4621, 6036), and by burial regeneration (n. 2916, 2917, 5551).

6500. And wept upon him. That this signifies sorrow, is evident without explication. By the sorrow here signified by weeping is not meant in the internal sense sorrow for death as it is in the external, but for the good of the spiritual church, that it cannot be elevated above what is natural; for the Lord flowing in through the internal continually wills to perfect this good, and to draw it toward Himself, but still it cannot be elevated to the first degree of the good that belongs to the celestial church. For the man of the spiritual church is comparatively in obscurity, and reasons about truths as to whether they are truths, or confirms what is called doctrine, and this without perception whether what he confirms is true or not; and when he has confirmed it with himself, he fully believes that it is true, even though it is false; for there is nothing that cannot be confirmed, this being the work of ingenuity, not of intelligence, still less of wisdom; and what is false may be confirmed more readily than what is true, because it favors the cupidities, and agrees with the fallacies of the senses. Such being the nature of the man of the spiritual church, he cannot possibly be elevated above what is natural; and this is the source of the sorrow which is signified by Joseph wept upon him.

6501. And kissed him. That this signifies the first conjunction, is evident from the signification of kissing, as being conjunction from affection (see n. 3573, 3574, 4215, 4353, 5929, 6260); in this case the first conjunction, because a closer conjunction is treated of in what follows.

6502. And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians. That this signifies preservation from the evils which hindered conjunction, is evident from the signification of commanding, as being to flow in (see n. 5732); from the representation of Joseph, as being the internal, of which above (n. 6499); and from the signification of the physicians, as being preservation from evils. That it denotes from the evils which hindered conjunction (of which just above, n. 6501), is apparent from the connection. Hence it is evident that by Joseph commanded his servants the physicians is signified influx from the internal with respect to preservation from the evils which hindered conjunction. That physicians signify preservation from evils is because in the spiritual world diseases are evils and falsities, spiritual diseases being nothing else; for evils and falsities take away health from the internal man, and induce sicknesses on the mind, and at last pains; nor is anything else signified in the Word by diseases.

[2] That physicians, the medical art, and medicines in the Word signify preservations from evils and falsities, is evident from the passages where they are named; as in Mose

That by “time” is signified state, and hence by its “coming to pass in this time,” the state of the things that follow, cannot but appear strange; for the reason that it cannot be comprehended how the notion of time can be changed into the notion of state, or that when “time” occurs in the Word, something relating to state is to be understood. But be it known that the thoughts of angels do not derive anything from time or from space, because they are in heaven; for when they left the world, they left also the notion of time and space, and put on notions of state, that is, of the state of good and truth. Wherefore when man reads the Word and then thinks of time and of the things belonging to time, the angels with him do not perceive anything of time, but perceive instead the things that are of state, which also correspond thereto. Neither does man in his interior thought perceive time, but only in his exterior, as may appear from the state of man when his exterior thought is lulled to rest, that is, when he is sleeping; and also from various other experiences.​ Arcana Coelestia (Potts) 4814(2)​

All who die and become angels put off the two above- mentioned properties of nature, namely, space and time; for they then enter into spiritual light, in which objects of thought are truths, and objects of sight are like those in the natural world, but are correspondent to their thoughts. The objects of their thought which, as just said, are truths, derive nothing at all from space and time; and though the objects of their sight appear as if in space and in time, still the angels do not think from space and time. The reason is, that spaces and times there are not fixed, as in the natural world, but are changeable according to the states of their life. In the ideas of their thought, therefore, instead of space and time there are states of life, instead of spaces such things as have reference to states of love, and instead of times such things as have reference to states of wisdom. From this it is that spiritual thought, and spiritual speech therefrom, differ so much from natural thought and natural speech therefrom, as to have nothing in common except as regards the interiors of things, which are all spiritual. Of this difference more will be said elsewhere. Now, because the thoughts of angels derive nothing from space and time, but everything from states of life, when it is said that the Divine fills spaces angels evidently cannot comprehend it, for they do not know what spaces are; but when, apart from any idea of space, it is said that the Divine fills all things, they clearly comprehend it. Divine Love and Wisdom 70

… the thought of the spiritual man is abstracted from the idea of time, because it is raised above nature, and in place of that idea there is the idea of state of life, and in place of duration of time is an idea of the state of thought from affection, which constitutes life. For in the angelic heaven the sun does not rise or set or make years and days, as the sun in the world does; and for this reason the angels of heaven, because they are in spiritual ideas, think apart from time; consequently their idea of God from eternity does not take anything from origin, that is, from a beginning, but from state that it is eternal, and that everything therefore that is God and that proceeds from God is eternal, in other words, is Divine in itself. That this is so has been granted to perceive by an elevation above the natural idea into a spiritual idea. Apocalypse Explained 1130(3)

… time makes one with thought from affection; for from that is the quality of man's state. And with progressions of time, in the spiritual world, distances in progress through space coincide; as may be shown from many things. For instance, in the spiritual world ways are actually shortened or are lengthened in accordance with the longings that are of thought from affection. From this, also, comes the expression, spaces of time. Moreover, in cases where thought does not join itself to its proper affection in man, as in sleep, the lapse of time is not noticed. Divine Love and Wisdom 74

The like is true of all things that exist from time, as the four seasons of the year, called spring, summer, autumn, and winter; the four periods of the day, morning, noon, evening, and night; and the four ages of man, infancy, youth, manhood, and old age; and all other things that either exist from time or have a succession in accordance with time. In thinking of these a man thinks from time, but an angel from state; and in consequence what there is in them from time with man is with the angels turned into an idea of state. Spring and morning are turned into an idea of the state of love and wisdom such as they are in angels in their first state; summer and noon are turned into an idea of love and wisdom such as they are in the second state; autumn and evening such as they are in the third state; night and winter into an idea of such a state as exists in hell. This is why these periods have a like significance in the Word (see above, 155). This makes clear how natural things in the thought of man become spiritual with the angels who are with man. Heaven and Hell 166

 

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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499. THE SECOND STATE OF MAN AFTER DEATH.

The second state of man after death is called the state of his interiors, because he is then let into the interiors of his mind, that is, of his will and thought; while his exteriors, which he has been in during his first state, are laid asleep. Whoever gives any thought to man's life and speech and action can see that everyone has exteriors and interiors, that is, exterior and interior thoughts and intentions. This is shown by the fact that in civil life one thinks about others in accordance with what he has heard and learned of them by report or conversation; but he does not talk with them in accordance with his thought; and if they are evil he nevertheless treats them with civility. That this is so is seen especially in the case of pretenders and flatterers, who speak and act in one way and think and will in a wholly different way; also in the case of hypocrites, who talk about God and heaven and the salvation of souls and the truths of the church and their country's good and their neighbor as if from faith and love, although in heart they believe otherwise and love themselves alone. [2] All this makes clear that there are two kinds of thought, one exterior and the other interior; and that there are those who speak from exterior thought, while from their interior thought they have other sentiments, and that these two kinds of thought are kept separate, since the interior is carefully prevented from flowing into the exterior and becoming manifest in any way. By creation man is so formed as to have his interior and exterior thought make one by correspondence; and these do make one in those that are in good, for such both think and speak what is good only. But in those that are in evil interior and exterior thought do not make one, for such think what is evil and say what is good. With such there is an inversion of order, for good with them is on the outside and evil within; and in consequence evil has dominion over good, and subjects it to itself as a servant, that it may serve it as a means for gaining its ends, which are of the same nature as their love. With such an end contained in the good that they seek and do, their good is evidently not good, but is infected with evil, however good it may appear in outward form to those not acquainted with their interiors. [3] It is not so with those that are in good. With such order is not inverted; but good from interior thought flows into exterior thought, and thus into word and act. Into this order man was created; and in heaven, and in the light of heaven, his interiors are in this order. And as the light of heaven is the Divine truth that goes forth from the Lord, and consequently is the Lord in heaven (numbers 126-140), therefore such are led by the Lord. All this has been said to make known that every man has interior thought and exterior thought, and that these are distinct from each other. The term thought includes also the will, for thought is from the will, and thought apart from willing is impossible. All this makes clear what is meant by the state of man's exteriors and the state of his interiors.

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500. When will and thought are mentioned will includes affection and love, and all the delight and pleasure that spring from affection and love, since all these relate to the will as to their subject; for what a man wills he loves and feels to be delightful or pleasurable; and on the other hand, what a man loves and feels to be delightful or pleasurable, that he wills. But by thought is then meant everything by which affection or love is confirmed, for thought is simply the will's form, or that whereby what is willed may appear in light. This form is made apparent through various rational analyses, which have their origin in the spiritual world and belong properly to the spirit of man.

501. Let it be understood that man is wholly such as his interiors are, and not such as his exteriors are separate from his interiors. This is because his interiors belong to his spirit, and the life of his spirit is the life of man, for from it his body lives; and because of this such as a man's interiors are such he continues to be to eternity. But as the exteriors pertain to the body they are separated after death, and those of them that adhere to the spirit are laid asleep, and serve purely as a plane for the interiors, as has been shown above in treating of the memory of man which continues after death. This makes evident what is man's own and what is not his own, namely, that with the evil man nothing that belongs to his exterior thought from which he speaks, or to the exterior will from which he acts, is his own, but only that which belongs to his interior thought and will.

502. When the first state, which is the state of the exteriors treated of in the preceding chapter, has been passed through, the man-spirit is let into the state of his interiors, or into the state of his interior will and its thought, in which he had been in the world when left to himself to think freely and without restraint. Into this state he unconsciously glides, just as when in the world he withdraws the thought nearest to his speech, that is, from which he speaks, towards his interior thought and abides in the latter. Therefore in this state of his interiors the man-spirit is in himself and in his very life; for to think freely from his own affection is the very life of man, and is himself.

503. In this state the spirit thinks from his very will, thus from his very affection, or from his very love; and thought and will then make one, and one in such a manner that he seems scarcely to think but only to will. It is nearly the same when he speaks, yet with the difference that he speaks with a kind of fear that the thoughts of the will may go forth naked, since by his social life in the world this has come to be a part of his will.

504. All men without exception are let into this state after death, because it is their spirit's own state. The former state is such as the man was in regard to his spirit when in company; and that is not his own state. That this state, namely, the state of the exteriors into which man first comes after death (as shown in the preceding chapter) is not his own state, many things show, for example, that spirits not only think but also speak from their affection, since their speech is from their affection (as has been said and shown in the chapter on the speech of angels, n. 234-245). It was in this way that man had thought while in the world when he was thinking within himself, for at such times his thought was not from his bodily words, but he [mentally] saw the things, and in a minute of time saw more than he could afterwards utter in half an hour. Again that the state of the exteriors is not man's own state or the state of his spirit is evident from the fact that when he is in company in the world he speaks in accord with the laws of moral and civil life, and at such times interior thought rules the exterior thought, as one person rules another, to keep him from transgressing the limits of decorum and good manners. It is evident also from the fact that when a man thinks within himself, he thinks how he must speak and act in order to please and to secure friendship, good will, and favor, and this in extraneous ways, that is, otherwise than he would do if he acted in accordance with his own will. All this shows that the state of the interiors that the spirit is let into is his own state, and was his own state when he was living in the world as a man.

505. When the spirit is in the state of his interiors it becomes clearly evident what the man was in himself when he was in the world, for at such times he acts from what is his own. He that had been in the world interiorly in good then acts rationally and wisely, and even more wisely than in the world, because he is released from connection with the body, and thus from those earthly things that caused obscurity and interposed as it were a cloud. But he that was in evil in the world then acts foolishly and insanely, and even more insanely than in the world, because he is free and under no restraint. For while he lived in the world he was sane in outward appearance, since by means of externals he made himself appear to be a rational man; but when he has been stripped of his externals his insanities are revealed. An evil man who in externals takes on the semblance of a good man may be likened to a vessel shining and polished on the outside and covered with a lid, within which filth of all kinds is hidden, in accordance with the Lord's saying:

Ye are like whited sepulchers, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness (Matthew 23 verse 27).

506. All that have lived a good life in the world and have acted from conscience, who are such as have acknowledged the Divine and have loved Divine truths, especially such as have applied those truths to life, seem to themselves, when let into the state of their interiors, like one aroused from sleep into full wakefulness, or like one passing from darkness into light. They then think from the light of heaven, thus from an interior wisdom, and they act from good, thus from an interior affection. Heaven flows into their thoughts and affections with an interior blessedness and delight that they had previously had no knowledge of; for they have communication with the angels of heaven. They then acknowledge the Lord and worship Him from their very life, for being in the state of their interiors they are in their proper life (as has been said just above, n. 505); and as freedom pertains to interior affection they then acknowledge and worship the Lord from freedom. Thus, too, they withdraw from external sanctity and come into that internal sanctity in which worship itself truly consists....

A short guided meditation to support the work of conscious practice.

Psalm 3: Lord, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. Many are they who say of me, There is no help for him in God. Selah. But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head. I cried to the Lord with my voice, And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah. I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people Who have set themselves against me all around. Arise, O Lord; Save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah

LISTEN and READ here for a further exploration of Psalm 3: Seeing Beyond Appearances in Times of Struggle ( Scripture Expounded as Process)

Spiritual Experiences 1710. But now [it is to be affirmed] that the life of the Lord flows in into all in the universe, for they constitute the Grand Body [corpus maximum] and heaven, with the heaven of spirits, which is His body, because it lives from Him, as a man lives from his soul; i.e. from the Lord through the soul, wherefore all the members, and the parts of the members, cannot but live from Him; just as in man the members and parts of members depend exclusively upon his soul; and according to the forms of the members and the forms of the parts, so they live, and so do they perform their functions, however diverse, in the universal body; and yet in such a way that they are led to uses and ends, like each single organ in the body, for there is a consent of all to uses and to one end, which is the Lord; whence life [flows] into all and each, from one mediately into another, through a society of forms.

Arcana Coelestia 1871. How the Word of the Lord appears before the angels cannot be described, but some idea can be formed by those who have seen in museums the optical cylinders in which beautiful images are represented from things roughly projected. Although the things which are round about in the projection appear to have no form, series, or order, and to be merely confused projections, still when they are concentrated toward the cylinder, they there present a lovely image. So it is with the Word of the Lord, especially with the prophetic Word of the Old Testament. In the literal sense there is scarcely anything that does not appear destitute of order, but when it is being read by a man, and especially by a little boy or girl, it becomes more beautiful and delightful by degrees as it ascends, and at last it is presented before the Lord as the image of a human being, in which and by which heaven is represented in its whole complex, not as it is, but as the Lord wills it to be, namely, a likeness of Himself.

AC 4687(2).... heaven is the Grand Man corresponding to every single part of the human being... For whatever passes from the Infinite Being by way of heaven as the Grand Man presents an image of that Being in every single thing.

AC 2996. In this world it is a great secret, although in the other life nothing is better known to every spirit, that all things in the human body have a correspondence to those in heaven; insomuch that there is not the smallest particle in the body, to which something spiritual and celestial does not correspond; or what is the same, to which heavenly societies do not correspond, for these exist according to all the genera and species of spiritual and celestial things; and this in such an order that together they represent one man, even as to all his parts, in general and in particular, both the interior and the exterior. Hence it is that the universal heaven is also called the Grand Man; and hence it is that it has been so often said that one society belongs to one province of the body, another to another, and so on. The reason is that the Lord is the Only Man, and heaven represents Him; and the Divine good and truth that are from Him are what make heaven; and because the angels are therein, they are said to be in the Lord. But they who are in hell are outside this Grand Man, and correspond to things unclean, and also to bodily corruptions.

AC 1990 [3] From these quotations it becomes clear that the Infinite Being (Esse), which is Jehovah, could not possibly be manifested to man except through the Human Essence, that is, through the Lord, and so has not been manifested to anyone except the Lord alone. So that He could be present with and be joined to mankind, after mankind had removed itself entirely from the Divine and had immersed itself in foul desires and so in merely bodily and earthly things, He adopted the Human Essence itself by being born. He did so in order that the Infinite Divine could be joined to man even though man was so remote. Otherwise mankind would have died the death of those for ever damned. As for all the other arcana concerning the manifestation of Jehovah in the Lord's Human, when His state was a state of humiliation, before He had fully united the Human Essence to the Divine Essence and glorified it, these will in the Lord's Divine mercy be explained later on, to the extent that they are capable of being understood.

Index - Arcana Coelestia 5 ... Divine Esse is the Divine Itself; Divine Existere is the Human of the Lord; and when the Divine Human of the Lord was made Divine Esse, Divine Existere is the Divine Truth which proceeds from Him,

AC 6880. I AM WHO I AM. That this signifies the Being and Coming-forth of all things in the universe, is evident from the fact that “I AM” is Being, and because He alone is Being, it is said in the nominative case. That it is twice said “I AM,” that is, “I AM WHO I AM,” is because the one signifies Being and the other Coming-forth; thus the one signifies the Divine Itself, which is called the “Father,” and the other the Divine Human, which is called the “Son;” for the Divine Human comes-forth from the Divine Itself. But when the Lord as to the Human also was made the Divine Being [Esse] or Jehovah, then the Divine truth, which proceeds from the Lord’s Divine Human, is the Divine Coming-forth from the Divine Being. From this it can be seen that the Divine Being cannot communicate Itself to anyone except through the Divine Coming-forth; that is, the Divine Itself cannot communicate Itself except through the Divine Human, and the Divine Human can not communicate itself except through the Divine truth, which is the Holy of the Spirit: this is meant by its being said that all things were made by the Word (John 1:3). It appears to man as if the Divine truth were not such that anything can come forth by means of it; for it is believed that it is like a voice, which being uttered with the lips, is dissipated. But it is altogether otherwise; the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord is the veriest reality, and such a reality that all things have come forth from it, and all things subsist from it; for whatever proceeds from the Lord is the veriest reality in the universe; and such is the Divine truth, which is called the “Word,” through which all things were made.

AC 3938. There are two entities which constitute man, namely being (esse) and manifestation (existere). Man's being is nothing else than a recipient of the eternal which proceeds from the Lord. Indeed men, spirits, or angels are nothing else than recipients - that is, recipient forms - of life from the Lord. The actual reception of life is what the term manifestation refers to. Man imagines that he has being, and indeed that he is self-existent, when in fact he is not a self-existent being but, as has been stated, one who manifests being…[3] Manifestation too is used of the Lord, but only of the time when He was in the world and there assumed the Divine Being. But ever since He was made the Divine Being the term Manifestation could no longer be used of Him except to refer to whatever proceeds from Him. That which proceeds from Him seems like a Manifestation within Him, but it is not. Rather it is that which goes forth from Him and causes men, spirits, and angels to be forms manifesting His Being, that is, to have life. In so manifesting His Being man, spirit, or angel has life, and the life he has is eternal happiness.

PHYSIOLOGICAL CORRESPONDENCES by JOHN WORCESTER 1889

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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.

Not yet, not yet ...

Arcana Coelestia 6397. Shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. That this signifies that he is one of the truths in general which the tribes of Israel represent, is evident from the signification of “judging,” as being truth in its office (of which below); from the signification of “people,” as being those who are in truth (n. 1259, 1260, 2928, 3295, 3581, 4619), here those who are in truth and not yet in good, for these are “Dan” or the “people” of Dan (n. 6396); and from the representation of the “tribes of Israel,” as being all the truths and goods of faith in general (see n. 3858, 3926, 3939, 4060, 6335). Hence by “he shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel” is signified that this truth, represented by Dan, is also among the general truths which the tribes of Israel represent. That “judging his people” denotes truth in its office, is because by the tribes of Israel are represented all truths in general, as may be seen from the passages above cited, and truths are what judge; thus by “judging his people” is signified truth in its office.

... Of the twelve apostles it is thus written in Matthew:

Jesus said, Ye who have followed Me in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit upon the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28).

And in Luke:

I appoint unto you, as the Father has appointed unto Me a kingdom, that ye may eat and drink upon My table in My kingdom, and sit upon thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Luke 17:29-30).

[3] That in these passages neither four and twenty elders nor twelve apostles are meant, but all truths and goods in general, is evident from the fact that no man, nor even an angel, can judge anyone; for no one but the Lord alone can know the interiors, what they are and what they will be, and this to eternity. (That by the “twelve apostles” the same is signified as by the “twelve tribes,” namely, all truths and goods in the complex, may be seen above, n. 2129, 2553, 3488, 3858.) From all this it is now plain that by “Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel” is signified that the truth which is represented by Dan is one among the general truths through which is judgment.

 

A Comment On Loving the Neighbour

Teacher, by doing what shall I proceed in inheriting eonian life?”

So He said to him, Within the Law, what has been written? How are you in the habit of reading it?

Now making a discerning reply, the man said, 'You will be constantly loving the Lord your God from out of your whole heart, and in union with your whole soul, and in union with and in the midst of your whole strength, and in union with and within your whole mind – and your neighbour as being yourself.'

So He said to him, With discernment you answered correctly. Be habitually doing this and you will continue living.

(Luke 10: 25-28, Jonathan Mitchell Translation)

To be in the effort to hear and read the presence of the Word in the midst of our interactions with others is one aspect of what it means to love the neighbour or what is of the Lord in another. Spiritual literacy is not about judging whether another’s state is of the Lord or not, or even judging the situation or event itself.  But rather it is about attending to the thoughts and affections arising within our own state in response to what is being expressed before our understanding and perception.

If we can awaken to this work in any given moment then we can be present to what the Word is asking us to see in terms of the universal aspects of the spiritual processes at hand. When these insights are shared consciously in the space of the exchange with another then we are truly companioning and in relationship with them, for we are listening to them from the Lord as the Word who is Love Itself.

We need not then be concerned about whether what we have offered is adequate or enough. Nor do we need to see or know how what we have offered has been received. It is enough to simply be in the work of practise. If we do this then we can trust that the Lord will offer what is needed to meet any moment, to meet any interaction we have with another and to meet any life condition.

 

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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6466. Continuation about influx, and about the interaction of the soul and the body.

At the end of the preceding chapters it was shown that each life with man, namely, the life of his thought and the life of his will, flows in from heaven, and this through the angels and spirits who are with him; but by flowing in from heaven is meant that it flows in through heaven from the Lord, for the all of life with the angels is from the Lord, which they themselves unanimously confess, being also in the perception that it is so. And as the all of life with the angels is from the Lord, the all of life with man is also from the Lord, for man is directed by means of angels and spirits in particular, and by means of heaven in general by the Lord.

6467. From this it is evident that no man has life from himself, and therefore neither can he think and will from himself, for the life of man consists in thinking and willing. For there is one only life, namely, that of the Lord, which flows into all, but is variously received, and this according to the quality which a man has induced on his soul by his life in the world. Hence with the evil, goods and truths are turned into evils and falsities; but with the good, goods are received as goods, and truths as truths. This may be compared to the light which flows into objects from the sun, which is diversely modified and variegated in the objects in accordance with the form of their parts, and hence is turned into colors either sorrowful or gladsome, thus in accordance with the quality. In like manner while a man lives in this world he induces on the purest substances that belong to his interior a quality, according to which the Lord's life is received. Be it known that the life from the Lord is the life of love toward the universal human race.

6468. Spirits fresh from the world, before they have been instructed by angels, believe no otherwise than that the all of life is in the man himself, and that nothing flows in; because they know nothing in particular about heaven, thus neither about influx thence. Neither are spirits who are not good willing to be instructed in these things, for they desire to live from themselves; and they have said that I had no life, because they had heard me say that I do not live from myself, and that I know this by continual experience; but to this they were unwilling to attend. It was further given to say, that everyone has life in accordance with the form of the interiors which he has acquired by willing and acting, thinking and speaking.

[2] I afterward spoke with good spirits about the influx of life from the Lord, that it flows into all, and that this is evident from heaven, in that heaven resembles a man, and is therefore called the Grand Man (of which, and of the correspondence therewith of all things in man, I have already treated at the end of a number of chapters), and that this could not possibly be unless life from the Lord flowed into heaven in general, and into each one there in particular.

[3] It was further said that this is evident from the fact that the universal heaven has reference to the Lord, and that the Lord is there the center of all the looks, they who are in heaven looking upward to Him, and they who are in hell looking downward from Him. For the Lord appears to those who are in the heavens as a sun above them. It was further said that it is evident that the all of life is from the Lord from this fact also, that the soul of man can in the womb so wonderfully form a body, and its manifold members and organs in such a connection, and its interiors according to the image of heaven: this could not possibly be done unless all life were from the Lord, and unless heaven were such as has been described.

6469. It has also been given me to perceive by influx the sweetness which the Angels perceive from the fact that they do not think and will from themselves, but from the Lord; hence they have tranquillity, peace, and happiness. And when angels have inflowed so that I perceived it, the presence of the Lord has been plainly observed, a sign that they are in the Lord's life; this it has been given to know from much experience. Once also when I was thinking of the influx of life from the Lord, and was revolving some doubts, it flowed in from heaven that no attention should be paid to thousands of objections and reasonings from fallacies.

6470. That all life is from the Lord, it has also been given to know from the fact that no spirit thinks and speaks from himself, but from others, and these others from yet others, and so on. This has been frequently shown to those who believed that life was in them and did not flow in; and from this it has been given to conclude that because no one thinks and speaks from himself, but from others, therefore in the last resort all think and speak from One, thus from the Lord; and that unless all did so from One, it would be impossible for any order of lives to come forth in heaven, in which nevertheless the order is such that heaven is most distinctly arranged into societies according to the quality of the good. It would be altogether otherwise if everyone acted from his own life.

6471. A certain spirit (not of the evil, but from those who supposed that they possessed the knowledges of faith more than others, and who had instructed some others even in the fact that all good and truth are from the Lord, and that man cannot think or will what is good from himself), was brought into such a state that he did not think and will from himself; for in the other life it is possible to be brought into such states. When he was in this state he said that he could not live in such a way; but that life was grievous to him. He was then told that he did not love to live in the truth which he had taught, and that the angels are in that state, and are in happiness when they perceive that they do not live from themselves; but this was of no avail. Hence it was evident how difficult it is to live a life of faith unless the man lives in the good of charity.

6472. How the case is with the influx of each life, namely, of the life of the thought and the life of the will from the Lord, has been given to know by revelation; namely, that the Lord inflows in two ways: through heaven mediately, and from Himself immediately; and that from Himself He flows both into man's rational things, which are his interior things, and into his natural things, which are his exterior ones. That which flows in from the Lord is the good of love and the truth of faith, for that which proceeds from the Lord is the Divine truth in which is the Divine good; but these are variously received with man, namely, in accordance with his quality.

[2] The Lord does not compel man to receive what flows in from Himself; but leads in freedom, and so far as man allows, through freedom leads to good. Thus the Lord leads man according to his delights, and also according to fallacies and the principles received therefrom; but gradually He leads him out from these; and this appears to the man as if it were from himself. Thus the Lord does not break these things, for this would be to do violence to freedom, which however must needs exist, in order that the man may be reformed (see n. 1937, 1947, 2875, 2876, 2881, 3145, 3146, 3158, 4031). That the Lord flows in with man in this manner, namely, not only mediately through heaven, but also immediately from Himself, both into the interior and the exterior things in the man, is a secret hitherto unknown.

6473. That the Lord rules the last things of man equally as his first, can be seen from the fact that the order from the Lord is successive from first things to last, and in the order itself there is nothing but what is Divine; and this being so, the presence of the Lord must needs be in the last things equally as in the first, for the one follows from the other according to the tenor of order.

6474. It was shown me by experience during the space of an hour, how all the thoughts are ruled by the Lord. There was an influx like a most gentle and almost imperceptible stream, the current of which does not appear, but still leads and draws. This, which flowed in from the Lord, led in this manner all the series of my thoughts into the consequent things, and although gently, powerfully, so that I could not possibly wander into other thoughts, which also I was allowed to attempt, but in vain.

6475. I have heard it said to certain evil spirits, who were in the world of spirits and who were continually thinking against the Lord (in regard to the spirits who are from hell, when in the world of spirits, see n. 5852), that they should produce someone who said with truth about any angel of heaven (or, if they could, should show one single person in heaven) who does not acknowledge the Lord, and that He is the life of all, and that all have what they have from Him; but they were silent, because they could not do it. Some of the evil spirits, who believed that there are heavens where the Lord is not acknowledged, wandered about and made inquiry, but after trying in vain, they returned. It was said to them further that all in hell think against the Lord, nor do they attribute anything to Him which is above what is human; and yet most say that they acknowledge a Supreme Being, by which they mean the Father, and nevertheless live in hatred and revenge, and continually desire to be exalted over others, and to be worshiped as gods, and in this way they make hell for themselves. It is very different with those who acknowledge the Lord, and believe in Him from the heart. From this also it is evident that the Lord flows into all, both generally through heaven, and singularly and also universally from Himself; and that where the good of charity is, there He is; and also where the contrary is, there also He is, but in no other way than to give them life,...

A short guided meditation to support the work of conscious practice.

Psalm 97 : The Lord reigns; Let the earth rejoice; Let the multitude of isles be glad! Clouds and darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. A fire goes before Him, And burns up His enemies round about. His lightnings light the world; The earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples see His glory. Let all be put to shame who serve carved images, Who boast of idols. Worship Him, all you gods. Zion hears and is glad, And the daughters of Judah rejoice Because of Your judgments, O Lord. For You, Lord, are most high above all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods. You who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked. Light is sown for the righteous, And gladness for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

For further exploration on the Word as a mirror to our interior states you might like to listen/read to an Introduction to John's Gospel - Scripture Expounded as Process.

The World of Spirits

Heaven and Hell 421. The world of spirits is not heaven, nor is it hell, but it is the intermediate place or state between the two, for it is the place into which man comes after death; and from which, after a certain time, according to his life in the world, he is either elevated into heaven, or cast into hell.

On good appearing when evil is removed 

CL 444… Do you not know of the existence of good and evil? and that good is from creation, but not evil? Yet evil, regarded in itself, is not nothing although it is the nullity of good. Good is from creation, both good in its greatest degree and good in its least; and when this least becomes nothing, then from the other side arises evil. There is therefore no relation between them, nor any progression of good to evil, but only a relation and progression of good to greater and less good, and of evil to greater and less evil, the two being opposites at each and every point. And since good and evil are opposites, there is an intermediate between them wherein is an equilibrium in which evil acts against good; but because it does not prevail, it stops in the endeavor. Every man is brought up in this equilibrium. Being between good and evil or, what is the same thing, between heaven and hell, it is a spiritual equilibrium, and for those who are in it, it brings freedom. The Lord draws all men away from this equilibrium to Himself; and the man who from freedom follows Him, He leads from evil into good and so to heaven.

CL 325… [4] FOURTH: That good when thus implanted cannot be transcribed. By transcription is meant the transcription of the good of one man into another. From what was said above, it follows that by regeneration a man is made wholly new as to his spirit, and that this is effected by a life according to the Lord's commandments. Who does not see that this renovation cannot be accomplished except from time to time, in almost the same way as from seed a tree successively takes root, grows, and is perfected? Those who perceive regeneration in any other way do not know anything concerning man's state, or concerning evil and good, that the two are altogether opposite, and that good cannot be implanted except so far as evil is removed. Nor do they know that so long as one is in evil he is averse to every good which in itself is good. Therefore, were the good of one to be transferred into another who is in evil, it would be as though a lamb were thrown to a wolf, or a pearl tied to the snout of a swine. From this it is manifest that transcription is impossible.

AC 6319 [2] With regard to the subject itself, they who do goods with the sole end of reward cannot possibly know that in doing goods without any reward there is happiness so great as to be heavenly happiness itself. The reason of their ignorance is that they perceive happiness in the delight of the love of self, and insofar as a man perceives delight in this love, so far he does not perceive delight in heavenly love, for they are opposites. The delight which flows from the love of self completely extinguishes the delight which is from heavenly love, insomuch that it is absolutely unknown what heavenly delight is; and if its nature is told it is not believed, nay, it is denied.

3] This it has been given me to know from evil spirits in the other life who, while they lived, did nothing of what is good to others or to their country except for the sake of themselves; such do not believe that any delight is possible in doing goods without the end of reward; for they suppose that if there is no end of reward all delight ceases. And if they are told further that when that delight ceases heavenly delight begins, they are amazed at the hearing;

Doing good for recompense

AC 6389... they who do what is good for the sake of reward, do indeed perform uses, and are of service; but yet are among those in the Lord’s kingdom who are in the lowest place, for they do not dispense the good which is communicated to them, except to those who can recompense them; and they pass by the rest who need aid the most, or if they do good to these, it is from the end of being rewarded by the Lord. Hence what they do they regard as merit, and thus consider the Lord’s mercy as due them. In this way they recede from humiliation, and in the same proportion from a state of receiving what is blessed and happy through heaven from the Lord. From all this it is evident that in the other life such are indeed employed in uses, but as lowest services.

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.