Logopraxis

And Jehovah said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the statute of the passover; no son of an alien shall eat of it. And every man’s servant that is bought with silver, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat of it. A lodger and a hireling shall not eat of it. In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not bring out of the flesh abroad from the house; and ye shall not break a bone thereof. All the assemblage of Israel shall perform it. And when a sojourner shall sojourn with thee, and performeth the passover to Jehovah, every male of his shall be circumcised, and then let him come near to perform it; and he shall be as a native of the land; and no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. One law shall there be for the native, and for the sojourner that sojourneth in the midst of you. And all the sons of Israel did as Jehovah commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. And it was in this same day that Jehovah led forth the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.

Exodus 12: 43-51

Arcana Coelestia 8028. From this it could be seen how the case is with the order in heaven, and from this in the world; namely that when angels are about to come, a spirit is sent before to prepare the way, and that he excites fear, and gives admonition to receive the angels courteously; and that he interrupts; also that at first he does not understand what the angels speak, but afterward when he has been reduced to a better state he understands; in a word, that he is continually at hand, and prepares the lower mind, and endeavors to avert things unworthy. In regard to this there occurred to me a thought about John the Baptist, that it was according to the order of heaven for him to be sent before and announce the coming of the Lord, and that he should prepare the way that He might be worthily received, according to what is written in Matt. 3:3; Luke 1:17; 3:4; John 1:23.

AC 7822. The Contents. The subject treated of in this chapter in the internal sense is the liberation of those who are of the spiritual church, and the damnation of those who are in faith separate from charity. The damnation of these latter and the liberation of the former are represented by the passover, and the states in respect to charity and faith of those who are liberated, by the things to be observed on the days of the passover.

7823. In the supreme sense by the passover is represented the damnation of the unfaithful and the liberation of the faithful by the Lord, when He had been glorified. The quality of the state of the faithful at that time, and also what its quality would be afterward, both in the universal and in every particular, is described in this supreme sense by the statutes of the passover.

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

So it's about the liberation of the mind from the conclusions that the love of self and the love of the world have drawn from the appearance of the senses. Like you'll see, whenever we engage in trying to control the process or look to rationalise things so that we don't have to face what's really arising within and those sorts of patterns of thought and what have you.... that's really what we need to be liberated from. So truths like 'the Lord is the only self, the only life', that as a truth liberates us from the belief that we have life in ourselves, that we self generate our life.

So truths bring about liberation, but they have to be practiced. You can know that, but if it's not something you're really applying to what's arising moment to moment in your work when you remember, then the knowledge kind of just sits there like, well, yeah, I know that. Like I've got that down. That's fine. But more is required!

Everything in proprium will seek to diminish the need to work because working exposes it. And what are you dealing with? Well, proprium is a construct of many spiritual communities that have an investment in things staying the same. So whenever the Word is brought to bear on something within and that touches on our sense of selfhood, those spirits become agitated. And that's what you might experience as anxiety or depression or a lot of sort of feeling state that you might not be able to put your finger on in terms of what the cause is. Like there's nothing really happening that warrants this - but a lot is happening. A lot is happening below our conscious awareness. And it has to do with the reorganisation of spirits that we're associated with because that is what forms the basis for our sense of self. And those are the hells we need to walk out of and we need truths in order to do that.

Now, there's difficulty in that and there's challenges in that for sure. And it's not what we would normally call joy. But when we have an understanding of the process and what's going on and why what's going on has to happen the way that it does, then that brings a deep sense of .... would I call it joy? maybe, but certainly a sense of peace that the Lord has got it in hand. So we can have these really difficult states happening on a more external level, but we are held on a more interior level and we get to see that. We know that. We know that that is actually happening. We just have to remind ourselves of it. And in that reminding is a sense of the presence of the Lord. It's like we look at the wonder of it, that the Word, the Text, so accurately describes the states that I'm experiencing. Like there's a wonder in that, right? And that none of it can touch what is genuinely of the Lord within. The Lord's not affected by it. He affects the changes that are needed so that we can come into the experience of that, which is heaven's presence in earth. It's the will of the Lord being done - as in heaven so upon the earth. And so the reason that there are those states where we kind of feel like that's just not what's happening is because the structures of the mind have to be transformed in order to hold that as a lived reality. And it's possible. Otherwise, what's the point? For it is actually possible - and that's the wonder of and the miraculous nature of the Text to bring about that transformation.

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 2661. The Lord did not come into the world to save the celestial, but the spiritual. 

On Freedom

The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine 148: All freedom belongs to the love or affection; for what a man loves, he does freely, Arcana Coelestia 2870, 3158, 8987, 8990, 9585, 9591. Since freedombelongs to the love, it is the life of every one, Arcana Coelestia 2873. There is heavenly freedom and there is infernal freedom, Arcana Coelestia 2870, 2873, 2874, 9589, 9590. Heavenly freedom belongs to the love of good and truth, Arcana Coelestia 1947, 2870, 2872. And since the love of good and truth is from the Lord, freedom itself consists in being led by the Lord, Arcana Coelestia 892, 905, 2872, 2886, 2890-2892, 9096, 9586-9591. Through regeneration a man is introduced by the Lord into heavenly freedom, Arcana Coelestia 2874, 2875, 2882, 2892. A man ought to be in freedom, in order that he may be regenerated, Arcana Coelestia 1937, 1947, 2876, 2881, 3145, 3158, 4031, 8700. Otherwise the love of good and truth cannot be implanted in a man, and appropriated to him, so as to appear his own, Arcana Coelestia 2877, 2879, 2880, 2888, 8700. Nothing is conjoined to a man which is done under compulsion, Arcana Coelestia 2875, 8700. If a man could be reformed by compulsion, all would be saved, Arcana Coelestia 2881. Compulsion is hurtful in reformation, Arcana Coelestia 4031.

Worship from freedom is worship, but not worship from compulsion, Arcana Coelestia 1947, 2880, 7349, 10097. Repentance ought to be practised in a free state; what is done in a state of coercion is of no avail, Arcana Coelestia 8392. What states of coercion are, Arcana Coelestia 8392.

A man is permitted to act from the freedom of reason, that good may be provided for him; and on that account he is in the freedom of thinking and willing, and even of doing evil, so far as the laws do not forbid it, Arcana Coelestia 10777. A man is kept by the Lord between heaven and hell, and thus in a state of equilibrium, that he may be in freedom for the sake of his reformation, Arcana Coelestia 5982, 6477, 8209, 8987. What is inseminated in freedom remains, but not what is inseminated under compulsion, Arcana Coelestia 9588, 10777. Wherefore freedom is never taken away from any one, Arcana Coelestia 2876, 2881. No one is compelled by the Lord, Arcana Coelestia 1937, 1948. How the Lord through freedom leads a man into good; namely, through freedom he turns the man away from evil, and inclines him to good, so gently and quietly that he does not know otherwise than that all proceeds from himself, Arcana Coelestia 9587.

Compelling one's self comes from freedom, but not being compelled, Arcana Coelestia 1937, 1947. A man ought to compel himself to resist evil, Arcana Coelestia 1937, 1947, 7914. He ought also to compel himself to do good as of himself, but still to acknowledge that it is from the Lord, Arcana Coelestia 2883, 2891, 2892, 7914. A man is in greater freedom in the temptation combats in which he conquers, because he then compels himself interiorly to resist evils, although it appears otherwise, Arcana Coelestia 1937, 1947, 2881. In every temptation there is freedom, but this freedom is with the man interiorly from the Lord; and therefore he struggles and desires to conquer, and not to be conquered, which he would not do unless he had freedom, Arcana Coelestia 1937, 1947, 2881. The Lord does this through the affection of truth and good, which is impressed on the internal man, the man himself being ignorant of it, Arcana Coelestia 5044 Arcana Coelestia 5044[1-13].

Infernal liberty consists in being led by the loves of self and of the world, and by their lusts, Arcana Coelestia 2870, 2873. Those who are in hell do not know any other freedom, Arcana Coelestia 2871. Heavenly freedom is as far removed from infernal liberty as heaven is removed from hell, Arcana Coelestia 2873, 2874. Infernal liberty in itself is bondage, Arcana Coelestia 2884, 2890. Because being led by hell is bondage, Arcana Coelestia 9586, 9589-9591.

All freedom is like a man's Self (proprium), and according to it, Arcana Coelestia 2880. Through regeneration a man receives from the Lord a heavenly Self (proprium), Arcana Coelestia 1937, 1947, 2882, 2883, 2891. The quality of the heavenly Self (proprium), Arcana Coelestia 164, 5660, 8480. This Self (proprium) appears to the man as his own Self (proprium); but it is not his, but the Lord's with him, Arcana Coelestia 8497. Those who are in this Self (proprium), are in true freedom, because true freedom consists in being led by the Lord and by His Self (proprium), Arcana Coelestia 892, 905, 2872, 2886, 2890-2892, 4096, 9586, 9587-9591.

The differences between spiritual and celestial states of mind

Arcana Coelestia 10124. As has often been stated before, heaven is divided into two kingdoms, one of which is called the celestial kingdom and the other the spiritual kingdom. In both kingdoms good is implanted by means of truth; but with those who are in the spiritual kingdom good is implanted by means of truth in the understanding part of the mind, whereas with those who are in the celestial kingdom good is implanted by means of truth in the will part. The way in which the implantation of good by means of truth takes place in the spiritual kingdom is different from the way in which it does with those in the celestial kingdom. With those in the spiritual kingdom truth is implanted in the external or natural man, where at first it becomes knowledge. To the extent that the person has an affection for it, and lives in accord with it, it is then summoned into the understanding, where it becomes faith and at the same time charity towards the neighbour. This charity constitutes his new will and the faith a new understanding; and both constitute conscience. [2] But with those in the celestial kingdom truth becomes neither knowledge, nor faith, nor conscience. Instead it becomes a power to receive that is subject to the good of love; and to the extent that they live a life in accord with it, it becomes a power of perception which grows fuller and more perfect as their love does so. This goes on in them day by day without their awareness, almost as it does with young children. The reason why it goes on without their awareness is that truth does not become fixed as knowledge in the memory, nor does it linger as a concept within the power of thought; rather it passes without delay into the will and becomes part of their life. Consequently they do not see truth but perceive it; and the extent and manner of their perception is determined by how much and in what way the good of love received from and offered back to the Lord is present in them. These in the celestial kingdom therefore are very different from those in the spiritual kingdom. And since their perception of truth springs from good they never substantiate it by the use of reasons. Instead whenever truths are the subject they merely say either 'Yes, yes' or 'No, no'. [3] These are the ones who are meant by the Lord in Matthew, Let your words be Yes, yes; No, no; anything beyond this is from evil  1 . Matthew 5:37. For reasoning about truths, about whether they are such or not, does not spring from good, because in that case truth is not seen with perception, only believed as a result of receiving it on authority and then corroborating it for oneself. What one believes on authority consists of other people's ideas within one's self and are not one's own; and anything believed on these grounds alone and then corroborated appears after such corroboration to be the truth, even when it is false. This becomes perfectly clear from the beliefs of any religion and from the variety of religions throughout the world. From all this it is evident what the difference is between those who are in the Lord's celestial kingdom and those who are in His spiritual kingdom. The reason for their difference is that those in His celestial kingdom by the way they live convert the Church's truths immediately into forms of good, whereas those in the spiritual kingdom keep to truths, preferring faith to life. Those who by the way they live convert the Church's truths immediately into good, that is, those who belong to the celestial kingdom, are described by the Lord in Mark 4:26-29, and many times elsewhere. Regarding the difference between the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom, see the places referred to in 9277.

AC 141. Countless things can be said about the proprium — about what the proprium is like in the case of the bodily-minded and worldly man, what it is like in the case of the spiritual man, and what in the case of the celestial man. With the bodily-minded and worldly man the proprium is his all. He is unaware of anything else but the proprium. And, as has been stated, if he were to lose his proprium he would think that he was dying. With the spiritual man the proprium takes on a similar appearance, for although he knows that the Lord is the life of all, and that He confers wisdom and intelligence, and consequently the ability to think and to act, it is more a matter of something he says and not so much something he believes. The celestial man however acknowledges that the Lord is the life of all, who confers the ability to think and act, because he perceives that this is so. Nor does he ever desire the proprium. Nevertheless even though he does not desire it the Lord grants him a proprium which is joined to him with a complete perception of what is good and true, and with complete happiness. Angels possess a proprium such as this, and at the same time utmost peace and tranquillity, for their proprium has within it things that are the Lord's, who is governing their proprium, that is, governing them by means of their proprium. This proprium is utterly heavenly, whereas the proprium of the bodily-minded man is hellish. But more about the proprium further on.

...

Divine Love and Widsom 307. ALL USES WHICH ARE THE ENDS OF CREATION ARE IN FORMS, AND THEY TAKE FORMS FROM SUCH SUBSTANCES AND MATTERS AS ARE ON THE EARTH

All the things treated of hitherto, such as the Sun, atmospheres and earths, are simply means to the ends. The ends of creation are those things which are produced by the Lord as a Sun through the atmospheres, out of the earth, and these ends are called uses. In their extent they include all things of the vegetable kingdom, all things of the animal kingdom, and finally the human race and from that, the angelic heaven. These are called uses because they are recipients of the Divine Love and Wisdom, also because they have regard to God the Creator from Whom they are, and thereby conjoin Him to His great work, and by the conjunction bring it about that, as they come into being from Him, so they continue in existence. It is said that they have regard to God the Creator from Whom they are and conjoin Him to His great work, but this is to speak according to the appearance. Indeed it is understood that God the Creator causes them to regard and conjoin themselves to Him as it were of themselves. But how they regard and thereby conjoin will be told in what follows. Something has been said before on these subjects in the appropriate places, as that the Divine Love and Wisdom must necessarily be and have existence in others created by it (47-51); that all things in the created universe are recipients of Divine Love and Wisdom (55-60); and that the uses of all created things ascend by degrees to man, and through man to God the Creator from Whom they are (65-68).

DLW 410. (12) Love or the will conjoins itself to wisdom or the understanding, and causes wisdom or the understanding to be reciprocally conjoined to it. That love or the will conjoins itself to wisdom or the understanding is plain from their correspondence with the heart and lungs. Anatomical observation shows that the heart is in its life's motion when the lungs are not yet in motion; this it shows by cases of swooning and of suffocation, also by the fetus in the womb and the chick in the egg. Anatomical observation shows also that the heart, while acting alone, forms the lungs and so adjusts them that it may carry on respiration in them; also that it so forms the other viscera and organs that it may carry on various uses in them, the organs of the face that it may have sensation, the organs of motion that it may act, and the remaining parts of the body that it may exhibit uses corresponding to the affections of love. From all this it can now for the first time be shown that as the heart produces such things for the sake of the various functions which it is afterwards to discharge in the body, so love, in its receptacle called the will, produces like things for the sake of the various affections that constitute its form, which is the human form (as was shown above). Now as the first and nearest of love's affections are affection for knowing, affection for understanding, and affection for seeing what it knows and understands, it follows, that for these affections love forms the understanding and actually enters into them when it begins to feel and to act and to think. To this the understanding contributes nothing, as is evident from the analogy of the heart and lungs (of which above). From all this it can be seen, that love or the will conjoins itself to wisdom or the understanding, and not wisdom or the understanding to love or the will; also from this it is evident that knowledge, which love acquires to itself by the affection for knowing, and perception of truth, which it acquires by the affection for understanding, and thought which it acquires by the affection for seeing what it knows and understands, are not of the understanding but of love. Thoughts, perceptions, and knowledges therefrom, flow in, it is true, out of the spiritual world, yet they are received not by the understanding but by love, according to its affections in the understanding. It appears as if the understanding received them, and not love or the will, but this is an illusion. It appears also as if the understanding conjoined itself to love or the will, but this too, is an illusion; love or the will conjoins itself to the understanding, and causes the understanding to be reciprocally conjoined to it. This reciprocal conjunction is from love's marriage with wisdom, wherefrom a conjunction seemingly reciprocal, from the life and consequent power of love, is effected. It is the same with the marriage of good and truth; for good is of love and truth is of the understanding. Good does everything and it receives truth into its house and conjoins itself with it so far as the truth is accordant. Good can also admit truths which are not accordant; but this it does from an affection for knowing, for understanding, and for thinking its own things, whilst it has not as yet determined itself to uses, which are its ends and are called its goods. Of reciprocal conjunction, that is, the conjunction of truth with good, there is none whatever. That truth is reciprocally conjoined is from the life belonging to good. From this it is that every man and every spirit and angel is regarded by the Lord according to his love or good, and no one according to his intellect, or his truth separate from love or good. For man's life is his love (as was shown above), and his life is qualified according as he has exalted his affections by means of truth, that is, according as he has perfected his affections by wisdom. For the affections of love are exalted and perfected by means of truths, thus by means of wisdom. Then love acts conjointly with its wisdom, as though from it; but it acts from itself through wisdom, as through its own form, and this derives nothing whatever from the understanding, but everything from a kind of determination of love called affection.  

Arcana Coelestia 7884. Ye shall keep it by an eternal statute. That this signifies the worship of the Lord according to the order of heaven on the part of those who are of the spiritual church, is evident from the signification of “an eternal statute,” as being the order of heaven (of which below); and from the signification of “keeping a feast,” as being the worship of the Lord (as just above, n. 7882); and because it is said to the sons of Israel that they should “keep it,” they are meant who are of the spiritual church. That “an eternal statute” denotes the order of heaven, is because all the statutes that were commanded to the sons of Israel were such as flowed from the order of heaven; consequently they also represented the things that are of heaven. By worship according to the order of heaven is meant all practicing of good according to the Lord’s precepts. By the worship of God at this day is chiefly meant the oral worship in a temple, both morning and evening. But the worship of God does not consist essentially in this, but in a life of uses; this latter worship is according to the order of heaven. Oral worship is also worship, but it is of no avail whatever unless there is the worship that belongs to the life; for this worship is of the heart; and oral worship, that it may be worship, must proceed from this.

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.

And it came to pass at midnight, that Jehovah smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh about to sit upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the house of the pit, and all the firstborn of beast. And Pharaoh rose up in that night, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; because there was not a house where there was not one dead. And he called Moses and Aaron in the night, and said, Rise up, go ye out from the midst of my people, both ye and the sons of Israel; and go, serve Jehovah, according to your speaking. Also your flocks, also your herds, take ye, as ye spoke, and go, and bless me also. And Egypt was strong upon the people, hastening to send them out of the land; for they said, We are all dead. And the people carried their dough before it was leavened, their kneading troughs bound up in their clothes upon their shoulder. And the sons of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they asked of the Egyptians vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments. And Jehovah gave the people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, and they lent to them; and they spoiled the Egyptians.  And the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, besides babe. And a great mixed multitude also went up with them; and flock, and herd, a very great acquisition. And they baked the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt into unleavened cakes, for it had not been leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt, and could not tarry, and moreover, they had not prepared for themselves any provision for the journey. And the dwelling of the sons of Israel which they dwelt in Egypt, was thirty years and four hundred years. And it was at the end of thirty years and four hundred years, it was even in this same day, all the armies of Jehovah went forth from the land of Egypt. A night of watches is this to Jehovah, for leading them forth from the land of Egypt; this is that night of watches to Jehovah for all the sons of Israel unto their generations. 

Exodus 12: 29-42

Arcana Coelestia 7950 [2] That “the firstborn in the land of Egypt” denotes the falsified truth of faith, is because “the firstborn of Egypt” denotes faith separate from charity (n. 7948). They who are in this faith are in mere darkness and thick darkness with respect to the truths of faith; for they cannot be in any light, thus not in any perception of what truth is, and whether it is truth. For all spiritual light comes through good from the Lord, thus through charity, for the good of charity is like a flame from which is light; for good is of love, and love is spiritual fire, from which comes enlightenment. He who believes that they who are in evil can also be in enlightenment in respect to the truths of faith, is very much mistaken. They can be in a state of confirmation, that is, they may be able to confirm the doctrinal things of their church, and this sometimes with skill and ingenuity; but they cannot see whether what they confirm is true or not. (That falsity also can be confirmed even so as to appear like truth; and that it is not the part of a wise man to confirm, but to see whether the thing is so, see n. 4741, 5033, 6865, 7012, 7680) [3] He therefore who is in evil as to life is in the falsity of his evil, and does not believe the truth, however well he knows it. He sometimes supposes that he believes, but he is mistaken. That he does not believe will be granted him to know in the other life, when his perceiving is reduced into agreement with his willing. Then he will disown, hold in aversion, and reject the truth, and will acknowledge as truth that which is contrary, that is, falsity. Hence then it is that they who are in faith separate from charity cannot do otherwise than falsify the truths of faith.

AC 7966. And the people carried their dough before it was leavened. That this signifies the first state of truth from good, in which there is nothing of falsity, is evident from the signification of “dough,” as being truth from good. For by “meal” and “fine flour” is signified truth; by the “dough” which is made therefrom, the good of truth; and by the “bread” which is made from the dough is signified the good of love; and when by “bread” is signified the good of love, by the other things, namely, by the “dough” and the “flour,” are signified in their order goods and truths (that “bread” denotes the good of love, see n. 276, 680, 2165, 2177, 3464, 3478, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, 4976, 5915); and from the signification of “before it was leavened,” as being in which there was nothing of falsity (that “leaven” denotes falsity see n. 7906). [2] That this is the first state, namely, when they are liberated, is plain, because it is said that “the people carried their dough,” that is, when they departed. But the second state is described in the following (Exodus 12:39) verse 39 (39), by “they baked the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt into unleavened cakes, for it was not leavened,” by which is signified that from the truth of good was again produced good in which there was nothing of falsity. These are the two states in which they who are of the spiritual church, when in good, are kept by the Lord-the first, that from the good which is of the will they see and think truth; the second, that from this marriage of good and truth they produce truths, which by willing them and doing them, again become goods, and so on continually. Such are the productions and derivations of truth with those who are of the spiritual church. In the spiritual world this is presented representatively as a tree with leaves and fruits; the leaves there are truths; the fruits are the goods of truth; the seeds are the goods themselves, from which are the rest.

AC 7967. Their kneading troughs bound up in their clothes. That this signifies the delights of the affections, which delights adhere to the truths, is evident from the signification of “kneading troughs” as being the delights of the affections (n. 7356); from the signification of “to be bound up,” as being to adhere; and from the signification of “clothes,” as being truths (n. 1073, 2576, 4545, 4763, 5248, 5319, 5954, 6914, 6918). What the delights of the affections that adhere to truths are, must be told. All the truths that enter with man have been conjoined with some delight, for truths without delight are not of anyone’s life. From the delights that are conjoined with truths it is known how the case is in respect to the truths with a man; if they are delights of evil affections, then it is ill; but if they are delights of good affections, it is well. For the angels who are with man flow in continually with good affections, and then call forth the truths which have been conjoined with them; in like manner on the other hand, if the truths have not been conjoined with good affections, then the angels labor in vain to call forth what is of faith and charity. From all this it can be seen what is meant by the delights of the affections that adhere to truths, which is signified by the “kneading troughs being bound up in their clothes.”

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:

So the group task was to practice two-way attention and to listen to what is arising within as we listen to what is coming from without. And it's more about, what are the thoughts and affectional states that are arising as I listen, and giving attention to what's arising as primary, rather than to what's being said, the words that are being spoken - the person we're listening to. Because when someone is speaking and we are listening, we are filtering that through our own states. So we're not really hearing them. We're looking to hear what the Lord is saying through the contact. And that's not necessarily the literal meaning of the words a person is speaking.

So it can be, just as an example, things that people are speaking as I listen, that track back to what I've read in the reading in some way. That's kind of an awareness I would hold. Like how does what I'm hearing fit with what the Lord has provided through the reading? And how is what is being expressed illustrating that? Because that's what I see as important. I mean, people's work is important, but it's their work. It's not my work. So what I have to be across is what is related to my work. And then when meeting in the group, it has to be what is for the group as a whole to hear. And it's not like, you know for sure, that this is it, but you have to sort of cultivate a sensitivity and trust that what's brought is what's needed. That's all you can do.

So one way of thinking about it is like, we all really are a living question. We carry these questions deep in our hearts. When someone speaks, and I'm in a state of being attentive and wanting to hear from the Lord, it's not about hearing them, it's about hearing the Lord, then what is spoken enters into the questions I carry that leads my journey in this work. And then all I can share is what arises out of the questions I carry. Then there's this remarkable thing called a dialogue that takes place. Now, proprium to proprium will never move in an agreed dialogue unless both are getting some sort of advantage from it. So the miracle is that really what's happening is that we listen for the Lord and it is the Lord who speaks, it's the Lord who listens and it's the Lord who responds. And that happens when we are giving attention and willing to lay aside ourselves and allow what is rising to become manifest in the group. And that is a form of where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them. And it is also an example of holy supper because the goods and truths that are expressed are the Lord in the midst passing between people, feeding, nurturing, supporting, all of that. So that is charity in a living form.

So yes, it's Round two, but it's come out of the work in Round one. So these elements come from Round one, from different places, different people's work. And the process of listening in Round one provides what's needed for Round two. And that is the, in terms of the reading, that is the lamb that is roasted and prepared for the feeding of the group. And there will be aspects of liberation that occur in that process and aspects of damnation. Because it is both - there is no innocence implanted without temptation.

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.

Conjugial Love 132(5,6)... man is man from this, that man is able to will good and to understand truth wholly as if from oneself, and still to know and to believe that this knowing and believing are from God. For just as man knows and believes this, God establishes His Own image in man. It would be otherwise if man would believe that one’s knowing and believing were from oneself and not from God.” [6] With these words having been said, a Zeal from the love of truth came upon those from the Eastern seats, from which they spoke these words, “How is a man able to receive anything of love and wisdom and to retain it and to reproduce it, unless one feels it as one’s own? And how is a conjunction with God able to be given through love and wisdom unless there is given to man some reciprocal of conjunction? For without a reciprocal, no conjunction is possible, and the reciprocal of conjunction is that man loves God and is wise in those things which are of God, as if from oneself, and yet believes that this love and wisdom are from God.

Divine Love and Wisdom  49. With respect to God: it is impossible for Him to love others and to be loved reciprocally by others in whom there is anything of infinity, that is, anything of the essence and life of love in itself, or anything of the Divine. For if there were beings having in them anything of infinity, that is, of the essence and life of love in itself, that is, of the Divine, it would not be God loved by others, but God loving Himself; since the Infinite, that is, the Divine, is one only, and if this were in others, Itself would be in them, and would be the love of self Itself; and of that love not the least trace can possibly be in God, since it is wholly opposed to the Divine Essence. Consequently, for this relation to be possible there must be others in whom there is nothing of the Divine in itself.

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 7902. Innocence consists in acknowledging that in oneself there is nothing but evil, and that all good is from the Lord; and also in believing that man does not know or perceive anything from himself, but from the Lord, thus also the truth which is of faith. When man is in this state, then falsity can be removed from him, and truth can be instilled by the Lord. This state is what is signified by the unleavened things, and also by the eating of the paschal lamb.

AC 7854 Upon things bitter. That this signifies by means of the undelightful things of temptations, is evident from the signification of “bitter things” or “bitternesses” as being things undelightful, here those which belong to temptations. For the good of innocence, which is represented by the paschal lamb, cannot be appropriated to anyone except through temptations. By “unleavened bread” such good is signified, and because this is appropriated through temptations, the bread was ordered to be eaten upon bitter things; and moreover, that bread was to them bread of affliction, like the manna (Deut. 8:15, 16; 16:3), because it was devoid of leaven, that is, of any falsity from evil, for man cannot endure pure truth and pure good. That things undelightful are signified by “bitter things,” is plain in Isaiah: Woe to them that call evil good, and good evil; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isa. 5:20).They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it (Isa. 24:9).That the undelightful things of temptations are signified by “bitter things” is evident from these words in Exodus:At last they came unto Marah, but they could not drink of the waters, on account of their bitterness, because they were bitter. And the people murmured against Moses, who, when he cried unto Jehovah, Jehovah showed him wood which he cast into the waters, and the waters were made sweet. There He set for him a statute and a judgment, because there He tried him (Exod. 15:23-25).And also in John:There fell from heaven a great star, burning as a torch. The name of the star is called Wormwood, and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter (Rev. 8:10-11).In these passages “bitter waters” denote the undelightful things of temptations; the “men who died of the waters” denote those who succumbed in temptations.

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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7993 Verses 43-49. And Jehovah said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the statute of the passover; no son of an alien shall eat of it. And every man's servant that is bought with silver, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat of it. A lodger and a hireling shall not eat of it. In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not bring out of the flesh abroad from the house; and ye shall not break a bone thereof. All the assemblage of Israel shall perform it. And when a sojourner shall sojourn with thee, and performeth the passover to Jehovah, every male of his shall be circumcised, and then let him come near to perform it; and he shall be as a native of the land; and no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. One law shall there be for the native, and for the sojourner that sojourneth in the midst of you. And Jehovah said unto Moses and Aaron, signifies information by means of truth Divine; This is the statute of the passover, signifies the laws of order for those who are liberated from damnation and infestations; no son of an alien shall eat of it, signifies that those who are not in truth and good are to be separated from them; and every man's servant, signifies a man who is still natural; that is bought with silver, signifies who has any spiritual truth; when thou hast circumcised him, signifies purification from unclean loves; then he shall eat of it, signifies that he shall be with them; a lodger and a hireling shall not eat of it, signifies that they who do what is good from mere natural disposition, and those who do it for the sake of their own advantage, are not to be with them; in one house shall it be eaten, signifies consociations of accordant goods, that they may together make one good; thou shalt not bring out of the flesh abroad from the house, signifies that this good shall not be mixed together with the good of another; and ye shall not break a bone in it, signifies the truth of memory-knowledge, that this also must be sound; all the assemblage of Israel shall perform it, signifies that this law of order is for all who are in the good of truth and in the truth of good; and when a sojourner shall sojourn with thee, signifies those who have been instructed in the truth and good of the church, and have received them; and performeth the passover to Jehovah, signifies if he desires to be together with them; every male of his shall be circumcised, signifies that his truth must be cleansed from impure loves; and then let him come near to perform it, signifies that then he shall be with them; and he shall be as a native of the land, signifies that he shall be received as he who is in that truth and good, and has been purified from unclean loves; and no uncircumcised person shall eat of it, signifies that he who is in the loves of self and of the world cannot be together with them; one law shall there be for the native, and for the sojourner that sojourneth in the midst of you, signifies that he who on being instructed receives the truth and good of the church, and lives according to them, shall be as he who, being already instructed, is within the church, and lives a life in agreement with the precepts of faith and of charity.

7994 And Jehovah said unto Moses and Aaron. That this signifies information by means of truth Divine, is evident from the signification of Jehovah said, when the statutes of the church are treated of, as being information or instruction (see n. 7186, 7267, 7304, 7380, 7517, 7769, 7793, 7825); and from the representation of Moses and Aaron, as being truth Divine; Moses internal, and Aaron external (n. 7009, 7010, 7089, 7382).

7995 This is the statute of the passover. That this signifies the laws of order for those who are liberated from damnation and infestations, is evident from the signification of a statute, as being that which is from order (of which below); and from the signification of the passover, as being the presence of the Lord and liberation from damnation (see n. 7093e, 7867). As regards that which is of order, which is signified by statute, be it known that all the statutes commanded to the sons of Israel were laws of order in the external form, but those things which they represented and signified were laws of order in the internal form. Laws of order are truths which are from good; the complex of all the laws of order is the Divine truth proceeding from the Divine good of the Lord. From this it is evident that the Divine Itself of the Lord in heaven is order, the Divine good the essential of order, and the Divine truth its formal.

7996 No son of an alien shall eat of it. That this signifies that those who are not in truth and good are to be separated from them, is evident from the signification of an alien, as being those out of the church who do not acknowledge anything of the truth and good of faith, as was the case with the nations in the land of Canaan (see n. 2049, 2115), thus who are not in truth and good; and from the signification of not eating of it, as being to communicate and be conjoined with them, thus to be separated from them. In what now follows those are treated of who should eat the passover together, and those who should not. The supper of the passover represented the consociations of the good in heaven; and in the statutes which follow, it is declared who could be consociated and who could not. In general, feasts, both dinners and suppers, in ancient times were made within the church in order that they might be consociated and conjoined as to love, and that they might instruct one another in those things which are of love and faith, thus in the things of heaven (see n. 3596, 3832, 5161). Such at that time were the delights attending their banquets, and such was the end for the sake of which were their dinners and suppers. Thus the mind and the body also were nourished unanimously and correspondently; and from this they had health and long life, and from it they had intelligence and wisdom; and also from this they had communication with heaven, and some had open communication with angels. But as in course of time all internal things vanish away and pass into external ones, so also did the purposes of the feasts and banquets, which at this day are not for the sake of any spiritual conjunction, but for the sake of worldly conjunctions, namely, for the sake of gain, for the sake of the pursuit of honors, and for the sake of pleasures, from which there is nourishment of the body, but none of the mind.

7997 That the paschal supper represented the consociations of angels in the heavens in respect to goods and truths, see above (n. 7836, 7996); and because it represented these, it was ordained that not only every house by itself should then be together and eat, but also that no others should be consociated except those who represent the conjunction of love such as is that of the heavenly societies, and thus that the rest were to be separated. They who are to be separated were the aliens, for by them were signified those who are not in the good and truth of the church; also the lodgers and hirelings, because by these were represented those who from mere natural disposition, and those who for the sake of gain, did good and truth, and made a boast of them. Neither the latter nor the former can be consociated with the angels in the heavens; but when they are allowed to wander about, as is the case when they first come into the other life, before they undergo vastations of good and truth, then when they come toward any angelic society and feel the sphere of sanctity from the truth of the good of innocence which is signified by the blood of the paschal lamb (n. 7846, 7877), they cannot approach, but forthwith flee away because of fear and aversion.

7998 And every man's servant. That this signifies a man who is still natural, is evident from the signification of servant, as being what is natural (see n. 3019, 3020, 3191, 3192, 3204, 3206, 3209, 5305), thus the natural man. The natural man is called a servant because it was made to minister to the spiritual man, and also to obey it, as a servant his lord.

7999 That is bought with silver. That this signifies who has any spiritual truth, is evident from the signification of buying, as being acquisition and appropriation (see n. 4397, 4487, 5374, 5397, 5406, 5410, 5426); and from the signification of silver, as being truth (n. 1551, 2954, 5658), here spiritual truth, because the servant that is bought is in the internal sense the natural man, and therefore the lord who buys is the spiritual man. How this is cannot be known unless it is known how the spiritual buys for itself-that is, acquires and appropriates-the natural. When man is being regenerated, his internal and external, that is, the spiritual and the natural, at first are at variance, for the spiritual wills what is of heaven, but the natural what is of the world. But the spiritual then continually inflows into the natural and brings it into agreement; this is effected by means of truth; and what the spiritual brings to itself in the natural is called bought with silver, that is, acquired and appropriated by means of truth.

8000 When thou hast circumcised him. That this signifies purification from unclean loves, is evident from the signification of to be circumcised, as being purification from the loves of self and of the world, thus from unclean loves (see n. 2039, 2056, 2632, 3412, 3413, 3462, 7045).

8001 Then shall he eat of it. That this signifies that he shall be with them, is evident from the signification of eating, that is, the paschal lamb, together with the rest, as being to communicate and be conjoined (see n. 2187, 5643). For as before said (n. 7836, 7850, 7996, 7997), the paschal supper represented the angelic consociations in respect to goods and truths; and by the statutes concerning aliens,...

And Moses called all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw ye forth, and take you an animal of the flock according to your families, and kill ye the passover. And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in, the blood that is in the basin, and ye shall touch the lintel and the two posts with the blood that is in the basin; and no one of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. And Jehovah will pass through to inflict a plague on Egypt; and He shall see the blood upon the lintel, and upon the two posts, and Jehovah will pass over the door, and will not allow the destroyer to come unto your houses to inflict a plague. And ye shall keep this word for a statute to thee and to thy sons forever. And it shall be that when ye shall come unto the land which Jehovah will give you, as He hath spoken, that ye shall keep this service. And it shall be, when your sons shall say unto you, What is this service to you? that ye shall say, This is the sacrifice of the passover to Jehovah, in that He passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt, when He inflicted a plague on Egypt, and liberated our houses. And the people bent itself, and bowed itself. And the sons of Israel went and they did as Jehovah commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. 

Exodus 12:21-28

The Heavenly Marriage

Arcana Coelestia 7945... it is common in the Word for a thing to be seemingly repeated; but the first mention relates to the truth which is of the understanding, and the second to the good which is of the will. The reason is that in every detail of the Word there is the heavenly marriage, which is that of good and truth (see n. 683, 793, 801, 2173, 2516, 2712, 4138, 5138, 5502, 6343); and, in the supreme sense, the Divine marriage, which is that of the Divine good in the Lord and of the Divine truth proceeding from Him (n. 3004, 5502, 6179). From this also it can be seen that the Word is most holy.

To remain in the house

AC 7923 And no one of you shall go out of the door of his house. That this signifies that they shall abide steadfast in good, which must not be regarded from truth, is evident from the signification of “not going out,” as being to abide steadfast; and from the signification of “house,” as being good (n. 2233, 2234, 2559, 3652, 3720, 7833-7835, 7848). From this it is evident that by “no one of you shall go out of the door of his house” is signified that they shall abide steadfast in good. The reason why it signified that good must not be regarded from truth, is because to “abide in the house” denotes to abide in good; but to “go out of the door of the house” denotes to go from good to truth; for good is within, but truth without (n. 7910). (What it is to look from good to truths, see n. 5895, 5897, 7857.) From truth to look to good is to look from what is external to what is internal but from good to look to truth is to look from what is internal to what is external; for, as just said, good is interior, and truth exterior. From good to look to truth is according to order, for all Divine influx is through interiors to exteriors; whereas from truth to look to good is not according to order; and therefore when a man is being regenerated, the order is inverted, and good or charity is regarded in the first place, and truth or faith in the second.

The need for self compulsion

AC 7914 ... the good of innocence, which is the good of love to the Lord, is not received by the man of the spiritual church unless he compels himself; because it can with difficulty be believed by him that the Lord is the only God, and also that His Human is Divine; and therefore as he is not in faith, neither can be in love to Him, consequently not in the good of innocence, unless he compels himself. (That man ought to compel himself, and that when he compels himself it is from freedom, but not when he is compelled, see n. 1937, 1947.) This is signified by “drawing forth,” namely the paschal animal. That to draw it forth involves some secret thing which does not appear in the sense of the letter, is manifest.

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.