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The Impermanent Nature of the Self

Transcript

So, in this short talk, I thought we would just talk about the possibility of change, of transformation, and the possibility open to all so far as their regeneration is concerned. So, I thought a good place just to open would be a quote from the Arcana Coelestia number 4322. And there we read this,

...to be kept in being is constantly to come into being and therefore the preservation of something in connection and form is the constant creation of it.

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You know, we're offered so many big ideas in the Word that we can easily fall into a state of casual listening. We all know that state where we hear the words, but they fail to fall on fresh ground within the mind. So, because there's a lack of attention, we fail to grasp the implications of what we are hearing.

And of course, whenever we come to a truth, such as the one that I've just quoted, we need to bring our attention to it so that it falls on fresh ground within the mind every time. And that's because every truth, no matter what it is, if it is a truth, opens to what is infinite and eternal, so we can never exhaust the truth.

It is always taking us on a journey into what is new but that newness is only found when we're able to stand before it in a state of humility and allow it to take us into new places, to take our thinking to new places. So, this is one of those big statements that you have probably heard before that you are familiar with, but perhaps you haven't really thought through the implications of it.

This idea, that creation is constant coming into being, now I'm sure you've heard this, right? This idea that creation is constant coming into being. So, this is a very, very big idea. What I'm hoping for, is that we might be able to touch on just a few of the implications of this idea in relation to the nature of the self.

So, this idea feeds into another idea which has to do with the nature of finite life. So far as finite life is concerned, well, it can be defined as constant change. It is something dynamic. This can be held in contrast to what we know of Divine Life. Of that life, that is the Lord's life, it is said to be immutable or unchanging.

Now this is because the Divine by definition is the fullness of perfection itself. And if it is the fullness of perfection itself, then what change can be possible? How can, what is the fullness of perfection itself, be added to? It can't. If anything can be added to the fullness of perfection, it wasn't the fullness of perfection.

So, this is why, in part, the Divine Life is said to be unchanging or immutable. On the other hand, finite creatures, that is, those that have been created by the Divine, creatures like you and I, are imperfect. So there is always potential for change. There is always a potential for some kind of transformation and that makes possible our regeneration.

But let me ask you this question; Is who you are, who you feel yourself to be, is that something fixed and permanent? Or perhaps it is something undergoing constant change? What do you feel yourself to be now? Most people believe that who they are, is something that remains constant throughout their life. But then this raises another question. You know, if the self is a permanent constant thing, then, how does this fit with the idea that creation is a constant coming into being, and that the Divine alone is immutable, that finite life by definition, as we have just seen, is change?

So, what are the implications for believing that the self is some kind of permanent fixture? I wonder if you've ever considered that? The Word clearly teaches that the feeling that we have life in ourselves is an appearance. Now that is another big idea.