From The Doctrines For Spiritual Christianity
Every good and truth come down from the Lord and go up to Him, that is, He is the First and the Last. For the human being has been so created that Divine things that are the Lord’s may come down through him even to the lowest things of the natural order, and from the lowest things of the natural order may go up to Him. Thus the human being was created to be the means through which the Divine was linked to the natural world, and the natural world was linked to the Divine, and in this way through the human being as the means linking the two together, the lowest degree of the natural order might receive life from the Divine – which would be a reality if mankind had lived in accordance with Divine order. (Arcana Coelestia 3702)
It is well known that the discernment of things seen with the eyes and heard by the ears takes place inwardly in a person; those things pass so to speak from the world by way of the eyes or ears into thought, and so into the understanding since thought belongs to the understanding. And if they are the kinds of things the person loves they pass from there into the will, and then from the will by way of the understanding into words spoken by the mouth and also into actions performed by the body. Such is the cycle in all this, passing from the world by way of the natural man into the spiritual man, and going out from there into the world again. Yet it should be remembered that this cycle is started off by the will, which is the inmost core of a person’s life, and that it begins there and is inspired by it to run its full course. The will of a person in whom good is present is governed from heaven by the Lord, though the situation appears to be other than this. Influx takes place from the spiritual world into the natural world, thus through the internal man into the external man, but not the other way round; for the internal man is in heaven, whereas the external man is in the world. (Arcana Coelestia 10057)
All things in the natural world derive their cause from truth which is spiritual, and their first beginning from good which is celestial. In addition I have been told that natural objects come forth in this way from truth and good according to all the variations of truth or good which exist in the Lord’s kingdom, and so come forth from the Lord, the source of all goodness and truth. These matters are bound to seem strange, especially to those who refuse, or who are unable, to allow their thought to go beyond the natural order, and who do not know what is meant by that which is spiritual and do not therefore acknowledge the existence of it. (Arcana Coelestia 2993)
‘Incense of spices’ means a hearing and receiving with pleasure. This is clear from the meaning of ‘incense’ as the Lord’s hearing and receiving with pleasure everything of worship that springs from love and charity, dealt with in 10177; and from the meaning of ‘spices’ as things that bring pleasure. Things bringing pleasure are meant by ‘spices’ on account of their odour; for ‘odour’ means perception, and therefore a sweet odour means a perception of that which brings pleasure, while an offensive odour means that which brings no pleasure. All things perceived by a person with the sensory organs of smell, taste, sight, hearing, and touch mean spiritual realities connected with the good of love and the truths of faith. Consequently smell means the perception of interior truth springing from the good of love; taste means perception and the desire to know and become wise; sight means an understanding of the truths of faith; hearing means perception resulting from the good of faith and from obedience; and touch in general means imparting, conveying, and being received. [2] The reason why they have these meanings is that every reception of impressions by the outward senses begins in reception by the inward senses, which belong to the understanding and will, and so begins within the person, in the truths of faith and the good of love since these constitute the understanding and will within the human mind. Yet inward sensations, which belong properly to a person’s understanding and will, do not feel the same as the outward ones, though they are turned into outward sensations when they flow in. For all the perceptions that a person receives by means of his outward sensory organs flow from inward powers of mind. The path all influx takes is from inward things to outward ones, not from outward to inward, since there is no such thing as physical influx – that is, influx from the natural world into the spiritual world – only influx from the spiritual world into the natural. A person’s inner powers, which belong properly to understanding and will, exist in the spiritual world, and his outward ones, which belong properly to the bodily senses, exist in the natural world. From all this too it becomes clear what correspondence is and what the nature of it is. (Arcana Coelestia 10199)
Key Points From The Video
Divine Influx and the Act of Creation: Divine influx flows continuously from the interior to the exterior faculties of the mind, creating the external world we perceive.
Space and Time as Products of Thought: Space and time, in both the spiritual and natural worlds, are shaped by our mental and emotional states, rather than being fixed realities.
The System of Correspondences and Representatives: Understanding the system of correspondences is key to unlocking the spiritual meanings in sacred texts and also in understanding the relationship between inner and outer worlds.
Reversing Ordinary Thought: We must shift from seeing the external world as primary to recognising it as a reflection of the internal, spiritual world.
Practical Implications: Focusing on our internal spiritual states can positively influence our external experiences, deepening our spiritual practice, and enhancing our engagement with sacred texts.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What is one of the most magnificent revelations made to humanity, according to Spiritual Christianity?
a. the discovery of quantum physics
b. the invention of the printing press
c. the teaching that a representative world of sensuous objects is created through spiritual influx
d. the formulation of the theory of evolution
Answer c )
2. Why is it more difficult to comprehend the doctrine of spiritual influx when applied to the natural world?
a. because the spiritual world is more logical
b. because those in the natural world are deeply immersed in its space and time
c. because the doctrine is not meant to apply to the natural world
d. because the natural world is too complex
Answer b )
3. What mistaken belief do people tend to have about the objects of the natural world?
a. that they are illusions created by the mind
b. that they are infinitely malleable
c. that they exist independently of the mental life of human beings
d. that they are all connected to a higher power
Answer c )
4. What is the true nature of the supposed two worlds (spiritual and natural)?
a. they are merely two distinct states of the will and intellect, appearing identical in their external forms
b. they are reflections of each other, but one is more real than the other
c. they are fundamentally different in their origins and nature
d. they are entirely separate and unconnected realms of existence
Answer a )
5. What is death, according to Spiritual Christianity?
a. the final end of existence
b. a punishment for sins committed in life
c. nothing more than the passage from a natural state of the will and intellect into a spiritual state
d. a random and unpredictable event
Answer c )
Reflective Questions
1. How do you typically understand the relationship between your thoughts and feelings and the external world around you? Does this understanding align with the doctrine of spiritual influx, or do you tend to see the external world as existing independently of your mind?
2. Can you identify specific instances where your immersion in space and time might be distorting your perception of reality? How can you actively challenge these distortions and cultivate a more spiritual perspective? How does the understanding that both the natural and spiritual worlds are products of Divine life manifesting through the sentient faculties change your appreciation for the beauty and wonder of the natural world?
Experiential Integration
Daily Perception Shift Practice: Choose a simple object in your environment (e.g., a flower, a piece of fruit, a stone). For 5 minutes, observe it closely, paying attention to its shape, colour, texture, and smell. As you observe, consciously remind yourself that this object is not merely a static, independent entity, but rather a manifestation of Divine creative life flowing through your sentient faculties. Try to connect with the spiritual qualities or principles that this object might represent (e.g., beauty, growth, harmony).
Keep a record of your observations and reflections in a journal.
Further Exploration
Nothing exists in the whole natural order which is not in some way representative of the Lord’s kingdom in general, since the natural kingdom has its entire origin in the spiritual kingdom. That which is without an origin prior to itself is nothing, for nothing exists without connection from a cause and so from an end. That which is without such connection collapses in an instant and ceases to be anything. (Arcana Coelestia 2758)
Once when I had been raised up to heaven it seemed to me as though my head was there, but that my body was below it, and my feet even further below. From this I had a perception of how the higher and lower things present in the human being correspond to the same in the Grand Man, and how one flows into another; that is to say, how the celestial, which is the good of love and the first degree of order, flows into the spiritual, which is truth springing from that good and the second degree of order, and then into the natural, which is the third degree of order. From this it is evident that natural things are like the feet on which the higher things support themselves. What is more, things in the spiritual world and those in heaven are ringed about by the natural world. Consequently the whole natural system is a theatre representative of the Lord’s kingdom, every individual part of it being representative, 2758, 3483. The natural system is kept in being by an influx conforming to that order, and without this influx it could not remain in being for even a single moment. (Arcana Coelestia 4939)
The whole natural order is a theatre representative of the Lord’s kingdom; and it is a representative theatre because the natural world has been brought into being by the Divine – and is unceasingly brought into being, that is, is held in being, by Him – by means of the spiritual world. (Arcana Coelestia 10196)