From The Doctrines For Spiritual Christianity
Divine Truth emanating from the Lord flows into every person by way of his interiors into his exteriors, right down into the external sensory and the bodily levels, and everywhere it flows it stirs to life things attuned to it in their proper order – on the sensory level things attuned to it such as appear in the world around and on earth. But things that exist in the world around and on earth are different in appearance from what they really are, and so they are full of illusions. When therefore the sensory level relies solely on those appearances* the thought which takes place there is inevitably opposed to any good or truth of faith because that thought is based on illusions, and when Divine Truth flows in the sensory level turns it into falsity. (Arcana Coelestia 6948)
The reason why through that ultimate degree there is so to speak a way in from the natural creation is that man’s natural mind is the place through which things of heaven, that is, which are the Lord’s, flow in and come down into the natural creation; and through that same mind the things that belong to the natural creation go back up, see 3702. The fact that there is so to speak an entrance from the natural creation through the natural mind into interior parts may be seen from what has been stated and shown in various places before. [2] It seems to man as though worldly objects enter in through his physical or external senses and affect interior things, and so that there is an entrance from the ultimate degree of order into things that are within. But this is an appearance and illusion, as is evident from the general rule that what is secondary cannot flow into what is primary, or what amounts to the same, what is lower cannot flow into what is higher, or what is also the same, what is exterior into what is interior, or what is still the same, things of the world and the natural creation into those of heaven and of the spirit. For the former are grosser, the latter purer, and the grosser things that belong to the external or natural man come into being and are kept in being from those belonging to the internal or rational man. Those grosser things are unable to have any effect on the purer things but are affected by them. The nature of this influx however, seeing that appearance and illusion itself convince people that the reverse is true, will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be discussed separately, where influx is the subject. This then is why it is said that through the ultimate degree of order there is, so to speak, a way in from the natural creation. (Arcana Coelestia 3721)
Everything at all visible in the universe is representative of the Lord’s kingdom, so much so that nothing exists in the starry sky above, or on this planet and in its three kingdoms below, which is not in its own way representative. For every single thing within the natural order is an ultimate image, in that the Divine issues forth into celestial things, which are expressions of good; celestial things issue forth into spiritual, which are expressions of truth; and celestial and spiritual things issue forth into natural things. This shows how stupid, indeed how earthly and also topsy-turvy, human intelligence is which separates or isolates natural forces from that which is prior to them and flowing into them – that is, from their efficient cause – and then attributes everything to natural forces. And people who think and talk in this fashion seem to themselves to be wiser than anybody else, that is to say, by their attribution of everything to natural forces. Angelic intelligence however is quite the reverse – it attributes nothing to natural forces but every single thing to the Lord’s Divine, and so to life, not to anything devoid of life. [2] The learned know that remaining in being consists in perpetual coming into being. Nevertheless it is contrary to their affection for falsity, and consequently to their reputation for being learned, to say that natural forces are constantly kept in being, even as they came into being, from the Lord’s Divine. Now because every single thing remains in being from the Divine, that is, is constantly coming into being from Him, and every single thing from that source is inevitably a representative of the real thing by means of which it has come into being, the whole visible universe is therefore nothing else than a theatre that is representative of the Lord’s kingdom. And this in turn is a theatre representative of the Lord Himself. (Arcana Coelestia 3483)
Key Points From The Video
The Essential Role of Natural Sciences: Natural sciences offer valuable insights, but their conclusions should be considered in light of spiritual truths.
The Law of Correspondence: This law describes the unfolding of spiritual causes into sensuous effects, applying equally to both worlds.
Spiritual vs. Natural Thinking: The key difference between the spiritual and natural worlds lies in the ability to think correctly, distinguishing truth from appearance.
Progressing in Spiritual Life: As one progresses spiritually, their thoughts become rational, allowing for a deeper understanding of existence as a projection of wills and intellects.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What caution should be taken when considering the conclusions of the natural sciences?
a. To completely reject them
b. To accept them uncritically
c. To consider them in light of spiritual truths
d. To ignore them entirely
Answer c)
2. What does the law of correspondence describe?
a. The transformation of spiritual causes into physical matter
b. The creation of the universe from nothing
c. The unfolding of spiritual causes into sensuous effects
d. The random interactions of particles
Answer c)
3. What is the primary difference in thinking between the spiritual and natural worlds?
a. Spiritual beings cannot think
b. Natural beings can think more clearly
c. There is no difference
d. The ability to think correctly and distinguish truth from appearance
Answer d)
4. What characterises thinking in the natural world before spiritual development?
a. Always accurate and insightful
b. Naturally rational and consistent
c. Sensual and unable to distinguish truth from appearance
d. Rooted in spiritual understanding
Answer c)
5. How does progressing in spiritual life affect one’s perception of the world?
a. The world becomes a representative projection of human wills and intellects.
b. The world disappears entirely.
c. The world becomes an illusion.
d. There is no change in perception.
Answer a)
Reflective Questions
1. Can you identify any specific scientific conclusions that you have previously accepted without considering their spiritual implications? How might you re-evaluate those conclusions in light of the law of correspondence?
2. How does your own thinking tend to be more natural or spiritual? What specific practices can you implement to cultivate a more spiritual mode of thinking?
3. In what ways do you believe a deeper understanding of spiritual truths could enhance or complement scientific inquiry?
Experiential Integration
Daily Perception Shift Practice: Choose a scientific concept or natural phenomenon that you find intriguing (e.g., gravity, photosynthesis, the water cycle). Instead of focusing solely on the scientific explanation, contemplate the potential spiritual correspondences associated with it. What deeper truths or principles might this phenomenon represent about the nature of the Divine, the human mind, or the interconnectedness of all things?
Journal your reflections and consider how this perspective shifts your understanding of the concept.
Further Exploration
The Word of the Lord may be called a kind of heaven on lowest levels; for all the things that are seen and heard on heaven’s lowest levels are representative of what angels in higher heavens speak and think, all of which has regard to the truths of faith and forms of the good of love. The reason why such representative things are present on heaven’s lowest levels is that those who are on heaven’s lowest levels have no ability to grasp the more internal aspects of angelic wisdom, only such things as represent them. Furthermore it is in keeping with Divine order that when the higher realities pass down to lower levels they are converted into images bearing a similarity to them and are in this way presented to the outward senses, and so are accommodated to everyone’s ability to grasp them. So it is that the Word on its lowest levels, that is, in the sense of the letter, is representative of and consequently serves to mean the celestial and spiritual realities that exist in the higher heavens, and that by this means the Word is also presented to people on earth in a form accommodated to their ability to grasp it. Thus it also serves as a base and foundation for the heavens. (Arcana Coelestia 10126)
A person unacquainted with the arcana of heaven may think that no one can see planets so far away and through what he has experienced with his senses report about them. But let it be recognized that intervals of space and distances between places, and consequent movements from one to another, which are visible in the natural world, are first occasioned by and have their origin in the changes of state undergone by the interiors, and that among angels and spirits appearances are in exact accord with those changes. In this way spirits and angels can be transported from one place to another, and from one planet to another, even to planets on the edge of the universe. The same thing can be done to a person’s spirit while his body remains where it is. It has happened to me also, for I have been allowed in the Lord’s Divine mercy to mix with spirits as a spirit, while at the same time mixing with people on earth as a person on earth. Regarding intervals of space and distances between places, and movements from one to another in heaven, that they are appearances which are products of changes of state undergone by the interiors, see 5605. The person who thinks on a sensory level does not see how anyone’s spirit can be transported in that way, for he dwells within space and time and measures his movements from one place to another according to them. (Arcana Coelestia 9440)
I have spoken to angels about representatives, suggesting that the vegetable kingdom on earth included nothing that was not in some way representative of the Lord’s kingdom. They replied that everything beautiful and glorious in the vegetable kingdom has its origin in the Lord by way of heaven; and that when celestial and spiritual influences from the Lord enter nature, such things are really created, and that this is the origin of the vegetative soul or life. Consequently they are representative. (Arcana Coelestia 1632)
What is more, nothing ever exists in the created world that does not have a correspondence with things in the spiritual world, and so that does not represent in its own way something in the Lord’s kingdom. It is from there that all things come into being and are kept in being. If man knew that this is how these things stand he would never attribute everything to natural forces as he is accustomed to do. (Arcana Coelestia 2999)
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