From The Doctrines For Spiritual Christianity

Those who ascribe everything to nature can indeed observe such facts, but they think of them merely as facts and say that nature produces them. They say this because they have set their minds against thinking about the Divine; and those who do this, on seeing the wonders of nature, cannot think rationally, much less spiritually, about them. Their thinking is based on sense-impressions and material ideas, so that they think from nature within nature, and not above that level; as do those who are in hell. Their only difference from animals is their rationality; that is to say, they can understand and think differently if they wish. (Conjugial Love 416{3})

A person’s interiors are divided into separate degrees through derivation from one another; and in keeping with those degrees they also differ in the level of light they possess. The light on the internal sensory level next to the bodily senses is the dullest, a light that much experience has enabled me to recognise. I have also noticed that every time I have descended to this degree of light falsities and evils of many a kind have presented themselves, indeed even slanders against what is heavenly and Divine, not to mention things of a foul and disgusting nature. The reason why is that this kind of light prevails in hell, and hell enters a person by means of this light especially. When this is the kind of light a person has, his thought possesses virtually the same kind of light as his external sight, and takes place almost on the level of the body. People who see in this kind of light must be called sensory-minded, for their thought does not rise beyond sensory impressions received by the body. Such people do not have any perception of or belief in things that lie beyond the senses; they believe only what they can see and touch. This is the light that people see by who have not devoted any attention whatever to more internal things; in life they have neglected or treated with contempt everything of a rational or spiritual nature. (Arcana Coelestia 6310{1-2})

If a person were not removed from the powers of the senses, which form the external levels of the natural, that is, if he were not raised from them to more internal levels, the Divine could not flow in. The reason why the Divine cannot flow in as long as the person’s thought remains on the level of the senses is that influx from the Divine extends right through to things that are last in order, thus right through to the powers of the senses which form the external levels of a person’s natural. If those levels consist solely of bodily and earthly interests the Divine influences coming in are reduced to nothing since they are incompatible with what is there. (Arcana Coelestia 6845)

So it is that the Lord is heaven, for Divine Truth which emanates from Him and is received by the angels makes heaven. Consequently the more perfect the manner in which angels receive Divine Truth that comes from the Lord and accordingly receive the Lord, the more perfect the human forms they possess. Eventually they become so perfect that their beauty surpasses belief; anyone who sees them, as I have done, will be dumbfounded. For in their outward form angels are manifestations of heavenly love and charity, and that is the truly human form. The reason why angels possess human forms is that the Divine in heaven is the Lord, and those who receive Divine Truth within good from Him are images of Him. (Arcana Coelestia 9503)

The angels themselves appear in a human form in the heavens absolutely according to the truths which pertain to them in good, with a beauty and brightness according to the quality of the good from truths. (Arcana Coelestia 8988)

Key Points From The Video

Spiritual Versus Material Causes: Spiritual thinkers see true power in will and intellect, not the material body. Focusing on sensory pleasures weakens both mind and body.

The Hierarchy Of Power: The greatest power is in those who receive Divine Love and Wisdom, free from sensory-based conclusions.

Connection Between Power and Beauty: Mental properties determining power also create beauty. So, alignment with Divine Love and Wisdom results in both spiritual and exterior beauty.

Spiritual Beauty: The greater the alignment with Divine principles the greater the beauty. Thus, beauty in heaven reflects spiritual harmony.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to Spiritual Christianity, where does true power originate?
a) Material body
b) Sensory experiences
c) Will and intellect
d) Physical strength
Answer: c)

2. What weakens both mental and physical capabilities?
a) Alignment with Divine Love and Wisdom
b) The exclusive focusing on sensory objects and delights
c) Spiritual receptivity
d) Intellectual pursuits
Answer: b)

3. Who possesses the greatest power in the spiritual hierarchy?
a) Those who receive Divine Love and Wisdom
b) Those focused on material success
c) Individuals with physical strength
d) Those with high intellectual achievements
Answer: a)

4. How is exterior beauty achieved according to Spiritual Christianity?
a) Through physical exercise
b) By following fashion trends
c) As a reflection of inner spiritual harmony
d) Through sensory pleasures
Answer: c)

5. What determines both the power and beauty of spiritual beings?
a) Their wealth and status
b) Their popularity
c) Their material possessions
d) The degree of alignment with Divine principles
Answer: d) The degree of alignment with Divine principles

Reflective Questions

1. How can focusing on will/volition and intellect over material attributes enhance your understanding of true power?

2. What practices can you incorporate into your daily life to align more closely with Divine Love and Wisdom?

3. In what ways can recognising the connection between inner spiritual harmony and exterior beauty influence your self-perception and perception of others and your surroundings?

Experiential Integration

Alignment Practice

1. Morning Intention: Begin your day with a prayer or meditation, setting the intention to align your will and intellect with Divine Love and Wisdom.
2. Throughout the Day: Be mindful of moments when you are drawn to sensory pleasures and consciously redirect your focus to spiritual qualities.
3. Evening Reflection: Reflect on how aligning with spiritual principles influenced your thoughts, actions, and interactions throughout the day.

Before Moving On To the Next Subsection: The Nature Of Perception

Allow yourself some time to reflect on the course as a whole and what came up for you. Remember too that inner reflective work can give rise to states of uncertainty and conflict, as well as opening up many questions. If you would like to talk with someone to explore these more, then please Contact Us.

From The Doctrines For Spiritual Christianity

It is the Divine truth that goes forth from the Lord that has all power in the heavens, for the Lord in heaven is Divine truth united to Divine good. To the extent that angels are receptions of this truth they are powers. Moreover each one is his own truth and his own good because each one is such as his understanding and will are. The understanding pertains to truth because everything of it is from truths, and the will pertains to good because everything of it is from goods; for whatever any one understands he calls truth, and whatever he wills he calls good. From this it is that everyone is his own truth and his own good. Therefore so far as an angel is truth from the Divine and good from the Divine he is a power, because to that extent the Lord is in him. And as no one’s good and truth are wholly like or the same as another’s, since in heaven, as in the world, there is endless variety , so the power of one angel is not like the power of another. (Heaven and Hell 231)

That the angels possess power cannot be comprehended by those who know nothing about the spiritual world and its influx into the natural world. Such think that angels can have no power because they are spiritual and are even so pure and unsubstantial that no eye can see them. But those who look more interiorly into the causes of things take a different view. Such know that all the power that a man has is from his understanding and will (for apart from these he is powerless to move a particle of his body), and his understanding and will are his spiritual man. This moves the body and its members at its pleasure; for whatever it thinks the mouth and tongue speak, and whatever it wills the body does; and it bestows its strength at pleasure. As man’s will and understanding are ruled by the Lord through angels and spirits, so also are all things of his body, because these are from the will and understanding; and if you will believe it, without influx from heaven man cannot even move a step. That this is so has been shown me by much experience. Angels have been permitted to move my steps, my actions, and my tongue and speech, as they pleased, and this by influx into my will and thought; and I have learned thereby that of myself I could do nothing. I was afterwards told by them that every man is so ruled, and that he can know this from the doctrine of the church and from the Word, for he prays that God may send His angels to lead him, direct his steps, teach him, and inspire in him what to think and what to say, and other like things; although he says and believes otherwise when he is thinking by himself apart from doctrine. All this has been said to make known what power angels have with man. (Heaven and Hell 228)

Is there anyone who does not believe the soul to be the most intimate and subtle essence of a person? But what is essence without form but a figment of the imagination? The soul then is a form, but what sort of form, I will tell you. It is the form of all the parts of love and all the parts of wisdom. All the parts of love are called affections, and all the parts of wisdom are called perceptions. The perceptions as a result of and so together with the affections make up a single form containing countless parts, but arranged in such order and so coherent that they can be called a unity; and they can be called a unity, because nothing can be taken away from it or be added to it, if it is to remain a unity. What is the human soul but such a form? All the parts of love and all the parts of wisdom are the essentials of such a form, and in the case of a person these essentials are in his soul, and from his soul in his head and body. ‘You are called spirits and angels; and you believed in the world that spirits and angels were like puffs of wind or particles of ether, and so were minds and characters. Now you see clearly that you are truly, really and actually people, who in the world lived and thought in a material body; and you knew that it is not the material body that lives and thinks, but the spiritual substance in that body. This you called the soul, whose form you did not know; yet now you have seen it and go on seeing it. You are all souls, about whose immortality you have heard, thought, talked and written so much; and since you are forms of love and wisdom coming from God, you cannot ever die. The soul then is a human form, from which nothing can be taken away, and to which nothing can be added, and it is the inmost of all the forms throughout the body. Since the forms which are outside receive from the inmost both essence and form, you are therefore souls, just as you appear to be to your sight and to ours. In short, the soul is the real person because it is the inmost person; its form therefore is the human form in full perfection. But it is not life, but it is the nearest receiver of life from God, and so God’s dwelling.’ (Conjugial Love 315{10,11})

Whoever duly considers the subject can know that the body does not think, because it is material, but that the soul, which is spiritual, does. The soul of man, upon the immortality of which many have written, is his spirit, for this as to everything belonging to it is immortal. This also is what thinks in the body, for it is spiritual, and what is spiritual receives what is spiritual and lives spiritually, which is to think and to will. Therefore, all rational life that appears in the body belongs to the soul, and nothing of it to the body; for the body, as said above, is material, and the material, which is the property of the body, is added to and, as it were, almost adjoined to the spirit, in order that the spirit of man may be able to live and perform uses in the natural world, all things of which are material and in themselves devoid of life. And because the material does not live but only the spiritual, it can be established that whatever lives in man is his spirit, and that the body merely serves it, just as what is instrumental serves a moving living force. An instrument is said indeed to act, to move, or to strike; but to believe that these are acts of the instrument, and not of him who acts, moves, or strikes by means of the instrument, is a fallacy. (Heaven and Hell 432)

Key Points From The Video

Material Versus Spiritual Conceptions of Power: Material thought attributes power to the physical body and views mental faculties as chemical processes. Spiritual insight recognises power as independent of physical bodies and instead derived from spiritual alignment with the Divine Mind.

The Limitation of Materialistic Thought: Materialistic views confine understanding to physicality, neglecting or negating deeper spiritual realities.

Spiritual Insight into Power: Angels, lacking material bodies, possess power proportional to their spiritual detachment from space and time.

Divine Source of Power: The Lord God, beyond space and time, embodies essential power through Divine Love and Wisdom.

Role of the Body: The body serves as an instrument of the mind’s power, which retains true power upon separation from the body.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the materialistic view of power according to Spiritual Christianity?
a) Power is derived from spiritual alignment.
b) Power is attributed to the physical body and brain processes.
c) Power originates from Divine Love and Wisdom.
d) Power is independent of material substances.
Answer: b)

2. How do spiritual thinkers perceive the source of true power?
a) As a function of physical substances.
b) As proportional to the extension in space.
c) As derived from spiritual alignment with the Divine Mind and the detachment from material constraints.
d) As limited to the material body.
Answer: c)

3. Who embodies the essential power in the universe according to Spiritual Christianity?
a) Material bodies
b) Physical atoms
c) The Lord God
d) Human intellect
Answer: c) The Lord God

4. What role does the body play in relation to the mind’s power?
a) It functions as an instrument of the mind’s power.
b) It is the primary source of power.
c) It retains power after death.d) It acts independently of the mind.
Answer: a)

5. What are the core attributes of the Lord God’s essential power?
a) Physical strength and endurance
b) Material wealth and resources
c) Divine Love and Divine Wisdom
d) Sensory perception and chemical processes
Answer: c)

Reflective Questions

1. How can recognising the spiritual origin of power influence your approach to personal strength and influence?

2. In what ways can you detach from material constraints to enhance your spiritual alignment to true power?

3. How does understanding the body as an instrument of the mind’s power shape your view on physical limitations and spiritual capabilities?

Experiential Integration

Reflection on Spiritual Power

1. Morning Intention: Begin your day with a meditation focusing on aligning your will and intellect with Divine love and wisdom.
2. Throughout the Day: Practice mindfulness by recognising moments when you rely on physical strength and shift your focus to inner spiritual power.
3. Evening Reflection: Reflect on this experience.  How difficult was it for you to remember and do this? What happened when you did?

Further Exploration

Man possesses a natural mind and a spiritual mind. The natural mind is below, and the spiritual mind above. The natural mind is the mind of man’s world, and the spiritual mind is the mind of his heaven. The natural mind may be called the animal mind, and the spiritual mind the human mind. Man is discriminated from the animal by possessing a spiritual mind. By means of this mind he can be in heaven while still in the world; and it is by means of this mind also that man lives after death. In his understanding a man is able to be in the spiritual mind, and consequently in heaven, but unless he shuns evils as sins he cannot be in the spiritual mind and consequently in heaven, as to his will. And if he is not there as to his will, he is not in heaven, in spite of the fact that he is there in understanding, for the will drags the understanding down, and causes it to be just as natural and animal as it is itself. (Doctrine of Life 86{1-2})

We perceive,’ said the elders, ‘that you believed in the previous world that this world is empty, because it is spiritual. The reason for this belief of yours is that you entertained the idea that the spiritual is abstract; and that what is abstract is nothing and so as if empty. Yet here everything is in its fullness. Everything here is substantial, not material; material things owe their origin to what is substantial. We who are present here are spiritual people, because we are substantial, not material. That is why everything that is in the natural world exists here in its perfection; and so are our books and writing, and much more.'(Conjugial Love 207)

From The Doctrines For Spiritual Christianity

Interiorly the human being is divided into separate degrees, and each degree has its own termination that serves to separate it from the degree beneath it. This is so with every degree from the inmost one to the outermost. The interior rational constitutes the first degree, the degree in which celestial angels are, that is, where the inmost or third heaven is. The exterior rational makes up the second degree, the one in which spiritual angels are, that is, where the middle or second heaven is. The interior natural makes up the third degree, the one in which good spirits are, that is, where the last and lowest or first heaven is. And the exterior natural, the level of the senses, makes up the fourth degree, in which man is. These degrees also exist within man, each degree completely distinct and separate. Consequently, if he leads a good life, he is interiorly a miniature heaven; that is, his interiors correspond to the three heavens. Also, if he has led a life of charity and love he can be taken after death all the way up to the third heaven. But if he is to be someone like this, each degree within him must be furnished with its own specific termination that makes it separate from the next one. When those degrees do have those terminations, making them distinct and separate from one another, each degree has a floor on which good flowing in from the Lord can rest and where it is received. Without such terminations acting as floors that good is not received but passes straight through, as if through a sieve or through ‘a basket with holes in it’, down to the sensory level. There, because it has not received any direction on the way, this good is turned into something foul, though it is seen as good by the recipients of it at that lowest level. That is to say, the good is turned into the kind of delight that belongs to a selfish and worldly love, and consequently into the kind of delight that belongs to hatred, revenge, cruelty, adultery, and avarice, or into sheer self-gratification and personal extravagance. This is what happens if the degrees of a person’s will exist without a termination anywhere at all in the middle, that is, if ‘they have holes in them’. One can also actually know whether these terminations and therefore floors exist; people’s abilities to perceive what is good and true point to the existence of them, as do their consciences. In the case of those who, like celestial angels, have the ability to perceive what is good and true, terminations exist in every degree, from the first to the last. Unless each degree has its own termination, no perceptive abilities such as these can exist. In the case of those who, like spiritual angels, have conscience, terminations likewise exist, but only in the second degree or else in the third down to the last. For them the first degree is closed. One must say in the second degree or else in the third because conscience is twofold – interior and exterior. Interior conscience is one that concerns itself with what is spiritually good and true, exterior conscience one that concerns itself with what is just and fair. Conscience itself is an interior floor which provides inflowing Divine Good with a termination; but those who have no conscience do not have any interior floor to receive that influx. In their case good passes straight through to the exterior natural, or the natural level of the senses, where it is turned, as has been stated, into foul delights. These people sometimes feel pain like that of conscience, but this is not conscience. The pain is caused by the loss of what they delight in, such as the loss of position, gain, reputation, life, pleasures, or the friendship of others who are like themselves. They suffer pain because the terminations which they possess consist in those kinds of delights. (Arcana Coelestia 5145)

The ideas constituting angels’ thought are not natural, as those constituting men’s are; instead they are spiritual. But it is difficult for anyone to grasp what their spiritual ideas are like unless he thinks and reflects on a more internal level about his own thoughts as they are in their first beginnings. They then exist without the words of language, as is recognized from their being of such a nature that a person can grasp in an instant more than can be expressed by an utterance made in any space of time. Ideas such as these composing thought belong to the person’s spirit. But the ideas that a person grasps and that pass into words are natural ones, which the learned call material, whereas the former, that is, those existing on a more internal level, are called spiritual, and by the learned immaterial. A person enters into these ideas after death, when he becomes a spirit, and uses them to converse with other spirits. A correspondence exists between these ideas and natural ones, and through that correspondence spiritual ideas are converted into natural ones when the person speaks. The person is not conscious of this because he does not stop to reflect on it, nor are any capable of reflecting on it except those who think on a more internal level, that is, on that of their spirit separately from the body. This is something that people whose minds do not rise above the level of the senses cannot do at all.  (Arcana Coelestia 10604)

This being the nature of heaven, no angel or spirit can possibly have any life unless he lives in some community, and in so doing in a harmonious relationship of many people. A community is nothing else than the harmonious relationship of many, for one person’s life in no sense exists in isolation from the life of others. Indeed no angel, spirit, or community can possibly have any life, that is, be moved by good to will anything, or be moved by truth to think anything, if he is not joined to heaven and to the world of spirits through the many in his own community. The same applies to the human race. No one whatever, no matter who, can possibly live, that is, be moved by good to will anything, or be moved by truth to think anything, unless he has in like manner been joined to heaven through the angels residing with him, and to the world of spirits, and even to hell through the spirits residing with him. (Arcana Coelestia 687)

Key Points From The Video

Distinct Intellectual and Volitional Qualities:
– Celestial Heaven: Interior rational perception, deep and intrinsic understanding of Divine truths.
– Spiritual Heaven: Exterior rational intelligence, analytical and interpretative approach to Divine principles.
– Natural Heaven: Interior natural perception, blending Divine truths with natural elements of mind.

Human Thought and Its Limitations: Human thought is externally natural or sensual, often confined to material realities and sensory experiences, limiting spiritual understanding.

Interior Consociation of Minds Across the Heavens: Divine qualities and insights flow from one level of heaven to another, enhancing spiritual vitality and unity.
– Celestial to Spiritual: Celestial angels communicate innocence to spiritual angels.
– Spiritual to Natural: Spiritual angels communicate charity, along with received innocence, to natural angels.

Distinct Yet Harmonious: The heavens are distinguished by their unique intellectual and volitional qualities, with an interconnected communication system that facilitates the flow of Divine love and wisdom, creating a harmonious and enriched spiritual community.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What characterises the intellectual and volitional qualities of the celestial heaven?
a) Exterior rational intelligence
b) Interior natural perception
c) Exterior natural perception
d) Interior rational perception
Answer: d)

2. How do spiritual angels engage with Divine truths?
a) Through intuitive understanding
b) Through sensory experiences
c) Through analytical and interpretative approach
d) Through material possessions
Answer: c)

3. What limits human thought in its spiritual capacity?
a) Focus on Divine love
b) Emphasis on material realities and sensory experiences
c) Deep understanding of spiritual truths
d) Interior consociation of minds
Answer: b)

4. What do celestial angels communicate to spiritual angels?
a) Divine wisdom
b) Material wealth
c) Innocence
d) Sensory experiences
Answer: c)

5. How is the natural heaven’s perception described?
a) Completely material and sensory-focused
b) Deep and intrinsic understanding of Divine truths
c) Blending Divine truths with natural elements of mind
d) Solely analytical and interpretative
Answer: c)

Reflective Questions

1. How can recognising the unique intellectual and volitional qualities of each heavenly level of mind influence your spiritual growth and understanding?

2. In what ways can you strive to transcend the material limitations of human thought to enhance your spiritual perception?

3. How does the concept of interior consociation and interconnection of minds inspire you to cultivate deeper spiritual connections and community?

Experiential Integration

Reflection on Spiritual Hierarchy

1. Morning Intention: Begin your day with a prayer or meditation focusing on aligning your thoughts and actions with Divine love and wisdom.
2. Throughout the Day: Practice mindfulness in your interactions, striving to engage with others selflessly, reflecting the qualities of the spiritual and celestial heavens.
3. Evening Reflection: Reflect on how your thoughts and actions throughout the day contributed to your spiritual growth and understanding of Divine truths.

Further Exploration

Although the heavens are so distinct that there can be no companionship between the angels of one heaven and the angels of another, still the Lord joins all the heavens together by both direct and mediate influx-direct from Himself into all the heavens, and mediate from one heaven into another. He thus makes the three heavens to be one, and all to be in such connection from the First to the Last that nothing unconnected is possible. Whatever is not connected through intermediates with the First can have no permanent existence, but is dissipated and becomes nothing. (Heaven and Hell 37)

There are two universal kinds of good, the first being that which is called the good of faith, the second that which is referred to as the good of love. The good of faith is the kind of good meant by ‘a drink-offering’, and the good of love the kind meant by ‘oil’. The good of love exists with those whom the Lord brings to what is good by an internal way, while the good of faith exists with those He brings to it by an external way. The good of love exists with members of the celestial Church, and likewise with angels of the inmost or third heaven, but the good of faith with members of the spiritual Church, and likewise with angels of the middle or second heaven. Consequently the first kind of good is called celestial good, whereas the second kind is called spiritual good. The difference between the two is, on the one hand, willing what is good out of a will for good and, on the other, willing what is good out of an understanding of it. (Arcana Coelestia 4581)

There are in general three elements which depart from the literal sense of the Word when it becomes the internal sense; these are the temporal, the spatial, and the personal. The reason for this is that neither time nor space exists in the spiritual world. These two elements belong properly to the natural order, which also accounts for its being said that those who die depart from the realm of time, leaving temporal concerns behind them. And the reason why in the spiritual world they do not see anything that has to do specifically with some person is that any focusing, when they speak, on some particular person narrows down and limits the idea they have in mind; such a focusing prevents any broadening or removal of limits to their idea. Their use, when they speak, of broadened and unlimited ideas renders their language universal, a language that includes and enables them to express countless and also wondrous ideas. This is what the language used by angels is like, especially that used by celestial angels, which, compared with that employed by others, knows no limitations. This being so, the whole of their speech reaches into what is infinite and into what is eternal, consequently into the Divine of the Lord. (Arcana Coelestia 5253{2})

From The Doctrines For Spiritual Christianity

When the whole heaven is presented before the sight as one man, the inmost or third heaven answers to the head, the middle or second heaven to the body, and the lowest or first to the feet. The inmost or third heaven answers to the head because it is celestial, and the middle or second answers to the body because it is spiritual, and the lowest or first answers to the feet because it is natural. (Arcana Coelestia 5328)

It is well known that there are three heavens, that one heaven is interiorly within another, and that the third heaven is the inmost. These heavens are utterly distinct and separate, each a separate degree from the others. Members of the inmost or third are closer to the Lord; members of the less interior or second are more remote; and members of the exterior or first are more remote still. No communication between those heavens is possible other than a communication like that of the inmost parts of the human being with the exterior parts of him, for anyone who is governed by love to the Lord and by charity towards the neighbour is a miniature heaven, corresponding in image to the three heavens. In addition, he receives from those three heavens an influx, in three similar degrees, of good and truth from the Lord. What each of these is like compared with the other two becomes clear from the two examples introduced above in 3688 and 3690. Those who are governed by true love to the Lord, so much so that they have a perception of that love, are in the higher degree of good and truth. They are in the inmost or third heaven, thus closer to the Lord, and are called celestial angels. Those however who are governed by charity towards the neighbour, so much so that they have a perception of that charity but not so much a perception of love to the Lord, are in a lower degree of good and truth. They are in the interior or second heaven, accordingly more remote from the Lord, and are referred to as spiritual angels. Those however who are governed by charity towards the neighbour that arises solely from an affection for truth, so much so that they do not have any perception of that charity towards the neighbour except from the truth for which they have an affection, are in a still lower degree of good and truth. They are in the exterior or first heaven, accordingly more remote still from the Lord, and are termed good spirits. This shows to some extent the relationship of these degrees to one another, that is to say, it shows that things existing in a higher degree present an image of themselves that is formed from the things belonging to the degree immediately below them. Love to the Lord contains the closest image of the Lord. That image is called a likeness and therefore people who are governed by true love to the Lord are called likenesses of Him. Charity too contains an image of the Lord, though in a more remote way – for within genuine charity the Lord is present – and therefore people who are governed by such charity are referred to as His images, see 50, 51, 1013. But those who are governed by the affection for truth and consequently by a certain kind of charity towards the neighbour are also images of the Lord, yet in a more remote way still. Into these separate degrees the three heavens are distinguished, and in accordance with those same degrees the Lord flows in with Divine Good and Truth, and so with wisdom and intelligence, together with heavenly joy and happiness. (Arcana Coelestia 3691{3-5})

The angels in the Lord’s celestial kingdom, from their more interior reception of the Divine of the Lord, far excel in wisdom and glory the angels that are in His spiritual kingdom; for they are in love to the Lord, and consequently are nearer and more closely conjoined to Him. These angels are such because they have received and continue to receive Divine truths at once in their life, and not first in memory and thought, as the spiritual angels do. Consequently they have Divine truths written in their hearts, and they perceive them, and as it were see them, in themselves; nor do they ever reason about them whether they are true or not. They are such as are described in Jeremiah: I will put my law in their mind, and will write it in their heart. They shall teach no more everyone his friend and everyone his brother, saying, Know ye Jehovah. They shall know Me, from the least of them even to the greatest of them (31:33, 34).  And they are called in Isaiah: Taught of Jehovah (54:13). That the “taught of Jehovah” are those who are taught by the Lord He Himself teaches in John (6:45, 46). (Heaven and Hell 25)

The inmost heaven, the middle heaven, and the ultimate heaven, or what amounts to the same, the third, second, and first heavens. The inmost or third heaven is celestial, the angels there being called celestial because they are governed by love to the Lord and as a consequence are the ones most closely linked to the Lord. And that being so they excel all other angels in wisdom. They are innocent and are for that reason called embodiments of innocence and wisdom. These angels are divided into internal and external, the internal being more celestial than the external. The middle or second heaven is spiritual, the angels there being called spiritual because they are governed by charity towards the neighbour, that is, by mutual love, the nature of which is such that one angel loves another more than himself. And because their nature is such, intelligence is present within them and for that reason they are called embodiments of intelligence. These angels too are divided into internal and external, the internal being more spiritual than the external. But the ultimate or first heaven is also celestial and spiritual, though not in the same degree as the previous ones; for the natural is closely associated with them, and so for that reason they are called celestial-natural and spiritual-natural. They too are governed by mutual love, but they do not love others more than themselves, only as themselves. What governs them is an affection for good and a knowledge of truth. They also are divided into internal and external. (Arcana Coelestia 4286)

Key Points From The Video

Heaven Represented by the Human Body: Heaven is symbolically represented by the human body, with three degrees or levels of mind: celestial, spiritual, and natural, each reflecting Divine love and truth.

The Celestial Heaven: The highest heaven, the celestial heaven, is characterised by intrinsic love to the Lord, giving angels a deep spiritual intimacy with the Divine.

The Spiritual Heaven: The middle heaven, the spiritual heaven, focuses on love of the neighbour, creating a community of selfless support and altruism.

The Nature of Charity: Charity in the spiritual heaven surpasses self-love, prioritising the well-being of others, aligning with the Divine principle of selflessness.

The Natural Heaven: The lowest heaven, the natural heaven, is characterised by a balanced love for goodness and a knowledge of spiritual truth.

Natural Love and Spiritual Truth: Angels of the natural heaven love others as themselves and are classified as celestially-natural or spiritually-natural, reflecting their unique spiritual qualities.

Hierarchy and Harmony in Heaven: The hierarchical structure of heaven creates a cohesive spiritual entity where each level contributes to the overall harmony of the heavenly community.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How is heaven represented in Spiritual Christianity?
a) As a physical place
b) As a single level
c) Through material wealth
d) By the human body
Answer: d)

2. What characterises the celestial heaven?
a) Love for material possessions
b) Intrinsic love to the Lord
c) Charity towards neighbours
d) Knowledge of spiritual truth
Answer: b) Intrinsic love to the Lord

3. What is the primary focus of the spiritual heaven?
a) Direct love for the Lord
b) Selfish desires
c) Love of the neighbour
d) Material wealth
Answer: c)

4. How is charity in the spiritual heaven described?
a) Focused on self-love
b) Prioritising the well-being of others
c) Based on material possessions
d) Limited to family and friends
Answer: b)

5. What distinguishes the natural heaven?
a) Direct connection with the Divine
b) Complete detachment from material world
c) Focus on self-love
d) Balanced love for goodness and spiritual truth
Answer: d)

Reflective Questions

1. How can understanding the hierarchical structure of heaven influence your spiritual practices and priorities?

2. In what ways can you cultivate a balance between love for goodness and knowledge of spiritual truth in your daily life?

3. How does the principle of selflessness in the spiritual heaven inspire you to enhance your relationships with others?

Experiential Integration Exercise

Reflection on Spiritual Hierarchy

1. Morning Intention: Start your day by setting an intention to embody the qualities of the celestial, spiritual, and natural heavens.
2. Throughout the Day: Practice acts of selflessness towards others, reflecting on how these actions align with Divine love and truth.
3. Evening Reflection: Reflect on how practicing these qualities influenced your interactions throughout the day. Again, without judging them, also take note of what resistances came up for you .

Further Exploration

Only he who knows how degrees are related to Divine order can comprehend how the heavens are distinct, or even what is meant by the internal and the external man. Most men in the world have no other idea of what is interior and what is exterior, or of what is higher and what is lower, than as something continuous, or coherent by continuity, from purer to grosser. But the relation of what is interior to what is exterior is discrete, not continuous. Degrees are of two kinds, those that are continuous and those that are not. Continuous degrees are related like the degrees of the waning of a light from its bright blaze to darkness, or like the degrees of the decrease of vision from objects in the light to those in the shade, or like degrees of purity in the atmosphere from bottom to top. These degrees are determined by distance. On the other hand, degrees that are not continuous, but discrete, are distinguished like prior and posterior, like cause and effect, and like what produces and what is produced. Whoever looks into the matter will see that in each thing and all things in the whole world, whatever they are, there are such degrees of producing and compounding, that is, from one a second, and from that a third, and so on. Until one has acquired for himself a perception of these degrees he cannot possibly understand the differences between the heavens, nor between the interior and exterior faculties of man, nor the differences between the spiritual world and the natural world, nor between the spirit of man and his body. So neither can he understand the nature and source of correspondences and representations, or the nature of influx. Sensual men do not apprehend these differences, for they make increase and decrease, even according to these degrees, to be continuous, and are therefore unable to conceive of what is spiritual otherwise than as a purer natural. And in consequence they remain outside of and a great way off from intelligence. (Heaven and Hell 38{1-3})

Finally, a certain arcanum respecting the angels of the three heavens, which has not hitherto come into any one’s mind, because degrees have not been understood, may be related. In every angel and also in every man there is an inmost or highest degree, or an inmost or highest something, into which the Divine of the Lord primarily or proximately flows, and from which it disposes the other interiors in him that follow in accordance with the degrees of order. This inmost or highest degree may be called the entrance of the Lord to the angel or man, and His veriest dwelling-place in them. It is by virtue of this inmost or highest that a man is a man, and is distinguished from irrational animals, for these do not have it. From this it is that man, unlike the animals, is capable, in respect to all his interiors which pertain to his mind and disposition, of being raised up by the Lord to Himself, of believing in the Lord, of being moved by love to the Lord, and thereby beholding Him, and of receiving intelligence and wisdom, and speaking from reason. Also, it is by virtue of this that he lives to eternity. But what is arranged and provided by the Lord in this inmost does not distinctly flow into the perception of any angel, because it is above his thought and transcends his wisdom. (Heaven and Hell 39)

From The Doctrines For Spiritual Christianity

The reason why the angels are not superior to men but are equal to them, and that therefore they are equally the Lord’s servants as men are, is because all the angels have been men born in the world, and none of them directly created, as can be established out of the things that have been written and demonstrated in the work concerning Heaven and Hell published at London, 1758. They indeed excel men in wisdom, but for the reason that they are in a spiritual state and consequently in the light of heaven, and not in a natural state and thus in the light of the world as are the men of the earth. But in so far as any angel excels in wisdom, so far he acknowledges that he is not above men, but similar to them. (Apocalypse Revealed 818)

What the wisdom of the angels is can be inferred from the fact that they are in the light of heaven, and the light of heaven in its essence is Divine truth or Divine wisdom; and this light enlightens at the same time their inner sight, or sight of the mind, and their outer sight, or sight of the eyes. The angels are also in heavenly heat, which in its essence is Divine good or Divine love, and from that they have an affection and longing to become wise. That the angels are in wisdom, even to the extent that they may be called wisdoms, follows from the fact that their thoughts and affections all flow in accordance with the heavenly form, and this form is the form of Divine wisdom; also that their interiors, which are recipients of wisdom, are arranged in that form…That the angels have such wisdom is in accord with the fact that all things that they behold with their eyes and perceive by their senses agree with their wisdom, since they are correspondences of it, and thus the objects perceived are representative forms of the things that constitute their wisdom. Furthermore, the thoughts of angels are not limited and contracted by ideas from space and time, as human thoughts are, for spaces and times belong to nature, and the things that belong to nature withdraw the mind from spiritual things, and deprive intellectual sight of its proper range. Again, the thoughts of angels are neither brought down to earthly and material things, nor interrupted by anxieties about the necessities of life; thus they are not withdrawn by such things from the delights of wisdom, as the thoughts of men in the world are; for all things come to them gratuitously from the Lord; they are clothed gratuitously, are fed gratuitously, are housed gratuitously, and besides this they receive delights and pleasures in the degree of their reception of wisdom from the Lord. (Heaven and Hell 266{1-3})

They are such as can be comprehended by angels, but only to some extent by men. For angels see the arcana of the Word in light that flows from the Lord; and in that light countless things are made visible which cannot be put into words, or even into mental pictures that a person could assimilate while living in the body. The reason for this is that with people in the world the light of heaven flows into the light of the world and so into such things there as either eliminate, reject, or darken and thereby weaken the light of heaven, such things being worldly and bodily cares, especially those that flow from self-love and love of the world. This is the reason why the perceptions belonging to angelic wisdom are for the most part beyond description and also beyond comprehension. However, a person enters into such wisdom after the body has been cast aside, that is, after death, but only the person who, when in the world, received the life of faith and charity from the Lord. The ability to receive that wisdom is held within the good of faith and charity. Much experience too has allowed me to know that the things which angels see and think about in the light of heaven are beyond description. When I have been raised into that light I have seemed to myself to understand everything the angels spoke there. But when I was brought down from there to the light of the external or natural man and in that light wished to recall the things I had heard there, I could not put them into words or even find ideas in my mind to embrace them, except for a few, and even these few in a dim manner. (Arcana Coelestia 9094{2})

Key Points From The Video

Living Wisdom of Angels: Angelic wisdom is dynamic and applied to their lives, enhancing spiritual development and the well-being of others.

Purely Abstracted Truths of Reason: Angels focus on abstract spiritual truths, aiming to improve their wills and intellects.

Freedom from Space and Time: Angels’ thoughts are free from the constraints of space and time, leading to superior mental light and perception of higher truths.

Superior Mental Light: Detached from material constraints, angels perceive truths beyond natural cognition.

Angels Communication: Angels uses immaterial ideas abstracted from natural properties and aligns with their mental state.

Spiritual Thought and Universal Language: Elevated spiritual thought leads to a universal language that transcends literal meanings. As such, the literal meaning of Holy Scripture disappears when its spiritual sense is revealed.

Heaven as Interior States of Mind: Heaven is an interior state of the will and intellect, characterised by spiritual harmony and integration.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What characterises angelic wisdom according to the Spiritual Christianity?
a) Speculative and theoretical
b) Literal and concrete
c) Conjectural and abstract
d) Living and dynamic
Answer: d)

2. What do angels’ thoughts focus on?
a) Concrete physical reality
b) Practical daily tasks
c) Purely abstracted truths of reason
d) Material possessions
Answer: c)

3. How are angels’ thoughts free from the constraints of space and time?
a) By focusing on earthly language
b) Through their natural cognition
c) Through material understanding
d) By looking to the improvement of the will and intellect so that they might serve others
Answer: d)

4. What is required to understand angelic communication?
a) Immaterial ideas
b) Material properties
c) Concrete concepts
d) Natural language
Answer: a)

5. How is heaven defined in Spiritual Christianity?
a) As an external place
b) As interior states of mind
c) By its physical magnitude
d) By material possessions
Answer: b)

Reflective Questions

1. How can you apply the concept of living wisdom to your daily life?

2. In what ways can freeing your thoughts from material world constraints enhance your spiritual understanding?

3. How does the idea of heaven as an interior state of mind influence your perception of spiritual growth?

Experiential Integration

Daily Spiritual Reflection:

1. Morning Intention: Begin your day by setting an intention to focus on abstract spiritual truths.
2. Throughout the Day: Take moments to detach from material concerns and reflect on higher spiritual principles.
3. Evening Reflection: Reflect on how this practice influenced your thoughts and actions, and how it can enhance your spiritual development.

Further Exploration

The wisdom of the angels of the third or inmost heaven shall now be described, and also how far it surpasses the wisdom of the angels of the first or outmost heaven. The wisdom of the angels of the third or inmost heaven is incomprehensible even to those who are in the outmost heaven, for the reason that the interiors of the angels of the third heaven have been opened to the third degree, while the interiors of angels of the first heaven have been opened only to the first degree; and all wisdom increases towards interiors and is perfected as these are opened (n. 208, 267). Because the interiors of the angels of the third or inmost heaven have been opened to the third degree, Divine truths are as it were inscribed on them; for the interiors of the third degree are more in the form of heaven than the interiors of the second and first degrees, and the form of heaven is from the Divine truth, thus in accord with the Divine wisdom, and this is why the truth is as it were inscribed on these angels, or are as it were instinctive or inborn in them. Therefore as soon as these angels hear genuine Divine truths they instantly acknowledge and perceive them, and afterwards see them as it were inwardly in themselves. As the angels of that heaven are such they never reason about Divine truths, still less do they dispute about any truth whether it is so or not; nor do they know what it is to believe or to have faith. They say, “What is faith? for I perceive and see that a thing is so.” This they illustrate by comparisons; for example, that it would be as when any one with a companion, seeing a house and the various things in it and around it, should say to his companion that he ought to believe that these things exist, and that they are such as he sees them to be; or seeing a garden and trees and fruit in it, should say to his companion that he ought to have faith that there is a garden and trees and fruits, when yet he is seeing them clearly with his eyes. For this reason these angels never mention faith, and have no idea what it is; neither do they reason about Divine truths, still less do they dispute about any truth whether it is so or not. But the angels of the first or outmost heaven do not have Divine truths thus inscribed on their interiors, because with them only the first degree of life is opened; therefore they reason about truths, and those who reason see almost nothing beyond the fact of the matter about which they are reasoning, or go no farther beyond the subject than to confirm it by certain considerations, and having confirmed it they say that it must be a matter of faith and must be believed. I have talked with angels about this, and they said that the difference between the wisdom of the angels of the third heaven and the wisdom of the angels of the first heaven is like that between what is clear and what is obscure; and the former they compared to a magnificent palace full of all things for use, surrounded on all sides by parks, with magnificent things of many kinds round about them; and as these angels are in the truths of wisdom they can enter into the palace and behold all things, and wander about in the parks in every direction and delight in it all. But it is not so with those who reason about truths, especially with those who dispute about them, as such do not see truths from the light of truth, but accept truths either from others or from the sense of the letter of the Word, which they do not interiorly understand, declaring that truths must be believed, or that one must have faith, and are not willing to have any interior sight admitted into these things. The angels said that such are unable to reach the first threshold of the palace of wisdom, still less to enter into it and wander about in its grounds. (Heaven and Hell 270{2-4})

The heat of heaven, like the light of heaven, is everywhere different. It is different in the celestial kingdom from what it is in the spiritual kingdom, and it is different in each society therein. It differs both in degree and in quality. It is more intense and more pure in the Lord’s celestial kingdom, because the angels there receive more of Divine good; and it is less intense and pure in His spiritual kingdom, because the angels there receive more of Divine truth. Also in each society the heat differs in accordance with reception. (Heaven and Hell 134)

From The Doctrines For Spiritual Christianity

Because the peace of heaven is the Divine inmostly affecting with blessedness the veriest good in angels, it can be clearly perceived by them only in the delight of their hearts when they are in the good of their life, in the pleasure with which they hear truth that agrees with their good, and in gladness of mind when they perceive the conjunction of good and truth. From this it flows into all the acts and thoughts of their life, and there presents itself as joy, even in outward appearance. But peace in the heavens differs in quality and quantity in agreement with the innocence of those who are there; since innocence and peace walk hand in hand; for every good of heaven, as said above, is from innocence, and every delight of that good is from peace. Evidently, then, the same that has been said in the foregoing chapter about the state of innocence in the heavens may be said here of the state of peace there, since innocence and peace are conjoined like good and its delight; for good is felt in its delight, and delight is known from its good. This being so, it is evident that angels of the inmost or third heaven are in the third or inmost degree of peace, because they are in the third or inmost degree of innocence; and that angels of the lower heavens are in a less degree of peace, because they are in a less degree of innocence (see above n. 280). That innocence and peace go together like good and its delight can be seen in little children, who are in peace because they are in innocence, and because they are in peace are in their whole nature full of play. Yet the peace of little children is external peace; while internal peace, like internal innocence, is possible only in wisdom, and for this reason only in the conjunction of good and truth, since wisdom is from that conjunction. Heavenly or angelic peace is also possible in men who are in wisdom from the conjunction of good and truth, and who in consequence have a sense of content in God; nevertheless, while they live in the world this peace lies hidden in their interiors, but it is revealed when they leave the body and enter heaven, for their interiors are then opened. (Heaven and Hell 288{1-3})

The state of one who leads a good life and who believes that the Lord governs the universe, and that He alone is the source of everything good that flows from love and charity, and of everything true that is a matter of faith, and indeed that He is the source of all life – thus the state of one who believes that ‘in Him we live, and move, and have our being’ – is such that he can have heavenly freedom conferred on him, and with that freedom peace as well. For he trusts solely in the Lord and has no anxious cares about all else; he is quite sure that all things work for his good, blessedness, and happiness for ever. But one who believes that he governs himself is constantly agitated, being carried along into evil desires, into anxious cares about things of the future, and thus into a vast number of anxieties. And such being his belief, evil desires and false persuasions also cling to him. (Arcana Coelestia 2892)

Angels utterly refuse to listen to any talk of reward being due on account of anything in themselves. Indeed they utterly loathe the very idea of a reward for the sake of any good or good action. For they know that with everyone the proprium, or that which is his own, is nothing but evil, and this being so, that whatever they do from the proprium or what is their own would hold the reverse of any reward within it. Angels also know that all good originates in the Lord, and that it flows in from Him, and solely out of mercy. Thus it is not on account of that which begins in themselves that they think about reward; indeed good itself ceases to be good when there is thought of reward on account of it, for a selfish end in view then instantly attaches itself. And to the extent this end attaches itself it introduces a denial that good originates in the Lord and is imparted out of mercy. This therefore removes the influx of good and consequently removes heaven and the blessedness present in good and in the affection for good. The affection for good, that is, love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour, includes blessing and happiness within it. These are present in the affection or love itself. (Arcana Coelestia 3816)

I have been informed from heaven why there are such changes of state there. The angels said that there are many reasons. First, the delight of life and of heaven which they have from the love and wisdom that are from the Lord, would gradually become worthless if they were in it continually, as is the case with those who are in delights and pleasures without variety. A second reason is that angels as well as men, have a proprium, and this consists in loving self. All in heaven are withheld from their proprium, and in so far as they are withheld from it by the Lord, to that extent they are in love and wisdom. But so far as they are not withheld they are in the love of self, and because everyone loves his proprium and it draws him,  they have changes of state or successive alternations. A third reason is that they are in this way perfected, for they thus establish a habit of being held in love to the Lord and of being withheld from the love of self. Also by alternations between delight and lack of delight, the perception and sensation of good becomes more exquisite. The angels added that the Lord does not bring about their changes of state, since He, as a Sun is unceasingly flowing in with heat and light, that is, with love and wisdom. But the cause is in themselves in that they love what is their proprium and this continually leads them away. This was illustrated by comparison with the sun of the world, showing that the cause of the changes of state of heat and cold, and of light and shade, year by year and day by day, is not in that sun which remains stationary, but the cause is in the earth. (Heaven and Hell158)

For Christ’s kingdom, which is heaven, is a kingdom of services. For the Lord loves all and so wishes to do good to all, and good is service. Since the Lord does good or performs services indirectly through angels, and in the world through people, He gives those who faithfully perform services a love of service and its reward, which is inward blessedness, and this is everlasting happiness.’There are in the heavens, as on earth, surpassing dominions and the richest treasures. For there are governments and forms of government, and therefore major and minor authorities and ranks. Those who hold the highest offices have palaces and council-chambers, the magnificence and splendour of which surpass those of the palaces and council-chambers of emperors and kings on earth; and the number of their courtiers, ministers and attendants, and the magnificent uniforms they wear, form for them an ambience of honour and glory. But these highest rulers are chosen from those whose heart is in the welfare of society, and only their bodily senses are concerned with the greatness of magnificence, in order to inspire obedience. Since the public welfare demands that everyone should serve some purpose in the community as being the common body, and since all service comes from the Lord, and is performed by angels and by men as if of themselves, it is obvious that this is reigning with the Lord.’ (True Christian Religion 736{3-4}

Key Points From The Video

Love for the Lord God: Angels’ supreme love is directed towards the Lord God, growing with their degree of innocence.

Inspiration of Divine Love: Divine love enriches angels, aiming to fill them with heavenly joy, motivated by altruism.

Expansion of Mutual Love: As angels’ love for the Lord grows, their mutual love expands, bringing greater happiness to others.

Happiness and Self-Regard: Angels’ happiness increases as their self-regard diminishes, with a focus on others.

Subordination of Self: Perfect happiness is achieved by completely subordinating self-regard, embodying selfless love.

Divine Love as the Source of Perfect Happiness: The Lord God, possessing infinite Love, continually communicates perfect happiness to angels according to their capacity to receive it.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the highest form of angelic love in Spiritual Christianity?
a) Love for fellow angels
b) Love for knowledge
c) Love for the Lord God
d) Love for nature
Answer: c)

2. How does the degree of innocence affect an angel’s love for the Divine?
a) It diminishes their love
b) It has no effect
c) It strengthens their love
d) It complicates their love
Answer: c)

3. What quality describes the purpose of Divine love as it inspires Itself into angels?
a) Selfish considerations
b) Need for adoration
c) Desire for control
d) Altruistic
Answer: d)

4. What happens to angels’ happiness as their self-regard diminishes?
a) It increases
b) It remains unchanged
c) It decreases
d) It becomes irrelevant
Answer: a)

5. How does an angel’s happiness increase?
a) By accumulating more knowledge about spiritual life
b) By achieving power
c) By a decrease in self regard
d) By isolating oneself
Answer: c)

Reflective Questions

1. How can you cultivate a deeper love for the Divine in your daily life?

2. In what ways can you expand your mutual love to benefit others in your community?

3. How do you reconcile the need for self-care with the need for a decrease in self-regard and selflessness in spiritual life?

Experiential Integration

Daily Selflessness Practice

1. Morning Intention: Begin your day by setting an intention to focus on selfless acts and the well-being of others.
2. Throughout the Day: Perform at least one act of kindness or service without expecting anything in return.
3. Evening Reflection: Reflect on how these acts of selflessness affected your state of mind and the happiness of those around you. Note also what resistances came up for you in your inner self talk and motivations in this task. Don’t judge these, instead try to just observe them.

Further Exploration

All perfection increases towards interiors and decreases towards exteriors, since interiors are nearer to the Divine, and are in themselves pure, while exteriors are more remote from the Divine and are in themselves grosser. Intelligence, wisdom, love, everything good and the resulting happiness, are what constitute angelic perfection; but not happiness apart from these, for such happiness is external and not internal. Because in the angels of the inmost heaven the interiors have been opened in the third degree their perfection immeasurably surpasses the perfection of angels in the middle heaven, whose interiors have been opened in the second degree. So the perfection of these angels exceeds in like measure the perfection of angels of the outmost heaven. (Heaven and Hell 34)

The celestial kingdom consists of angels who are called celestial and are those who have been governed by love to the Lord and so by all wisdom. For they more than all others abide in the Lord and so more than all others experience the state of peace and innocence. To others they look like young children, for the state of peace and innocence gives them this appearance. Everything there is living so to speak in their eyes, for that which comes directly from the Lord is living. Such is the celestial kingdom. The second kingdom is called spiritual. This consists of angels who are called spiritual and are those who have been governed by the good that flows from charity towards the neighbour. The delight of life is considered by them to lie in being able to do good to others without reward. To them being allowed to do good to others is itself a reward. And the more this is their will and desire the greater the intelligence and happiness they experience, for in the next life the Lord confers intelligence and happiness on everyone according to the use which he performs from the affection that belongs to his will. Such is the spiritual kingdom. (Arcana Coelestia 3887)

From The Doctrines For Spiritual Christianity

Everyone in the heavens knows, believes and even perceives that he wills and does nothing good from himself; and that he thinks and believes nothing of truth from himself; but from the Divine, thus from the Lord, and that the good and truth which are from himself are not good and truth because they have no life from the Divine in them. The angels of the inmost heaven also clearly perceive and feel the influx, and the more of it they receive, the more they seem to themselves to be in heaven, because the more are they in love and faith and in the light of intelligence and wisdom and in heavenly joy therefrom. Since all those [states] proceed from the Divine of the Lord and in these the angels have their heaven, it is clear that it is the Divine of the Lord that makes heaven, and not the angels from anything of their proprium. (Heaven and Hell 8)

Uses in the heavens are likewise in all variety and diversity, and in no case is the use of one wholly the same as, and identical with the use of another; so neither is the happiness of one the same as, and identical with the happiness of another. Furthermore, the delights of each use are innumerable, and these innumerable delights are likewise various, and yet conjoined in such order that they mutually have regard to each other, like the uses of each member, organ, and viscus, in the body, and still more like the uses of each vessel and fibre in any one member, organ and viscus; each and all of which are so associated together that they behold their own good in another, and thus in all, and they behold all in each. From this universal and individual aspect they act as one. (Heaven and Hell 405)

The combination of the angelic communities into one heaven takes place in accord with the following laws, 1. Every complete whole in heaven arises from the pattern of many sharing their lives with one another in accord with the harmony of heaven. 2. Love is spiritual togetherness, which leads to the harmony of heaven. 3. There must be a universal bond, in order that the individual constituents may be held in combination and interconnection. 4. The universal bond must enter into and create the individual bonds. 5. The universal bond is the Lord, that is, it is the love that comes from Him, and from this the love directed towards Him. 6. The individual bonds are derived from the universal; they are the bonds of mutual love or charity towards the neighbour. These are the laws by virtue of which heaven, consisting of countless angelic communities, nevertheless exists as one total human being. (Arcana Coelestia 9613{3})

In addition it should be realised that one community is never utterly and completely like another, nor one member within a community like any other member. Instead unanimous and harmonious variety of all exists, and these variations have been so ordered by the Lord that they strive towards one single end, which is attained through love and faith in Him. From this arises their unity. For the same reason one heaven and form of heavenly joy is never utterly and completely like another. Indeed variations in love and faith are what determine the nature of heaven and its joy. (Arcana Coelestia 690)

Mutual love in heaven consists in the fact that they love the neighbor more than themselves, the effect of which is that the whole heaven represents as it were one man; for by means of mutual love all are so consociated by the Lord, and hence it is that the happinesses of all are communicated to each one, and those of each one to all. Consequently the heavenly form is such that everyone is as it were a kind of center, thus a center of communications, and consequently of happinesses, from all; and this in accordance with all the differences of mutual love, which are innumerable. And because those who are in that love perceive the highest happiness in being able to communicate to others that which flows into them, and this from the heart, the communication becomes perpetual and eternal; and on this account, as the Lord’s kingdom increases, so the happiness of each angel increases…. Nothing else endeavours to destroy this form and this order than the love of self, and therefore all in the other life who are in the love of self are more deeply infernal than others, for the love of self communicates nothing to others, but extinguishes and suffocates their delights and happinesses. Whatever delight flows into them from others, they receive to themselves, concentrate it within themselves, turn it into the filthiness of self, prevent its going any further, and thus destroy all that tends to unanimity and consociation. From this comes disunion, and consequently destruction. And as every such person desires to be served, courted, and adored by others, and loves no one but himself, hence comes dissociation. (Arcana Coelestia 2057)

Not only is the Lord in heaven but He also is heaven itself, because love and wisdom make the angel, and these two with angels are the Lord’s. Hence it follows that the Lord is heaven. For angels are not angels from their proprium.  Their proprium is exactly like that of a man and this is evil. That an angel’s proprium is such is because all angels have been men, and that proprium adheres to them from birth. It is only removed, and to the extent that it is removed, to that extent they receive love and wisdom, that is, the Lord in themselves. Anyone can see if only he will raise his understanding a little that the Lord can dwell with angels only in what is His, that is, in what is His Very Own, which is Love and Wisdom, and certainly not in the angels’ proprium which is evil. Hence it is that so far as evil is removed, so far the Lord is in them, and so far they are angels. The very angelic itself of heaven is the Divine Love and Wisdom. This Divine is called the angelic when it is in angels. From this again it is clear that angels are angels from the Lord, and not from themselves; consequently, the same is true regarding heaven. (Divine Love and Wisdom 114)

Key Points From The Video

Renouncing Self-Will for Divine Reception: Angels receive heavenly love by surrendering personal desires and aligning with the Lord’s will.

Heavenly Love and Performance of Uses: Heavenly love inspires angels to perform roles that benefit others, contributing to the happiness and well-being of the heavenly community.

Harmony in the Heavenly Community: Mutual love and shared happiness create a harmonious operation among the distinct minds in heaven.

Unity in Diversity: Divine Love integrates individual distinctions into a cohesive whole, enhancing the collective improvement and stability of the heavenly community.

The Incompatibility of Selfish Gratifications: Selfish desires disrupt the reception of Divine Love, leading to disunity and spiritual decline.

Destruction of Heavenly Joy through Selfishness: Selfishness undermines the spiritual bonds and joy of heaven, emphasising the need for selflessness and mutual love.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is essential for the continuous reception of heavenly love in Spiritual Christianity?
a) Accumulating knowledge
b) Renouncing self-will
c) Achieving physical strength
d) Seeking personal ambitions
Answer: b)

2. How do angels perform roles that benefit the heavenly community?
a) By competing with each other
b) Through selfish desires
c) By aligning with the Lord’s will
d) By isolating themselves
Answer: c)

3. What fosters a harmonious operation among the distinct minds in heaven?
a) Individual competition
b) Mutual love and shared happiness
c) Personal achievements
d) Isolation from others
Answer: b)

4. What causes disunity and spiritual decline in heaven?
a) Accumulating wealth
b) Following personal ambitions
c) Seeking knowledge
d) Selfish gratifications
Answer: d)

5. What undermines the spiritual bonds and joy of heaven?
a) Mutual love
b) Selflessness
c) Collective unity
d) Selfishness
Answer: d)

Reflective Questions

1. How can you apply the principle of renouncing self-will in your daily life to foster a more harmonious environment?

2. What roles or actions in your life reflect the heavenly love that benefits others and contributes to collective well-being?

3. How do you experience the tension between self-will and Divine guidance, and what steps can you take to align more closely with the Lord’s will?

Experiential Integration

Alignment Practice

1. Morning Reflection: Start your day with a meditation focusing on surrendering personal desires and opening yourself to Divine guidance.
2. Throughout the Day: Consciously practice aligning your actions with the principles of mutual benefit and collective well-being.
3. Evening Journal: Reflect on instances where you chose Divine guidance over self-will and how it affected your state of mind and interactions.

Further Exploration

Angels do indeed possess supreme wisdom and intelligence, yet all their wisdom and intelligence comes to them from the Lord’s Divine. They have no wisdom or intelligence at all that originates in themselves, that is, in their proprium. Therefore it is only insofar as they are governed by truths and goods received from the Lord’s Divine that they are wise and intelligent. The fact that angels have no wisdom or intelligence at all originating in themselves they themselves openly confess. Indeed they are also quite angry if anyone attributes to them any wisdom or intelligence at all, for they know and perceive that it would be taking away from the Divine that which is His and it would be claiming for themselves that which is not theirs, and so would be engaging in the crime of spiritual theft. Angels also say that their entire proprium consists in evil and falsity, both because of their heredity and also because of their own conduct in the world when they were men, 1880. Nor, they say, is evil or falsity separated – that is, wiped away – from them, whereby they are made righteous; rather, the whole of it remains with them, though the Lord withholds them from that evil and falsity and keeps them in good and truth. (Arcana Coelestia 4925{2})

Innumerable things might be said about man’s Own in describing its nature with the corporeal and worldly man, with the spiritual man, and with the celestial man. With the corporeal and worldly man, his Own is his all, he knows of nothing else than his Own, and imagines, as before said, that if he were to lose this Own he would perish. With the spiritual man also his Own has a similar appearance, for although he knows that the Lord is the life of all, and gives wisdom and understanding, and consequently the power to think and to act, yet this knowledge is rather the profession of his lips than the belief of his heart. But the celestial man discerns that the Lord is the life of all and gives the power to think and to act, for he perceives that it is really so. He never desires his Own, nevertheless an Own is given him by the Lord, which is conjoined with all perception of what is good and true, and with all happiness. The angels are in such an Own, and are at the same time in the highest peace and tranquility, for in their Own are those things which are the Lord’s, who governs their Own, or them by means of their Own. This Own is the veriest celestial itself, whereas that of the corporeal man is infernal. But concerning this Own more hereafter. (Arcana Coelestia 141)

From The Doctrines For Spiritual Christianity

I have talked much with angels about innocence, and have been told that innocence is the being (esse) of all good, and that good is therefore good to the extent that it has innocence in it, consequently that wisdom is wisdom to the extent that it partakes of innocence. The same is true of love, charity, and faith. ¹ Therefore, no one can enter heaven unless he has innocence. This is what is meant by the Lord when He says: Suffer little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of the heavens. Verily I say unto you, Whoever shall not receive the kingdom of the heavens as a little child, he shall not enter into it. Mark 10:14-15; Luke 18:16-17. There as elsewhere in the Word by “little children” is meant those who are innocent. A state of innocence is also described by the Lord in Matthew (6:25-34), but by correspondences only. Good is good so far as it has innocence in it, for the reason that all good is from the Lord, and innocence is a willingness to be led by the Lord. I have also been told that truth can be conjoined to good and good to truth only by means of innocence. So it is also that an angel is not an angel of heaven unless he has innocence in him; for heaven is not in anyone until truth is conjoined to good in him. Hence the conjunction of truth and good is called the heavenly marriage, and the heavenly marriage is heaven. (Heaven and Hell 281)

The innocence of wisdom is genuine innocence, because it is internal, for it belongs to the mind itself, that is, to the will itself and from that to the understanding. And when there is innocence in these there is also wisdom, for wisdom belongs to the will and understanding. This is why it is said in heaven that innocence has its abode in wisdom, and that an angel has just so much of innocence as he has of wisdom. This is confirmed by the fact that those who are in a state of innocence attribute nothing of good to themselves, but regard all things as received and ascribe them to the Lord; that they wish to be led by Him and not by themselves; that they love everything that is good and find delight in everything that is true, because they know and perceive that loving what is good, that is, willing and doing it, is loving the Lord, and loving truth is loving the neighbour; that they live contented with their own, whether it be little or much, because they know that they receive just as much as is good for them-those receiving little for whom a little is useful, and those receiving much for whom much is useful; also that they do not themselves know what is good for them, the Lord alone knowing this, who looks in all things that He provides to what is eternal. Neither are they anxious about the future; anxiety about the future they call care for the morrow, which they define as grief on account of losing or not receiving things that are not necessary for the uses of life. With companions they never act from an evil end but from what is good, just, and sincere. Acting from an evil end they call cunning, which they shun as the poison of a serpent, since it is wholly antagonistic to innocence. As they love nothing so much as to be led of the Lord, attributing all things they receive to Him, they are kept apart from what is their own [proprium]; and to the extent that they are kept apart from what is their own the Lord flows into them; and in consequence of this whatever they hear from the Lord, whether through the Word or by means of preaching, they do not store up in the memory, but instantly obey it, that is, will it and do it, their will being itself their memory. These for the most part outwardly appear simple, but inwardly they are wise and prudent. These are meant by the Lord in the words, Be ye prudent as serpents and simple as doves (Matt. 10:16). Such is the innocence which is called the innocence of wisdom. (Heaven and Hell 278{1&2})

Hellish fire or love comes into existence from the same source as heavenly fire or love, namely, the Sun of heaven, or the Lord; but it is made hellish by those who receive it. For all influx from the spiritual world is varied in accordance with reception, that is, in accordance with the forms into which it flows, just as it is with the heat and light from the sun of the world. The heat from that sun flowing into shrubberies and beds of flowers produces vegetation, and draws forth grateful and sweet odours; but the same heat flowing into excrementitious and decaying substances produces putrefactions, and draws forth rank and disgusting stenches. In like manner the light from the same sun produces in one subject beautiful and pleasing colours, in another unbeautiful and disagreeable colours. The same is true of the heat and light from the Sun of heaven, which is love; When the heat, or love, from that Sun flows into goods, as it does with men, and good spirits and angels, it makes their goods fruitful; but with the evil it produces a contrary effect, for their evils either suffocate it or pervert it. In like manner when the light of heaven flows into the truths of good it imparts intelligence and wisdom; but when it flows into the falsities of evil it is there turned into insanities and phantasies of various kinds. Thus, in every instance, the result is in accordance with reception. (Heaven and Hell 569)

Key Points From The Video

Innocence is the Inmost Ground: Innocence serves as the Esse (inmost ground) from which love and wisdom arise, indicating their true reality depends on this Divine state.

The Nature of Innocence: Innocence is characterised by a willingness to submit to the Divine Will, akin to a child’s trust and humility.

Innocence as the Capacity for Reception: Innocence enhances the mind’s capacity to receive love and wisdom from the Divine Source.

The Receptive Nature of Innocence: Innocence contrasts with self-wilfulness, which rejects Divine influx, while innocence opens the mind to receive spiritual influences.

Innocence and Spiritual Receptivity: Self-wilfulness hardens the mind, blocking Divine growth, whereas contentment and trust in the Divine promote spiritual receptivity.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is considered the foundational essence that underpins the existence of love, wisdom, and their associated good and truth in angels?
a) Knowledge
b) Power
c) Innocence
d) Strength
Answer: c)

2. What does innocence serve as in the framework of Spiritual Christianity?
a) The highest state of mind
b) The inmost ground (Esse)
c) A physical location in heaven
d) An intellectual achievement
Answer: b)

3. How is innocence characterised in angels?
a) As a complex and analytical state
b) As a physical strength
c) Through self-will and independence
d) By a willingness to submit to the Divine Will
Answer: d)

4. What quality enhances the mind’s capacity to receive love and wisdom from the Divine Source?
a) Innocence
b) Intelligence
c) Courage
d) Ambition
Answer: a)

5. What happens to self-wilfulness when exposed to the spiritual sun, according to the metaphor offered in the video?
a) It flourishes and grows
b) It transforms into wisdom
c) It dissipates and disappears
d) It becomes hard and resistant
Answer: d)

Reflective Questions

1. How can embracing a childlike trust and humility influence your daily interactions and spiritual growth?

2. In what ways does self-wilfulness manifest in your life, and how can you work towards a more receptive state of innocence?

3. How do you experience the inflow of Divine qualities such as love and wisdom in your life, and what role does innocence play in this process?

Experiential Integration

Innocence Practice

1. Morning Reflection: Begin your day with a moment of quiet contemplation, focusing on developing a childlike trust and openness to Divine guidance.
2. Throughout the Day: Consciously practice humility and willingness to follow a higher guidance in your actions and decisions.
3. Evening Journal: Reflect on instances where you felt more open to Divine influence and note how this affected your state of mind and interactions.

Further Exploration

Everything that a man thinks and wills, and consequently speaks and does, flows in from one sole Fountain of life, and yet that one Fountain of life, which is the Lord, is not the cause of a man’s thinking what is evil and false. This can be illustrated by the following circumstances in the natural world. From the sun of this world proceed heat and light; and these two flow into all subjects and objects that appear before the eyes, not only into subjects that are good and objects that are beautiful, but also into subjects that are evil and objects that are ugly, producing in them various effects. For they flow not only into trees that bear good fruit but also into trees that bear bad fruit, and even into the fruits themselves, imparting to them quickening power. They likewise flow into good seed and also into tares; also into shrubs that have a good use or are wholesome, and also into shrubs that have an evil use or are poisonous. Yet it is the same heat and the same light, and in these there is no cause of evil; but the cause is in the recipient subjects and objects. The heat which hatches eggs in which lie the bird of night, the screech-owl and the viper acts in the same way as when it hatches eggs in which lie the dove, the bird of paradise and the swan. Set eggs of both kinds under a hen and they will be hatched by her heat, which in itself is free from harm. What then has the heat in common with those evil and noxious things? The heat that flows into the marsh and the dung-hill, and into dead and putrefying matter acts in the same way as when it flows into the vine sapling and the fragrant herb, and into luxuriant vegetation and bodies pulsing with life. Who does not see that the cause is not in the heat but in the recipient subject? On the other hand, the same light brings out in one object colours that are pleasing, and in another colours that are not pleasing; it even brightens itself up and sends out brilliant rays in white objects, but in objects that verge towards black it dims and darkens itself. It is the same in the spiritual world; for there also are heat and light from its Sun, which is the Lord, and these flow from that Sun into their subjects and objects. The subjects and objects there are angels and spirits, in particular, what pertains to their will and understanding, the heat there being the Divine Love going forth, and the light there the Divine Wisdom going forth. These are not the cause of their being received differently by one and by another; for the Lord says, He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Matthew 5:45. (Divine Providence 292 {1-3})

The inmost or third heaven is the heaven of innocence; the middle or second heaven is the heaven of charity that has innocence from the inmost heaven within it; and the lowest or first heaven is the heaven of truth that has charity from the second heaven within it, and innocence from the third within that charity. (Arcana Coelestia 6013)

From The Doctrines For Spiritual Christianity

By changes of state of the angels are meant their changes as to love and faith, and wisdom and intelligence therefrom, thus their changes as to states of life. States are predicated of life and of the things that are of life; and as angelic life is a life of love and faith, and of wisdom and intelligence therefrom, so states are predicated of these and are called states of love and faith, and states of wisdom and intelligence. (Heaven and Hell 154)

In heaven they have no thought of any time or season, only of the changes of state that affections and consequent thoughts undergo, and changes of state there are like the times of day, which are morning, midday, evening, and night, the morning being that from which they begin. It may come as a surprise to everyone that in heaven there are no times or seasons, when yet those there live among one another as people do in the world, though they are different from them so far as intelligence, wisdom, and blessedness are concerned. But the reason is that the light there radiating from the sun, which is the Lord, does not undergo daily changes like the light from the sun in the world. Instead it varies in accordance with the states of love and faith among the angels, who undergo changes of state like the states of heat, light, and shade every day on earth. (Arcana Coelestia 1065)

They who are in the celestial kingdom are in the inmost or third heaven, thus nearest to the Lord; for they who are there are in love to the Lord and in innocence, consequently in wisdom above all the other angels. (Arcana Coelestia 8945)

Many people may suppose that little children remain little children and become angels immediately after death.  But it is intelligence and wisdom that make an angel.  Consequently, as long as little children do not have that intelligence and wisdom, they are indeed among angels, but are not themselves angels.  They become angels for the first time only when they have become intelligent and wise. Little children are therefore led from the innocence of early childhood to the innocence of wisdom; that is, from an external innocence to an internal one.  This latter innocence is the goal in all their instruction and advancement.  Consequently, when they reach the innocence of wisdom, attached to it is the innocence of their early childhood, which in the meantime had served them as a foundation. (Conjugial Love 413)

Let it be clearly understood that with the angels it is the interiors that cause them to be in one heaven or another; for as their interiors are more open to the Lord they are in a more interior heaven. There are three degrees of interiors in each angel and spirit, and also in man. Those in whom the third degree is opened are in the inmost heaven. Those in whom the second degree is opened, or only the first, are in the middle or in the outmost heaven. The interiors are opened by reception of Divine good and Divine truth. Those who are affected by Divine truths and admit them at once into the life, thus into the will and into action therefrom, are in the inmost or third heaven, and have their place there in accordance with their reception of good from affection for truth. Those who do not admit truths at once into the will but into the memory, and thence into the understanding, and from the understanding will and do them, are in the middle or second heaven. But those who live morally and who believe in a Divine, and who care very little about being taught, are in the outmost or first heaven. From this it is clear that the states of the interiors are what make heaven, and that heaven is within everyone, and not outside of him; as the Lord teaches when He says:The kingdom of God cometh not with observation, neither shall they say, Lo here, or Lo there; for behold the kingdom of God ye have within you (Luke 17:20, 21). (Heaven and Hell 33)

There are three heavens, the first where good spirits are, the second where angelic spirits are, and the third where angels are. One heaven is interior to and purer than the next, which means that they are entirely distinct and separate from one another. The first heaven divides into countless communities, as do the second and the third, and each community consists of many individuals who, because of the harmony and unanimity that exist among them, in effect constitute one person. At the same time, all the communities in effect constitute one human being. Communities differ in nature from one another according to the way their mutual love and faith in the Lord varies. These differences are so countless that it is not possible to count up even the most general kinds of them. Even the smallest of differences fits into the perfectly ordered arrangement of the whole, and so contributes in perfect unanimity to a general unity, as does the general unity to the unanimity among individuals. Each individual therefore contributes to the happiness of all, and all to that of each individual. Consequently every angel and every community is an image of the whole of heaven and is so to speak heaven in miniature. (Arcana Coelestia 684)

Key Points From The Video

Heaven is Beyond a Physical Place: Heaven is not a physical place but a state of being connected to spiritual consciousness and mental states.

Heaven as a State of Mind: Heaven is shaped by the influx of Divine Life into the minds of angels, reflecting their inner spiritual reality in their sensory experiences.

The Formation of an Angelic Mind: The angelic mind integrates innocence, love, and wisdom, received from the Divine, not self-originated.

The Divine Origin of Angelic Qualities: Angelic qualities are appropriated from the Divine, becoming inherent to the angels.

Variations in Angelic Qualities: The degree of innocence, love, and wisdom varies among the heavens, regions, and individual angels, each creating unique spiritual experiences.

Distinctions in Reception: Differences in the reception of these qualities lead to unique roles and experiences for each angel within the heavenly state of mind.

The Dynamic Nature Of Heaven: Heaven as a dynamic state of mind highlights the transformative power of Divine influence, continuously shaping the angelic mind through the reception of Divine qualities.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In Spiritual Christianity, how is heaven conceptualised?
a) A physical place
b) A state of mind
c) A historical event
d) An unreachable goal
Answer: b)

2. What shapes the state of mind known as heaven in angels?
a) Their physical location
b) Their past experiences
c) Their social interactions
d) The influx of Divine Life
Answer: d)

3. What are the three key mental properties that form an angelic mind?
a) Knowledge, power, and courage
b) Faith, hope, and charity
c) Innocence, love, and wisdom
d) Honesty, integrity, and compassion
Answer: c)

4. How do the qualities of innocence, love, and wisdom become inherent to angels?
a) Through self-evolution
b) By appropriation from the Divine
c) Through education
d) By imitation of other angels
Answer: b)

5. What causes the variation in angelic qualities among different heavens and angels?
a) The unique reception and integration of Divine properties
b) Different educational backgrounds
c) Their physical environments
d) Their levels of experience
Answer: a)

Reflective Questions

1. How does viewing heaven as a state of mind rather than a physical place change your perspective on spirituality and the afterlife?

2. In what ways do you experience moments of “heaven” or spiritual influx in your daily life?

3. How can the qualities of innocence, love, and wisdom shape your interactions and relationships with others?

Experiential Integration

Mindful Influx Exercise

1. Morning Reflection: Spend a few minutes in the morning contemplating the qualities of innocence, love, and wisdom.
2. Daily Practice: Throughout the day, consciously integrate these qualities into your thoughts, actions, and interactions.
3. Evening Journal: Reflect on how embodying these qualities influenced your day and your state of mind, noting specific instances and feelings.

Further Exploration

All changes of place in the spiritual world come about by changes of state of the interiors so that changes of place are nothing else than changes of state… All the angels move in this manner. Consequently, for them there are no distances; and since there are no distances, there are no spaces either, but instead states and their changes. (Heaven and Hell 192)

That Jehovah or the Lord appeared or went before in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night, was because thereby was represented the state of heaven, for in heaven there are never-ceasing variations and changes of state; for the angels are continually being perfected, which cannot possibly be done without unceasing changes of states. In general these variations and changes are like the changes of times in the world; namely, the changes of the times of the year – spring, summer, autumn, winter, and again spring; and the changes of the times of the day-morning, noon, evening, night, and again morning. When it is morning and noon in heaven, there is enlightenment of the understanding from the Lord, but this enlightenment is then tempered by obscurity of truth as by a cloud; and when it is evening and night there, they have obscurity of understanding, but this is tempered by the Lord by means of the good of love, as by a fire which gives light. These are the things which were represented by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night with the sons of Israel in the wilderness. (Arcana Coelestia 8108)

When I asked where they got their garments, they said from the Lord, and that they receive them as gifts, and sometimes are clothed with them unconsciously. They said also that their garments are changed in accordance with their changes of state, that in the first and second state, their garments are shining and glistening white, and in the third and fourth states, a little dimmer, and this also from correspondence, because they have changes of state as to intelligence and wisdom. (Heaven and Hell 181)