AC 7217 - States of Distress and States Near to Despair; AC 7225 - "Uncircumcised"

AC 7217

That distress of spirit denotes a state near to despair,
can be seen from the fact
that those who are in a state near to despair
are in internal anxiety,
and are then actually in shortness of breath.
In the external sense
this condition is a compression of the breast,
and from this as it were a difficulty of breathing;
but in the internal sense
it is anxiety on account of the deprivation
of the truth which is of faith,
and of the good which is of charity,
and from this is a state near to despair.
. . . That the deprivation of spiritual truth and good
gives birth to such anxiety,
and consequently to such distress,
cannot be believed by those
who are not in faith and charity;
for these suppose that to be in distress on this account
is weakness and sickliness of mind.
The reason is that they do not place anything real
in faith and charity,
nor therefore in those things
which belong to their souls and to heaven,
but only in wealth and eminence,
thus in the things of the body and the world.
They also think,
"What are faith and charity but mere words?
What is conscience even?
To feel distressed by these things
is the same as being distressed by such things
as a man sees within him
from the silly creations of his fancy,
and which he imagines to have some existence,
although they have not any.
Wealth and high position we can see with our eyes,
and we know that they exist
by the pleasure they afford,
for they excite in our whole bodies
an expansion and a fullness of joy."
So think merely natural men,
and so do they speak among themselves.
But spiritual men think differently,
for these have their chief life in their spirit,
thus in the things that belong to their spirit,
that is, in faith and charity;
and therefore when they believe themselves deprived
of the truths and goods of faith and charity,
they are affected with anguish,
as are those who are in the anguish of death,
for they see before them spiritual death,
that is, damnation.
As before said, to the merely natural
these persons appear weak and sickly in spirit,
but they are strong and healthy;
whereas those who are merely natural
appear to themselves strong and healthy,
and also are so as to the body,
but as to the spirit they are quite weakly,
because spiritually dead.
If they could see what kind of a spirit they have,
they would acknowledge it to be so;
but they do not see the spirit until the body has died.

AC 7225 [2]

. . . "to be uncircumcised" denotes to be impure;
and as everything impure is from impure loves,
which are the love of the world and the love of self,
therefore by "uncircumcised" is signified
that which impedes the influx of good and truth.
Where these loves are,
the inflowing good and truth are extinguished,
for they are contraries, like heaven and hell.
Hence by the "uncircumcised ear"
is signified disobedience,
and by the "uncircumcised heart"
the rejection of good and truth,
which is especially the case
when these loves have fortified themselves
with falsity as with a wall.