AC 9648 - Four States: East, West, South, North

AC 9648

There are four states which correspond to
the four quarters in the world,
the east, the west, the south, and the north.
The east corresponds to a state of good in its rising,
the west to a state of good in its going down;
the south corresponds to a state of truth in its light;
and the north to a state of truth in shade).
The state of good to which the east corresponds,
and the state of truth to which the south corresponds,
are interior states;
and the state of good to which the west corresponds,
and the state of truth to which the north corresponds,
are exterior;
for the more interior any state is,
the more perfect it is;
and the more exterior it is,
the more imperfect,
thus the more obscure.
It is for this reason
that the higher a person can be raised
toward interior things,
the more he comes into the perception of good,
and into the light of truth;
and therefore when a person puts off bodily things,
which are the veriest external things,
as is the case when he departs out of the world;
if he has lived a life of truth and good
he comes into intelligence and wisdom,
and thus into the perception of every happiness.
He does so provided that
he has been leading a life of truth and goodness.
And the more he has allowed himself to be raised
towards the more internal parts of heaven
by leading a good life
based on teachings about the truth,
the greater is that perception.