CL 532-533 - What news from earth? The Lord has revealed secrets!

CL 532-533
. . . the Lord has revealed secrets
which surpass in excellence
all the secrets previously revealed . . .:

(1) That in the Word
and in each and every particular of it,
there is a spiritual meaning corresponding to the natural meaning;
that through that spiritual meaning
people of the church are conjoined with the Lord and affiliated with angels;
and that in it lies the holiness of the Word.

(2) That the corresponding elements
of which the spiritual meaning of the Word consists
have been disclosed.

(3) that the Lord has now revealed
the circumstances of people's life after death.

(4) that the Lord has now disclosed
the nature of the world in which angels and spirits live,
thus the nature of heaven and the nature of hell;
as also that angels and spirits live in affiliation with men;
in addition to many other wonders connected with them.

(5) The Lord has now revealed
that there is in your world a different sun from the one in our world;
that the sun of your world is pure love,
while the sun of our world is nothing but fire;
that because your sun is pure love,
everything that emanates from it brings with it something of life,
while because our sun is nothing but fire,
everything that emanates from it brings with it nothing of life;
also that this is the origin of the difference
between what is spiritual and what is natural,
a difference hitherto unknown which has also been disclosed."
It has been made known in consequence of this . . .
from what source the light comes
which enlightens the human intellect with wisdom,
and from what source the warmth comes
which kindles the human will with love.

(6) that there are three degrees of life,
and consequently three heavens;
that the human mind is divided into these degrees,
and that the human being thus corresponds to the three heavens.

(7) concerning the Last Judgment;
concerning the Lord,
that He is God of heaven and earth,
that God is one both in person and in essence,
in whom is the Divine trinity,
and that He is the Lord;
also concerning the New Church about to be established by Him,
and the doctrine of that church;
concerning the sacredness of the Holy Scripture;
as also that the Apocalypse has been revealed,
nothing of which could have been revealed,
not even in one little verse,
except by the Lord.

The angels rejoiced greatly at hearing these reports; but when they perceived in me a sadness and began to inquire what reason I had to be sad, I said that although these secrets revealed at the present time by the Lord surpass in excellence and importance any concepts hitherto imparted, still on earth they are regarded as worthless.
The angels were surprised at this, and they petitioned the Lord to permit them to look down into the world; and on looking down, behold, they saw only darkness there.
They were then told to write these secrets on a piece of paper, and to let the paper descend to the earth, at which time they would see a portent. So they did so. And lo, the piece of paper with these secrets written upon it was let go from heaven, and as it descended, while still in the spiritual world, it shone like a star. But as it floated down into the natural world, the light disappeared, and the further it fell, the darker it became.
Then, when the angels directed it into gatherings of people containing certain educated and learned representatives from the clergy and laity, a murmur arose from many of them, in which were heard the following words: "What is this? Is it of any consequence? What does it matter if we know these things or not? Are they not creations of the brain?"
Moreover, some of them appeared as though to take the piece of paper and to fold it, roll it up, and unroll it with their fingers, in order to obliterate the writing; while others appeared as though to tear it up, and some to try to trample it with their feet. But they were kept by the Lord from such a wickedness, and the angels were commanded to withdraw the paper and protect it.
After that, because the angels were saddened and thought to themselves how long this would be the case, they were told, "For a time and times and half a time." (Revelation 12:14)

CL 515 & 516 - the spiritual marriage

CL 515 & 516
. . . the Word has a natural meaning and a spiritual meaning,
and that there is a correspondence between them . . .

By the spiritual marriage
we mean the marriage of the Lord and the church . . .
and so also the marriage between goodness and truth . . .
. . . this marriage of the Lord and the church
and consequently a marriage of good and truth
exists in each and every particular of the Word. . ..
For the church is founded on the Word,
and the Word is the Lord.
The Word is the Lord
because He is the Divine good and Divine truth in it.

CL 490, 491,493 - the will and the intellect, character, purpose and intention

CL 490 [3]
1. The will by itself accomplishes nothing on its own,
but whatever it does it does through the intellect.

2. Conversely, too, the intellect by itself accomplishes nothing on its own,
but whatever it does it does from the will.

3. The will flows into the intellect, and not the intellect into the will;
but the intellect makes known what is good and what is evil
and advises the will, in order that it may choose
between the two and do that which it prefers.

4. After that a twofold conjunction of the two takes place,
one in which the will operates inwardly and the intellect outwardly,
the other in which the intellect operates inwardly and the will outwardly.

CL 491
Now, because evils and falsities can be defended
just as easily as goods and truths,
and because the intellect in defending them
draws the will over to its side,
and the will together with the intellect forms the mind,
it follows that the form of the human mind
has its character in accordance with its persuasions . . ..

Whatever character the form of a person's mind has,
moreover, such also is the character of his spirit;
consequently, such is the character of the person.

CL 493
That which springs from the very essence of a person's life,
thus which springs from his will or love,
is in the main called purpose;
while that which springs from the outward expression of his life,
thus from the intellect and its thought,
is called intention.

CL 478 - breadth and height

CL 478
. . . all evils, like all goods,
are allotted a breadth and a height,
and because according to that breadth
they have their kinds
and according to that height
their degrees . . .

CL 477 - character of the mind

CL 477 [3]
Every person has an inner mind and an outer mind,
thus an internal sight and an external sight.
In evil people the inner mind is insane and the outer one wise,
while in good people the inner mind is wise
and in consequence of it the outer one too;
and the character of the mind
determines how a person in the spiritual world sees objects.

CL 452 - character and intention

CL 452
. . . a person is a person of such a character
as he is in his purpose, intention or end,
and so he also appears to the Lord and to angels;
indeed, so he is also regarded by wise men in the world.
For the intention is the soul in all actions . . .

CL 436, 437, 444 - equilibrium

CL 436
. . . human rationality can turn itself in either direction and receive an influx.
If it turns in the direction of good, it receives an influx from above,
and then the person's rationality is formed more and more
for the reception of heaven.
But if it turns in the direction of evil, it receives an influx from below,
and then his rationality is formed more and more
for the reception of hell.

CL 437
The equilibrium between them is a spiritual equilibrium,
because it exists between good and evil.
Because of this equilibrium a person has free will.
In it and through it a person thinks and wills
and so speaks and acts as though of himself. . .
If he turns himself to the Lord,
his rationality and freedom are led by the Lord;
but if he turns away from the Lord,
his rationality and freedom are led by hell.

CL 444 [6]
"But let me explain this matter a little more clearly.
The Lord views every person by looking at his forehead,
and this sight passes to the back of his head.
Behind the forehead is the cerebrum,
and in the back of the head the cerebellum.
The cerebrum is devoted to wisdom and its truths,
while the cerebellum is devoted to love and its goods.
Therefore a person who looks with his face to the Lord
receives wisdom from Him,
and through that wisdom, love.
But a person who looks away from the Lord
receives love and not wisdom;
and love without wisdom
is love that originates with man
and not from the Lord.
Moreover, because this love allies itself with falsities,
it does not acknowledge God,
but embraces itself as a god . . . .

CL 425, 426, 461 - opposites

CL 425
No one knows good from the experience of evil,
but evil from the experience of good.
For evil dwells in darkness,
while good abides in light.

CL 426
The natural self is the character into which everyone is first led as he matures,
which is accomplished through various kinds of knowledge and concepts,
and by rational matters having to do with the intellect.
But the spiritual self is the character into which he led by a love of being useful,
a love which is also called charity.
Accordingly, in the measure that anyone is in a state of charity,
in the same measure he is spiritual;
but in the measure that he is not in that state,
in the same measure he is natural,
even if he should be discerning in acumen and wise in his judgment.

CL 431
. . . uncleanness in the church springs from licentious love,
and that cleanness in it springs from married love.

CL 413-414 - innocence of wisdom

CL 413
. . . it is intelligence and wisdom that make an angel.

CL 414
. . . innocence is the essence of all good,
and that good is good
to the extent that it has innocence in it.
Moreover, because wisdom has to do with life,
and thus with good,
wisdom is wisdom in the measure
of the character it derives from innocence.
The same is true of love, charity, and faith . . .
and for that reason no one can enter heaven
unless he possesses innocence.

CL 394 - innocence and peace

CL 394
Innocence and peace are the two innermost elements of heaven.
We call them innermost, because they emanate directly from the Lord.
For the Lord is the essence of innocence and the essence of peace.
Because of His innocence the Lord is called a Lamb,
and because of His peace He says,
"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you" (John 14:27).

Innocence and peace are the innermost elements of heaven
for the further reason
that innocence is the very essence of every good,
and peace is the serenity of every delight that is connected with good.

CL 386 - What is an atmosphere?

CL 386
We call the Divinity emanating from the Lord an atmosphere,
because it goes out from Him, surrounds Him,
fills both worlds - the spiritual and the natural -
and brings about the effects of the ends
which the Lord ordained at creation
and which He subsequently provides.

Everything that flows out from an object,
surrounds it and envelops it, is called an atmosphere.
As, for example, the atmosphere of light and heat from the sun around it;
the atmosphere of life from a person around him;
the atmosphere of aroma from a shrub around it;
the atmosphere of attraction from a magnet around it; and so on.

But the universal atmospheres which we are discussing here
are from the Lord around Him;
and they emanate from the sun of the spiritual world,
at whose center He is.
From the Lord through that sun
emanates an atmosphere of warmth and light,
or to say the same thing,
an atmosphere of love and wisdom,
to bring about ends which are of use.

CL 281-284 - sapphire-colored gowns inwoven with threads of gold

CL 281-284
. . . everyone is lovable and beautiful in accordance with his love.

. . . wisdom is the origin of beauty . . .
By wisdom I mean genuine morality,
because this is wisdom in life.

Love alone is not the origin of beauty,
neither is wisdom alone,
but the origin is a union of love and wisdom . . .

CL 372 - protection

CL 372
. . . good protects itself through truth.

CL 349 - only by the Lord

CL 349
. . . a person is made spiritual only by the Lord.

CL 334 - friendship & trust

CL 334
Since truly conjugial love joins the souls and hearts of two together,
it is coupled therefore also with friendship
and through this with trust,
and causes them both to be of a conjugial nature.
Such friendship and trust so rise above other types of friendship and trust
that, as that love is the greatest of loves,
so that friendship is the greatest of friendships,
and likewise that trust.

CL 331 - love & esteem

CL 331
. . . love esteems what it loves.
Esteem always accompanies love,
although love may not always accompany esteem.

CL 313 - progression

CL 313
The concluding state in any progression
has the character of the sequential development
by which it is formed and brought into existence.
This is a principle which ought to be acknowledged
in the educated world on account of its truth;
for it enables us to discover what influx is and how it operates.
By influx we mean everything that goes before in a series
and which forms the next element and then the next
and through a succession of these the concluding one.
We may cite as an example
everything that goes before in a person and forms his wisdom.
Or everything that goes before in a statesman and forms his prudence.
Or everything that goes before in a theologian and forms his learning.
Likewise everything that progressively develops
from infancy and forms the adult.
Also everything that progressively develops in succession
from the seed and sapling and makes the tree,
and which afterwards progressively develops
from the flower and makes its fruit.
In similar manner,
everything which goes before and progressively develops
in the case of a bride and groom and makes their marriage.
This is what we mean by influx.

[3] It follows that one state is formed from one progression
in the case of spiritual people,
and another in the case of people who are natural . . ..
For spiritual people look to the Lord,
and the Lord oversees and guides an orderly progression.
But natural people look to themselves,
and so proceed in an inverted progression.

CL 305 - there are three regions in the human mind

CL 305
. . . there are in human minds three regions,
the highest of which is called celestial,
the intermediate one spiritual,
and the lowest one natural.
A person dwells by birth in the lowest region,
but he ascends into the next higher one, called spiritual,
by living according to truths of religion,
and into the highest one
by achieving a marriage of love and wisdom. . ..

[The spiritual region] is the region into which
a person is led by the Lord when he is born anew.. . .

A person is raised into this last region [the celestial region]
by a love of serving useful ends . . ..

CL 293 - spiritual wisdom and conjunction by love

CL 293
Spiritual wisdom is
to acknowledge the Lord our Savior
as God of heaven and earth,
and through the Word and discourses from it
to acquire from Him truths connected with the Church,
from which comes a spiritual rationality;
and in addition to live from Him according to those truths,
from which comes a spiritual morality.

All conjunction by love requires action, reception, and reaction.

CL 280 - a spiritual person

CL 280
. . . a spiritual person does what he does
in accordance with justice and judgment . .
because a spiritual person behaves spiritually,
even with one who is natural.