Swedenborg’s Revelations of Dualism and Nondualism

Accompanying Notes (Word doc)
Accompanying Slides (Web from Powerpoint 97)
Accompanying Slides (Web from Powerpoint 2000)

Part A. Esoteric Sources of Knowledge *

Part B. Spiritual Growth *

Part C. Framework for a Science of Consciousness *

Part D. Conclusions *

Part E. Further Resources *

A. Esoteric Sources of Knowledge

1. The Need for Esoteric Perspectives

Parallel to the standard exoteric view of the state (whether of the established church, or of established science), there have long been other esoteric views about mind, spirituality and religion, that have been somewhat different, even radically different. Most of us in this room feel that we are party to one or more of these esoteric perspectives, and, of those, most will also feel a considerable tension between these rare beliefs and those of our universities, industries and government. Furthermore, there are many apparent discrepancies between different esoteric schemes.

Our challenge is unify the inner and the outer, to find our integrity again. We have to creatively resolve, especially within ourselves, the tension between the disparate elements. Standard views will have to be considerably extended, and the esoteric themes will have to be developed into considerably more detail.

Fortunately, we have illustrious predecessors, who give us indications of the way this could possibly be done, by telling us how they resolved these tensions. Today we are going to hear about four such people, and I begin with Emanuel Swedenborg.

2. Emanuel Swedenborg

Who he was:
Swedish philosopher, theologian, chemist, anatomist, and visionary, fluent in eleven languages (1688-1772). Swedenborg devoted the first half of his life to scientific investigations. After 1744 he turned his full attention to theology, metaphysics and started to scientifically explore visionary experience. Swedenborg's most popular book is Heaven and Hell. During his life, Swedenborg published over 50 works.

How you may have heard of him:

1. Philosophical antagonism by Immanuel Kant’s Dreams of a Spirit Seer (1766)
2. Often mentioned in support of spiritualism in the 1800’s. Swedenborg had several publicly-verified clairvoyant episodes.
3. His spiritual writing influenced Emerson, Goethe, Henry James Sr., Dostoevsky, and William Blake.
4. Raymond Moody in Life after Life (1976) relates Swedenborg’s descriptions of stages after death.
5. His ideas are the basis of the small New Church.

What Swedenborg thought he was doing after 1744:

1. Presenting the internal sense of the bible.
2. Being a dual citizen of the natural and heavenly worlds, in order to tell us the basis and reasons of a new rational spirituality.
3. Participate in production of new spiritual freedom since 1760.
4. And hence the new religious, artistic, political & scientific freedoms since then.

Publications: see the list in section E.1 below.

1. What do we really want to know?

• discuss what Swedenborg tells us how the Divine Source produces all of creation by a succession of discrete degrees. And how these successive levels are not continuous with each other, but are linked by influx of life into corresponding functional forms. We would learn about the theory of soul, mind and body, and how their functions are linked together. See Part C.
• This is all rather abstract and theoretical, so let us talk instead about a very practical question, namely how Swedenborg tells us we may achieve permanent spiritual changes. In this way, we can have spiritual growth, what he calls regeneration. See Part B.

1. Need for Details

• ‘Humans are created in the image of God’, and
• ‘As above, so below’,

B. Spiritual Growth

1. Can there be Permanent Spiritual Changes?

We may experience elevation, insights and ecstacies – even to the Infinite – but it does not seem to last: we always come down again to our selves. Are we changed?  Do Near-Death Experiences change us for the good? How do we grow with permanent effect?

Permanent spiritual growth, according to Swedenborg, comes from

Joint action of (good) love with (true) wisdom.

Spiritual Life in Us:

We have to conform ourselves to receive Love and Wisdom,
so that they can act again in us.

Permanent spiritual growth occurs after you
freely resist temptation by means of truths.

1. Reasons for this

Permanent spiritual growth, according to Swedenborg, comes from

NOT from any one of the following things by itself:

belief (faith),
personal acceptance of vicarious atonement,
obedience,
knowledge, even of truths (wisdom),
good intentions or love,
suffering,
elevated, expanded, rotated, vibrated (etc) consciousness,

Swedenborg gives reasons for all these claims (see later).

1. Spiritual Life in Us

We have to conform ourselves to receive Love and Wisdom, so that they can act again in us.

Method of Regeneration

This is because:

1. We receive love and wisdom when we act appropriately: not when we wait inertly.
2. This is action from your will and your understanding.
3. All our love and wisdom comes from the Source, but still we must act as if it is our own.
4. If an action was not free, it would not be your act, and you would not experience any delight as your own, but forced upon you resentfully.
5. These acts are your acts when it is your love and wisdom which freely act.
6. Love and wisdom in us are what makes us conscious, and human.

1. Esoteric Science of Consciousness?

Are the above ideas common knowledge? Or are they esoteric? Are they part of ‘science of consciousness’? In the past, only those with esoteric interests have found these ideas. They are commonly only found by going beyond ‘literal meanings’ of religious, to an esoteric knowledge texts (see later).

But they should not be esoteric, but common knowledge! They should be part of everyone’s knowledge who is interested. Just as science is today: so they should be part of science, namely the science of consciousness.

We may intuitively agree with the above principles. But Swedenborg gives reasons for them all. Let us follow these reasons, and see what must be in the ‘science of consciousness’ for these principles to hold.

This is working back from the application to temptation, and forward from the general principles, to see what science of consciousness we have in the middle. We will also come to questions of ‘duality’ and ‘nonduality’.

 

2. Spiritual Love and Wisdom

What is the spiritual?

The spiritual is the internal part of the mental, or, rather, the mental is the external part of the spiritual.

It is the states of love and wisdom within us: the love of what is good and the wisdom about what is true.

It is not any continuous transformation of our natural minds, but a discrete change.

Think of the innocent love of a young child (love & innocence of ignorance), along with the wisdom of an old person who is ‘young at heart’, and combine them to form love & innocence of wisdom. Now we have some idea of spiritual love and wisdom.

The spiritual is not equal to another dimension, or finer material, or elevated consciousness.

Rather, the spiritual is our own ‘internal human’ that is our life: the life of our will and of our understanding. The ‘external human’ consists of the cognitive and sensory minds, as well has the physical body.

Recognising the difference between internal insight and external knowledge is an essential preliminary step to spiritual growth (regeneration).

3. Stages of Spiritual Growth

0. Regeneration by Temptation

What is Temptation:

1. Temptation is the need for a decision on what to do, where we receive multiple loves pulling in different directions.

• ‘Fighting Temptation’ is deciding to do one thing rather than another: to follow one love rather than another.

1. Everyone of us experiences temptations all the time: we have a continual influx of various prompting ideas & desires for what to do; along with a conscience which tells us which of these are good to follow. We can always reflect, using truths from our conscience, and look down on our desires as from above.
2. Influx of tempting ideas into the mind is not itself temptation, if the will is not attached to those ideas. (this is only ‘temptation of the understanding’)

• These tempting ideas can let our imagination draw out our loves which would lead to temptations. (this often happens anyway!)

1. Temptations may be at the point of acting, or we may perceive ahead which of our (selfish) loves may lead to selfish actions, and deal with them in advance.

Examples of Temptation

• Do we apologise to others, when we know we have made a mistake?
• Do we do something just because it would enhance our reputation, or to be useful?
• Do we earn acquire possessions for themselves, or to help others?
• Do we willingly help others and be hospitable, or only grudgingly?
• In general: ‘Do we live by the truths we know from conscience?’

Love and Freedom:

We find out what we love, by seeing what we do when we are free from external constraints & opinions. If we are not free, our loves (good or bad) are hidden, even from us. There is more freedom these days!  ‘Freely resist’ means that: it is our love which is deciding, and the decisions are ‘owned’ by us, so the results are part of our permanent spiritual nature.

Resisting by Means of Truths:

1. Resisting temptation for other reasons (eg convenience, reputation, laziness, misconceptions) does not lead to permanent spiritual growth.
2. Knowledge of spiritual truths is a necessary prerequisite for permanent growth of the spirit.

• We need to know those truths which distinguish selfish loves from those unadulterated from the Source. That is, we must be able to recognise adultery!

1. Temporary elevation of the understanding is not permanent spiritual growth.

In times of temptation, we may be tempted to believe one or more of the following:

1. Temptations do not exist.
2. Decisions do not have any permanent effect
3. We can easily recover later from making a poor choice now.
4. There is no basic difference between good and selfish loves, only belief or tradition.
5. I am not strong enough to make a decision.
6. I am erroneously claiming merit if I decide myself.
7. I must wait, doing nothing, until I am inspired.
8. I must wait, doing nothing, until God acts for me (saves me).

All wrong!

• Recognising these errors is where wisdom is needed!

0. Where the Spiritual Comes From?

Quick Summary of the Basic Principles:

1. Love is the substance of all spiritual things, and wisdom their form.
2. The Divine God is the Source of all Love and Wisdom:

• The Spiritual and Natural worlds are active only from that Source in God.
• Love and Wisdom of the Source are what makes God Conscious, and Human.
• We have to conform ourselves to receive these, so they can act again in us.
• All permanent effects are from the joint action of love and wisdom.
• The spiritual grows when it has a permanent foundation: acts ‘on earth’.

1. For wisdom to participate in any action, it must act from truth and reason.

• That is, it must act by means of reasons and truths.
• For wisdom to act with love, it must decide how to accomplish what is loved by consideration of truths by means of reasons.

For more details, see Part C.

0. Ten guidelines for what to do and what not to do

Remember: The spiritual life generates the outer actions, and

The natural actions contain and confirm the spiritual life.

	Spiritual Guideline	Corresponding Natural Guideline
1	No one is to be loved above all except God, nor anything except what comes from God.	There is not to be any other God before my face.
2	Do not misuse what is from the Divine.	You are not to take the name of Jehovah your God in vain.
3	Seek the final stage of regeneration: heavenly peace and protection.	Remember to keep the Sabbath day holy.
4	Honour God, and the Church from the heavens.	Honour your father and your mother.
5	Do not be angry or seek revenge against others, nor against the Divine.	You are not to commit murder.
6	Do not adulterate the various kinds of good from the Divine, nor falsify truths.	You are not to commit adultery.
7	Do not deprive others of their truths, nor God, for possessing these yourself.	You are not to steal.
8.	Do not deliberately persuade others that false ideas of faith are true and that evil ways of life are good, or that true ideas are false and good ways are evil.	You are not to bear false witness against your neighbour.
9.	Evil actions (any of the above) must not be done, nor even longed for.	You are not to covet your neighbour's house
10	These commandments are not merely for the external man, but also for the internal.	You are not to covet your neighbour's wife, nor his man-servant nor his maid-servant, nor his ox nor his ass, nor anything that is your neighbour's.

In all cases, do not ... means do not actually, nor intend to, nor seek, nor long for, nor imagine it allowable, nor let in lie in our mind, ...

Swedenborg tell us "Insofar as one shuns evils, so far does one will good actions."

The ‘natural guideline’ refers to the straightforward consequence of the corresponding spiritual guideline.

Keeping the external makes keeping the internal easier, as the outer contains the inner.

Keeping the internal makes keeping the external easier, as the inner generates the outer.

So there has to be some emphasis on both sides!

1. Duality and Nonduality

1. Knowledge of spiritual truths, as distinct from external appearances, is a necessary prerequisite for permanent growth of the spirit.
2. The separation of ‘light’ from ‘darkness’ is the first stage of growth.
3. We need to know those truths which distinguish selfish loves from those unadulterated from the Source. That is:
4. We need to distinguish our own fragmented loves from those whole loves received from the Divine Source.
5. We need to distinguish (a) love in the will, from (b) ideas in the understanding, from (c) actions in the body,
6. And many others.

0. What Regeneration is NOT

Framework for a Science of Consciousness

1. Summary of Principles

Let us return to consider the basic spiritual principles for creation:

1. Love is the substance of all spiritual things, and wisdom their form.
2. The Divine God is the Source of all Love and Wisdom:

• The Spiritual and Natural worlds are active only from that Source in God.
• Love and Wisdom of the Source are what makes God Conscious, and Human.
• We have to conform ourselves to receive these, so that they can act again in us.
• All permanent effects are from the joint action of love and wisdom.
• The spiritual grows when it has a permanent foundation, namely acts ‘on earth’.

and see how these work out for the details of the spiritual and physical universe as we know it from Emanuel Swedenborg. We are now going to systematically apply the principles of ‘Humans are created in the image of God’ or ‘As above, so below’, to see what specific scientific theories can be derived concerning conscious minds and their relation to nature.

1. Divine Structure

• In the beginning there was God.
• God is Life Itself, and this life consists of (1) Love, (2) Wisdom, and (3) Use.
• All these are within God, and form a living being, so God is a person, the Lord.

The trinity of Love, Wisdom and Use within God is arranged:

The dynamics of how this trinity operates:

1. Love, anticipating delights of Use, entertains purposes of producing these Uses. Love, with a specific purpose, takes the form of Wisdom.
2. Wisdom, being Love with a particular purpose, entertains the means for achieving those ends.
3. Use, being produced by Love acting by means of Wisdom, is the ultimate effect. In this action, Love finds its satisfaction and delight with the results.
4. This delight returns to Love, and further manifestations of Loves are conditional on the effects already achieved.

The cyclic trinitarian pattern (1 Þ 3) with return (4) will appear in many other contexts below.

These three components are called discrete degrees.

Persons Receive Life

• A person has a life which is constituted by the operation of will and understanding in producing actions.
• The state of the will is the love, the state of the understanding is the wisdom, and the action is the use of the will and the understanding.
• Humans on earth are not themselves Life Itself, but are created in the likeness and image of God, who has the structure of Life shown above.
• That is, we have been created from God, but are now separate from him to the extent that we are not Life Itself, but are the recipients of life from God. We have life, but received life is not divine, only a likeness of divine life.
• We have the above trinitarian structure as a consequence, and have that structure both as a whole personality, and all the sub-parts of our souls, minds and bodies.
• Thus, using the above structure, we can see how the structures of heaven, of minds and of nature are produced and animated by life from God.

1. Three-Fold Structures In The Created Universe

The created universe

• contains the likeness and images of Love and Wisdom,
• receives Love and Wisdom to the extent that the created thing has the same functional form (use) as that of the source.

Everything that exists does so because and only because it has some use.

The dependence of reception on functional use is the Law of Correspondence.

This derives from the Divine characteristic that Loves are conditional on the effects already achieved.

Since created things have images of divine life by correspondence:

• we say that there is divine influx into those things.
• There is continual influx into all creation that is responsible not only for things coming to be,
• but also for their sustained existence from moment to moment.

We know this 3-fold structure from Swedenborg by the other names:

1. Recursive Structure

Recursive means that the same rules apply to the whole as to each sub-part. This arises because God is equally present in all of us, and in each part of us.

This means in particular that

• the interior mind, the exterior mind and nature all have in themselves a threefold substructure and subdynamics
• because they are all created and sustained in the image of a trinitarian structure within God.

The substructural ‘thirds’ that should be present, and, using Swedenborg's help & terminology, we can identify the ennead as:

We next look at the 3 subdegrees for each of the 3 degrees in the exterior mind. We look therefore at the ‘ninths’ within the ‘thirds’ already discussed:

Now we have to determine what all these things mean, and begin to fill out the scheme begun by Swedenborg. We now use logical & psychological investigations:

• Thoughts of effects of effects: 2.33 (effects Þ effects Þ thoughts)
If we reword this as ‘thoughts of effects of actions’, then this degree contains the sensations & perceptions from the senses: Piaget's sensorimotor stage (0-1 years).
• Thoughts of effects of causes: 2.32 (cause Þ effects Þ thoughts)
The causes of sensation effects are the objects of the world., and this degree allows ideas of constant and permanent physical objects.
• Thoughts of effects of ends: 2.31 (ends Þ effects Þ thoughts)
After ideas of objects, the next stage deals with the processes and events undergone by these objects, so the child has ideas for sentences, and of simple relations between object: Piaget’s preoperational stage, 2-6 years.
• Thoughts of causes of effects: 2.23 (effects Þ causes Þ thoughts)
This degree is the simplest in the external rational. Piaget has identified how rationality begins at ages 7-11 with the concepts of 'reversible operations', and calls this the operational stage.
• Thoughts of causes of causes: 2.22 (causes Þ causes Þ thoughts)
This degree clearly contains the beginning at typical ages of 12-16 of reasoning about causal chains and of theories of causes of event sequences. Piaget calls this the formal stage.
• Thoughts of causes of ends: 2.21 (ends Þ causes Þ thoughts)
This degree was identified by Gowan[1972] as the creative. This degree allows the formulation of meta-theoretic notions, of thinking about theories. These processes in late teenage years (e.g. 17-25 years, say) enable thought about goals/ends as such, and indicate in interest in philosohy.

{Gowan, J.C. [1972], Development of the Creative Individual, R.K.Knapp, San Diego.}

The degrees 2.23, 2.22 and 2.21 together constitute the external rational, because they enable independent rational thought.

This only deals with the external physical and logical worlds, namely only these degrees below and to the right. The remaining three degrees (2.11, 2.12, 2.13) constitute the internal rational, because they are concerning with interfacing to the internal ‘ends’ degrees in the first column, and we need Swedenborg's insights for proper identification.

• Thoughts of ends of effects: 2.13 (effects Þ ends Þ thoughts)
The cognitive content of this degree must be the discrimination of the practical effects of different ends/purposes as arising from different loves in degree 1. This occurs, according to Swedenborg, from following ones conscience, since the conscience leads to practical discriminations without giving the underlying reasons for the differences. This comes from influx from the spiritual-natural degree 1.3.
• Thoughts of ends of causes: 2.12 (causes Þ ends Þ thoughts)
In this degree, there is progressively more insight into the structure and operation of ends/purposes/loves, as, Swedenborg explains, arising by means of influx from the spiritual heaven 1.2. This leads to progressive reformation of the understanding, what Gowan[1974] calls ‘illumination’.
• Thoughts of ends of ends: 2.11 (ends Þ ends Þ thoughts)
Here there are direct thoughts arising from the full understanding of how ends(loves) arise from other ends(loves), and the full development of this content results in wisdom about spiritual matters.

{Gowan, J.C. [1974], Development of the Psychedelic Individual, Creative Education Foundation, Buffalo, N.Y.}

Combining these logical and psychological identifications of the nine subdegrees of the external mind, we can redraw the previous figure as:

Identification of the cognitive content of the 9 created subdegrees within the exterior mind, using terminology of Piaget and Swedenborg.

1. Cognitive And Affective Stages

Each has subdegrees give rise to both affective and cognitive aspects in minds.

Thus, in parallel to Piaget's cognitive stages, there is a sequence (of similar structure) of affective stages. These have been best characterised by Erikson[1963].

Here are the names of the 9 degrees of the exterior mind, with also a descriptive name for the failure to develop at that level.

ADULT Internal rational	Erikson-Swedenborg (affective) Gowan-Swedenborg (cognitive)	Compassion-love vs.  Withdrawal 2.11 9th ... Wisdom vs. Profanation	Regeneration vs. Despair 2.12 8th 40+ yrs Reformation vs. Senile depression	Repentance vs. Stagnation 2.13 7th 26-40 yrs? Conscience vs. Conventionalism
YOUTH External rational	Erikson (affective) Piaget-Gowan (cognitive)	Intimacy vs. Isolation 2.21 6th 18-25 yrs? Creativity vs. Authoritarianism	Identity vs. Role diffusion 2.22 5th 13-17 yrs Formal operations vs. Dementia Praecox	Industry vs. Inferiority 2.23 4th 7-12 yrs Concrete operations vs. Nonconservation
INFANT Pre-rational	Erikson (affective) Piaget cognitive)	Initiative vs. Guilt 2.31 3rd 4-6 yrs Intuitive vs. Immobilisation	Autonomy vs. Shame and doubt 2.32 2nd 2-3 yrs Preoperational vs. Autism	Trust vs. Mistrust 2.33 1st 0-1 yrs Sensorimotor vs. Chaos

The ERIKSON-PIAGET-GOWAN-SWEDENBORG Periodic Developmental Stage Chart, adapted and extended from Gowan[1974].

 

2. Nature And Mind

We must also consider in more detail the third column of ‘effects’, which constitute the physical world. The 3 subdegrees and 9 subsubdegrees within this ought to be related to what we already know about the physical world, in particular to what science (when properly formulated) tells us:

Again we have our work set out for us, to fill out the overall plan begun by Swedenborg. Here are my proposals to match up with quantum physics:

• LAWS (3.1): Here we have a layer of natural processes not yet known by physics, though efforts towards a ‘quantum gravity’ of ‘pregeometrrical processes’ may well be describing the activities in this subdegree.
• The ‘subtle matters’ of theosophy may find a place here.
• LAWS (3.2): Results of causes of ends: 3.21 (ends → causes → results). The general principles that guide the natural laws, such as general invariance requirements, and more specifically the 'variational principles of least action'.
• Results of causes of causes: 3.22 (causes → causes → results)
. The first result of the variational principles are the dynamic laws which govern the propagation of `bare' particles and quanta.
• Results of causes of effects: 3.23 (effects → causes → results)
The next effect of the dynamic laws are virtual events of interactions of particles and quanta, producing interaction potentials.
• EFFECTS (3.3): Results of effects of ends: 3.31 (ends → effects → results). Next is the interplay with kinetic energy, so the operation of the Hamiltonian gives time evolution of the wave function.
• Results of effects of causes: 3.32 (cause → effects → results)
The wave functions generated by the 3.31 degree describe physical objects and sequences of their behaviour, by means of a residual propensity for selections that may be probabilistic.
• Results of effects of effects: 3.33 (effects → effects → results)
The final ultimate events are the selection of actual outcomes from the alternatives within the wave function.

Combining these logical and physical identifications of the nine subdegrees of the external mind, we can redraw the previous figure as:

The 9 created subdegrees within the natural degree.

• The divine source does not produce all physical effects directly, but it produces via spiritual and natural stages what we see as natural dispositions or natural propensities.
• The physical dispositions are a very limited ‘remnant’ of Divine Power, and Swedenborg describes how they operate in a way which corresponds to the characteristic operation of the Divine Love.
• Correspondences of natural with spiritual things are also very useful to us, because we can use them to give a kind of definite and permanent form to our ideas of Love (which otherwise tend to be vague and nebulous).
• We have, for example, from Swedenborg the idea that "the Divine Love operates by means of Wisdom, to produce outgoing Spirit and actions". This corresponds to the pattern in the physical world, where "physical dispositions (energies and propensities) operate by means of interactions in spatial relations to produce physical effects".
• Love is like a disposition or physical energy or vibration, but is not identical to anything physical. Rather, we have many metaphors and analogies between the spiritual and the physical. To forget this, is to think physically and naturally of spiritual realities.

1. More examples of Correspondences

• Between minds and quantum processes: energy, propensity fields and actual events are functionally isomorphic with love, mental ideas and actions. (Hence the widespread identification of spiritual substance as (a kind of) energy).
• Between a sun and God as the Source, and between the ‘reception’ of life according to actual form and the consumption of food and drink by living organisms.

The result of correspondences is that very many features of the living world and of our psychological life are not random, but are the results of spiritual loves and intentions. Of course, they are not merely the results of those intentions (we do not make our world arbitrarily, even God does not do that), because of historical constraints of what is already actual.

The fundamental correspondences are therefore those which constitute the essential operations of human beings, both internally and in relation to their ecological environments. I now list the most important of the basic correspondences, before discussing the detailed reasons. (It is important to remember that loves/affections and wisdom/thoughts can be received independently, though they always act together). There are correspondences between:

1. Parapsychology

Within this framework from Swedenborg, all physical processes are the successive products of prior spiritual and psychical processes, and we might therefore expect very many parapsychological phenomena to occur. Miracles are those normal sequences of the discrete-degree processes, just happening more quickly than usual. However, there are several reasons why the world does not work like this.

1. The first reason is that all processes at all degrees are conditional on the previous events in those degrees.
2. Secondly, the prior degrees are just those processes which constitute peoples’ thoughts and lives, so all operations are partly the result of conscious decisions.
3. Finally, Swedenborg tells us that nowadays, miracles are deliberately kept from our public view, so as not to force rational thought.
4. They occur still in many interior degrees, but ‘external miracles’ only now occur when they can be interpreted in many ways.
5. We are supposed to freely and rationally understand the (possible) operation of God in the world.

1. Stages of Life

A very brief summary of the stages of life is as follows:

1. The natural body grows in the world, as we all know.
2. The exterior mind grows from childhood until the end of life, as outlined in C.5
3. The interior mind, initially quiescent, grows by reformation & regeneration.
4. The natural body is removed and separated at death.
5. The exterior mind is initially tied by the strict correspondences to the natural body, but after death is made coherent with the internal rational.
6. The interior mind is never removed.

Conclusions

• Swedenborg has given us valuable insights into both the phenomena and the principles of the spiritual, and how they are related by correspondences to the natural degrees.
• These insights continually require us to distinguish internal truths from external appearances, and to distinguish internal good loves from external desires.
• This has direct application for our own lives.
• Much of science of consciousness becomes known in outline form, but even more needs to be filled in.

Further Resources

1. Emanuel Swedenborg Book list

Primary Theological Works
Arcana Coelestia (sometimes translated as Heavenly Secrets)	1747-1756	An extensive verse by verse explanation of the deeper levels of meaning of Genesis and Exodus describing the spiritual development of a human being and the nature of the Divine. (Published in 12 volumes.)
Spiritual Diary (sometimes called Spiritual Experiences)	1747-1763	The personal notebooks kept by Swedenborg of his experiences in the Spiritual World and reflections upon them. They were unpublished until the mid 1800s.
Heaven and Hell	1758	A description of the structure and phenomena of the Spiritual World.
Earths in the Universe	1758	Conversations Swedenborg had with people in the Spiritual World who said they were from other planets in the universe.
The Last Judgement	1758	Description of events in the Spiritual World preparing the way for the establishment of the New Church.
The White Horse	1758	A brief explanation of the meaning of the white horse with its rider from the Book of Revelation chapter 19 as the Divine truth of the Lord's Word.
The New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine	1758	A brief summary of the fundamental doctrines of the New Church with extensive references to the Arcana Coelestia for further reading.
The Doctrine of the Lord	1763	A brief work summarizing the teachings about God - His Divinity and Humanity - with extensive references to the Old and New Testaments.
The Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture	1763	A brief work summarizing the teachings on the nature of revelation.
The Doctrine of Life	1763	A brief work describing the qualities which comprise a life of good which leads to heaven.
The Doctrine of Faith	1763	A brief work explaining the nature of faith and its role in the life of regeneration.
A Continuation Concerning the Last Judgement	1763	A continuation describing various erroneous beliefs about the Divine and the path of spiritual development.
Divine Love and Wisdom	1763	A philosophic treatment of creation - how the Divine finited Himself to produce the natural world and the human race.
Divine Providence	1764	A thorough explanation of how the Lord leads people in freedom to become angels in heaven; also, why He allows evils to occur.
Apocalypse Revealed	1766	A two volume, verse by verse treatment of the Book of Revelation.
Conjugial Love (or Marital Love)	1768	An explanation of the sources of love in marriage and a practical guide on how husbands and wives can grow ever closer forming an eternal union.
A Brief Exposition of the Doctrine of the New Church	1769	A point by point comparison of fundamental Catholic and Protestant doctrines with the teachings of the New Church.
Inter-relationship of the Soul and Body	1769	A brief description of the relationship and interaction between the spiritual and natural realms.
True Christian Religion	1771	A comprehensive overview of the fundamental doctrines of the New Church, including the Lord, the Ten Commandments, Faith, Charity, Repentance, Reformation, Regeneration, Holy Supper, Baptism, and the Second Coming.
Primary Scientific and Philosophical Works
Principles of Chemistry	1720	Swedenborg's first effort at explaining creation.
Miscellaneous Observations	1722	A second attempt at explaining creation.
The Principia	1734	Swedenborg's full explanation of creation, including an introduction on the means leading to a true philosophy.
The Infinite and Final Cause of Creation	1734	A philosophical argument for the existence of God based upon the order in nature.
The Economy of the Animate Kingdom	1740-1741	An anatomical work looking at the blood, embryology, etc., seeking an answer as to how the soul operates in the body. This is Swedenborg's first clear articulation of the doctrines of discrete degrees and correspondences.
The Fiber	1741	Contains Swedenborg's doctrine of physical forms.
The Rational Psychology	1743	An exploration of the workings of the mind as a "mixed intellect" between the soul and the "animus."
The Animal Kingdom	1744-1745	A second effort at explaining how the soul operates in the body. Includes material on the five senses and generation.
The Worship and Love of God	1745	An allegorical depiction of creation by God.

2. Online Books

At www.theisticscience.org/books/:

Divine Love and Wisdom	dlw/dlw.html	Divine Providence	dp/dp.html
Heaven and Hell	hh/index.htm	True Christian Religion	tcr/index.htm

Full availability at: www.heavenlydoctrines.com/,
and a searchable archive at www.theheavenlydoctrines.org/

 

3. Web Sites

Web site	Author	Type
www.TheisticScience.org	Ian Thompson	Science based on Theism
www.TheisticPsychology.org	Leon James	Psychology and Swedenborg Glossary
www.thenewphilosophyonline.org	Swedenborg Scientific Association	Swedenborg's Scientific and Theological works
www.swedenborg.org.uk	Swedenborg Society, London	Archives, Meetings, and Publishing
www.swedenborg.com	Swedenborg Foundation	Publishers
www.swedenborg.net	Swedenborg Association
www.swedenborg.com.au	Swedenborg Lending Library and Enquiry Centre, Australia
directory.google.com/Top/Society/ Religion_and_Spirituality/Christianity/ Denominations/Swedenborgian_Church/	Google Web Directory	Web Directory
swedenborg.newearth.org	Michael David	`New Earth' web site with worldwide links.
www.biblemeanings.info	compiled by Ian Thompson	Internal senses of the Bible
www.newchurch.org	The New Church

 

4. Related Talks