Religion

What you don’t want to do is what you probably should – Our Inner and Outer Natures

We might think of ourselves in this way:

  • SOUL [unseen]
  • MIND [bridge between the seen and unseen]
  • BODY [seen]

When Swedenborg speaks of internal and external, he is talking only about the MIND [or Spirit]:

“The inner and outer parts I am talking about are the inner and outer parts of our spirit. The body is just an extra outer part added on, in which the other two exist. The body does not do anything by itself; everything it does comes from the spirit inside it.” (New Jerusale, and Its Heavenly Doctrine, 46)

  • Body = interface with the physical world
  • Soul = recipient of life

He has much more to say about THE MIND or SPIRIT.

Heavenly Secrets, 8443.2 – specifically, on Truth:

  • Divine
  • Proceeding directly from the Divine 
  • “Celestial” – Highest heaven.
  • Spiritual” – Middle heaven
  • “Natural” – Lowest heaven: “this may to some small extent be perceived by man, but only if he is enlightened, though even then it is such that human language is incapable of expressing a large part of it.”
  • “Ultimate” level: “the sixth level of God’s truth is as it exists with man; it is adjusted to his discernment, thus it is the sense of the letter of the Word.”

Swedenborg also refers to

  • an “interior natural” and an “exterior natural” (Heavenly Secrets 5094, below)
  • “Internal memory”, and “External memory” (Heavenly Secrets 9922)

IT IS EASIER TO THINK OF THESE AS COMPARATIVE TERMS, rather than as defining levels of being.

What can I understand? What can I use?

If we think about the MIND – there is clearly:

  • What I am conscious of
  • What I am NOT conscious of (dreams, where do my thoughts come from?)

Genesis 40 – PHARAOH, BUTLER and the BAKER

“Interior natural” – PHARAOH

And “Exterior natural” – BUTLER and the BAKER – whose role is to serve what is higher, although they don’t always (which is why they’ve been thrown in prison)

PHARAOH – the “ruler”, decision maker, executive function  [THE OBSERVING SELF?]

BUTLER – serves the understanding, thinks from learned principles, rational things (from HIGHER)

BAKER – serves the will, thinks from conclusions of the senses (from LOWER)

JOSEPH – brings Divine INSIGHT revealing the proper ORDER of the mind: that lower should serve what is higher.

EVENTUALLY … Joseph comes to rule.

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?

In every situation, I can make decisions – and bring these into action – based on one of two things:

Externals –

  • Conclusions from sensory information
  • The way things appear to be
  • My bodily impulses (e.g. fight or flight)

Internals –

  • Learned principles, rational things
  • Love to the Lord and the neighbour
  • Obedience to order

If you think you don’t have this problem … examine your habitual responses to events and circumstances

  • Do you jump to conclusions about people?
  • How do you handle stressful situations?
  • How do you react to disagreements? Or to things you don’t want to hear?

YOUR TASK – See where each of these paths leads

One leads to destruction – if it is allowed to rule – more often than not.

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Recorded Sunday 26 May 2024