FR43

THE SCIENCE OF LIGHT

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Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; Thou art clothed with honor and majesty:  Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment... Psalm CIV

Divine love and wisdom are substance and form in themselves, thus the one and only absolute. E. Swedenborg

KNOWLEDGE

fractal growth

Have you ever noticed that sometimes the more you know and the more information you collect, the more confused you become? This is understandable when we consider that everything in the universe branches out into an infinity of parts. And yet we know that all things are interconnected by means of Love. In order not to fall into confusion, we must always remember that God (Love) is ONE or simple and that this simplicity contains an infinite complexity that is organized harmonically (Truth). Thus, God is the ultimate SUBSTANCE (Love) and the ultimate FORM (Truth) and this substance and form are realized by means of an ultimate PROCESS (Divine Proceeding) through the UNIVERSE. Hence, everything is an image of God or Love, Wisdom and Power. When we know this simple Truth, we are no longer perplexed by the immense variety of things we perceive around us.

Every object or being in the universe is an image of God (LOVE, WISDOM and POWER). Thus, every object or being has SUBSTANCE, FORM and USE. And, as a consequence, every object or being is instrumental in realizing the purpose of the universe which is to create a Heaven of Angels from the human race. If Light did not involve and evolve, galaxies such as the Milky Way would not exist. If Galaxies did not exist, stars such our sun would not emerge. If elements such as Hydrogen, Carbon, Nitrogen and Oxygen did not evolve in our solar system, our earth would not be able to produce DNA molecules of biological life. If plants, fish, birds and animals did not evolve over many long ages, the human species would not exist and continue to survive. And, finally, if human beings did not evolve and reform their minds and regenerate their hearts over many long ages of spiritual transformation, Heaven would not be filled with Natural, Spiritual and Celestial angels.

In the universe, every thing PROCEEDS from God (Love) and returns to God (Love). And Divine Love implicitly contains infinite qualities. Our physical body evolved from God (Love) and returns to God (Love) or Heaven through the neural network in our brain. The neurons in our brain are organized in correspondence with the spiritual societies of Heaven. By means of spiritual evolution, reformation and regeneration, we are creating a spiritual body of spiritual substance (love) and form (truth) that is able to subsist in the eternal fields of Heaven. Therefore, knowledge is important. But it is only the knowledge that tells us why we exist, how we should live and what we should do that is useful. This knowledge is contained in the Word of God or Bible. In fact, the Bible itself is organized according to the harmonic proportions of Heaven or Divine Truth which is the harmonic form of God (the Divine-Human form). When we understand the purpose of the universe, we are able to organize the knowledge in our mind and understand how every thing fits in the Divine Plan of Creation. And, instead of becoming confused from all the information we acquire, our mind gains more depth of knowledge. This is because our mind is maintained in harmonic order by Divine principles and values which we obtain from the Word of God.

When spirits belonging to Mercury go to other communities they seek to discover the things they know, and having discovered them they depart. Besides there exists among spirits a spirit of sharing which is such that if they are in a community in which they feel accepted and loved they share everything they know. And they do it not by the use of any kind of speaking but by influx. Because of all the knowledge they have acquired the spirits belonging to Mercury are extraordinarily proud of themselves, on account of which I have told them that although they know countless numbers of things there is nevertheless an infinite number they do not know, and that even if the number of things they know were to go on increasing for evermore they still could not attain an acquaintance with even the broadest outlines of things. I have gone on to tell them that they have pride and a high opinion of themselves, and that these are unbecoming. But they have replied that it is not pride but merely exultation because of the power of memory they possess; and in this way they are able to excuse their faults.

Because it is material they avoid the use of verbal speech, and therefore I have been unable to talk to them except by means of a kind of active thinking. Since their memory consists of real things, not of merely material images, it is more readily equipped to supply thought with objects; for thought on a level above that which calls on material images needs for its objects real things that are devoid of material associations. But in spite of this, the spirits belonging to Mercury are endowed with little power of judgement. They take no delight in matters of judgement or in conclusions formed from items of knowledge; for items of knowledge pure and simple are what delight them.

I have been allowed to introduce into their minds the question of whether or not they wished to make any use of all the knowledge they possessed. For it is not sufficient to take delight simply in knowing, because knowledge looks towards useful services, and such services must be the end in view. I have intimated to them that knowledge by itself is not useful to them but will be useful to others with whom they may be willing to share it. It is not at all suitable for a person who wishes to be wise to stop at simply possessing knowledge, for knowledge is merely the means to an end; it should serve as the means to discover the services that ought to be performed by people in their lives. But those spirits have said in reply that they take delight in knowledge and that knowledge by itself is useful to them. Emanuel Swedenborg [AC 6813-6815]

THE HIDDEN LEVELS OF THE MIND by Douglas Taylor, courtesy of the Swedenborg Foundation

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