Report 2:
My Understanding of Theistic Psychology
By Seon-Hee Cheon
Instructions for this report are at:
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy22/459-g22-report2.htm
I am answering Questions 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8
Table of Contents
My Analysis of Prior Generations
My Report on the Current
Generation
My Advice to Future Generations
The Question I am
answering is Question 1
People sometimes refer to the negative aspects of
religion—religious wars, persecutions, intolerance. How can theistic psychology
reduce this negative aspect of religion? What makes theistic psychology
different from religion? How do they compare in explaining the idea of
"salvation"? Can theistic psychology be universal if it relies on
Sacred Scripture of Western religions and traditions? What is "religious
behaviorism"?
Section A: My Own Summary of the Selections
¢¼ How can theistic psychology reduce this negative
aspect of religion?
Theistic
psychology may reduce negative aspects of religion by looking at them from a
scientific point of view. By being
objective, people will be able to look at the differences in religions that
lead to religious wars, persecutions, and intolerance and understand that
although there are differences, religious groups can agree to disagree without
fighting
Theistic psychology can reduce the
negative aspects of religion by universalizing every religion into one. It extracts the meaning of the Divine Psychologist from the
historical prophecies that humans have related themselves so heavily to in the
past centuries. By showing people an understanding of how all of the religions
around the world can tie into one concept,
we can
say that theistic psychology has the capabilities to mesh the world into one
universal religion
By
understanding theistic psychology is to know that there is only one truth and
one God that leads only to love and goodness. With that in mind, thinking rationally
can only unify diverse things harmoniously. Under theistic psychology all doctrines
of faith in truth, can only agree with one another and contradictions would be
absent. And, because God is all
what is love and good, there would be no room for negative aspects of any sort,
for rational faith always leads to love and peace.
So theistic psychology teaches people the skills they
need to rebuild their character into heavenly traits with which they can have a
life in heaven.
¢¼ What makes theistic psychology different from
religion?
The most difference between religion and theistic
psychology is that mystical and scientific. Religion is mystical systems which depend
on blind faith or credulity and as a result, there are a variety of mystical
systems, or religions, and each believes to have the
real truth while thinking that the others do not. This is why religion depends
on declared membership, on affirmations of a common creed, and dependence on
the willingness to believe something that cannot be explained in a scientific
manner. As a result, when we examine religions in a rational or scientific way,
we cannot arrive at a conclusion since the creed or faith resists breakdown and
rational analysis.
In contrast, theistic psychology is not a
religion but a science. Theistic psychology contrasts with atheistic psychology
which automatically excludes God as an explanatory concept. Theistic psychology
automatically includes God as a concept in all explanations about human
behavior and dynamics. While religion depends on creed and faith, theistic
psychology depends on rational and scientific explanations of the laws and
mechanisms by which God causes every event and behavior to occur. Therefore
theistic psychology advances by cumulative research and critical analysis of
all models, theories, and data. In other words, religion gathered information in a scientifically rational manner, but theistic psychology is gathered in rational scientific
manner by Swedenborg. It is the closest form of direct
communication with God and the only person known to have communicated this way
that could be scientifically tracked was Swedenborg. Swedenborgs¡¯ writings about his
experiences are the only Divine revelations. Contradictions are absent in all his
writings and have been given as a rational scientific system.
¢¼ How do they compare in explaining the idea of
"salvation"?
An
example given elsewhere in the Writings is the dogma of ¡°faith alone saves,¡±
which is erroneously based on some things Paul says in the Epistles and which
Luther elaborated on when establishing the intellectual basis of Protestantism.
This dogma declares that since no one is capable of fulfilling ¡°the Law¡± in
Sacred Scripture, we cannot be saved by our actions, but must rely on blind
faith in the saving power of the Blood of Christ who died for us. As a result,
preachers and teachers tell the people that they are saved by this blind faith,
even if they do not reform their character. This is because God no longer looks
upon their sin, now that they are saved by the sacrifice of the Son of God on
the cross.
The
Writings show the many places in both the Old and New Testaments where it is
declared, even by Paul, that we are not saved by a faith of rituals and
declarations, but only by ceasing to sin and living a charitable life according
the commandments, both in their letter and in their spirit. Hence it is said
above that ¡°they are not able to see the truth itself, still less to
acknowledge it, although thousands of things should declare it.¡± The thousands
of things that declare the truth are the many references in Sacred Scripture
that warn us that only when we stop our evil thoughts and feelings can we enter
heaven.
Regeneration refers to the formation
of a new heaven within our rational mind. This is the heaven that contains our
eternal life. Anyone entering this heaven in their mind becomes an immortal
angel living in conjugial bliss to eternity. This rational revolution did not
exist prior to their creation by the Divine Incarnation.
Christians realize that this new
creation of the Divine-Human constitutes the salvation of the human race, but
they do not yet know the scientific explanation of how it constitutes
salvation. This has been revealed by God in the Divine Speech that He created
through the minds of selected prophets and revelators. But not in the natural
historical meaning that constitutes the content of Sacred Scripture. This
natural history serves for religion, which is a cultural phenomenon that God
uses to teach about Himself, worship, commandments of living, heaven, and hell.
The scientific part had to remain hidden until the human race was ready to
understand it and accept it in a rational way, based on one's understanding and
perception. This hidden science of the mind has now been revealed in the
Writings of Swedenborg, which constitute the rational revolution. Now anyone
can develop ordinary rational skills through cultural and scientific literacy.
This was not possible before. With this modern scientific rational mind we can
comprehend the Rational Mind of the Divine-Human that was created through the
Incarnation.
¢¼ Can
theistic psychology be universal if it relies on Sacred Scripture of Western
religions and traditions?
Theistic
psychology can be universal because it relies on the writings of Swedenborg
that in turn, deciphers Divine
Speech of Sacred Scripture of the Western religions. Swedenborgs¡¯ writings are rational and
scientific and lack any sort of contradictions, while different religions have
many different explanations that contradict each other. The Writings of
Swedenborg are a scientific revelation because they give us rational methods
for discovering what God has been telling us through Divine Speech encoded and
transformed into a natural language. Theistic psychology is the knowledge we
can extract from these scientific revelations. Whatever is thus extracted must
follow the laws of extraction set forth in Divine revelation. If we use other
methods of extraction we get nowhere towards the truth.
¢¼ What is "religious behaviorism"?
Most of the understanding of religious behaviorism is
from modern behaviorist psychology based on theistic psychology. It studies
religious concepts and phenomena such as God, prayer, heaven, hell, and
eternity.
In theistic
psychology or religious behaviorism the Writings of Swedenborg are used as
scientific proof, because he made observations in the spiritual world for 27
years, document conversations and events that occurred in the heavens and the
hells. So theistic
psychology is based on the underlying scientific sense that has now become
accessible to us through the Laws of Correspondences by which Divine Speech is
given. This previously unsuspected knowledge has now been revealed in the
Writings of Swedenborg
Section B: My Commentary
¢À This topic is really important because as a Christian,
the salvation is most important to me. First of all, I want to say why the
negative aspects of religion-religious wars, persecutions, intolerance are
still continuing in the world. In my opinion, there are two worlds in the
world. They are sharing at the same earth. In fact, Jesus established this idea
of two worlds or kingdoms as He stood before His accusers;
But he continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this
world; I am not of this world. (John
Each world has its own
distinct characteristics, jurisdictions, and ways yet they are not divided by
nationality, race, or region. Theses two world intersect and sometimes,
collide. One of two worlds is the
The god of this age
has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the
gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4 NIV)
The negative aspects are
not from God, but from the Satan.
Second of all, I want to say about salvation. No doubt the
Scripture is real truth. The Scripture says
Jesus answered,
"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me¡±
(John 14:6 NIV)
For God so loved
the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall
not perish but have eternal life.(John
In reply Jesus
declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the
Whoever believes in
him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already
because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son (John 3:18
NIV)
Whoever believes in
the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for
God's wrath remains on him.(John
The salvation is only through Jesus. By believing in Jesus, and
accepting him as a savior, we can get salvation.
I agree that the theistic psychology can teach people to reduce
such negative aspects. The only problem is theistic psychology is too academical.
It is
really hard to understand and
non-educated people cannot easily get the information. Even among educated
people, it is offered to only psychology majored people.
Salvation from God is for
everybody.
The Question I am
answering is Question 2:
What are the consequences for society of
"materialism" which excludes God from science? What are
"scientific revelations" and what motivates scientists to exclude
them? Discuss whether this motivation is justified and how theistic psychology
proposes to overcome this objection.
Section A: My Own Summary of the Selections
¢¼ What are the consequences for society of
"materialism" which excludes God from science?
Materialism
excludes God from science, but focus on what can be scientifically proven, so
it leads the
mind into irreality, delusion and spiritual insanity. The consequences
are serious problems within society such as crime, poverty, war, prejudice,
divorce, abuse of children and women, terrorism, etc. Man¡¯s consciousness is then based on the physical
activity of the brain which includes thinking and feeling and his existence
becomes merely a memory when he passes away. This subjective belief
system leads to false realities because God is the source of all rationality
and order. Thus, anything that excludes God cannot be true because God is
Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Infinite. He sustains all life
forms through love and rationality. Hence, the denial of God is the denial of
reality and the exclusion of God leads mankind to develop false belief systems,
delusional perceptions and irrational ways of thinking.
¢¼ What are "scientific revelations" and what
motivates scientists to exclude them?
Scientific
revelations are Divine revelations that can be found in the writings of Emanuel
Swedenborg. Through these writings, the Word of God through Sacred Scripture is
given meaning to humans and gives clarity to the mysteries of God. Thus,
they provide knowledge about God and the afterlife, not in a mystical way
but rather in a scientific and rational method. Scientific revelations are
derived from the Third Testament which are the writings of Swedenborg that
contain truths leading to enlightenment. Adherence to the truths
contained and revealed by scientific revelations in the natural-rational
correspondences which is the highest level of rational thinking enables people
to do good and contribute for the betterment of whole humanity.
Scientists
who are believe in the materialism approach in their work and have a dualist
approach during church days, end up having a divided mind. They uphold
contradicting beliefs in the afterlife and conceptions about the whole universe
and as a result, become unable to develop higher ways of thinking and
rationality. Theistic Psychology overcomes this way of thinking by introducing
dualism by gaining access to higher universal truths by means of
correspondences found in the writings of Swedenborg.
Most
scientists believe that God cannot be combined with science. This
segregation between science and religion can be attributed with the politics
of ¡°separation of Church and State.¡± They think science is about
everything that can be physically proven.
¡°Scientific revelations¡± cannot be physically proven because it is
within our mind, our dual-self that is not part of the natural world. In today¡¯s definition of science, it
cannot be possible and in definition of rational thinking denying God is also
impossible.
Theistic
Psychology assumes that God is the cause of all events in all time and thus all
reality. As rational beings, humans can then learn and make use of the
laws that come from God. God communicates Himself to humankind through
scientific revelations that enables the latter to cooperate and thus, live in
love.
¢¼ Discuss whether this motivation is justified and how
theistic psychology proposes to overcome this objection.
Theistic
Psychology suggests that all natural events have a spiritual cause and that God
is the source and the provider of all that is good and true. Thus, the
knowledge that there is a God that can be known will enable humans to better
their physical and mental environment. This results in the improvement in the
quality of their lives here on earth as well as the afterlife.
Basically, everyone accepts material science there
are no questions about it being powerful force of existence in our
nations. But, most people think of
science in the literal sense of measuring instruments, beakers, and formulating
materialistic trends. Nobody realizes that through Swedenborg¡¯s writings there
is an abundant amount of valuable data that the human race has been yearning
for, for centuries. The information that we have been looking for the whole
time sits right under our noses, but most of us are to deaf, dumb, and blind to
sense it, because it is not possible to advertise it to the community with
enough force to be thrown into the main stream, which how most people are
influenced.
Theistic psychology does not have to make a
proposition to refute the objection of its teachings because the truth in
theistic psychology will remain the truth. There is no such thing as
manipulating the truth because no matter how much anybody disguises it, the
truth always rises to the top.
Section B: My Commentary
¢À Why did I
choose this topic is materialism is the predominant belief system in our society
today. Nowadays people¡¯s way of
life depends much on money. So many
people follow materialistic views because they can actually see the evidence
from which people have made assumptions about. Our society has been based on
materialism. Especially mass media stir people up to follow materialism. Materialism
only allows explanations through our senses. Our bodies and minds are based on
a monist perspective.
I understand Swedenborg¡¯s dualism. We
exist in the natural world physically and our thoughts and feelings exist in
the spiritual world at the same time. We know this through Swedenborg¡¯s
scientific revelations. Materialism gives no explanation of an afterlife. Through
theistic psychology we can see spiritual world, heaven and hell. Because I
concern about afterlife I can prepare something for while in the natural world.
Materialism is a good place to begin to understand our natural world. However,
with all the knowledge obtained in our lifetime we still exclude God from valid
explanations. Theistic psychology is not based on materialism because it
includes God.
Because God is
not measurable, scientists exclude him from explaining concepts. However
through Theistic Psychology, it is possible to see God in science in a rational
way. Psychologists who consider God in their research and studies can come up
with rational ideas that will enable them to explain and help people. Our hearts are receptacles that store things we allow
into them. If we have a deceitful heart, from it will come deception. If we
have a greedy heart, we will lust after worldly things. If we have an evil
heart, it will cause pain. We need to watch what we allow into our heart, censor
what we allow in, Judge what we let in by asking ourselves. We need God¡¯s
wisdom. If we acknowledge the presence of God in our lives, our society can be
inhabited by a peaceful and rational people.
Without God, people would not be able
to love, to think and to do anything. Science without God is incomplete;
there would always be something that is missing if God¡¯s power is not
acknowledged in the many phenomena that takes place in science because all
comes down to God, who is the source of all order and power.
I
agree that God cannot be denied. I think because of God¡¯s omnipresence, it is impossible to exclude
him.
We should open our eyes to every
possibility of God in scientific form because people are always looking for a
way to analyze what they believe or what they are going to believe in the
future. Through Theistic Psychology we can be more open to rational ideas.
The Question I am
answering is Question 3:
How does theistic psychology view "mystical
spirituality"? Why is it called "mystical"? Include a discussion
on "sensuous vs. rational consciousness" of God. What evolutionary
significance does this difference imply? How do readers of Swedenborg interpret
his Writings?
Section A: My Own Summary of the Selections
¢¼ How does theistic psychology view "mystical
spirituality"? Why is it called "mystical"?
Theistic
Psychology sees mystical spirituality as sensuous and it is closely identified
with the corporeal aspect of the mind. It is called mystical because it
is based on physical concepts and God is experienced on what can be felt as
some force like the wind. It cannot be proven in a scientific manner. It
depends on physical aspects of experience, touch, feel, seeing, etc. In other
words it is based on sensing and therefore, not based on our rational
faculties. This
sensing and experiencing are operations of the corporeal-sensuous portion of
the mind, which is very close to the natural order of the physical body, but
far from the rational operations in the rational portion of the mind
¢¼ Include a discussion on "sensuous vs. rational
consciousness" of God. What evolutionary significance does this difference
imply?
The
evolutionary significance of the difference between mystical spirituality and
rationality spirituality is vital because it determines the fate of people in
eternity. Without rationality, people will spend their eternity in hell.
Sensuous experience leads to irrational choices, falsities, and
hatreds. But those who have raised their consciousness of God by
understanding and living the contents of Sacred Scripture will lead their lives
in heaven throughout eternity. They are a people who choose to love and obey
God and their mode of living is based on God¡¯s reality and truth leading to
higher levels of thinking and consciousness. The consciousness of God is
elevated through the use and understanding of correspondences that can be found
in the Writings of Swedenborg.
¢¼ How do readers of Swedenborg interpret his Writings?
Readers
of Swedenborg interpret his writings in many different ways. Some
thought of them as mystical. Wilson Van Dusen and other authors of the Testimony
to the Invisible saw Swedenborg as a mystic and they saw his writings are
allegorical presentations of his spiritual experiences. Mystical dualists and transcendentalists
like Emerson rejected the idea that Swedenborg actually visited the spiritual
world and that his writings are records of his direct experience and
observations of the spiritual world which gave them the freedom to reinterpret
his writings in accordance to their own perspective. They viewed his
writings as merely literary device to present his philosophical, poetic and
theological ideas.
Section B: My Commentary
¢À This topic
is important because to make distinction between mystical and rational spirituality.
I understand the Writings of Swedenborg deal with rational spirituality. We can not seek God in sensuous way, we
can get close to God by raising the rational understanding of Sacred Scripture.
God wants to communicate with us. If we don¡¯t think about the Lord rationally,
we cannot reach him because our mind is on a natural level. God gave us the
ability to be able to think about him by rational consciousness. Rational
spirituality keeps us thinking and trying to better understand about God
through reading Sacred Scriptures.
This concept helps me especially when I need to decide something in my
life. I don¡¯t have all the wisdom I need to finish without God¡¯s instruction.
Just as teachers instruct students on
how to complete tasks and coaches correct players' actions to get the desired
result, God tries to coach us through life to be all that we can be. But just
as the student or player must listen to and follow through on the instruction
of their teachers to benefit from it, we too need to be willing to hear and
follow the instructions of our Lord. We must keep our hearts open to God's
teaching in order to have and live the life He intends for us. Through the Sacred
Scriptures, God placed the wisdom and lessons of hundreds and hundreds of
lives. God will speak to us through His Word. As we depend on His guidance, we
will enjoy an even more productive life.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful
for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the
man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV).
The Question I am
answering is Question 5:
Why is the topic of "regeneration" so basic
in theistic psychology? What are the "character reformation" steps of
building a "new will"? What is the difference between the "old
will" and the new will? What are "heavenly" vs. "hellish"
traits? How does this relate to personality theory in psychology as you know
it.
Section A: My Own Summary of the Selections
¢¼ Why is the topic of "regeneration" so
basic in theistic psychology?
Regeneration is an orderly process of the growth of the
human mind. Every descending step in the conscious mind is matched by an
ascending step in the unconscious mind until the entire mind is regenerated and
made heavenly through influx. The entire process is managed by God and requires
the conscious voluntary cooperation of the individual. This cooperation
requires two steps: (a) acquiring the truth of doctrine from Sacred Scripture; and
(b) applying it to our thinking and willing in daily activities.
In essence, regeneration is the start of a religious
process. At the start of our life, we are born with the ability to think,
rationalize, and make inferences. We do this by interpreting the world and of
the events that happen in it. These interpretations are based on our own
personal experience based upon the knowledge we have of that subject. In other
words, we are able to generate opinions.
The reason why regeneration is so
important and basic is because this is the process of change. When we
regenerate, we are redirecting. We take what we learn and we either use
it to support the views that we have, giving it a more sturdy foundation or we
can change our view completely. This can be done if what we learn starts to
question our own beliefs. This is not a bad thing, rather a part of the
learning process.
¢¼ What are the "character reformation" steps
of building a "new will"?
Character
reformation is described as a process that involves the willingness to resist
the temptations that were put there by the Divine Psychologist every day by day
and hour by hour. It is a primary goal in theistic psychology. Any person who
was born with there old inherited will undergo a process of ¡°regeneration.¡± In this process, God slowly builds a
¡°new will¡± in which we battle against the old loves by using the weapons of
understanding. One tool that God
gives us, the conscience, is an inner voice in our consciousness that flows
from divine speech.
Depending on our effort and willingness, we can regenerate only the lower
portions of the inherited mind, in which case we can live our immortality in
the state called First Heaven. At this level we think in terms of
spiritual-natural correspondences of Sacred Scripture and it is this that forms
the basis of our understanding Divine Speech. Thinking from spiritual-natural
correspondences or concepts allow us to overcome lower
level temptations called "natural temptations." By this means we can
acquire the virtues of morality and live immortality in the First Heaven along
with others who are also reformed to this degree.
But if we are willing to go further with our character up-building or
spiritual growth, we can be regenerated to the second degree and we can live our
immortality in the Second Heaven. In this mental state, we think from
spiritual-rational correspondences, whose concepts allow us to overcome
spiritual temptations. This allows us to go beyond natural morality into
genuine rational spirituality. Our understanding of Sacred Scripture is vastly
greater or higher. Finally, we may be willing to be regenerated all the way to
the celestial degree, living out our immortality in the Third Heaven. Our
thinking is based in celestial-rational correspondences, which gives us
concepts that can overcome celestial temptations.
¢¼ What is the difference between the "old
will" and the new will?
The "will" refers to the operation of the
affective organ. These operations vary by categories which we are all familiar
with--intentions, motivations, goals, purposes, impulses, propensities, inborn
preferences, enjoyments, satisfactions, affections, loves. Basically speaking,
a will is a motivation or dedication to achieve a particular goal. We could
have a will to do a lot of things in our lives. We could have the will to become a
lawyer or doctor, and that is what we will focus on. The will is the dedication
and effort that you put into obtain that which you set out to obtain, There are
old wills and there new wills.
The old will, is the desire to want to hold on to the past.
As I mentioned before, once we have been shown the light, it is not moral of us
to stay in the dark. But this is only natural. People will have the tendency to
stay with what they know and feel more comfortable with. When we apply this to
religion it can become morally and spiritually dangerous. Once we learn of
God¡¯s higher plan for us, it is important that we change our will to
incorporate that. We can not be enlightened to the scared scripture and realize
the errors of our ways and do nothing. Thus, we need a new will.
The new will, is the desire or want to change in accordance
to our enlightenment. Once we have been shown the light we run with it. It is
taking what we learning and actually applying it. Going back to the example of
becoming a doctor or lawyer, if that is what we want, we have to strive to take
gradual steps that will take us there.
¢¼ What are "heavenly" vs.
"hellish" traits? How does this relate to personality theory in
psychology as you know it
Being aware of what old wills vs. new wills are, we can
apply one last concept to it. This is the concept of hellish vs. heavenly
traits. We can view the hellish traits as a part of the old will. The old will
is the one that we are giving up. The reason why, is because in the old will
lies all the things that we know we should not do in order to reform. The
things that we should not do are in fact the hellish traits. A popular example
that we used in class would be the consumption of ice cream. Having the desire
to eat ice cream in it¡¯s self is not wrong. However, if one where to realize
that they are lactose intolerant, eating the ice cream then becomes
detrimental. There is now an understanding that eating the ice cream is not
healthy. If we continue to eat the ice cream despite what we have learned and
been exposed to, it becomes a hellish trait. It involves disregarding the truth
and the knowledge that we have learned, to give into the selfishness of our
desires.
A heavenly trait is the behaviors that we take on in order
to bring about spiritual change. This takes place in the new will. We take from
scared scripture what we need in order to understand and love God. The things
that we take from the bible in turn will change and gear our behavior to the
more positive. This is what a heavenly trait is. Using the example of the
consumption of ice cream we can conclude that if not giving up the ice cream, in spite of learning that it is no longer good for us, as a
hellish trait, than giving up the ice cream is a heavenly trait. We understand
that our health is at risk when consuming ice cream, so we give it up. We may
miss and sometimes what to regain the sensation that we get when we eat the ice
cream, but for the greater good and the bigger picture, we do not consume it.
Section B: My Commentary
¢À This topic is important to me as a Christian. In
Christianity, it is true that salvation is just by
faith alone. We can be saved by believing in Jesus, but after we
are saved, we always struggle not to live with our old will, but to live with
our new will. When we invite Christ into
our hearts, immediately we are a new creation. Our hearts are made new.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old
has gone, the new has come (2
Corinthians
This begins the wonderful process of transformation wherein our identity
transitions from the physical world into the spiritual realm. And, even though
we may be saved, we have a tendency to slip back into old will.
David says that in Psalms 15
Lord, who may dwell in
your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and
who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no
slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his
fellowman, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the Lord, who
keeps his oath even when it hurts, who lends his money without usury and does
not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be
shaken (Psalms 15 NIV)
I think these are really tough test. Can we pass it
all? It is hard because although God has
delivered us and our hearts are new, our behaviors are not. We tend to
carry residue of the world and our old behaviors with us.
Regeneration is characterized by shedding of the old will,
or the negative loves that engross our daily lives
I agree that rejecting our hellish traits or thoughts at countless moments
in our daily lives could make us regenerate and build up a new character within
us.
And I also agree that we take from sacred scripture what we need in order to understand and love
God.
The sacred scripture is our guidebook.
When we come to know God¡¯s love, we are no longer
motivated by love of money or fear of punishment but out of love for Him
Let me use a metaphor. Even though God gives us a new
direction, if we're in a rut, we must choose to change. Imagine riding a bike
in a muddy area again and again. After a while, you would find yourself in a
rut. The only way to get out of that rut is to hang onto those handlebars and
turn, by choice, with some effort to steer clear of the rut. It's not
easy, but it is necessary. At first, you feel a big bump as you plow your way
out of a rut. It is not easy; but over time you will develop another path and
erode those old will. The old habits
will fall away because you are not using them. Instead you can
see a new tendency. You might be thinking, "What would God says in this
situation?" You will be doing what you believe God wants you to do, and
you can be transformed into the image of God. Does it take a while? Yes sometimes.
It is not that we have an old heart. What we have are old tendencies dragging
along with us for a while until we let go of them and they dry up.
Therefore, rid yourselves
of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind (1 Peter
2:1).
The Sacred
Scripture is our guidebook. It makes us grow.
The Question I am
answering is Question 8:
What is the relation between mind and the spiritual
world? How does theistic psychology show their relation? How can the human mind
be immortal? Why should people be concerned about the afterlife? What is the
"vertical community" and why should people focus on their "dual
citizenship"?
Section A: My Own Summary of the Selections
¢¼ What is the relation between mind and the spiritual
world?
Every human being is
born simultaneously with a physical body and a spiritual body. The physical body is located in the natural
world while the spiritual body is located in the spiritual world. The mind with its affective and cognitive
organs is located in the spiritual body while the brain is located in the
physical body. Whatever happens to the physical
body on earth we can sensate and feel in our spiritual body in the spiritual world. Since sensations.
thoughts, and feelings are not physical objects, they cannot be located in the
material brain which is physical. Non physical objects, that is, spiritual
objects, must be located in the spiritual body in the spiritual world.
Sensations, thoughts and feelings are spiritual objects and events.
It can be understood
rationally when you consider that the spiritual world is produced by the
substances streaming out of the Spiritual Sun, where God can be seen as a
Divine-Human appearing in the midst of that Sun. In God, infinite things are
one. What is streaming out of God through the Spiritual Sun produces and
creates spiritual events, which in turn produce natural events. God produces
natural events through the intermediary of the Spiritual Sun. Therefore
everything in the mind is also produced by means of the substances streaming
out of the Spiritual Sun. In other words, all mental events are produced in the
spiritual body by the Spiritual Sun. Feelings and thoughts are nothing but
states of organic objects made of these substances from the Spiritual Sun.
¢¼ How does theistic psychology show their relation?
Theistic
psychology investigates the overlap between the mental world and the spiritual
world by means of the laws of correspondences revealed in the Writings of
Swedenborg. These scientific revelations indicate that we are born dual
citizens in the natural and spiritual world, living in both worlds
simultaneously. Our physical operations in the brain and its physical body
parallel exactly our mental operations in the mind and its spiritual body. Our
brain is active in correspondence with our mind—what we think and feel. The
mind is in the spiritual body while the brain is in the physical body, and the
two are tied by scientific correspondence laws. When the physical body dies,
the connection is broken, and the person becomes conscious in the spiritual
body. This is what Swedenborg was able to experience many times, but prior to
the death of his physical body. When we awaken in the spiritual world a few
hours after death, we can begin the process of corroborating directly
everything that Swedenborg was able to perceive.
The geography
of the spiritual world is equal to the anatomy of the human mind. Both are in
rational ether which is created from the Spiritual Sun so when we are thinking,
feeling and imagining, we exist in the spiritual world. This means that the
Spiritual Sun is in the mind and because spirit communities are made up
of rational ether coming from the Spiritual Sun, heaven and hell can also be
contained in the mind
Since the mental world and spiritual
world are the same, a person being in his or her own mental world or in his or
her thoughts and feelings means being in the same objective spiritual world of
others. This concept means that we can see and be in community with other
people even when we are in our own mental world.
When the physical body dies, the mind
is liberated and becomes conscious of the spiritual world and the society that
people will end up in is dependent on the quality of their character or mental
states. Those with hellish mental state will congregate in the infernal
spiritual societies whereas those with loving and rational qualities will be in
heaven.
The spiritual body is the mind which is
comprised of the affective organ, cognitive organ and the sensorimotor organ
and is a separate entity from the physical body right from birth. Since the
spiritual body is separate from the physical body, the spiritual body is intact
once the physical body dies. This means that the brain do not house
feelings, thoughts and sensations but they are all in the mind-- in the world
of spirits.
¢¼ How can the human mind be immortal?
Natural objects, like the physical body and brain, have a temporary life
or existence, but spiritual objects, like the mind or spiritual body, are
permanent (immortal or eternal). In other words, sensations, thoughts, and
feelings are immortal parts of human beings. Thus every thought and feeling we
have is recorded permanently in our interior memory, which is in the spiritual
body. Swedenborg demonstrated that people in the spiritual world are able to
recall every single detail of their lives on earth
Because it is not born in physical
space and time, In other words, the mind cannot die. Thus, it is fixed,
unmovable and immortal. Electrical operations in the physical brain moves
but not sensations and perceptions because these are not in space and
time.
All of God¡¯s
creations are considered vessels or receptors of Divine Love but they receive
it differently depending on their structure and form. Unlike the chemical
world that is animated by God physically and the vegetable world and animal
world which are animated livingly, the human mind is the only one that can
receive rationality. Through rationality, the human mind can experience
immortality.
We are immortal because the love and
truth that comes from the Spiritual Sun are immortal spiritual substances that
make up our spiritual body in the spiritual world. Since the mind is equal to
the spiritual world, the mind cannot die. And if the mind cannot die so
are people because the mind is what constitutes them. In other words, the
human body deteriorates and dies but the mind lives throughout
eternity.
Like the physical brain, the spiritual
mind is also made up of neuronal structures only that they come from the
spiritual heat and spiritual light but unlike the natural substances that make
up the brain, these spiritual substances are permanent and cannot be destroyed.
In other words they are eternal.
¢¼ Why should people be concerned about the afterlife?
People should be concerned about the
afterlife because what they take there will determine their fate in
immortality. After they die, they are either in the heavens or in the hells of
their mind and whatever their condition they are in will remain with them
forever.
¢¼ What is the "vertical community" and why
should people focus on their "dual citizenship"?
The mental
world is also a social world and the environment for which minds interact with
other spirits is called the vertical community. The Vertical community is
comprised of angels from heaven and devils from hell. They are therefore
spirits who influence the thinking and feeling of humans here on earth.
Every thought and feeling is a result of the spirit community people associate
with. Negative thoughts and emotions come from hell and compassionate feelings
and rational thoughts come from heaven.
In the
spiritual world, no thought or emotion is contained within a person.
It spreads throughout the whole rational ether of the spiritual
world. And because thoughts and emotions are within the mind, this means that
we are never alone in our minds. Hence, the occurrence of a thought or emotion
is an effect of our interaction with those spirits in the vertical
communities.
People should focus on their dual
citizenship because it is essential in preparation for their life in
eternity. The physical body parallels the spiritual body which means that
the spiritual mind develops in correspondence with that of the physical
mind. This means that the quality of life that people will have after
life is dependent on how well they have developed their minds and rationality.
Without the right operations or character one cannot live in heaven because the
mind will be unwilling to raise its consciousness. The result is living
in a state of hell throughout eternity or sinking in the lowest portion of the
mind and people who are in this state will be unable to experience
heaven. Those who worked on their character through regeneration can
experience heaven because they took the time to prepare for the afterlife.
Section B: My Commentary
¢À This is
really interesting concept to me that is our mind is immortal so we never die
in the heaven. I think everybody feel
feared death. This concept gives us hope and less fear for death in the natural
world because we know we will become conscious in the spiritual world.
Through theistic psychology we can gain the knowledge
to get our minds ready for our heavenly or hellish propriums. We may be ready
to live in the afterlife, to be with God. Our
purpose here on earth is to prepare for eternity.
I agree that
concept of vertical communication. Vertical community helps me to make the
heavenly choice when I am teeter tottering between the heaven and the hell of
my mind. How can we distinguish between heavenly thoughts and hellish thoughts.
The most important way is to hear God through the Sacred Scripture. I fact, the
Bible establishes the fact that God wants to communicate with us. However, the
problem is that we don¡¯t recognize His voice. Let me assume that there are
hundreds of frequencies and radio waves going through the air at any given
moment. Yet we will only hear at whatever frequency we are tuned in to. The
same is true with us. God is always speaking to us and though we are trying to
hear God, we may not hear Him because we are tuned in to a different frequency.
The
Sacred Scripture shows us a variety of methods God uses to speak to us. He used
prophets, thunder and lightning, a rooster, and even a donkey to relay His will
to His people. The point is that we need to be in tune with His voice.
God gives us the choice to deny the hellish love
would have initially grasped to.
Section C:
My Analysis of Prior Generations in the Generational Curriculum
¡Ú Emmy Zukowski http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/459f2004/zukowski/459-g21-report2.htm
(i)
Emmy fully
agreed with Theistic Psychology. She felt studying Theistic Psychology was
beneficial to her. She is definitely in positive bias. And she felt doing the
report has
pushed her to conduct full searches to find reliable facts in every chapter,
rather than in only one. As a
result, she felt that she had come to a full realization of each subtopic in
order to deliver strong responses.
(ii)
She thought if
everyone could read or interpret the Divine Speech provided in scripture, we
could all grow mentally and spiritually together in God¡¯s desire. As a Catholic
and has been active within the church her entire life, Scripture has played an
important role in her life in developing her beliefs and expanding her mind.
She was trying to direct her life in heavenly way. She thought
that without reading and understanding theistic psychology people won¡¯t have a
chance in altering their negative biases for reformation. We can change and reform ourselves for the better for
final acceptance into heaven, or refuse change and continue our naturally
hellish ways acceptable for hell
(iii)
She concluded
people need to understand Sacred Scripture so develop rational
consciousness in preparation for the afterlife. And also she concluded spreading
this psychology would be a great help for people. He final conclusion is if everyone
reformed, the world wouldn¡¯t be the scary place it is today and we would all be
prepared for heavenly afterlives
(iv)
I think because
she was in positive bias, she can apply and interpret the idea of Theistic
Psychology in her life. It applies me in order to develop a heavenly character,
I also need to be in positive bias.
¡Ú Thalia
Stark http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/459f2004/stark/459-g21-report2.htm
(i)
Same as Emmy, Thalia also fully agreed with Theistic Psychology.
While she was reading Swedenborg¡¯s writings with a positive bias, she began to
understand why we are dual citizens. She learned about the possibilities in the
spiritual world, heavens, and hells through Theistic Psychology.
(ii)
She thought it was okay to be angry and hateful as long as she
wasn¡¯t physically hurting anyone, but through Theistic Psychology she began to
think the anger and hate are hellish traits and through character reformation she
is able to change her thoughts and feelings. And she thought Sacred Scripture
has significant information on how to prepare ourselves for consciousness in
the spiritual world. She can gain the knowledge from the Sacred Scripture and
it will help her through the steps of character reformation so she can prepare
to enter the celestial heaven
(iii)
She concluded in order to be in the heavens, we need to
choose what is good, true, and rational. She thought Theistic Psychology is a
right education, so with Theistic Psychology we will be better prepared to
choose heavenly loves over hellish. She concluded Swedenborg¡¯s writings are clearly
scientific revelations because they are based on his direct observations. If we
willingly choose our heavenly loves and reject our hellish loves we are in
communication with the angels in the heavens. She also concluded every human
has this same potential. Theistic
psychology gives us the tools to gain the knowledge to get our minds ready for
our heavenly or hellish propriums.
(iv)
Her insights let
me think about my character. Is my character enough good to go to heaven? Sometimes
I feel really depressed, not having compassion, being selfish, even greedy. As
a Christian and a student of Theistic Psychology, I have to change my
character. I have to change my feeling, thought and acting to choose what is
good, true, and rational. In order to do this I need to read Sacred Scripture.
I used to do devotion on every single day, but I suddenly stop doing it on
reason of being busy. I need to restore to do devotion again. I need to read
Sacred Scripture every day.
.
Section D: My Report on the Current Generation
¢¾ Three
Levels of Thinking about God
by Vanessa Rodriguez on
Vanessa¡¯s presentation focused
on the concepts of materialistic science, mystical religion and Theistic
Psychology. Vanessa said that materialism is the view that everything that
actually exists is material, physical. He said materialism is important through
epiphenomena, knowledge, God, human life and rationality. Although materialism
is responsible for the influence of science in society and the progress of
technology, it does not explain life after death. I agree with this concept. On
my section A I summarized because materialism exclude God, it leads the mind into
irreality, delusion and spiritual insanity.
Vanessa then moved on the
topic of mystical religion. He said about non-duality which is there is no separation
between the world and us, and that all and everything are One and Whole. It is
important to religion, faith, and practices. And he said about Attitude-to-behavior-process
model. This is a model of how attitudes guide behavior that emphasizes the
influence of both attitudes and stored knowledge of what is appropriate in a
given situation- influences overt behavior. I don¡¯t exactly understand about
this. What I understand is mystical
spirituality is based on physical concepts. It cannot be proven in a scientific
manner. It depends on physical aspects of experience, touch, feel, seeing so God
is experienced on what can be felt as some force like the wind.
Finally he talked about Theistic Psychology. He said that
Revelations
is Divine and come from the level of Divine Omniscience, Omnipotent. It is
important to acquire a celestial mind, control environment, afterlife. He said
human have a purpose to discover God¡¯s rational laws. I agree with this. We all
have purpose in God. We have to realize what God¡¯s purpose is and we have to
try to change our character to establish his purpose in our life.
¢¾ How the
spiritual mind affects the natural mind
by Neil Tsukiyama on
The three
concepts that he had were Law of correspondences, Regeneration or Character
Reformation, and Dualism or substantive dualism. He talked about three mind in
concept one, Law of correspondences. And he moved on Regeneration or Character.
In this concept, he said regeneration is necessary for ascending to spiritual
consciousness. He said our thoughts and feelings are influenced by those who
are in connection with our spiritual body which houses our thoughts and
feelings. He exampled temptation. He said evil things such as selfishness,
violence, deception and vanity must be freely rejected. Our spiritual body
interacts with both good and evil spirits providing an ambivalent influence
which gives the mind and opportunity to freely reject these things. In other
words, we have free will to reject the temptation. On my section A of question
5, this temptation could be the ¡®old will.¡¯ On my report, the old will is the
desire to want to hold on to the past. I mentioned
it as the old habits or hellish traits. In order to go to heaven this old will
must be rejected and our new will must be grew up by God¡¯s interactions.
His last
concept is dualism or substantive dualism. He explained understanding the
relationship between the natural world and spiritual world is the key point to
recognize that we are dual citizens and members of two worlds. He said if we
understand this relationship, we can reject the negative bias and come closer
to understand the definitional and methodological formula of Theistic
Psychology. I agree with this concept. On my report I said we regenerate by interpreting
the world and the event that happen in it. If we do not only acquire the truth of doctrine from Sacred Scripture but also apply it to our thinking
and willing in daily activities, we could be more close to God.
¢¾ The Vertical Community of Minds
by Franklin Whang on
Whang¡¯s
presentation addressed that issue of vertical community. His three concepts
were the vertical community, the natural mind, and the formation of habits. He
said vertical community is a social world and the
horizontal community is a private world. Our external appearances are creations by the laws of
correspondence of the feelings and thoughts we have at any moment. Our moods
are affected by spiritual world. This Influx
is first received by the celestial mind and the
celestial mind filters it down to the spiritual mind by the laws of
correspondence
and finally the spiritual mind filters down to the
natural mind through functional correspondence. On my section A of question A, I
also defined vertical community as our mind interact with other spirits which
are angels from heaven and devils from hell. These spirits influence the
thinking and feeling of humans. Therefore, negative thoughts and emotions come
from hell and compassionate feelings and rational thoughts come from heaven. Developing
our mind and rationality is key word to develop quality of our life.
Whang¡¯s second
concept was the natural mind. In this concept, he said the
natural mind is built up by daily experience through the physical body and
social interactions. When
the operations of the natural mind are integrated and healthy the human
personality is civilized, intelligent, virtuous, and moral. And he moved
on his last concept which was the formation of habits. In this concept, he said we bring
the habits from physical world to spiritual world after death, we cannot take
anything back. Our habits control our loves and what we take to the spiritual
world for eternity. In this reason, regeneration is important. On my section A
of question 5, I said regeneration is
process of the growth of the human mind. The same as Whang, I summarized that
in order to go to heaven we need to change our old habits. Because the old
habits are interpretation with physical world, we have to reject the old habit
and regenerate the new habits which fit in heaven.
Section E: My Advice to Future Generations
¢½ My advice for
future generation is pretty simple. ¡°Just do it.¡± Don¡¯t procrastinate. Don¡¯t put it off just because you¡¯re frustrated just from
reading the instructions. Not to get stressed out after reading the instructions. I know it¡¯s overwhelming just to look at the instructions
for the reports, but start it. Start writing early as soon as you possible. Just
write anything even though you might feel
you are not yet ready for that. You can reorganize and rewrite as many as you want if you
start early. The most difficult thing about this report is researching the
answers. The assigned reading sections are quite long but please be patient with all the readings that are assigned. Do not spend too much time to read everything, but just focus on reading the most important sections intensively will help you, you can use the Overall Table of Contents.
Do things a little at a time or section by section, it¡¯ll be a lot easier and painless than to do it all the
night before.
It is
time consuming.
You need to make plan. All tasks about this report are understanding of
Theistic Psychology. All questions are covered in class. Every time in the
class try to understand every concept and take note your thought at least write down the main idea and don¡¯t
hesitate to participate
in discussions, and don¡¯t be afraid to ask questions. The more you understand the topic the easier it becomes to
do the work.
One more thing that I want to advise you is having a positive bias. Stay in the positive bias all the
time. If you keep and open mind and positive
bias, it is so much more enjoyable and interesting to learn about Theistic
Psychology. Cut off all the pessimistic thinking and tell yourself that I can
do it and it is fun. If you keep an open
mind, the class will be much easier to understand. Your thoughts and feelings affected the outcome of your job performance.
At the begging
of doing this report, I felt a bit overwhelmed because of the amount of work. There
were a lot of things I have to do. I was frustrated just from reading the instruction.
I had a lot of stress and anxiety, even I thought about dropping the class. But
as you see here, I completed this report.
This job is
tough but not impossible. Never give up. You can do it.
Good luck!
Class Home Page: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy22/classhome-g22.htm
My Home Page: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/459s2005/cheon/home.htm