Course: Psychology 459,
Spring 2007, Generation 26
Instructor: Dr. Leon James
Introduction to Theistic Psychology at www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/theistic/ch1.htm
My Home Page: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/459s2007/yamada/yamada-home.htm
Class Home Page: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy26/classhome-g26.htm
Instructions for this Report: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy26/459-g26-weekly.htm
Can You Hear Him?
Report 5 For Section 1.5.1
to 1.7
Question 11.1
a) Summarize Section 1.5.1 "Students Speak Out on Swedenborg."
b) Contrast the ideas of students in the History of Psychology earlier classes vs. the ideas of students later in theistic psychology. What is the difference in attitude and content?
c)
Give your impressions and conclusions of how students are
doing in studying and accepting theistic psychology.
Relate your conclusions to your own study of theistic psychology thus far. How
do you fit or relate?
a) Professor Leon James came across the Writings of Swedenborg in 1981. Since then he has included the positive bias in science into his awareness. He has taught many psychology classes and has brought to others attention that the positive bias of science must be included in the science field. To be a true scientist one must see all angles of the issue at hand. It is only recently that Professor James has been teaching a class on Theistic Psychology. As an experiment Professor James did a survey in which he asked his class this question: Should Swedenborg be included into the history of scientific psychology? Of this class of 23 students13 said Yes and 10 said No. The Yes’ fall into two categories. The first category is of spirituality and revelation, which are real psychological phenomena of the mind. The students who fall into that category are numbers 1, 2, 6, 12, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 23. The second category is that God and religion should be part of psychology. Those are students 8 and 10. Those who said that Swedenborg should not be included into the history of scientific psychology had two main reasons. The first reason they mentioned was that Science and religion should be kept as separate categories and that Swedenborg belongs to the religion category. Those who felt that way were students 3, 9 and 16. The second reason mentioned was that Swedenborg's experiences were not provable, repeatable, or measurable. Those who felt that way were students 4, 5, 7, 13, 14 and 22.
b) When I compare the ideas of students of earlier classes in the History of Psychology to those of later classes in Theistic Psychology I see a big difference. I can tell that the classes in Theistic Psychology are thinking at a higher rational level than those in the History of Psychology course. This could possibly be due to the fact that students in the History of Psychology course only had one week to accept the positive bias of science as compared to the students in the Theistic Psychology course who have a whole semester to think with the positive bias of science. I believe that if the students in the History of Psychology were given more time to accept the positive bias of science as a possible explanation some of their questions of life, then they would think with a more rational mind and would change their vote to a “yes” rather than a “no”.
c) I believe that most students who enroll into Theistic Psychology believe that it is a course of the negative biases of science. They are unaware of what they will learn and when they first hear what is said they deny it and block it out. I began to understand Theistic Psychology after the first report when I had to actually think and rationalize God into my life and into the universe. As the semester went on I began to accept that God could play a role in the universe. I began to think more logically with the positive bias of science and begun to analyze my life thru the good and truth of the Divine Psychologist.
a) Select a few concepts from Section 1.5.1.3 "Outline of Swedenborg's Spiritual Psychology." Make an outline of the entire argument.
b) Which concepts are most interesting to you. Explain.
c) Now present and explain the outline to a friend or two. Have a discussion about it.
d) What observations can you make from this exchange?
a) The first section of the outline describes Swedenborg’s background. It gives us a biological sketch of the dates and titles of his books. It also tells us that at the age of 57 he discovers his dual citizenship. He is given this gift by God and is able be consciously aware and in control of his spiritual body. The next section is Life After Death: Heaven. In this section Swedenborg gives eyewitness reports of life in the heavenly cities, married life, conjugial bliss, quasi-omniscience of knowledge, jeweled palaces, instant food and clothing, and the education of children there. In the next section of Life After Death: Hell Swedenborg also gives eyewitness reports of hellish cities, their obsessiveness and unwillingness to see rational things and their desire to be in the natural world and possess the inhabitants there. Next is the Vertical Community. In this section the physical location of our body is not an issue because in the mental world of eternity there is no space. We associate with the thoughts and feelings of people in eternity whose thoughts and feelings are the same as ours. Incompatible thoughts and feelings separate and divide, while compatible and similar thoughts and feelings consociate and unite, depending on the degree of compatibility and similarity. In the spiritual world where we are, whom we see and what we do is determined by our thoughts and feelings. Next is the section on The Positive and Negative Biases of Science. In this section Swedenborg differentiates between the two ways of thinking. The negative bias of science is a monist and sensuous train of thought. The other is the positive bias of science. This train of thought is rational and altruistic and allows us to understand the God is the universe and much more. Next is the section on No Function Without Substance. In short this means that there can be no function without the good and truth from God because everything is made up of the good and truth of the Divine Psychologist. The final section is the Swedenborg Report as Science. This section explains Swedenborg’s expertise in multiple studies and his well respected reputation as a scholar and politician.
b) I believe that Swedenborg’s descriptions of the Heaven, Hell and the Vertical Community were the most interesting to me. His eyewitness descriptions of Heaven are very detailed. It almost seems as though he was a spy for us here on earth because he would gather his data and observations from the spiritual world and report it back to us here on earth. He seemed as though God choose him so he could relay the message to us here on earth. WHAT MESSAGE? The message of what we need to do to live eternity in our heavenly traits. This goes the same for the Hell. Swedenborg gives us a detailed analysis of what it was like there and the reason why the condemned were there. I also thought that the Vertical Community was interesting because it gives insight into who we will be with in our Heaven. Through this we know that we will not be alone and will have others with the same mindset around us.
c) I explained this outline to my friend Tommy and he said that he could understand what I was talking about. He also thought that Swedenborg’s description of Heaven and Hell was very interesting. He said that he would like to know more about Swedenborg’s experiences and feels like Swedenborg would not have any reason to lie about his encounters. He said that he cold see many people questioning the aspect of Swedenborg as a reliable source because he lived a long time ago. I gave him the address to the lecture notes so he could take a look and learn about Theistic Psychology and the positive bias of science.
d) From this exchange I observed that my friend Tommy has accepted God as a possible factor of life and the universe. He has changed to a more rational train of thought. I remember the first reaction he gave me when I described my newfound rationality to him. He called me crazy and wondered why the heck I was taking a course like that. I can now see a big change in his overall way of thinking because we can now have deeper rational conversations about God as compared to the ridicule he would give me before.
Question 11.4
a) Section 1.5.1.3 also contains a "narrative account" in which there is a discussion with angels about what people on earth know about heaven and hell. What is your impression of this?
b) Give an interpretation of the account as best you can at this point in your study of theistic psychology.
a) From the information that I took in from section 1.5.1.3 and the narrative account by Swedenborg about his discussion with the angels I came to the conclusion that the angels had no clue of what was happening or happened on earth. One would think that the angels who were once human would remember their past life and its experiences or even what it was like to be a human being. But that is not the case. I remember in lecture Professor James discussing why these angels could not remember their past. He said that one die we become resuscitated into our spiritual body. When in this spiritual body we can remember our past life in the natural world for a little while. As time (even though it is nonexistent in the spiritual world, but is the only term I can describe this as) passes the individual goes through his or her second death. It is here where he or she eliminates their past in the natural world. Their past is now only the good and truth and not memories. They can however remember the past of their natural life if they really tried. But this will seem as though they are speaking of their past in a 3rd person point of view. In the spiritual world individuals let go of their memories and begin to live in the correspondences of their good and truth. This scares me to be honest. I understand that we must let go of our past and live eternity in our Heavenly traits, but this seems to be hard. To let go of my mother, father and all others that I care about is very difficult for me. I thought that it would be nice see and hang out with loved ones who had passed on before us. I mean we can do that when we first get there, but since our loved ones passed on before us they may seem a little confused on whom we are (since they have let go of the memories of their natural mind).
b) In this point in Theistic Psychology I believe that I can sometimes see past the sensuous meaning of things. I find it difficult to live a life of rational thought, but I understand that it is what we must do to reach Heaven. If we want to live eternity in our heavenly traits we must train our natural mind, which then relays what it experiences to our spiritual mind. This is important because it is not the natural mind that lives forever, but the spiritual mind that lives for eternity. For a mental visual perspective I see the mental world of eternity as the Nexus in the movie Star Trek: Generations. We are able to go anywhere we want by thinking or feeling like Captain Jean Luc Picard did. But unlike the movie we cannot leave the mental world of eternity and go back into the natural world as Captain Kirk and Picard did in the Nexus. Who needs a car when we have our mind? In this mental world we are connected into a vertical community that groups us by our particular thoughts and feelings.
Question 11.5
a) Summarize what is said in Section 1.6 "Spiritual Psychobiology."
b) How does this relate to what you already know about the field of psychology?
a) Emanuel Swedenborg (1668-1772) was the author of many books on anatomy, psychology, and natural science. He is the grand author of a known Sacred Scripture known as the Writings of Swedenborg. What makes his work so interesting is that it involves one of the earliest forms of behaviorism, functionalism and organicity. Organicity is the basis that says all function of the mind must have a structural basis of it processes. He says that it is not the physical structural material that causes function, but it is the mental substances that are the cause of everything. These substances are known at good and truth. Swedenborg was chosen by God from his birth to do the task of gathering information from the spiritual world. WHY HIM? I could be possible that since God knew that he was going to be a well-respected scientist of his time. It would be strategically intelligent to give him the gift of visiting the spiritual world. So at the age of 57 was given the gift of visiting the mental world of eternity. Swedenborg could then compare what he learned through the negative bias of science to that of the positive bias and give us an accurate analysis why the positive bias is more rational. Swedenborg kept his gift secret for several years. During that time he learned about his new gift from God by frequently going back and forth between the natural and mental worlds. At this time he also interviewed people who lived in the spiritual world to get better insight about what it was like there. Swedenborg was a well-respected 18th century scientist. He recorded the details of many things he learned from the spiritual world of the afterlife, and its connection to this life.
b) If I compare Spiritual Psychobiology to the field of psychology (negative bias of science) they are totally different. I now see the field of psychology as being a more general description for mental processes and spiritual psychobiology as a more in depth look at mental processes. Basically, spiritual psychobiology breaks down mental thoughts, feelings and emotions deeper than psychology does. In spiritual psychobiology mental processes are traced back to Gods love and truth because that is what everything in the universe is made out of. While in psychology mental processes are made up of cells, neuron and chemical firings. Spiritual biology does not say that these natural processes do not occur by all means they do occur. BUT WHY DO THEY OCCUR? Well, there is only one answer to that and it is because God lets it happen. He is the controller and creator of all and to be more rational we have to understand that. For example, take the eye and vision. In a science course we are taught that the reason why we can see is because of multiple cells, neurons, nerves and chemical firings allow us to. But in the positive bias or spiritual psychobiology we recognize that it is God who enters all of our cells, neurons, nerves, chemical firings in our eye and brain and gives us vision.
Question 13.3
a) What is the organic basis of human thoughts, emotions, and feelings?
b) Contrast this with the negative bias psychology which "reduces" thoughts and feelings to electricity and chemistry in the neurons of the brain.
c) What is your view on this controversy?
a) Organicity is a criterion that a proposed theory must be biologically grounded. In other words, there can be no function without a structure, medium or a substance. For example, in order for a computer to work (function) it must have a motherboard, video card, processor, memory, etc (medium) capable of using a source of energy (electricity). Another example could be a space shuttle, which in general needs an engine and an energy source to move.
In the positive bias of substantive dualism (theistic psychology) we know for a fact from Swendenborg’s reports that mental operations are visible in the spiritual world of the afterlife. “You at this time be asking yourself, how is this possible?”, but all one has to do is look at the approaching individual and they are able to perceive whether he or she is friendly or hostile, heavenly or hellish. This is done by looking at the color and pattern of operations that are visibly flashing around the head and body.
Swedenborg defines the mind as a spiritual organ made from spiritual substances streaming from the spiritual sun into the spiritual world. All human minds are born into the spiritual world and as the individual grows in mental age, the natural mind is being formed from spiritual substances in its environment of “rational ether”. Rational operations in our cognitive organ come from the flow of spiritual light into us. This is the substance that streams to us from the spiritual sun. And at the same time spiritual heat enters the affective organ and makes us conscious of feeling.
Theistic psychology is a biological science in which the mental anatomy and physiology make up spiritual psychobiology. The spiritual physiology of mental organs is primary and the natural physiology of the brain is secondary by the laws of correspondence that helps to explain the functional relationship between the spiritual and natural worlds.
At this time you may not believe what Swedenborg has said, but he received training by the best European anatomist of the 17th and 18th centuries and His books on the brain and sensory predate that of Fechner and Mundt by one hundred years.
b) In the negative bias in science thoughts and feelings are just neurons interacting with chemicals and other neurons. Monism in neuroscience and cognitive science says that conscious awareness of feeling and thought is not real and that the conscious self that we each perceive of ourselves is basically neurochemical firings in the brain. These neurochemical firings can be measured, but only a pattern, color, or number is achieved, not a feeling or a thought
c) My view on this controversy is that I would have to agree with Swedenborg because I believe that my feelings and thought are real. Nothing in science right now can show where thoughts and feelings come from. When dissect the brain we do not see thoughts and feelings inside. But instead we see blood, cells, neurons and various brain matters. So if I were to choose between the negative and positive biases in science I would have to go with the positive bias of substantive dualism because it gives the best description of where our thoughts and feelings come from.
Question 13.6
Section 1.6.8 discusses how Divine Speech inflows into the mental world by levels, and each level is lower in rationality than the level above it, until it reaches the natural level of Sacred Scripture in a natural language. Describe this process in your own words, as if you were giving a speech about it to people interested in spirituality.
First off there are six levels each of which is located within the prior level. For example, we start at level 1, then level 2 is located in level 1, then level 3 is located in level 2, etc. The outer level or level 1 is considered to be the most inferior of the levels, while the inner most level or level 6 is considered to be the most superior of the levels.
Level 1 is the Old Testament mentality. It is called the natural corporeal because we use the literal meaning of the Old Testament and the harshness and sectarian content of this literal meaning form our mentality. It is corporeal because the correspondences are written with an external relationship with God that is limited to life in the natural world. At this level God controls the physical realm and wants us to participate in rituals of worship and self-purification. The afterlife is on earth. Also God is acknowledged as infinite, all-powerful and the one that controls the universe by laws and rules. This level creates the 1st consciousness of rationality because it acknowledges that God exists.
Level 2 is called the New Testament mentality and is a sensuous mind formed by the natural sensuous correspondences in which the text is written. The literal meaning of the text in the New Testament contains ideas and concepts that are not in the Old Testament. WHY? Because the people who wrote the New Testament had a higher rationality of God because it was during the time when God became a human. Level 2 is higher than level 1 because not only does one recognize that God is omnipotent and omnipresent, but human as well. Another reason is that God is present in the mind because He is a spirit and a spirit is eternal.
Level 3 is the Writings of Swendenborg mentality, which is a rational mind formed by the natural-rational correspondences in which the test is written. At this level we understand and learn that the Divine Human is inside our mind and takes part in its formation from our birth to eternity. Level 3 is higher than level 2 in that it relies on the rational understanding of the Divine Human and not the sensuous knowledge of God. The literal meanings of the Writings of Swedenborg are called natural-rational correspondences because they provide God’s purposes and methods of managing the universe. An example of level 3 mentalities would be Heaven and Hell. In level 2 Heaven and Hell is seen as a connector to God. Those who live their life accordingly are given eternal life in Heaven and those who separate themselves from God and reject His rules will live eternity in Hell. But at level 3 those who chose to live without God’s order develop minds that avoid Heaven. They hate the feeling of altruistic loves, which they would feel in Heaven and they would prefer an environment where they can express their selfish loves and irrational beliefs. It is only in that environment where they will really feel alive. Another example is prayer. In level 1 and 2 when we pray to God we believe that our prayer can influence His decision. But at level 3 we understand that God has already determined the past, present and future. God predetermines everything and we cannot affect His decision by prayer. God is omnipotent and omnipresent and is the one who puts ideas in our mind so that we are able to pray. At level 3 praying is not seen as a bad thing, but as a way to acknowledge God’s presence and this in turn raises our rationality.
Level 4 is called phase 1 Theistic Psychology and is the extraction of knowledge from the literal meaning of the Writings of Swedenborg, which are written in natural-rational correspondences. It is also called the 1st Heaven. At this level we apply the same extraction methods we use in the Writings of Swedenborg and apply them to all Sacred Scripture to find the hidden meanings and correspondences within them. This level is also called the interior-rational mind because it is within the natural-rational mind or level 3. This level contains the interior-natural organ of the mind. It is located in the natural mind, but receives input from the spiritual world not the physical world. It is known as a virtual Heaven capable of consciously representing to us higher order correspondences of Divine Speech.
Level 5 is known as phase 2 Theistic Psychology. It contains spiritual-rational correspondences and the exterior-rational organ. It is also known as the 2nd Heaven. This level is unconscious while we are still on earth.
Level 6 is known as phase 3 Theistic Psychology. It contains celestial-rational correspondences and the interior-rational organ. It is also known as the 3rd Heaven. This level is unconscious while we are still on earth.
Question 13.7
a) Discuss the 6 "Levels of Rational Mentality" in Section 1.6.8. Can you comprehend these levels of thinking about God?
a) The outer level or level 1 is considered to be the most inferior of the levels, while the inner most level or level 6 is considered to be the most superior of the levels.
Level 1 is the Old Testament mentality. It is called the natural corporeal because we use the literal meaning of the Old Testament and the harshness and sectarian content of this literal meaning form our mentality. It is corporeal because the correspondences are written with an external relationship with God that is limited to life in the natural world. At this level God controls the physical realm and wants us to participate in rituals of worship and self-purification. The afterlife is on earth. Also God is acknowledged as infinite, all-powerful and the one that controls the universe by laws and rules. This level creates the 1st consciousness of rationality because it acknowledges that God exists.
Level 2 is called the New Testament mentality and is a sensuous mind formed by the natural sensuous correspondences in which the text is written. The literal meaning of the text in the New Testament contains ideas and concepts that are not in the Old Testament. WHY? Because the people who wrote the New Testament had a higher rationality of God because it was during the time when God became a human. Level 2 is higher than level 1 because not only does one recognize that God is omnipotent and omnipresent, but human as well. Another reason is that God is present in the mind because He is a spirit and a spirit is eternal.
Level 3 is the Writings of Swendenborg mentality, which is a rational mind formed by the natural-rational correspondences in which the test is written. At this level we understand and learn that the Divine Human is inside our mind and takes part in its formation from our birth to eternity. Level 3 is higher than level 2 in that it relies on the rational understanding of the Divine Human and not the sensuous knowledge of God. The literal meanings of the Writings of Swedenborg are called natural-rational correspondences because they provide God’s purposes and methods of managing the universe.
Level 4 is called phase 1 Theistic Psychology and is the extraction of knowledge from the literal meaning of the Writings of Swedenborg, which are written in natural-rational correspondences. It is also called the 1st Heaven. At this level we apply the same extraction methods we use in the Writings of Swedenborg and apply them to all Sacred Scripture to find the hidden meanings and correspondences within them. This level is also called the interior-rational mind because it is within the natural-rational mind or level 3. This level contains the interior-natural organ of the mind. It is located in the natural mind, but receives input from the spiritual world not the physical world. It is known as a virtual Heaven capable of consciously representing to us higher order correspondences of Divine Speech.
Level 5 is known as phase 2 Theistic Psychology. It contains spiritual-rational correspondences and the exterior-rational organ. It is also known as the 2nd Heaven. This level is unconscious while we are still on earth.
Level 6 is known as phase 3 Theistic Psychology. It contains celestial-rational correspondences and the interior-rational organ. It is also known as the 3rd Heaven. This level is unconscious while we are still on earth.
Yes I can comprehend these levels of thinking of God. I believe that this chart has helped better explain the complexity of Theistic Psychology to me. This chart on the levels of thinking of God clearly illustrates the types of thinking humans beings have. I believe the chart is so easy to read that one could take the literal sense and clearly understand what is meant. I also believe that accepting God into my life and the universe around me has helped my understanding of the levels of thinking. It gives me the logic of understanding what each level up to level 4 is like and where ones rational will be at that level. To me the chart is like a six story pyramid. Level 1 the most general and is the bottom level of the pyramid. This level is the most inferior of the six. The highest level is level 6, which is the top level of the pyramid. This level is the most superior of the six levels.
a) Why is it important for God to talk to or communicate with human beings?
b) What does God intend to talk to us about? Why?
c) How does God talk to us or communicate with us?
d) Is there anything relevant you'd like to say about your relationship to your conscience and to Sacred Scripture?
It is important for God to communicate with us because if he did not, then we would not have any form of rationality and we would be like any other irrational animal like a dog, cat or mouse. God’s knowledge through His written Divine Speech and our conscience is what separates us from the other animals in the animal kingdom on earth. Communication with human beings also gives us a chance to live an altruistic and meaningful life. Without God’s guidance the human race on earth would be living a life of hellish traits. And there would be no examples of good and truth for human beings to live by. This in turn would severely decrease the population of Heaven to just God and I would assume that He would be very lonely by himself. Another reason why God communicates with us is to give us a choice to act in our heavenly or hellish traits, which determines how we will live in eternity (heavenly or hellish). If we accept His knowledge and wisdom we live a heavenly eternity and are allowed to enter Heaven as long as we have our conjugial love. But if we deny His knowledge and wisdom we will end up living
Eternity in our
hellish traits and will not have an opportunity to go to Heaven
b) In Sacred Scripture God talks to us about how we should live a life of morality, fairness, kindness, helpfulness and other heavenly traits. In Sacred Scripture one can extract the literal meaning and morality of the story. But it is only through correspondences can we grasp the real “hidden” meaning. These correspondences in Sacred Scripture not only tell us to live a life of heavenly traits, but also talk about how the negative bias in science clouds our vision of God and only the positive bias in science can bring Him back into our sight.
In our conscience God communicates with us by speaking to us internally. His internal voice speaks of morality, fairness, respect and other heavenly traits. This conscience gives us the opportunity to make the right heavenly decision or the hellish decision. For example, if we had a chance to cheat on a test it is God in our mind that says, “don’t do it. It is not right and immoral”. If we listen to God or our conscience, then we live within our heavenly traits and if we do not listen to God or our conscience, then we live within our hellish traits.
A chief rule that we must remember in making these types of moral decisions is that we must love the self for the sake of others and love the world for the sake of others.
c) First of all God speaks to us in two ways, through Sacred Scripture and through our conscience. Sacred Scripture is the external communication with God. It allows us to see the knowledge put forth by the Divine Psychologist in our natural language. Take for example the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament, which teaches of fairness, loyalty, and respect as traits that one must acquire to be accepted into Heaven. If we do not live a life with these traits, then we will go to Hell. This sets up the basis for resuscitation. According to the positive bias in science if we live in our heavenly traits in our natural life we will live a heavenly eternity and if we lived in our hellish traits in our natural life we will live in eternity in our hellish traits.
As for our conscience it is the internal communication we have with God. It is known as the “inner voice” because it seems as though there is an internal voice talking, judging, analyzing, warning, confirming or disconfirming decisions or situations in our life (Rationality). This gives us the opportunity to live a life through fairness, good thought, respect and other heavenly traits.
d) Yes, in regards to my conscience I did not know prior to learning of Theistic Psychology that it was God speaking to me. I have always thought that it was just myself influencing my decisions. My past perception of my conscience consisted of an angel and a devil sitting on my shoulder trying to influence me to choose a side. But it helps to know that it is God who is speaking to us in our mind and is guiding us through life. What I do not understand is what if we must make a decision that is extremely hard to make? Like saving a family member or a friend from death when we can only save one or the other. Or eating fruit salad or a bagel when we can only afford one or the other. Those are some hard decisions, how do we decide what to do when in our minds God is telling us to do both when we cannot?