A Man of the Field
Forming The
Volume 1: Reformation
The
Struggle Against Nonduality
Volume 2: Enlightenment
The
Spiritual Sense of the Writings
Volume 3: Regeneration
Spiritual
Disciplines For Daily Life
Volume 4: Uses
The New
Church Mind In Old Age
By Leon
James
October
2002
(draft 16a)
Author
information appears at the end. This document is in the process of being
revised. Please note the draft version marked on top. To print this document,
see Printing Note at the end.
A ìfieldî means doctrine (AC 368)
A "man" signifies faith
and truth (AC 427; 4823)
Because 'field' means doctrine
anyone receiving any seed of faith, whether the individual, the Church, or the
world, is called a field. (AC 368)
Volume 2
Enlightenment:
Extracting
The Spiritual Sense of the Writings
Chapter
2
The
Substitution Technique
Table of Contents
Access other Chapters and Volumes here:
2. OT
And NT Through The Perspective Of The Writings
3.
The Daily Study Of The Writings Is Necessary For Regeneration
4.
Without The Spiritual Sense We Fall Into New Church Idolatries
5.
The Substitution Technique For Dualities In The Writings
7.
Cross/Parallels And Within-Parallels
8.
Reading The Writings As The Word
9.
Rational Understanding Of Spiritual Things
10.
Enhancing The Base Of Knowledge About The Writings
11.
The Letter Of The Writings Has Been Preserved
12.
An Example Of Spiritual Mathematics In The Writings
Titles for the Abbreviated Citations in the Book
Full Text
Free Online Access to All Swedenborgís Writings:
Uses: The
Innocence of Old Age
Ýwww.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/nonduality.html
Every
spiritual truth in the Writings
is a Divine Commandment
XII. ENLIGHTENMENT BY MEANS OF THE WORD.
Every man who is in the spiritual affection of truth, that
is, who loves truth itself because it is truth, is enlightened by the Lord when
he reads the Word; but not the man who reads it from mere natural affection of
truth, which is called the desire of knowing. The latter does not see anything
except what agrees with his love, or with the principles which he has either
himself adopted, or derived from others by hearing or reading.
In a few words therefore it shall be told whence and with
what man there is enlightenment by means of the Word. That man has
enlightenment who shuns evils because they are sins, and because they are
against the Lord, and against His Divine laws. With this man and with no other,
the spiritual mind is opened, and so far as it is opened, the light of heaven
enters, from which light is all enlightenment in the Word.
For man then has a will for good, and this will, when it is
determined to that use, becomes in the understanding first the affection of
truth, then the perception of truth, soon by means of rational light the
thought of truth, thus decision and conclusion, which as it passes thence into
the memory, also passes into the life, and so remains.
This is the way of all enlightenment in the Word, and also
the way of reformation and regeneration of man. But first the memory must needs
have knowledges both of spiritual and natural things, for these are the stores
into which the Lord operates by means of the light of heaven, and the fuller
these are and freer from confirmed falsities, the more enlightened is the
perception given and the clearer the conclusion.
For the Divine operation does not fall into a man who is
empty and void, as for example one who does not know that the Lord is pure love
and pure mercy, good itself, and truth itself, and that love itself and good
itself are such in their essence that they cannot do evil to anyone, neither be
angry nor revengeful; or who does not know that the Word in the sense of the
letter is written in many places from appearances. Such a man cannot be
enlightened by the Word Ö (DE VERBO 12)
Are you
willing to substitute ìthe Writingsî where it says ìthe Wordî in the above
passage? Try it and see what objections come up in your mind. Are these
objections confirmed in your mind as a thesis or doctrine, or are they a merely
a vague reaction of unease due to assumptions acquired in the past from
somewhere?
In my case
I can tell you that I have no such objections because it is something I
automatically and spontaneously started doing the minute I was confirmed in my
mind that the Writings are the Word of the Lord in His Second Coming. The very
first time I started reading the Writings around age 40 it never occurred to me
to doubt anything about it as I was proceeding. The same experience is true for
my wife who was reading some other volume on another chair in the room. From a
logical point of view it doesnít make sense to say ìThis is the Wordî and then
a minute later to say ìBut I cannot substitute ìthe Writingsî where it says ìthe
Word.î All sorts of objections can be raised but none of them must be allowed
to lead to less certitude that the Writings are the Word.
One type of
reasoning that gives temptations is this: In many places it is obvious that the
Writings are referring to the Old Testament when referring to ìthe Wordî since
it then goes on to discuss some verses in the Old Testament (xx). Similarly
with places where the Writings say ìthe Wordî and clearly refer to the New
Testament as it goes on to discuss some NT verses. (xx). This
is entirely correct. Nevertheless, one
must not from this draw the conclusion that therefore only that Testament is
meant!
It is a
logical point. To say that the Writings is referring
to the Old Testament does not mean that the deeper meaning does not apply to
the New Testament or to the Writings. Consider this idea: Whenever the Writings refer to ìthe Wordî the statement applies to all
three portions of the Word. This makes total sense! We know from the
Writings that the Word in the literal contains infinite things and only some of
those can be extracted by the human race to eternity (AC 4383). This is what it
means to say that the Word is Divine Truth for this is infinite (xx). Whenever
the Writings refers to the Word the Lord is saying something
to us about the totality of His Word, in all three portions: The Hebrew Word,
the Greek Word, and the Latin Word; or, the Old Testament, the New Testament,
and the Third Testament.
And I can
tell you that the minute any
Therefore
let us get back to the quote above and summarize the passage in the following
six propositions:
(1)
ìENLIGHTENMENT BY MEANS OF THE WORDî
This means
that the
(2) ìEvery
man who is in the spiritual affection of truth, that is, who loves truth itself
because it is truth, is enlightened by the Lord when he reads the Word; but not
the man who reads it from mere natural affection of truth, which is called the
desire of knowing.î
This means
that when reading the Writings, it is the Lord Himself who is enlightening us.
This fits with what the Writings say in numerous places that the Word is the
Lord Himself (LORD 2). Note that this enlightenment does not yet happen before
our reformation since until that time we read the Writings out of a desire for
knowing. We do this fro many reasons: for example, it is required for a course
in which we want to excel, or, to please a parent or
teacher or minister; or, because we see it as part of the tradition of
knowledge; and many other reasons. But at our reformation in adulthood we have
a new motive for reading the Writings, and this motive is the spiritual
affection we have for it since we worship the letter of the Writings as the
Lord Himself, just as the angels do (xx).
(3) ìWith
this man and with no other, the spiritual mind is opened, and so far as it is
opened, the light of heaven enters, from which light is all enlightenment in
the Word.î
This means
that when we read the Writings as the Word our spiritual mind is opened and we
receive into it perception from the angels who are with us while we read the
Writings. This is what I said above, that you will experience an IMMEDIATE
change in what you see in the Writings when you begin reading it in the new way, that is, applying to the Writings everything that is
said in it about ìthe Word.î
(4) ìFor
man then has a will for good, and this will, when it is determined to that use,
becomes in the understanding first the affection of truth, then the perception
of truth, soon by means of rational light the thought of truth, thus decision
and conclusion, which as it passes thence into the memory, also passes into the
life, and so remains.î
This means
that when we read what it says about the Word as applying to the Writings, the
new perception of truth in our spiritual mind, descends
into our rational consciousness in full awareness so that we can think and
reason at that spiritual level about our everyday activities. Our willing and
thinking moment by moment all day long is changes because of this new
perception in the Writings. This new meaning is a more interior truth we could
not see before, and it now forms the Doctrine in our mind. This new Doctrine in
our mind is more interior and spiritual than what it was before. And as a
result the Lord can implant in it higher good, celestial good, for this can
exist only in interior rational truths. Thus we make progress in our
regeneration.
(5) ìThis
is the way of all enlightenment in the Word, and also the way of reformation
and regeneration of man. But first the memory must needs have knowledges both
of spiritual and natural things, for these are the stores into which the Lord
operates by means of the light of heaven, and the fuller these are and freer
from confirmed falsities, the more enlightened is the perception given and the
clearer the conclusion.î
This means
that our reformation and regeneration can progress only to the extent that we
are enlightened when reading the Writings and can see deeper spiritual truths
that we internalize as our Doctrine in the mind and from which we then change
our willing and thinking all day long. It says that ìfirst the memory must needs have knowledges both of spiritual and natural things.î
We cannot be enlightened as soon as we start reading the Writings. We must
first accumulate sufficient knowledge from its natural and spiritual
scientifics. The natural scientifics of the Writings refer to the Memorable
Relations, the scientific facts and illustrations, and Earths in the Universe,
the details about the resuscitation of the dead, and some others. The spiritual
scientifics refer to correspondences, discrete degrees, the Laws of Divine
Providence and Permissions, the details about influx, and some others. Once
these natural and spiritual scientifics are in our memory, they remain there
and are continued to be built up until reformation. At this point these
scientifics in our mind become ìstores into which the Lord operates by means of
the light of heaven.î This starts us on the road of enlightenment and
consequent regeneration by the Lord through the Writings .
(6) ìthe
Lord is pure love and pure mercy, good itself, and truth itself, and that love
itself and good itself are such in their essence that they cannot do evil to
anyone, neither be angry nor revengeful; or who does not know that the Word in
the sense of the letter is written in many places from appearances. Such a man
cannot be enlightened by the Word ì
This means
that our enlightenment is proportional to the extent to which we shun whatever
is not from the Lord, that is, whatever is not pure, in our daily willing and
thinking. We can read and study the Writings as the Word and be enlightened
while we read since we are then imbued with an affection
for it as the Lord. This has happened to me numerous times. But ask my wife
whether I was still imbued with such an affection a
few minutes later when I laid down the Book and busied myself with the
activities and with interacting with her. All of a sudden I was back ìthe old
me,î acting out the impure things in my willing and thinking. The statement above
did not apply to me--ìcannot do evil to anyone, neither be angry nor
revengefulîófor I did do evil to my neighbor, and did get angry, and did have
vengeful thoughts!
This is
what happens to all of us, I assume. The change or reformation occurs only when
we are actually ready to take charge of our willing and thinking as they run
themselves off in our mind moment by moment, all day long. And there is no
other logical way of doing this without monitoring the moment by moment flow of
our thinking and willing. (See Chapter 9)
2. OT
And NT Through The Perspective Of The Writings
If we could
be saved by the Old and New Testaments then the Writings were not necessary!
The salvation of the
As we have now one God in the church, who is God Man and Man
God, this church is called the crown of all the churches. (INV 43)
These are evidences that this has been granted for the sake
of the
There have been four periods, or successive states, of each
church, which in the Word are meant by "morning," "day,"
"evening," and "night."
(Ö)
After these things, from good elevated to Himself, He founds
a new heaven, and from the evil removed from Himself, a new hell; and in both He
establishes order, so that they may stand under His auspices and under
obedience to Him to eternity; and then through this new heaven He successively
inaugurates and establishes a new church on earth. (CORONIS 0)
Many other
passages say similar things (e.g., AR 68, 73; TCR 786-788; AE 91-92; and
others). You can see from these considerations that there is not going to be an
endless procession of Churches in the evolution of our race. There are a
definite number of steps or phases through which the Lord brings the human
race, so that He might complete His creation, which is that we become celestial
minds capable of living in His New Heavens. The
The
benefits for the
This mental
discipline of rational deconstruction is also appropriate to apply to the
nonduality of science today. Every scientific concept we learn should be decontextualized
from material monism and recontextualized in terms of substantive dualism (see
Note 1 at end). In my view it could be harmful to let scientific assumptions
sit in our mind without infusing them with natural/spiritual dualism. I
understand that the Academy of the
3. The
Daily Study Of The Writings Is Necessary For Regeneration
A crucial
mental discipline for the
q reading systematically from the
Writings
q analyzing sentences for deeper
comprehension
q keeping notes
q making applications to our actions
q cumulating the knowledge and
integrating it to hold together
q collating and contrasting passages
q resolving apparent contradictions
through context
q making up summary diagrams, tables,
and lists
q constructing a comprehension theory
that strives towards more and more integration and inclusion
q and other like things.
Without
these scholarly activities, merely reading the Writings for familiarity or loyalty
does not constitute a mental discipline (though itís also a good thing to do in
its own right!).
WITHOUT
DOCTRINE, THE WORD IS UNINTELLIGIBLE. This is because the Word in the sense of
the Letter consists of pure correspondences, so designed that spiritual and
celestial things may be simultaneously in it, and that
every word of it may contain them and serve as their basis. For this reason in
some places in the sense of the Letter truths are not unveiled but veiled, and
being so, they are called appearances of truth. (SE 51)
Consider
this paragraph again, but this time substituting ìthe Writingsî where it says
ìthe Word.î This technique is discussed Chapter 8 in Section 4):
WITHOUT
DOCTRINE, THE WRITINGS IS UNINTELLIGIBLE. This is
because the Writings in the sense of the Letter consists of pure
correspondences, so designed that spiritual and celestial things may be
simultaneously in it, and that every word of it may
contain them and serve as their basis. For this reason in some places in the
sense of the Letter truths are not unveiled but veiled, and being so, they are
called appearances of truth. (SE 51)
I should
mention that a search facility such as NewSearch can be most helpful in
building up the Doctrine of the Church and the Doctrine of Life in our mind. New
Search is available on CD or on the Web at www.theheavenlydoctrines.org/
An approach that I have found very effective is to create a notebook or word
processing file that lists various topics Iím interested in and beneath each,
various citation numbers to the Writings with a sentence or two of explanation
for each citation or group of citations. When Bishop Pendletonís notes were
published by the
Since every
individual is unique from birth to eternity, every one therefore has a unique
intellectual and spiritual contribution to make to the entire race forever.
This is the source of the ever increasing perfection of the Grand Human or
Universal Heaven. (HH 71) Therefore we each want to make our own contribution
and this is facilitated by systematic and cumulative scholarly study of the
Writings. Of course, such contribution is accompanied by experiencing bliss. All that is required that we do it as a spiritual discipline
according to the Doctrine of Life in our mind.
I can share
a few strategies that I have learned to use with a search facility. I daily use
public Web search enginesóthe most effective is google.comóas well as New
Search on my computer. Let me give an illustration. I wrote down the topic
Discrete Degrees in my notebook or word processor file. Then I typed ìdiscrete
degreesî (using the quotes) in the search window and got nothing. I immediately
knew itís because I mistyped the query. I correct it and hit the Enter key. About
25 results show in the window. I run my eyes up and down and note that DLW
dominates, with just a few from LJP and one or two others. This tells me that
DLW gives a more systematic and substantial discussion of discrete degrees.
My strategy
next is to start with the earliest number in DLW. I read it and decide to copy
it, or parts of it, and paste it into my Topics file. I make sure I note its
citation (book and number). I also type any new understanding that comes with
reading the paragraph. I then. Sometimes I want to
click on the Next or Previous button, or else I go on the next number in the
sequence of the search results.
As I
continue doing this, the thought strikes me: ìHow is it possible that not a
single reference is made to AC? I decide this puzzle must be solved. I type in
a note so I can finish the DLW series later (I found this little detail to be
very important!). I change the search query: Instead of ìdiscrete degreesî I
type discrete, hit Enter, look at the results, and note that I get a lot more
references and that some of them include AC numbers. This makes sense. Now I
change the query again and type discrete near degrees, and hit Enter. I note
that that proximity marker for ìNearî is set a 3 words. This time I get about
25 results and they appear the same as before with the query ìdiscrete
degrees.î I conclude that many number contain the
phrase ìdiscrete degreesî but others use a somewhat different phrase, yet I
expect them to be relevant to the topic.
I type in
the query discrete and degrees once more, hit Enter, and scroll to the first
entry of AC and click on it. And so on with the other entries. I confirm my
hypothesis as in this selection: ìBut degrees of height, which proceed from
inmosts to outermosts, or from highest to lowest, are not continuous, but
discrete.î (AC 10181)
I will give
a second search illustration. Topic: Levels of thinking (and intellect)
Even if you
donít write articles or sermons this exercise is highly recommended. Every
All dualities are unique permanent distinctions that never
cease to eternity (DLW 226).
For such of them as believe the Word, believe it everywhere
according to the letter, and not according to its interior meaning; and those
who so believe cannot be in any light, for light from heaven flows in through
the internal into the external. (AC 10522)
Studying
the Writings as the Word in a systematic way is a mental discipline of utmost
importance to the formation of the