ACV8 S35 6598-6626

Click to Print Reading 6598. Continuation about influx, and about the interaction of the soul and the body. It is known that one man excels another in the capacity to understand and perceive what is honorable in moral life, what is just in civil life, and what is good in spiritual life. The cause of this consists in the elevation of the thought to the things that pertain to heaven, whereby the thought is withdrawn from the external things of sense; for they who think solely from things of sense cannot see one whit of what is honorable, just, and good, and therefore they trust to others and speak much from the memory, and thereby appear to themselves wiser than others. But they who are able to think above the things of sense, provided the things in the memory have been set in order, possess a greater capacity than others to understand and perceive, and this according to the degree in which they view things from what is interior. 6599. How the case is with those who think in the sensuous degree, and with those who think above this, and also what is the nature of the influx into the latter and into the former, I may state from experience. But first be it known that the thought of man is divided into ideas, and that one idea follows another, as one word follows another in speech. Yet the ideas of thought succeed each other so quickly that while he is in the body a man's thought appears to him as if it were continuous, and thus as if there were no division. But in the other life it is self-evident that the thought is divided into ideas; for speech is then effected by means of ideas (see n. 2470, 2478, 2479). It is now necessary to say how the case is with thought and its ideas, namely, that the thought diffuses itself into the societies of spirits and of angels round about, and that the capacity to understand and perceive is according to the extension into these societies, that is, according to the influx from them; and in the next place that there are countless things in one idea of thought, and still more in one thought composed of ideas. 6600. I have been clearly shown that man's thought, and also that of spirits and of angels, pours itself around into many societies in the spiritual world, but the thought of one person in a different way from the thought of another. In order that I might know this for certain, I have been allowed to speak with some societies to which my thought had penetrated, and from this I was given to know what flowed into the thought, from what society it came, and also where and of what quality the society was, so that I could not be mistaken. The capacity of understanding and perceiving in man, spirit, and angel is in accordance with the extension of his thoughts and affections into the societies. [2] He who is in the good of charity and of faith has extension into the societies of heaven, ample according to the degree in which he is in them, and in which he is in genuine good; for these things are in agreement with heaven, and therefore flow in there spontaneously and widely. Yet there are some societies into which the affection of truth, and others into which the affection of good, penetrates. The affection of truth penetrates to the societies of the spiritual angels, but the affection of good to the societies of the celestial angels. But on the other hand the thought and affection of those who are in evil and falsity have extension into infernal societies, and this also according to the degree of evil and falsity with them. [3] It is said that the thought and affection of man, spirit, and angel pour themselves around into the societies, and that from this come the understanding and perception; but be it known that it is so said according to the appearance, for there is no influx of the thoughts and affections into the societies; but from the societies, and this through the angels and spirits with the man. For as has been shown at the end of preceding chapters, all influx comes from what is more interior; thus with the good from heaven (that is, through heaven from the Lord), and with the evil from hell. 6601. One morning it was plainly shown that there are countless things in every idea and little affection, and also that these ideas and affections penetrate into societies. I was kept for some time in a certain affection and consequent thought, and it was then shown how many societies concurred. There were five societies that plainly showed themselves by living discourse. They told what they were thinking, and also that they had noticed that the same thoughts were in me; and they said in addition that they knew things I paid no attention to, namely, the causes of the things being thought of, and also the ends of these. The rest of the societies (which were many) to which my thought was extended, were not so plainly shown; and were also more remote. The extension of the thought from the objects which are the things being thought of, is circumstanced as are the objects of sight. From these a sphere of rays diffuses itself to a considerable distance, which falls into a man's sight, and this to a greater or less distance according to the brightness and flaming in the object; for if the object is flaming, it is seen at a much greater distance than if it is cloudy and dusky. It is the same with the internal sight (which is that of the thought) from its objects. The objects of this sight are not material, like objects in this world; but they are spiritual, and therefore they diffuse themselves to such things as are in the spiritual world, thus to truths and goods there, consequently to the societies which are in these truths and goods; and just as a flaming object in this world shines around far and wide, so does good and its affection in the spiritual world; for flame corresponds to the affection of good. From all this it can be seen that the quality of a man's life is altogether according to the societies into which his thought and affection extend themselves, and according to the quality and amount of this extension. 6602. That the spheres of the thoughts and affections extend themselves round about into the spheres of societies which are far from the spot, was made evident to me also from the fact that while I was thinking from affection about such things as had a certain specific action on a distant society, the people in it spoke with me on the same subject, telling what they felt. This has been done repeatedly. One society was at the right, at a considerable distance, in the plane of the lower part of the chest; and another also was at the right, but nearer, in the plane of the knees. Distance is perceived from the state of the affection of truth and good. Insofar as the state of one society differs from the state of another, so far the societies appear to be remote from each other. 6603. But be it known that the thoughts and affections which penetrate into societies do not in a specific manner move the societies to think and will as does the man, spirit, or angel, from whom the thoughts and affections go forth; but they enter into the universal sphere of the affection and consequent thought of these societies. Consequently the societies know nothing about the matter; for the spiritual sphere in which all societies are, is varied with each society; and when the thoughts and affections enter into this sphere, the societies are not affected. All thoughts and affections enter into the spheres of the societies with which they are in agreement. Hence it is that there exist extensions in every direction in freedom, like the extension of rays from objects in this world, which freely penetrate all around to the sight of everyone who stands there, with variety according to the clearness and the dullness of the sight, and also according to the serenity or obscurity of the atmosphere. In the spiritual world the affection of knowing truth and good corresponds to the serenity of the atmosphere. 6604. There has occasionally appeared to me an angel, whose face, very plainly seen, was continually varied according to affections, as these succeeded one another with him in order, thus from one limit to the other-the universal ruling affection still remaining, by which it could be known that it was the same angel. And I was instructed that the changes of his face came from the societies with which he had communication, and that they came forth in accordance with the variations of the communication, as this was nearer with one society than with another, and so on in succession. For the extension of the affections and thoughts has its limits, and in the last societies vanishes, and passes away as does the sight into the universe. Within the limits of this general sphere the thoughts and affections can be varied, and may now be nearer to one society, and now to another. When they are in the midst of one, then the rest of the societies are to that one in the circumference; and so on with all variations in these limits. 6605. It is worthy of note, that as the universal heaven bears relation to a man, who from this is called the Grand Man (as shown at the end of many chapters), so each society in like manner bears relation to a man; for the image of the universal heaven flows into the societies, and causes them to be like it; and not only into the societies, but also into the individuals in the society, whence each individual has a human form; for everyone in an angelic society is a heaven in least form. The varieties of their human form are in accordance with the quality of good and of truth with them. Hence it is that every spirit and angel appears in a form wholly in accordance with the communication of his thoughts and affections with the societies. Hence the more they are in good and truth, so are they in a more beautiful form. But if the communication of the thoughts and affections has been diffused into societies not according to heavenly order,...