The Third Round: How the Proprium Divides Itself into Parts to Bind Us to Negative Mental States

From the work, Arcana Coelestia 6097

All temptations appear evil, for the reason that they are interior anxieties and griefs, and as it were damnations; for the man is then let into the state of his evils, consequently among evil spirits, who accuse him, and thus torment the conscience; nevertheless the angels defend him, that is, the Lord through angels, for the Lord keeps him in hope and trust, which are the forces of combat from within whereby he resists. Especially is the natural let into temptations when it is receiving the spiritual, because in the natural reside evils of life and falsities of doctrine.

From the work, Spiritual Experiences 4067

WHAT IT IS TO BE NOTHING.
It was perceived that when the most deceitful spirits above the head spoke among themselves, wishing even to destroy me, they said they could not do it, because there was nothing of me to be found, but if there had been anything, they could have done it. It was then perceived, and so represented, that for one to be anything, so as to have a proprium, was to present something which they could assault and destroy, as the most deceitful would then have it in their power. But when it was represented that I was, as it were, nothing, then they seemed to themselves, to have no power over that which thus appeared as nothing, for they would then have nothing to assault. Thus he is safe who in true faith believes himself to be nothing. – 1748, November 25.

From the work, Arcana Coelestia 10219.3

[3] But so long as a man believes that he does all things of himself, both goods and evils, so long goods do not affect him, and evils adhere to him; but the moment that he acknowledges and believes that goods flow in from the Lord, and not from himself, and that evils are from hell, then goods affect him and evils do not adhere to him; and, moreover, insofar as goods affect him, so far evils are removed, thus he is purified and liberated from them. But so long as the state of man is such that he cannot perceive and be sensible of the influx of goods from the Lord, so long he does goods as from himself, and yet ought to acknowledge and believe that they are from the Lord. When this is the case, he also is liberated from evils; but in order that he may be liberated from evils this acknowledgment must be the confession of the heart itself, and not of the lips only.

From the work, Divine Providence 312.4

[4] Evil spirits have often injected evils and falsities into my thought, and these evils and falsities have appeared to me to be in me and to be produced by me, as though I myself were thinking them. But because I realized that they were evils and falsities, I looked to see what spirits had injected them, and having discovered them drove them away, and they were at a considerable distance from me.
It can be seen from this that every evil with its accompanying falsity flows in from hell, while every good with its accompanying truth flows in from the Lord, and that both appear to be contained in the person.

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Kirsten Schoenberger
Kirsten Schoenberger
4 years ago

Thank you so much for this post, David. Seeing the way the proprium works helps me deal with those crazy states of thinking “I can’t do this; I can’t do that” that so often hold me back in life!
I really like how the references state these truths about the proprium so clearly.