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From the Spiritual Diary 2099

From manifold and daily experience now for three years it is given me to know that man and spirit is compelled to think and speak that which the Lord permits or allows; for whether I willed or not, I must needs think and speak. It is similar with spirits who are compelled to speak contrary to what they think, nor can they possibly desist, for they are united into a society with others, and thus carried away by a stream, as it were, of thinking and speaking: concerning which thing the spirits complained, to wit, those who supposed that of themselves they think and speak all things, and that this is not the case was shown to them, as also to me, by living experience. Moreover, when it is not made manifest, or when it is not given to reflect upon it, everyone thinks, man, soul, and spirit, that they speak of themselves; wherefore they are taught by such experience that they may know that they are nothing, because they cannot think nor speak of themselves, although they think so. Evil spirits, notwithstanding they are instructed by such experience, their own and others, as also that it is permitted them to compel other spirits to speak with themselves, still are not willing to believe that it is so, because it is repugnant to their self-love; for they desire to be competent to perform, and effect each and everything from themselves.

From the work, Heaven and Hell 292

292. With every individual there are good spirits and evil spirits. Through the good spirits, man has conjunction with heaven, and through the evil spirits with hell. These spirits are in the world of spirits, which lies midway between heaven and hell. This world will be described particularly in the following pages. When these spirits come to a man they enter into his entire memory, and thus into his entire thought, evil spirits into the evil things of his memory and thought, and good spirits into the good things of his memory and thought. These spirits have no knowledge at all that they are with a man, but when they are with him they believe that all things of his memory and thought are their own. Neither do they see the man, because nothing that is in our solar world falls within their vision.# The Lord exercises the greatest care that the spirits should not know that they are with a man; for if they knew it, they would speak with him. In that case evil spirits would destroy him. For evil spirits, being conjoined with hell, desire nothing so much as to destroy man, not alone his soul, that is, his faith and love, but also his body. It is otherwise when spirits do not speak with man, in which case they are not aware that what they are thinking and also what they are saying among themselves is from man. For they even speak among themselves from man, but believe that what they are thinking and saying is their own, and each esteems and loves what is his own. In this way, spirits are constrained to love and esteem man, although they do not know it. That such is the conjunction of spirits with man has become so well known to me as a result of many years’ continual experience that there is nothing better known to me.

From the work, Apocalypse Explained 1182.4

[4] Continuation.- Something shall now be said on the subject of spirits speaking with man. Many persons believe that man can be taught by the Lord by means of spirits speaking with him. But those who believe this, and desire to do so, are not aware that it is associated with danger to their souls. Man as to his spirit, as long as he lives in the world, is in the midst of spirits, but still the spirits do not know that they are with him, nor is he aware that he is with spirits. The reason is, that they are conjoined immediately as to the affections of the will, and mediately as to the thoughts of the understanding. For man thinks naturally, but spirits think spiritually; and natural and spiritual thought make one only by correspondence; it is this that prevents men and spirits from knowing anything of each other. But as soon as spirits begin to speak with man, they come out of their own spiritual state into man’s natural state, and being then aware that they are with man, they conjoin themselves with the thoughts of his affection, and from these thoughts they speak with him. They can enter only into his natural state, for similar affection with the thought derived from it effects conjunction in all cases, but dissimilar affection causes separation.

It is owing to this circumstance, that when a spirit speaks he is in the same principles as the man with whom he speaks, whether these are true or false; and further, that he calls them into activity, and by means of his own affection conjoined to that of the man’s strongly confirms them. Hence it is evident that only similar spirits speak with man, or manifestly act upon him; for manifest action coincides with speech.