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‘He would fall down dead’

Arcana Coelestia 5849. The two spirits adjoined to man cause him to be in communication with hell, and the two angels cause him to be in communication with heaven. Without communication with heaven and hell, man could not live even a moment. If these communications were taken away, the man would fall dead as a stock; for then would be taken away the connection with the First Esse, that is, with the Lord. This has also been shown me by much experience. The spirits with me were removed a little, and then as they were removed I began as it were to expire, and indeed should have expired if they had not been sent back. But I know that few will believe there is any spirit with them, nor even that there are any spirits; and this chiefly for the reason that at this day there is no faith, because no charity, and thus it is not believed that there is a hell, nor even that there is a heaven, nor consequently that there is any life after death. Another reason is that they do not see spirits with their eyes; for they say, “If I should see, I would believe; what I see, this is; but what I do not see, I do not know whether it is.”

AC 4067…Everything that a man thinks and wills is from this source, insomuch that if the societies of spirits and angels in which he is were taken away, he would that moment have no thought and no will, and would even fall down absolutely dead. Such is the state of man, although he believes that he has all things from himself, and that there is neither a hell nor a heaven; or that hell is far removed from him, and heaven also.

All are connected to each other

AC 6193. As in this way spirits possess all things of a man’s thought and will, and angels things which are still more interior, and as the man is thus most closely conjoined with them, therefore the man must necessarily perceive and feel that it is he himself who thinks and wills; for the communications in the other life are of such a nature that in a society containing similar spirits each one believes that to be his own which is another’s. And therefore when the good come into heavenly society, they at once enter into all the intelligence and wisdom of that society, insomuch that they know no otherwise than that these are in themselves. And such also is the case with a man, and with a spirit who is attendant upon him. The things which flow in from the spirits who are from hell are evils and falsities, but those which flow in from the angels who are from heaven are goods and truths. Thus by means of influxes opposite to each other the man is kept in the midst, thus in freedom. As the things which flow in from the angels, flow in through the more inward interiors, they are not so apparent to the outward sense as are those which flow in from evil spirits. Moreover the angels are of such a character that they never desire to hear that the influxes of good and truth are from themselves, but that they are from the Lord, and they are indignant if it is thought otherwise; for they are in the manifest perception that it is so, and they love nothing more than to will and think not from themselves, but from the Lord. On the other hand, evil spirits are angry if told that they do not think and will from themselves, because this is contrary to the delight of their loves; and they are more angry when told that life is not in them, but that it flows in. When this is shown them by experience to the life, which has often been done, they then indeed confess that it is so, for they cannot speak contrary to experience; but still after some delay they deny it, and then they are not willing that it should be any further confirmed by experience.

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Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments offered in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to keep the focus on understanding the Text in terms of its application to the inner life along with reinforcing any key LP principles that have been highlighted in the exchanges.