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Emanuel Swedenborg talks about the three states that man passes through after death before he enters either heaven or hell: 491. There are three states that man passes through after death before he enters either heaven or hell. The first state is the state of his exteriors, the second state the state of his interiors, and the third his state of preparation. These states man passes through in the world of spirits. There are some, however, that do not pass through them; but immediately after death are either taken up into heaven or cast into hell. Those that are immediately taken up into heaven are those that have been regenerated in the world and thereby prepared for heaven. Those that have been so regenerated… are at once taken up by the angels into heaven… But all these are few in comparison with those that are retained in the world of spirits, and are there prepared in accordance with Divine order for heaven or for hell. 492. In regard to the first state, which is the state of the exteriors, it is that which man comes into immediately after death. Every man, as regards his spirit, has exteriors and interiors… 493. The first state of man after death resembles his state in the world, for he is then likewise in externals, having a like face, like speech, and a like disposition, thus a like moral and civil life; and in consequence he is made aware that he is not still in the world only by giving attention to what he encounters, and from his having been told by the angels when he was resuscitated that he had become a spirit. Thus is one life continued into the other, and death is merely transition. 494. …He is then recognized by his friends and by those he had known in the world… Whenever any one in the other life thinks about another he brings his face before him in thought, and at the same time many things of his life; and when he does this the other becomes present, as if he had been sent for or called. This is so in the spiritual world because thoughts there are shared… Very commonly husband and wife come together… and continue together, and this for a longer or shorter time… But if they had not been united by a true marriage love, which is a conjunction of minds by heavenly love, after remaining together for a while they separate…495. As the life of spirits recently from the world is not unlike their life in the natural world and as they know nothing about their state of life after death and nothing about heaven and hell except what they have learned from… the letter of the Word and preaching from it, they are at first surprised to find themselves in a body and in every sense [sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch] that they had in the world, and seeing like things; and they become eager to know what heaven is, what hell is, and where they are… They feel indignant at their total ignorance of such things, and at the ignorance of the church also. Nearly all are anxious to know whether they will get to heaven. Most of them… [are] wholly ignorant that external deeds and external acts of worship are of no avail, but only the internals from which the externals proceed. There is hardly one out of thousands who knows what internals are, and that it is in them that man must find heaven… Such for the most part are those that go… from the Christian world into the other life. 496. …Evil spirits are distinguished from good spirits chiefly by this, that the evil give eager attention to whatever is said about external things, and but little attention to what is said about internal things, which are the truths and goods of the church and of heaven. These they listen to, but not with attention and joy… 497. All spirits that arrive from the world are connected with some society in heaven or some society in hell… When they come into the second state, their evils become manifest, because their interiors are then opened and their exteriors laid asleep. 498. This first state of man after death continues with some for days, with some for months, and with some for a year; but seldom with any one beyond a year; for a shorter or longer time with each one according to the agreement or disagreement of his interiors with his exteriors… In the spiritual world no one is permitted to think and will in one way and speak and act in another. Every one there must be an image of his own affection or his own love, and therefore such as he is inwardly such he must be outwardly…499. The second state of man after death is called the state of his interiors, because he is then let into the interiors of his mind, that is, of his will and thought; while his exteriors, which he has been in during his first state, are laid asleep…501. Let it be understood that man is wholly such as his interiors are… This is because his interiors belong to his spirit, and the life of his spirit is the life of man, for from it his body lives; and because of this… he continues to be to eternity… The memory of man… continues after death…502. When the first state, which is the state of the exteriors, …has been passed through, the man-spirit is let into the state of his interiors, or into the state of his interior will and its thought, in which he had been in the world when left to himself to think freely and without restraint…504. All men without exception are let into this state after death, because it is their spirit’s own state…505. When the spirit is in the state of his interiors it becomes clearly evident what the man was in himself when he was in the world… He that had been in the world interiorly in good then acts rationally and wisely, and even more wisely than in the world, because he is released from connection with the body, and thus from those earthly things that caused obscurity and interposed as it were a cloud. But he that was in evil in the world then acts foolishly and insanely, and even more insanely than in the world, because he is free and under no restraint. For while he lived in the world he was sane in outward appearance, since by means of externals he made himself appear to be a rational man; but when he has been stripped of his externals his insanities are revealed. An evil man who in externals takes on the semblance of a good man may be likened to a vessel shining and polished on the outside and covered with a lid, within which filth of all kinds is hidden, in accordance with the Lord’s saying: -Ye are like whited sepulchers, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones and of all uncleanness (Matthew 23:27). 506. All that have lived a good life in the world and have acted from conscience, who are such as have acknowledged the Divine and haveloved Divine truths, especially such as have applied those truths to life, seem to themselves, when let into the state of their interiors, like one aroused from sleep into full wakefulness, or like one passing from darkness into light. They then think from the light of heaven, thus from an interior wisdom, and they act from good, thus from an interior affection. Heaven flows into their thoughts and affections with an interior blessedness and delight that they had previously had no knowledge of; for they have communication with the angels of heaven. They then acknowledge the Lord and worship Him from their very life… Such is the state of those that have lived a Christian life in accordance with the commandments in the Word. But the state of those that have lived an evil life in the world and who have had no conscience, and have in consequence denied the Divine, is the direct opposite of this. For every one who lives an evil life, inwardly in himself denies the Divine… When such in the other life enter into the state of their interiors, and are heard speaking and seen acting, they appear foolish; for from their evil lusts they burst forth into all sorts of abominations, into contempt of others, ridicule and blasphemy, hatred and revenge; they plot intrigues, some with a cunning and malice that can scarcely be believed to be possible in any man… For they are then in a state of freedom to act in harmony with the thoughts of their will, since they are separated from the outward conditions that restrained and checked them in the world…507. When in this second state spirits become visibly, just what they had been in themselves while in the world, what they then did and said secretly being now made manifest… having no longer any fear of loss of reputation, such as they had in the world. They are also brought into many states of their evils, that what they are may be evident to angels and good spirits. Thus are hidden things laid open and secret things uncovered, in accordance with the Lord’s words: There is nothing covered up that shall not he revealed, and hid that shall not be known. Whatsoever ye have said in the darkness shall be heard in the light, and what ye have spoken in the ear in the inner chambers shall be proclaimed on the housetops. (Luke 12:2,3). And elsewhere: -I say unto you: that every idle word that men shall speak they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. (Matthew 12:36) 508. The nature of the wicked in this state cannot be described in a few words, for each one is insane in accord with his own lusts, and these are various; therefore I will merely mention some special instances from which conclusions may be formed respecting the rest. Those that have loved themselves above everything… are more stupid in this second state that others; for so far as one loves himself he is separated from heaven, and so far as he is separated from heaven he is separated from wisdom… Nevertheless, the insanity of such is restrained by the Lord that it may not rush beyond the limits of use; for even such spirits perform some use. In them good spirits see what evil is and its nature, and what man is when he is not led by the Lord. Another of their uses is their collecting together evil spirits like themselves and separating them from the good… and are thus prepared for hell…509. When evil spirits are in this second state, as they rush into evils of every kind they are subjected to frequent and grievous punishments. In the world of spirits there are many kinds of punishment; and there is no regard for person, whether one had been in the world a king or a servant. Every evil carries its punishment with it… And yet no one in the other world suffers punishment on account of the evils that he had done in this world, but only on account of the evils that he then does… Every one after death… continues the same as he had been in the life of the body. Men are punished for the reason that the fear of punishment is the sole means of subduing evils in this state. Exhortation is no longer of any avail, neither is instruction or fear of the law and of the loss of reputation, since every one then acts from his nature; and that nature can be restrained and broken only by punishments. But good spirits, although they had done evils in the world, are never punished, because their evils do not return… 510. Every one goes to his own society in which his spirit had been in the world; for every man, as regards his spirit, is conjoined to some society… the evil man to an infernal [hellish] society and the good man to a heavenly society, and to that society he is brought after death. The spirit is led to his society gradually, and at length enters it. When an evil spirit is in the state of his interiors he is turned by degrees toward his own society, and at length, before that state is ended, directly to it; and when that state is ended he himself casts himself into the hell where those are who are like himself. This act of casting down appears to the sight like one falling headlong with the head downwards and the feet upwards. The cause of this appearance is that the spirit himself is in an inverted order, having loved infernal things and rejected heavenly things… Moreover, the society itself in which they had been as regards their spirit while in the world is shown to them when they are in the state of their exteriors, that they may thus learn that even while in the life of the body they were in hell, although not in the same state as those that are in hell itself…511. In this second state the separation of evil spirits from good spirits takes place. For in the first statethey are together, since while a spirit is in his exteriors he is as he was in the world… The separation of evil spirits from good spirits is effected by various means; in general by their being taken about to those societies with which in their first state they had communication… and everywhere what they really are is made manifest to good spirits. At the sight of them the good spirits turn away; and at the same time the evil spirits who are being led about turn their faces away from the good towards that quarter where their infernal society is, into which they are about to come…512. The third state of man after death, that is, of his spirit, is a state of instruction. This state is for those who enter heaven and become angels. It is not for those who enter hell, because such are incapable of being taught, and therefore their second state is also their third… Good spirits, on the other hand, are led from the second state into the third, which is the state of their preparation for heaven by means of instruction. For one can be prepared for heaven only by means of knowledges of good and truth, that is, only by means of instruction, since one can know what spiritual good and truth are, and what evil and falsity are, which are their opposites, only by being taught… Spiritual good and truth are learned from heaven, not from the world. They can be learned from the Word and from the doctrine of the church that is drawn from the Word and yet unless man in respect to his interiors which belong to his mind is in heaven spiritual good and truth cannot flow into his life; and man is in heaven when he both acknowledges the Divine and acts justly and honestly… But no one can so act until he has been taught, for example, that there is a God, that there is a heaven and a hell, that there is a life after death, that God ought to be loved supremely, and the neighbour as oneself, and that what is taught in the Word, ought to be believed because the Word is Divine. Without a knowledge and acknowledgment of these things man is unable to think spiritually… All this makes clear that spiritual good and truth are learned not from the world but from heaven, and that one can be prepared for heaven only by means of instruction. Moreover, so far as the Lord flows into the life of any one He instructs him, for so far He kindles the will with the love of knowing truths and enlightens the thought to know them; and so far as this is done the interiors of man are opened and heaven is implanted in them; and furthermore, what is Divine and heavenly flows into the honest things pertaining to moral life and into the just things pertaining to civil life in man, and makes them spiritual, since man then does these things from the Divine, which is doing them for the sake of the Divine…513. Instruction is given by the angels of many societies… The places of instruction are towards the north… The good spirits who are to be instructed are brought by the Lord to these places when they have completed their second state in the world of spirits, and yet not all; for there are some that have been instructed in the world, and have been prepared there by the Lord for heaven, and these are taken up into heaven by another way- some immediately after death, some after a short stay with good spirits…514. All who are in places of instruction dwell apart; for each one is connected in regard to his interiors with that society of heaven which he is about to enter… When those places are viewed from heaven something like a heaven in a smaller form is seen… 515. But all are not taught in the same way, nor by the same societies of heaven. Those that have been brought up from childhood in heaven, not having imbibed [or absorbed] falsities from the falsities of religion or defiled their spiritual life… receive instruction from the angels of the interior heavens; while those that have died in adult age receive instruction mainly from angels of the lowest heaven, because these angels are better suited to them than the angels of the interior heavens, who are in interior wisdom which is not yet acceptable to them…516. …Christians are taught from heavenly doctrine, which is in entire agreement with the internal sense of the Word. All others, as the Mohammedans and heathen, are taught from doctrines suited to their apprehension…517. Instruction in the heavens differs from instruction on earth in that knowledges are not committed to memory, but to life… The truths they acquire are truths of use. In this way are angelic spirits taught and prepared for heaven… From all this it is clear that knowledges… do not bring any one into heaven; but… a life of uses implanted by means of knowledges. 518. There were some spirits who had convinced themselves, by thinking about it in the world, that they would go to heaven and be received before others because of their learning and their great knowledge of the Word and of the doctrines of their churches, believing that they were wise in consequence… But those in whom knowledges resided merely in the memory… these, as they were in no heavenly light, and yet were in a belief… that they were more learned than others, and would for that reason enter heaven and be served by the angels, in order that they might be withdrawn from their delusive faith, were taken up to the first or outmost heaven to be introduced into an angelic society. But at the very threshold their eyes began to be darkened by the inflowing of the light of heaven, and their understanding to be disturbed, and at length they began to gasp as if at the point of death; and as soon as they felt the heat of heaven, which is heavenly love, they began to be inwardly tormented. They were therefore cast down, and afterwards were taught that knowledges do not make an angel, but the life itself, which is gained by means of knowledges, for knowledges regarded in themselves are outside of heaven; but life acquired by means of knowledges is within heaven. 519. When spirits have been prepared for heaven by instruction… which is effected in a short time… theyare clothed with angelic garments, which are mostly glowing white as if made of fine linen; and they are thus brought to the way that leads upwards towards heaven, and are delivered there to angel guards, and afterwards are received by other angels and introduced into societies… there. After this each one is led by the Lord into his own society… When they come to their own society their interiors are opened; and as these are in conformity with the interiors of the angels who are in that society they are immediately recognized and received with joy. (Heaven and its Wonders and Hell From Things Heard and Seen by Emanuel Swedenborg Chapters 51-53)
Meditation Red Sun by h.koppdelaney
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The Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem, considered to be Solomon, teaches us what takes place at the time of death: 6Or ever the silver cord be loosed… 7Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. (Ecclesiastes 12:6-7 Bible, King James Version) Just as a baby in the womb is attached to its mother by the umbilical cord, which gives it life, so too is our outer physical body attached to our inner spirit by a silver cord of light which gives it life. If ever the silver cord is loosed at death then shall the physical body, which is made up of the elements of the earth or dust, return to the earth as it was and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it life. This does not mean that all spirits will immediately return to God or their Higher Self at death. This depends on the spiritual development of the individual. For most spirits this is a process which takes time. At death there are three main spiritual paths which a spirit will travel: The left hand path, the right hand path and the middle Path of Ascension. At the time of death not only does the physical body die but the Etheric, or Higher Physical body, also begins to die. To speed up this process, which can take several days, it is best to cremate the Physical body which also consumes the Etheric body and the Astral body allowing the departed spirit to pass more quickly into an Octave of Light. As far as I know only those who follow the Teachings of the Ascended Masters can maintain their Etheric body at so called death and go to the Etheric Plane, or the first inner Octave of Light, to continue their Ascension process. As I understand it those people who are buried go to a particular level on the Astral Plane which reflects their state of consciousness. On the lower levels of the Astral Plane are the hells. This I call the left hand path of evil. Those who are good spirits go to the higher levels of the Astral Plane which I call the right hand path of good. Eventually the spirits on the lower Planes will die and re-embody, or reincarnate, under the direction of their Higher Mental Body who dwells on the Higher Mental Plane.
In The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ by Levi Dowling (p31) we read: When John [the Baptist] was twelve years old his mother died… And John was deeply grieved; he wept. Matheno [his Master teacher from the temple of Sakara in Egypt
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