ICR's Spring 2016 Newsletter.P65

ICR Newsletter Volume 33 Number 2 Spring 2016 Swedenborg the Mystic - Part 1 by Paul Cressman Emanuel Swedenborg may well exem- is an expanded level of perception such adults of his day. In his later life he plify the man of the future. A master that the recipient feels he has encoun- wrote: scientist who had a longing to discover tered an all-knowing Intelligence. “From my fourth to my tenth year the soul, his philosophical delving into An absolute conviction of the I was constantly engaged in thought the spiritual world eventually led to him immortality of the soul forever van- upon God, salvation, and the spiritual receiving the gift of a higher state of quishes the fear of death. In addition, experiences of men; and several times consciousness. there is an elevation of the moral char- I revealed things at which my father This state is thought by many to be acter and an added charisma to the per- and mother wondered, saying that an- the next step in mankind’s evolution. sonality of one who has had such an ex- gels must be speaking through me.”2 Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke, a turn-of- perience. Swedenborg’s keen interest and the-century Canadian psychiatrist, talks Illumination comes more readily aptitude in the sciences prompted him of mankind evolving towards a state of to one who has lived a life conducive to to go to the Uppsala University. After “Cosmic Consciousness.” Bucke cata- a healthy evolution of the brain. The graduation in 1709, he traveled to Lon- logued the experiences of many famous attributes a person must have or culti- don to further his knowledge in math- people throughout history whom he vate are a sound heredity, good health, ematics and science. From there he believed had reached a state of illumi- a life of service to mankind, and most toured the continent, staying with nation. He documented them in his importantly an upright moral nature – craftsmen and learning their trades. classic investigation of the evolution of compassion, a respect for Truth and a Not being one to rest content with the mind in Cosmic Consciousness1. More love of the Divine. theory, Swedenborg tried to remain as recently, a continued organic evolution Swedenborg possessed these traits practical and as down to earth as pos- of the brain has been thought respon- as few others ever have. He was born sible. He became proficient at book- sible for states of genius and mystical in 1688 in Stockholm, Sweden, and binding, watch-making, engraving, experience. It is believed the great mys- grew up during the beginning of the manufacturing mathematical instru- tics and geniuses of the past were “spo- “Age of Enlightenment,” a time when ments, and glass grinding for making radic manifestations” of a state that is reason was beginning to sweep away lenses. His scholastic accomplish- mankind’s natural heritage. many of the traditionalDale Pondways of think- ments included a table giving dates of The characteristics of an experi- ing which had been established by the future eclipses of the sun and moon, a ence of cosmic consciousness are so Church. The leading intellectuals of the plan for a submersible ship, similar to unique that they cannot be confused time dissociated themselves with most the modern day submarine, and a plan with those of any other state of mind. things having to do with religion or for constructing canals and lift locks by The event comes suddenly and without mysticism, yet Swedenborg took an in- which ships could be raised to any warning. In most cases there is a sense terest in these matters from an early age, height of being immersed in flames or brilliant and they formed the underlying moti- After several years of touring Eu- light, and there is often the presence of vation for the greater part of his works rope, he returned to Sweden in 1715 to internally perceived, incredibly beauti- in later life. continue his investigations of science. ful, tones and music. A feeling of great His comprehension of spiritual He published many works in chemistry, joy and ecstasy is always present. There matters went far beyond that of most metallurgy, astronomy, and navigation. INSTITUTE FOR CONSCIOUSNESS RESEARCH NEWS SPRING 2016 1 An interest in mining eventually led to activity. Swedenborg’s outstanding possible that they can be explained his appointment as an Assessor in the brilliance placed him almost two centu- or comprehended by any of the Swedish College of Mines, a post he was ries ahead of his own time. known laws of motion; such in- to hold for 30 years. His varied inter- After the publishing of the final deed is our present state of igno- ests not only led him to become one of volume Philosophical and Mineralogical rance, that we know not whether Europe’s most highly regarded scien- Works, Swedenborg’s interest turned to the motions by which the soul op- tists but later served as a valuable foun- the more philosophical spiritual aspects erates on the organs of the body be dation for his spiritual works. of life. The concept of the human soul such as to be reducible to any rule Throughout this period he mystified him, and he set out to try to or law.” stressed that he was interested in knowl- identify the soul’s location in the human During his anatomical studies, he edge, not for his own sake, but for the body. gained a considerable amount of use he could put it to in the service of He wrote three major works deal- knowledge about the nerves and mem- his country1. This was typical of ing with this: Economy of the Animal King- branes, but the blood held the most fas- Swedenborg’s attitude and was in ac- dom, The Animal Kingdom, and The Wor- cination for him. He believed an “es- cordance with the rules of life he had ship and Love of God. The translation of sential vital principle” was contained in laid out for himself: the original Latin from which “Animal the blood and he described it as a “First: Diligently to read and Kingdom” is derived is really the King- “spiritous fluid which is in immediate meditate upon the Word of God. dom of the Anima – the soul. In The connection with the soul.” Second: To be content under dis- Animal Kingdom he states that he in- At this point in his study, he still pensations of God’s providence. thought the soul was organic. He per- Third: To observe a propriety of ceived the brain as having a relationship behavior, and preserve the conscience with the “spirituous fluid” similar to that pure. of the heart’s relationship with the Fourth: To obey what is com- blood. He believed the pulsations and manded; to attend faithfully to one’s vibrations of the brain drove out the office and other duties, and in addition spirituous fluid into the nerves and to make oneself useful to society in gen- fibers of the body. He eventually con- eral.”3 cluded that the center of the soul’s ac- In the years to follow, Swedenborg tivity was the brain, which he saw as became more and more interested in “the boundary at which the ascent of philosophical speculations about the the life of the body ceases, and the nature and origin of things. The culmi- boundary from which that of the soul . nation of this portion of his life’s work . begins.” He saw the soul’s opera- was published in 1734 as the Philosophi- tion on the body as that of a provider cal and Mineralogical Works, a three vol- tended his study to encompass an ex- of the more ennobling characteristics of ume set of which the first was entitled amination of the entire anatomy of the human mentality. “The Principia.” In this volume body, both physically and philosophi- Swedenborg’s works enabled him Swedenborg put forward his theories cally. to arrive at a better understanding of the regarding cosmology (the study of the There are many who feel problems involved in identifying the origin of the Universe), and the compo- Swedenborg’s efforts lacked direction soul. The more deeply he investigated sition of matter. The former was until he decided to investigate the soul. the problem, the more the soul seemed known as the nebular hypothesis and He passionately believed that discover- to evade him. He began to realize that explained the origin and motion of ce- ing the essence of the soul would be the without some kind of spiritual inspira- lestial bodies by means of hypothetical crowning glory of his studies. This tion science might never understand the whirlpools, a notion similar to those motivated him to return to Europe to hidden mysteries of the soul. developed in the twentieth century. His receive training in human anatomy. His reason for wanting to learn theories regarding the composition of Between 1734 and 1743 he gathered about the soul was deep-rooted. He matter were even more remarkable, for large volumes of material for his works. had a profoundly spiritual nature and they anticipated modern science’s be- Swedenborg was well enough deep faith in the Divine, and was ap- liefs that atoms are actually knots of versed in the ways of science to realize palled at the growing tide of materialis- energy or fields of activity. Swedenborg that the methods he had used in his tic thinking that characterized the Age came to the conclusion that there was earlier investigations of the physical of Enlightenment. Many believed God an activity in the roots of matter which sciences would be of little use to him in and the Soul were nothing more than caused discharges from particles.

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