277. Of Influx.

Of the influx of heaven into the world, and of the influx of the soul into all things of the body, from experience (n. 6053-6058, 6189-6215, 6307-6327, 6466-6495, 6598-6626). Nothing exists of or from itself, but from what is prior to itself, thus all things from the First (n. 4523-4524, 6040, 6056). As all things existed, they also subsist, because subsistence is perpetual existence (n. 2886, 2888, 3627-3628, 3648, 4523-4524, 6040, 6056). Influx takes place according to that order (n. 7270). Hence it is plain that all things subsist perpetually from the first esse, because they exist from it (n. 4523-4524, 6040, 6056). The all of life flows in from the First, because it is thence derived, thus from the Lord (n. 3001, 3318, 3337-3338, 3344, 3484, 3628-3629, 3741-3743, 4318-4320, 4417, 4524, 4882, 5847, 5986, 6325, 6468-6470, 6479, 9279, 10196). Every existere is from an esse, and nothing can exist unless its esse be in it (n. 4523-4524, 6040, 6056).

All things which a man thinks and wills flow into him, from experience (n. 904, 2886-2888, 4151, 4319-4320, 5846, 5848, 6189, 6191, 6194, 6197-6199, 6213, 7147, 10219). Man's ability of examining things, and of thinking and forming analytic conclusions, is from influx (n. 2888, 4319-4320). Man could not live a moment if the influx from the spiritual world were taken away from him; but still man is in freedom, from experience (n. 2887, 5849, 5854, 6321). The life which flows in from the Lord is varied according to man's state and according to reception (n. 2069, 5986, 6472, 7343). With the evil, the good which flows from the Lord is turned into evil, and the truth into falsity, from experience (n. 3643, 4632). The good and truth, which continually flow from the Lord, are so far received, as evil and falsity do not oppose their reception (n. 2411, 3142, 3147, 5828).

All good flows in from the Lord, and all evil from hell (n. 904, 4151). At this day man believes all things to be in himself and from himself, when nevertheless they inflow, as he might know from the doctrinal of the church, that all good is from heaven, and all evil from hell (n. 4249, 6193, 6206). But if he would believe as the thing is, he would not appropriate evil to himself, but cast it back from himself into hell, neither would he make good his own, and thus would not claim any merit from it (n. 6206, 6324-6325). How happy the state of man would then be, as he would view both good and evil from within, from the Lord (n. 6325). They who deny heaven, or know nothing about it, do not know there is any influx thence (n. 4322, 5649, 6193, 6479). What influx is, illustrated by comparisons (n. 6128, 6190, 9407).

Influx is spiritual, and not physical, thus it is from the spiritual world into the natural, and not from the natural world into the spiritual (n. 3219, 5119, 5259, 5427-5428, 5477, 6322, 9109-9110). Influx is through the internal man, into the external, and not contrariwise (n. 1702, 1707, 1940, 1954, 5119, 5259, 5779, 6322, 9380). Because the internal man is in the spiritual world, and the external in the natural world (n. 978, 1015, 3628, 4459, 4523-4524, 6057, 6309, 9701-9709, 10156, 10472). It appears as if influx is from externals into internals; this is a fallacy (n. 3721). Influx is into man's rational and through this into things scientific, and not contrariwise (n. 1495, 1707, 1940). The order of influx (n. 775, 880, 1096, 1495, 7270).

There is immediate influx from the Lord, and also mediate influx through the spiritual world or heaven (n. 6063, 6307, 6472, 9682-9683). The immediate influx from the Lord enters into the most single of all things (n. 6058, 6474-6478, 8717, 8728). Of the mediate influx of the Lord through heaven (n. 4067, 6982, 6985, 6996). It is effected through the spirits and angels who are adjoined to man (n. 697, 5846-5866). The Lord, by means of angels, flows into the ends from which, and for the sake of which, a man so thinks, wills, and acts (n. 1317, 1645, 5846, 5854). And thus into those things which are of conscience with man (n. 6207, 6213). But by means of spirits into the thoughts, and thence into the things of the memory (n. 4186, 5854, 5858, 6192-6193, 6198-6199, 6319). This can with difficulty be believed by man (n. 6214). The Lord inflows into firsts and at the same time into ultimates, or into inmosts and at the same time into outmosts, how (n. 5147, 5150, 6473, 7004, 7007, 7270). The influx of the Lord is into good with man, and through good into truth, and not contrariwise (n. 5482, 5649, 6027, 8685, 8701,10153). Good gives the faculty of receiving influx from the Lord, but not truth without good (n. 8321[1-2]). It is not what enters the thought, but what enters the will, that is hurtful, because this is appropriated to the man (n. 6308). The Divine in the highest is tacit and pacific, but as it descends towards lower things in man, it becomes unpacific and tumultuous, on account of the things therein being in disorder (n. 8823). The quality of the Lord's influx with the prophets (n. 6212).

There is a general influx, its quality (n. 5850). It is a continual effort of acting according to order (n. 6211). This influx takes place into the lives of animals (n. 5850). And also into the subjects of the vegetable kingdom (n. 3648). That thought is formed into speech and will into gestures with man, according to this general influx (n. 5862, 5990, 6192, 6211).

6057. Before anything can be said about the influx and operation of the soul into the body, a proper knowledge is required of the truth that the internal man has been created so as to conform to an image of heaven, and the external man to an image of the world, so much so that the internal man is the smallest form heaven can take, and the external man is the smallest the world can take and is thus the microcosm. The fact that the external man is an image of the world can be seen from his external or physical senses. The ear has been made to conform to the whole nature of the modification of air, and the lungs to the whole nature of air-pressure. So too with the surface-areas of the body, which are held in shape by the pressure of air all around them. The eye has been made to conform to the whole nature of the ether and light; the tongue to the perception of particles dissolved and suspended in fluids, and at the same time along with the lungs, trachea, larynx, glottis, jaws, and lips to conform to the power of using air in varying ways to produce articulated sounds or words, and musical sounds too. The nostrils have been made to conform to the perception of particles suspended in the atmosphere, and touch, a sense which is distributed over the whole of the body, to the perception of changes in the condition of the air, that is to say, whether it is cold or hot, as well as the perception of the nature of fluids and the weights of objects. (The internal organs, which the air surrounding the body cannot enter, are held together and kept in shape by a purer kind of air, called ether.) This is not to mention all the deeply hidden aspects of the natural world that have been inscribed on and apply themselves to the body, such as all the secrets of mechanics, physics, chemistry, and optics. All this goes to prove that the entire natural order was drawn on so that the external side of the human being might be created in conformity with it, which was why the ancients named the human being the microcosm.

[2] Now just as the external man has been created so as to conform to an image of everything in the world, so the internal man has been created so as to conform to an image of everything in heaven, that is, an image of the celestial and spiritual qualities that come from the Lord, from which heaven is formed and in which it consists. The celestial qualities there are all the aspects of love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour, and the spiritual qualities are all the aspects of faith. They are intrinsically so great and of such a nature that no tongue can possibly declare even a millionth of them. The truth that the internal man has been made so as to conform to an image of all those qualities is plain to see in the angels. When they appear before a person's internal sight, as they have appeared before mine, their presence alone stirs feelings to the depths of his being. For love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour pour out of them and into the onlooker; and what is radiated by that love and charity, namely rays of faith, shines out of them and stirs one's affections. This has served to show, as well as other proofs, that because the internal man has been created to be an angel, the internal man is the smallest form heaven can take.

[3] From all this it now becomes clear that within the human being the spiritual world has been joined to the natural world. As a result, in the case of the human being, the spiritual world flows into the natural world in so vital a way that a person can discern it if he merely stops to pay attention to it. This also shows what the interaction of the soul with the body is, that strictly speaking it is a communication of the spiritual realities of heaven with the natural things of the world, a communication which is effected by one flowing into the other, yet depends on the way the two have been joined together. This communication effected through an inflowing which depends on the way the two have been joined together is unknown at the present day, for the reason that every single thing is attributed to natural forces and there is no knowledge of what is spiritual, which at the present day is so remote that when people give it any thought it seems to be non-existent.

4524. Now because every single thing that exists in the world and in the natural system comes into being, and is constantly coming into being - that is, is kept in being - from something prior to itself, it follows that it comes into being and is kept in being from a world above the natural system, which is called the spiritual world. And because there must be a continuous connection with that spiritual world in order that every single thing may be kept in being, or constantly come into being, it follows that the purer or more interior things present within the natural order, and consequently within the human being, spring from that world, and that purer or more interior things are forms such as are able to receive influx. But because there can be only one source of life, as in the natural system there is only one source of light and warmth, it is clear that every trace of life originates in the Lord, who is the Primary Source of life. This being so, every single thing which exists in the spiritual world corresponds to Him, and so therefore does every single thing within man, for man is a tiny spiritual world in miniature form. Consequently the spiritual man is also an image of the Lord.