Here's something interesting from Swedenborg's capstone work of theology from 1770, entitled "True Christian Religion":
"In actual fact there is a kind of field that constantly emanates from the Lord, which pulls all toward heaven. It fills the entire spiritual world and the entire physical world. It is like a strong current in the ocean that secretly carries ships along. All people who believe in the Lord and live by His commandments come into that field or current and are lifted up. Those who do not believe, though, are not willing to enter it." (True Christian Religion 652)
It refers, too, to this brief passage in the Bible, in the Gospel of John:
Jesus said, When I am raised up from the earth, I shall draw all to myself. (John 12:32).
And, (why not?)... compare it to what Yoda says about the force in "The Empire Strikes Back", from 1980:
"For my ally is the force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter." (Yoda)
There's a widespread human perception that there really are spiritual forces in play at a level that we can get glimpses of. The stark good vs. evil struggle in George Lucas's "Star Wars" resonated with a huge audience!
Shifting gears, again, having jumped from Swedenborg in 1770 to Yoda in 1980, let's jump again to 2017, and listen to one of the world's foremost brain researchers, Dr. Iain McGilchrist, in 2017. Here's a link to a deeply thoughtful video of a seminar at Heythrop College, University of London, in which Dr. McGilchrist suggests that there could be a force that pulls us towards some future. It's ALL interesting, and the section from about 45 minutes in, till the end, is where he focuses on purpose as it might exist in the universe.
Happy pondering!
