277. Influx. Concerning the influx of heaven into the world, and the influx of the soul into all things of the body; from experience, Arcana Coelestia 6053-6058, 6189-6215, 6307-6327, 6466-6495, 6598-6626. Nothing exists from itself, but from something prior to itself; thus all things from a First, Arcana Coelestia 4523, 4524, 6040, 6056. All things even as they have existed, so also they subsist, because subsistence is perpetual existence, Arcana Coelestia 2886, 2888, 3627, 3628, 3648, 4523, 4524, 6040, 6056. Influx takes place according to that order, Arcana Coelestia 7270. From this it is evident that all things perpetually subsist from a first Esse, because they have had their existence therefrom, Arcana Coelestia 4523, 4524, 6040, 6056. The all of life flows in from a First, because it is from it - thus from the Lord, Arcana Coelestia 3001, 3318, 3337, 3338, 3344, 3484, 3628, 3741-3743, 4318-4320, 4417, 4524, 4882, 5847, 5986, 6325, 6468-6470, 6479, 9276, 10196. All Existere is from Esse, and nothing can exist unless its own Esse is in it, Arcana Coelestia 4523, 4524, 6040, 6056.

All things which a man thinks and wills enter by influx; from experience, Arcana Coelestia 904, 2886-2888, 4151, 4319, 4320, 5846, 5848, 6189, 6191, 6194, 6197-6199, 6213, 7147, 10219. A man's ability of beholding things, of thinking, and of drawing analytical conclusions, is from influx, Arcana Coelestia 2888, 4319, 4320. If the influx from the spiritual world were taken away from a man he could not live for a moment; but the man is still in freedom; from experience, Arcana Coelestia 2887, 5849, 5854, 6321. The life which flows in from the Lord is varied according to a man's state, and according to reception, Arcana Coelestia 2069, 5986, 6472, 7343. The good which flows in from the Lord is with the wicked turned into evil, and truth into falsity; from experience, Arcana Coelestia 3643, 4632. So far as the good and truth, which constantly flow in from the Lord, are received, so far evil and falsity do not obstruct, Arcana Coelestia 2411, 3142, 3147, 5828.

All good flows in from the Lord, and all evil from hell, Arcana Coelestia 904, 4151. A man at the present day believes that all things are in himself and from himself, when nevertheless they enter by influx, and he knows from a doctrinal of the Church that all good is from heaven, and all evil from hell, Arcana Coelestia 4249, 6193, 6206. But if he would believe as the case really is, he would not appropriate evil to himself: for he would cast it away from himself into hell; neither would he account good to be his own, and thus would not claim any merit from it, Arcana Coelestia 6206, 6324, 6325. How happy the state of a man would then be, because from the interior he would then see from the Lord both good and evil, Arcana Coelestia 6325. Those who deny heaven, or know nothing about it, are ignorant of the fact that there is any influx from it, Arcana Coelestia 4322, 5649, 6193, 6479. What influx is; illustrated by comparisons, Arcana Coelestia 6128, 6190, 9407.

Influx is spiritual and not physical; consequently, there is an influx from the spiritual world into the natural, and not from the natural world into the spiritual, Arcana Coelestia 3219, 5119, 5259, 5427, 5428, 5477, 6322, 9109, 9110. Spiritual influx takes place through the internal into the external man, and not conversely, Arcana Coelestia 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, Arcana Coelestia 978, 1015, 3628, 4459, 4523, 4524, 6057, 6309, 9701-9709, 10156, 10472. The appearance is as though influx passed from external into internal things, but this is a fallacy, Arcana Coelestia 3721. Influx with a man takes place into his rational, and through them into his scientific things, and not conversely, Arcana Coelestia 1495, 1707, 1940. The nature of the order of influx, Arcana Coelestia 775, 880, 1096, 1495, 7270.

There is an immediate influx from the Lord, and also a mediate influx through the spiritual world, that is, through heaven, Arcana Coelestia 6063, 6307, 6472, 9682, 9683. The Lord's immediate influx takes place into the minutest singulars, Arcana Coelestia 6058, 6474-6478, 8717, 8728. Concerning the Lord's mediate influx through heaven, Arcana Coelestia 4067, 6982, 6985, 6996; it takes place through the spirits and angels who are adjoined to the man, Arcana Coelestia 697, 5846-5866. Through angels the Lord flows into the ends from which, and for the sake of which, a man thinks, wills, and acts, Arcana Coelestia 1317, 1645, 5846, 5854; and thus He flows into those things which belong to conscience with a man, Arcana Coelestia 6207, 6213. Through spirits however He flows into the thoughts, and from them into the things of the memory, Arcana Coelestia 4186, 5854, 5858, 6192, 6193, 6198, 6199, 6319. It is difficult for man to believe this, Arcana Coelestia 6214. The Lord flows into first, and at the same time into last, things, that is, He flows into inmost, and at the same time into outermost, things, and in what manner, Arcana Coelestia 5147, 5150, 6473, 7004, 7007, 7270. The Lord's influx with a man is into good, and through good into truth, and not conversely, Arcana Coelestia 5482, 5649, 6027, 8685, 8701, 10153. Good imparts the faculty of receiving influx from the Lord, but not truth apart from good, Arcana Coelestia 8321. Nothing is hurtful that enters into the thought, but that which enters into the will, because this is appropriated to the man, Arcana Coelestia 6308. The Divine in the highest parts is tacit and peaceful; but in proportion as it descends with a man towards the lower parts, it becomes unpeaceful and noisy, on account of the things therein being without order,Arcana Coelestia 8823. The quality of the Lord's influx with the prophets, Arcana Coelestia 6212.

There is a general influx; which is described, Arcana Coelestia 5850. It consists in a constant effort of acting according to order, Arcana Coelestia 6211. This influx takes place into the lives of animals, Arcana Coelestia 5850. And also into the subjects of the vegetable kingdom, Arcana Coelestia 3648. Thought also in accordance with general influx descends with man into speech, and will into gestures, Arcana Coelestia 5862, 5990, 6192, 6211.

6206. To take the subject further, it should be recognized that all evil flows in from hell and all good from the Lord by way of heaven. The reason however why evil becomes a person's own is that he believes and convinces himself that he thinks and practises it all by himself. In this way he makes it his own. But if he believed what is really so, it would not be evil but good from the Lord that became his own. For if he believed what is really so he would think, the instant evil flowed in, that it came from the evil spirits present with him; and since that was what he thought the angels could ward that evil off and repel it. For influx from angels takes place into what a person knows and believes, not what he does not know or believe; there is nowhere else for it to become firmly established than in something the person knows or believes.

[2] When a person in that way makes some evil his own he acquires the sphere that is a product of that evil. This sphere is what the spirits from hell who have a sphere of like evil around them associate themselves with, for like is linked to like. The spiritual sphere existing with man or spirit is an emanation from the life which belongs to his loves, from which his character is recognized from afar. Their spheres are what determine the ways in which all are joined to one another in the next life, and the ways in which communities are joined too. They also determine the separations that take place, for contrary spheres conflict with and repel one another. Consequently the spheres produced by the loves of what is evil are all in hell, while the spheres produced by the loves of what is good are all in heaven, that is, those dwelling in such spheres are there.