1582. If to the left, I will go right, and if to the right, I will go left, symbolizes separation, as can be seen from the symbolism of right and left. Right or left is just relative direction. It is not a fixed quarter or a fixed place, as is evident from the fact that both east and west, both south and north can be on the right or the left, depending on the direction a person faces. The same is true of a location. The land of Canaan too could not have been described as being to the right or to the left except in a relative way.

Wherever the Lord is, that is the center; right and left are determined by it. The same was true of Abram, who represented the Lord. Whether he had gone off in one direction or the other, the representation would have stayed with him. The same was also true of the land; it would have been all the same, for instance, whether Abram had lived in the land of Canaan or elsewhere. Compare the situation of the highest ranking person at a table. The place where such a person sits is the head, and the other places are on the right or left accordingly. So speaking of going right or left was a standard way of expressing a choice, and it symbolized separation. ¹

Footnotes:

3159. And I will look either to the right or to the left symbolizes an answering freedom, as can be seen without explanation.

This is how matters stand: Good things are always flowing from the Lord through our inner self into our outer self. In our early years, they appear in our outer self in the form of a desire for truth. The more we regard heavenly and spiritual benefit as the goal, the more truth is introduced and united to goodness or (to put it another way) the desire for truth is introduced and united to a desire for goodness. On the other hand, the more we regard our own benefit and therefore ourselves and the material world as the goal, the more heavenly and spiritual benefits withdraw. This is the answering freedom symbolized by looking either to the right or to the left.