Thursday, April 23, 2015

The Divine Human of the New Church



What is the New Church, and how is it different from the older Catholic and Protestant churches?  One of the main revelation given to the New Church that makes it different from the older Christian churches, and that is the doctrine of the Divine Human. Jesus Christ is not just the Son of God, He is Jehovah in human form. And not only is He Jehovah in human form, upon the resurrection, He made His entire human body Divine.

This doctrine is not new, it is old.  And it explains several things in Christianity:

  • The incarnation of the Word made flesh (John 1:14), why it was necessary to save the human race
  • Why Jesus had to be born of a virgin (Luke 1:35)
  • Why the Eucharist or Communion is the central ritual of worship, where the focus is on the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
  • Why Jesus had to rise from the dead, even as to the flesh and bones (Luke 24:39)
  • How that transformed body, Jesus could pass through walls, appear and disappear, and with that body ascended into heaven
  • How Jesus is now omnipresent through the Holy Spirit to reform and regenerate each person through repentance
  • Why John said that those who deny Jesus came in the flesh belong to the Antichrist (1 John 4:3)

It was through the process of making His human Divine, united to His Divinity (the Father) that Jesus saved the human race.  For humanity has sunk into materialism, cut off from heaven, and there is a tendency to only believe that which is seen with the senses.  Free will originates from a balance between heaven and hell, which plays out in the conscience of each and every human mind. By becoming like us in human form, Jehovah fought directly against all of hell through temptations in His human, and by overcoming all of them He subdued all of hell, and can now interact directly with each human without need for mediation from angels. Salvation was a lifelong process until He overcame all temptation and rose from the dead:



HOW FALSE CHRISTIANITY OPPOSES THE TRUTH


Through the centuries, theologians have modified and added to the original revelation, corrupting the very foundation of the Christian Church.  This is the reason why a New Church must and will arise to take its place. This is the true meaning of the following prophecy:
And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him [the Antichrist], whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Rev. 13:8)
In the spiritual sense "the earth" is not the planet earth, but rather the earth or land is symbolic of the visible church on earth.  The book of Revelation speaks how many in the church will become deceived by a false Christianity.  Also in the spiritual sense "the Lamb" signifies the Divine Human of the Lord.  The Lamb was "slain" or killed due to non-acknowledgment.  It began at the "foundation of the world" - that is, at the foundation of the Christian Church. For Jesus was not only rejected as the Messiah by the Jews, but right after his time many heresies arose, and even the Church itself began to turn away from acknowledging His human as Divine. This is apparent to anyone who studies the early history of the Christian Church. But without revelation, it is confusing to an outsider to discern who is right and who is wrong.

So how does the false version of Christianity oppose the acknowledgment of the Divine Human in Jesus Christ?  There are several teachings and doctrines taught in theology that have hold of the mind of many people within the existing churches. The main one is that externally it appears monotheistic, but internally in the mind it is tritheistic:

  • The division of the Trinity among three distinct persons, rather than acknowledging that the Trinity is the soul, body and spirit of Jesus Christ (see Col. 2:9)
  • From the Trinity of three persons, many Christians pray to the Father as a separate being from Jesus Christ, bypassing Him in prayer. Jesus is "secondary" or forgotten in prayer.
  • From the Trinity of three persons, Jesus is divided into two natures: a "Divine nature" and a "human nature."
  • The Catholic Church states that Mary was born without sin, and as such do not understand how Jesus saved the human race by making His human Divine
  • In place of making the human Divine, the church invented the doctrine of "vicarious atonement," where sins are automatically transferred to Jesus, which is contrary to basic logic
  • Because of vicarious atonement, religion became one of belief alone, and lip service alone.
  • A religion of belief alone does not regard how a person lives their life, nor repentance for salvation
  • In order to maintain this theology, the Catholic Church had to make blind belief higher than rational understanding, emphasizing authority of the priesthood and "mysteries of faith."
It is because of this false theology, that many outside of the Christian church regard Jesus as just a teacher or prophet.  It is also the reason why God allowed the religion of Islam to arise in the Middle East, to help destroy the tritheistic doctrine of the Trinity. The theology of the older churches is diametrically opposed to the doctrine of the New Church, which is the doctrine of the Divine Human.


It was the physical body born in time to the virgin Mary that is the Son of God.  There is no such thing as a Son of God "born from eternity" as declared by the Nicene Creed. There is only Jehovah:
"...the Lord from eternity was Jehovah, or the Father in human form, but not yet in the flesh, for an angel has not flesh. And because Jehovah or the Father willed to put on the whole human, for the salvation of the human race, therefore He also assumed the flesh. Wherefore it is said, God was the Word . . . and the Word became flesh. And in Luke: Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; handle Me and see: for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have (xxiv. 39). The Lord taught by these words that He was no longer Jehovah under the form of an angel, but that He was Jehovah Man..." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 9315.5, by Emanuel Swedenborg)
The doctrine of the Divine Human of the New Church can actually be found in the ancient Athanasian Creed, where it is stated that in Jesus God became man and man became God.  This was clarified further in Swedenborg's waking heavenly visions:
"I have been told from heaven that in the Lord from eternity, Who is Jehovah, before the assumption of the Human in the world, there were the two prior degrees actually, and the third degree in potency, such as they are also with the angels; but that after the assumption of the Human in the world, He put on also the third degree, which is called the natural, and that thereby He became a man similar to man in the world, with the difference, however, that this degree, like the prior degrees, is infinite and uncreated in Him, while these degrees in angel and in man are finite and created." (Divine Love and Wisdom, n. 233, by Emanuel Swedenborg).
OPPOSITION OF THE OLD CHURCH FORETOLD IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION

While the West is constantly bashing Islam, they fail to look in the mirror and see the falsehoods within their own religion.  For one born into a religion cannot see falsehoods of his or her religion. The same is true of Muslims in Islam, for they have only been given a partial truth, and it is easy to find fault with the false theology of the old church. Most people accept the truth on the basis of authority alone. Few question the religion they were brought up in by their parents.

Is man justified by faith alone? Think again.

The book of Revelation throughout is a prophecy predicting the rise and decline of the Christian Church, how in the end a false theology would take hold of it.  This is the tritheistic religion of the dragon, the beast and the false prophet.  This is where religion becomes one of belief alone, without regard to how one lives. Opposed to this are the two witnesses, which symbolize the doctrine of the Divine human, and the doctrine of a life according to the 10 commandments, which is opposed by those in a religion of belief alone. The two witnesses, and the woman fleeing into the wilderness, signify that at its beginning the New Church will be small and among the few, in obscurity in the wilderness. This is explained in detail in Swedenborg's works, Apocalypse Revealed and Apocalypse Explained, who explained each and every word of this book according to the spiritual sense.

As Jesus grew, He eventually realized His identity, and fought against dark powers to deliver humanity, a process that is described in the internal spiritual sense in scripture as detailed in Heavenly Arcana .  Reminds me of this final scene from Dark City:

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Ascension through Seven Dimensions of Physics and Spirituality



In his scientific and theological spiritual writings, Swedenborg shows that one can analyze things through a knowledge of degrees.  Degrees are of two kinds: continuous degrees (e.g., the light of a rainbow), and discrete degrees (e.g., electron shells, the Planck constant).  In modern terminology, we may call discrete degrees as dimensions.  However depending on who you talk to, the word dimension is used in different ways depending on the construct.  Thus physicists have several models which postulate more dimensions that the 3 dimensions of space plus one for time.  Confusing matters further, I listened to a lecture by Harvard physicist Lisa Randall in which she defined a dimension as "any thing that can be measured" without recognizing discrete degrees of order. Mathematicians will often create dimensions to solve problems of physics, but often the mathematical formulas won't indicate what the dimension corresponds to in reality.

On the other side of the coin, so-called spiritual mystics often talk about "ascending" into a "higher dimension," but they invent their own system that has no basis in fact or revelation.  They use "ascension" and "higher dimension" without defining the concepts. What do they mean by ascending into a higher dimension? What is the process?  One has to filter through a lot of information which has no basis in fact or true revelation.

Emanuel Swedenborg, on the other hand, recognized that the higher spiritual planes or dimensions beyond our physical realm correspond to actual physical realities.  Everything we see is symbolic of something in the spiritual world.  Light is symbolic of truth. Fire is symbolic of love.  The sky is symbolic of heaven. And so on. Moreover, all of reality - both physical and spiritual - can be arranged in discrete degrees of order. In his day he pointed out the discrete degrees of animal, vegetable, and mineral. In a similar fashion, in his waking visions Swedenborg saw that heaven was divided into three planes or dimensions - the celestial, the spiritual, and the natural. He would have a dream, wake up, and speak to angels who were having a conversation, whose ideas corresponded to the symbols he saw in his dream.  This idea Swedenborg called the "doctrine of correspondences," and was based on discrete degrees of order. It was "the knowledge of knowledges." We now more commonly say "as above, so below."


In order to go to heaven we won't reach down to hell, but we will go down into the lower levels of particle physics. It's a bit of a "dark matter" and easy to get lost.

THE REFLEXIVE UNIVERSE OF ARTHUR M. YOUNG


In the 18th century the scientific knowledge of Emanuel Swedenborg was unfortunately limited. He was aware of the degrees of animal, vegetable and mineral, and speculated on the geometric origins of fundamental particles.  But now we know a lot more.  Another scientist Arthur M. Young, who knew nothing of Swedenborg, began to take our knowledge and arranged it into seven degrees of order, which he publicized in his book The Reflexive Universe. It is an elegant theory, and listening to his lectures it is apparent he had the theory before he had the evidence.  In a very weird twist, many years later I discovered that Arthur M. Young was involved in a paranormal research group that attempted to mentally contact supposedly "extraterrestrial" intelligences. Some of the people he was involved with also show up in some rather oddly connected web of people who were closely associated with the event surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy (see The Origin of the Secret Space Program). Is this where Arthur M. Young got his idea? Perhaps, he does hint at it.

Arthur M. Young unfortunately made some mistakes. so I have corrected the seven discrete degrees of order of the universe as follows (to see other blog articles on this topic look at the label "Universal Order" in the left column):
1. Space-time (or "Dimensional Reality" - see below)
2. Subatomic particles 
3. Atoms 
4. Molecules 
5. Plants 
6. Animals and Man 
7. The Spiritual World (Swedenborg explains this level)
The mistake Arthur M. Young made is that he put light in the first degree of order, not recognizing that light is in fact composed of photons, a subatomic particle that belongs in the second level.  When I fixed it, I recognized that the first level of order must be the realm of space-time. This led me down the rabbit hole of asking, how many dimensions of space-time are there?  And as explained above, the answer is not obvious. 

WHAT ARE THE SEVEN DIMENSIONS OF SPACE-TIME?

In each discrete order, there are yet seven more discrete degrees of order. There are seven orders of particles, seven orders of atom, seven orders of molecules, and so on. So according to the theory, there should be seven "dimensions" of space-time. My most recent thoughts on that I posted a while ago in The Seven Dimensions of Space-Time and The Seven Dimensions of Physics. Out of that research I found this article interesting: Physicists states Universe Favors 3 and 7 Dimensions.  However, I will be self-critical here and state I am not at all satisfied with this. I believe the solution is limiting itself to simplistic geometric explanations, and restricting itself to merely spatial dimensions.

One point to note here, is that higher dimensions may manifest themselves in our lower dimensions as something completely different.  For example, a three dimensional sphere could manifest itself in a two dimensional world as a point or a circle:


The point or circle would "correspond" with the position of the sphere that is intersecting with the two dimensional plane. One idea I found very interesting: a higher dimension could manifest itself as a curvature in the lower dimensions. From Five Dimensional Space:
"In 1993, the physicist Gerard 't Hooft put forward the holographic principle, which explains that the information about an extra dimension is visible as a curvature in a spacetime with one fewer dimension. For example, holograms are three-dimensional pictures placed on a two-dimensional surface, which gives the image a curvature when the observer moves. Similarly, in general relativity, the fourth dimension is manifested in observable three dimensions as the curvature path of a moving infinitesimal (test) particle."
Another idea comes from the Kaluza-Klein theory which proposed an extra small "curled" spatial dimension, for a total of five dimensions. Anything that moved in this extra small "curled" dimension would manifest itself as charge, positive or negative, in our own three dimensional world. In this case a higher dimension is not a curvature whatsoever - it is rather an "elementary property" that appears in subatomic particles. I thought about this, and came up with the following proposal:

All discrete properties of elementary subatomic "particles" are a manifestation of a higher dimension.

At first it seemed like a silly idea. But the more I explored it, the more it made sense. And its actually supported by current theories in physics. The first construct I realized was: not all higher dimensions are spatial. Our experience of space is just one level. We have to get our minds out of "the Matrix" in order to understand this.

NEW THEORY: THE SEVEN PLANES OF DIMENSIONAL REALITY

The lowest order of the universe may not be just different dimensions of space-time.  I am going to describe planes of "dimensional reality" that explain the properties of subatomic particles, just as subatomic particles explain the properties of atoms.  I did a broad survey of our current knowledge in this area, focusing on discrete properties of elementary subatomic particles, and came up with the following seven planes of order:
1. Spatial dimensions + time. Cosmological constant defines the energy density of vacuum space. The curves of space-time manifest as the graviton.
2. Positive or Negative Charge. Part of the electromagnetic field.
3. Mass. The mass of all particles originate from the theoretical "Higgs Field" which permeates all of space.
4. Quantum "Color Charge." "Color" is not color, but a misnomer of physicists.
5. Quantum "Flavor." The realm of quarks. 

6. Energy. At the quantum level this is described by a wave function, differently from mass.

7. Intrinsic Quantum Spin. Movement of particles, the closest we get to the concept of a geometric point.
Except for the first level, all of the levels contain properties that are discrete and not continuous. Some may state that these are not dimensions, but rather physical properties of fundamental particles. But there is no such thing as a fundamental particle, what we have at the lowest level are dimensional fields, which produce the illusion of particles when they interact with each other.  Back in the 18th century, it was revealed to Swedenborg that there were no fundamental particles:
"...it is a fallacy of the merely natural sense, that there are simple substances, which are monads and atoms" (Heavenly Arcana, n. 5084)
Note that what I have listed above is probably not complete or correct; we have yet to explain dark matter and energy and I am not sure where that fits. Its also possible I have split properties of a single plane into multiple planes. The only criteria I used here is that if I saw a subatomic property that was discrete, I defined that as a plane or dimension.

Lets go through each plane, one by one, for a better explanation.

1. THE PLANE OF SPACE-TIME

That the plane of space-time is first makes sense, for space and time were one of the first things that were created at the beginning of this universe.  The only discrete value I can find here that is related to space-time is the cosmological constant, which describes its rate of expansion. Space-time is the focus of Einstein's theories of relativity, where he revolutionized modern science by defining time as a higher dimension of space itself:


So is there any evidence that subatomic particles operate outside of the realm of space-time? Yes. There is a weird phenomenon known as "quantum entanglement."  From Quantum Entanglement - Science Daily:
Quantum entanglement is a quantum mechanical phenomenon in which the quantum states of two or more objects have to be described with reference to each other, even though the individual objects may be spatially separated.
This leads to correlations between observable physical properties of the systems.
For example, it is possible to prepare two particles in a single quantum state such that when one is observed to be spin-up, the other one will always be observed to be spin-down and vice versa, this despite the fact that it is impossible to predict, according to quantum mechanics, which set of measurements will be observed.
As a result, measurements performed on one system seem to be instantaneously influencing other systems entangled with it.
But quantum entanglement does not enable the transmission of classical information faster than the speed of light
.
It is so weird, Einstein could not understand it and called this phenomenon "spooky action at a distance."  It is not spooky, nor is it entanglement: it means quantum states operate in a plane of existence that is outside space and time. Thus we need to define the dimensions of space-time as a single plane, so we can define other planes of dimensional reality. These other planes show up as discrete properties or states of quantum particles.

Jumping ahead of our theory and backward in time, back in the 18th century Emanuel Swedenborg was given a startling revelation: the spiritual realms of heaven and hell, the afterlife, is outside the plane of space-time. This is what he wrote long before our theories of Einstein and quantum theory, in place of space and time there are spiritual changes of state:
"All things in heaven appear in place and in space, just as in the world, and yet angels have no notion or idea of place and space. Because this cannot but appear as a paradox, I wish to present the matter in clear light, as it is one of great importance.
All going from place to place in the spiritual world is effected by change of state of the interiors, so that change of place is nothing else than change of state. In this way also I have been conducted by the Lord into the heavens, and likewise to the earths in the universe, and this as to my spirit, while the body remained in the same place. In this way all the movements of angels take place; hence they have no distances, and if not distances, neither have they spaces, but instead of them states and their changes." (Heaven and Hell, n. 191-192)
Note the similarity between the spiritual world and quantum physics: once outside space and time, one enters a realm where there is nothing but changes of state. This was a mind shift for quantum physicists, they had to remove from their mind the idea of "locality." Our spiritual souls reside in a plane of existence outside of space and time. You can tell if you are in heaven or hell by examining your internal state. Those who love others, and are of service, are in heaven. Those who are in hatred and jealousy from their selfish ego are in hell.  Heaven and hell are places where people of similar state go. Instead of space there is love: the more closely a person is loved in the spiritual world, the closer they appear. The figure of speech, "I feel close to you" is literally true in the spiritual world. Absence of space and time can explain psychic and paranormal phenomenon, such as clairvoyance, remote viewing, telepathy, astral travel, and so on.

2. THE PLANE OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE CHARGE

This plane I got from the Kaluza-Klein theory - if there was a small curled up dimension within space and time, it would manifest as positive or negative charge, properties of the electromagnetic field.


Photons are the force particles that operate in this plane, and as photons are the second plane of the subatomic world I have made this the second plane.

3. THE PLANE OF MASS, OR "HIGGS FIELD"

Some will ask, why is there a plane for mass? In the macro world mass is a sum total of its weight, but in the subatomic world most particles have discrete masses.  Not only that, but the recent discovery of the Higgs Boson gives credence to the "Higgs field" - a universal field that permeates all of space, and all particles that have mass acquired that mass by travelling through this field:


So why not make the Higgs field simply a property of the plane of space-time? Because the presence of mass warps the space-time continuum, giving rise to gravity. Evidence of a higher dimension can show up in lower dimensions as a curvature - this indicates that the property of mass originates from a field that exists in another dimension separate from space-time.

4. THE PLANE OF QUANTUM COLOR CHARGE

Here is where things get a bit confusing.  Quantum color charge has nothing to do with "color" and is an unfortunate misnomer given by physicists who could not think of another name in their vocabulary. Quantum color charge has to do with six states of baryonic matter and gluons, describing their interaction with the strong nuclear force:


These color charge states were arbitrarily given the names of red, blue, green, antired, antiblue, antigreen. Are the states manifestations of dimensions in this plane?  It is similar to x,y,z axis in  a spatial dimension, plus -x, -y, -z.

5. THE PLANE OF QUANTUM FLAVOR

If quantum color charge was confusing, this plane of existence gets very weird.  Quantum "flavors" describe different kinds of quarks that are used to compose baryonic matter, and were given names such as "charm," "strangeness," "truth" and "beauty."  Combined, they form six kinds of quarks, none of which have been directly observed but only inferred from the properties of mesons and baryons which are composed of quarks. In the theory of the Eightfold Way, flavor symmetry can be mathematically described by an abstract three dimensional vector space.

6. THE PLANE OF ENERGY

At the quantum level, energy only appears in discrete states, defined by the Planck constant. In quantum physics energy is described by a wave function.


As it is discrete, and always by the Planck constant, I placed energy in a separate plane from mass which is defined from the Higgs field.

7. THE PLANE OF QUANTUM SPIN

Intrinsic quantum spin is a property of most particles, and is similar to angular momentum. However physicists have noted something very strange about quantum spin - it is discrete. Particles will have a value of 0, 1/2, 1 or 2 spin. This means any particle that travels spends most of its time in another plane of existence, and is constantly "popping in and out" of our space-time plane. We can represent our space-time plane as the plane of real numbers, and this other plane as the plane of imaginary numbers:



I noted earlier that a quantum spin state can become "entangled" between multiple particles, indicating that the state of quantum spin operates outside of space-time:


Other quantum numbers for leptons are principal quantum number, azimuthal quantum number, and magnetic quantum number, which may belong to this plane as well.

This is the seventh and final plane of the seven planes of dimensional reality, and with that we can now ascend into the next higher degree of order, the world of subatomic particles (see The Spiritual Symbolism of the Four Forces). To repeat, the seven planes of subatomic particles are:
1. Graviton (gravitational force). A theoretical 2 spin particle.
2. Photon (electromagnetic force). 1 spin particle.
3. W and Z bosons (weak nuclear force). 1 spin particle. (Higgs-Boson goes here)
4. Gluons (strong nuclear force). 1 spin particle.
5. Quarks. Half spin particle. Used to build the higher level fermions.
6. Mesons, and Baryons (protons, neutrons...). Half spin particles.
7. Leptons (electrons, neutrinos...). Half spin particles.
This is the next higher order of existence. The seven planes of dimensional reality merely provide the dimensional planes in which these particles manifest.

I have modified what I said before, I am placing the Higgs Boson with the force particles for the weak nuclear force, as the Higgs Boson is closely related to the generation of the W and Z bosons.

WHAT DO THE PLANES OF DIMENSIONAL REALITY LOOK LIKE?

I have described them as "planes" - but more out of avoiding the word "dimension" to avoid confusion with the construct of the dimensions of space-time. These are in fact discrete degrees of order. It is apparent, when studying quantum physics, we are seeing parts of a grand whole.  But no one knows what it looks like.  It is similar to the story of the blind men trying to find the elephant:


One of the most promising theories I have seen is that of Garrett Lisi - it combines all these particles with their properties, and out of emerges a very complicated geometric structure composed of circles called an "E8 Lie Group," which even accounted for the Higgs Boson before it was discovered:



Here is a representation of the E8 Lie Group with thread made by hand:


Here is another graphical video describing where the particles map into this structure, forming elegant geometric patterns:



Here is a description of electromagnetism (from An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything):
The fiber bundle of electromagnetism, for example, consists of circles attached to every point of spacetime. Crucially, each circle can rotate a little relative to its spacetime neighbors. The so-called connection field of a fiber bundle describes how neighboring fibers are related by these symmetry rotations. The electric and magnetic force fields filling spacetime correspond to the curvature of this fiber bundle—geometrically, the electric and magnetic fields are how the circular fibers twist over time and space.
This sound similar to how the Kaluza-Klein theory solved the problem for electromagnetism, by creating an extra small curled spatial dimension that interacts with three dimensional space. However the E8 Theory gives a much more comprehensive explanation than the Kaluza-Klein theory.

The E8 theory, however, is incomplete: it does not describe all of the fermions and cannot predict the mass of particles. But I do not view this an an inherent weakness, I see this as the strength of the theory. Note that the seven planes of dimensional reality is not describing particles, but the states of particles that originate from a field or plane of existence. The confusion is coming from our construct which is insisting to find elementary particles from our Euclidean geometry. I think the geometric object of E8 Theory is showing the planes of existence in which "particles" (or energy points) manifest. The intersections of the geometry are not the particles themselves, but the states in which particles manifest from the interacting planes of this dimensional reality.

THE MYSTERY OF THE TORUS OF THE E8 THEORY AND ARTHUR M. YOUNG

The E8 Lie Group is geometrically represented by 248 circles intersecting with a torus, more commonly known as a "doughnut."  Here is a simplified view of how the circles are generated from a torus:


Now here is where things get interesting.  Arthur M. Young, inventor of the Bell helicopter, out of the blue, begins working on his theory of The Reflexive Universe, which divides existence into seven planes. For some odd reason, he associates his theory with the geometric shape of a torus:


Arthur M. Young in his theory, did not have a complete list of the subatomic particles.  He knew nothing of the E8 theory, which was based on a geometric object that had not yet been completely explored. He misplaced the photon in the area where space-time belongs. Here is a diagram of the overall planes of existence, showing the photon (as well as man) misplaced:


The levels of planes of existence are according to degrees of freedom. Note that in the first level, he states "position and energy uncertain."  This is true, when speaking of quantum states. Quantum states are perhaps manifestations of other planes of existence outside space-time.

But the question now arises, why does Arthur M. Young associate these seven levels with the shape of a torus. Where did he get it? Oddly, it has to do with a topological property of a torus. He knew that there were seven stages of existence. He says this:
"...as a scientist, of course, I could not blindly accept this number [the number seven] merely on the basis of tradition [e.g., the seven days of creation], for, like most modern minds, I suspected that mere superstition had led to its selection, rather than any valid theoretical reason which required seven stages and not some other number. It was at this time that a friend, Harry Smith, reminded me of the well known fact that the torus, or doughnut, has a unique topology, such that a map drawn on its surface requires seven colors in order for all bordering countries to be distinguished by differences in color." (The Reflexive Universe, xxv)
Topology? The borders here are significant, for in E8 theory it is the intersecting circles that give rise to properties for subatomic particles. In a footnote he writes:
"Geometry deals with measure and angles of a surface, but topology deals with different classes of surface... This should be important because the abstractions of mathematics have often proved to apply to real situations; the imaginary numbers are invaluable in equations which deal with waves or oscillation; the curved space of Riemann gave Einstein the basis for relativity. Toroidal space-time could be next."
What a lucky guess! If E8 theory proves to be correct, it would confirm Arthur M. Young's guess out of the blue. But is this out of the blue?  He admits he does not have the physical theory, and yet repeatedly he comes back to the torus.

As "above, so below."  As it turns out there is a Three-torus model of the universe, otherwise known as the "Bagel Theory" which proposed in 1984 that the shape of the universe was a doughnut:



THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL UMMO THEORY OF SPACE-TIME

Perhaps completely independent of Arthur M. Young, perhaps not, beginning in the 1960s and 1970s a series of mysterious letters appeared in Europe claiming to come from a group known as "Ummites" who said they were extraterrestrial humans visiting earth unknown to us. Several of the letters contained scientific concepts, as well as religious knowledge, that were ahead of their time. I discussed some of these in The Extraterrestrial Christianity of UMMO. In order to remain anonymous, they told one of their contacts to declare the whole affair a "psychological experiment" that he made up. Nevertheless, there are these letters which contain very accurate scientific predictions. A set of these letters concern space-time.  They were surprised at our primitive Euclidean concept of space-time:
    "When our brothers arrived in Earth year 1950 on OYAGAA (Earth), and after having learned the French language and gone for the first time to the library located at 58 rue Richelieu in Paris, they were surprised to read in the Earth mathematics texts in the library that, for instance, concepts like the POINT, the LINE and the PLANE continued to be considered by you as simple abstractions of an underlying reality of the UNIVERSE."
They disagreed with our concept of a particle:
"This rigid model of the mathematics of Space does not satisfy a number of current physicists at all: that is true despite the fact that many others continue to accept the existence of this SPACE independent of the matter and the energy it contains. Then you invented another thing: the Space of the Phases. For you real space contains subatomic particles (another error as we will see further)."
After describing our current theories, they then describe their own:
"We, on the contrary, know that the WAAM (cosmos) is composed of a network of IBIZOO UU. We conceive SPACE as an associated set of angular factors "
They included a diagram like this:


Angles, of course, originate from circles. Circles are intersections with a torus. Just as what Arthur M. Young and Garrett Lisi proposed for the model of space-time and subatomic particles. The Ummites stress this point: for them, a "dimension" is an angular magnitude:
"For us the line in space does not exist, as we explain further, so the concept of OAWOO (dimension) takes on a different meaning for us. Such dimensions are associated not with scalar magnitudes (as the Earth people think), but on the contrary with angular magnitudes. (It is curious to note, for instance, that in their blindness, the physicists of the Earth do not give an angle a dimensional characteristic.)"
Interestingly, Arthur M. Young describes the seven levels of his theory as based on degrees of freedom. He compares degrees of freedom with a circle representing different phases for changes of a position:


In other words, in his theory Arthur M. Young represents the different stages as phases of angular magnitude.  Just as described in the letters of the Ummites.  Arthur M. Young attempted to extend this concept further to other states of being:


Again, different states of being can essentially be represented by angular magnitude. However I dont agree with all the states Arthur M. Young came up with here, Emanuel Swedenborg has a more well thought out system of spiritual stages. Where did Arthur M. Young get this idea? From his invention of the Bell helicopter? Or somewhere else? Maybe its just a coincidence.


To proceed with the Ummite letter, they warn not to associate the concept of angular magnitude with the concept of aether, and they speak about frame of reference for the axis:
"You should not either identify such a space with the ancient concept of ETHER thrown out by the theory of relativity, since the NETWORK OF IBOZOO UU is not at all an elastic medium in which are immersed the atoms of bodies. 
You could also ask us: in relation to what universal reference axis are directed the angles of the IBOZOO UU? Naturally NOT WITH ANY. There is no axis of reference in the WAAM for that would suppose a real line in the COSMOS, and such a line, as we indicated, is a FICTION.We can only refer to the angle of one of the secondary axes of an IBOZOO UU compared to another, arbitrarily adopted as a reference. We inform you that you should not imagine that subatomic particles are immersed inside this set of IBOZOO UU. Quite simply because any particle (electron, meson or graviton) is necessarily an IBOZOO UU directed in a particular way compared to the others."
Throughout the letters they use their own words for some concepts, and not all of them have been defined. Here is another interesting reference to MASS as another dimension:
"In conclusion : we also conceive of a space of N DIMENSIONS. MASS, for example, is also a " curve of this multidimensional space ". It is the same for DISTANCES within the WAAM. Only our concepts of magnitude, curvature and distance are radically different from those of the Earth people."
Thus the letter confirms that mass is its own dimension. This was written long before confirmation that the Higgs field existed through the discovery of the Higgs boson. The Ummite letters stress that all of these dimensions are ordered by our external senses into something our brain understands, but our sensory perceptions cannot comprehend this reality. It can be represented geometrically, but that geometry is but a representation - a "correspondence" - to these higher dimensions. They describe these angular magnitude as a connected series of circles or spheres, which again can possibly be generated from the torus of E8 theory. At one point they mention a hypersphere:
"If we consider a HYPERSPHERE with N dimensions, we can conceive as many other OAWOO (RADIUS VECTORS) as there are dimensions."
Here is a geometric representation of a 4D hypersphere, that when rotated often forms - you guessed it - a torus:



From About the Hypersphere:
"Today, cosmologists say that the universe of relativity and quantum physics can best be understood when seen as a torus, or donut shape. A universe containing black holes, white holes and "wormholes" conforms best to this model. And a torus has the same formula (2pi2r3) as the HYPERSPHERE.
As a model of the universe, the HYPERSPHERE shows how things emerge in time and are enfolded back into fabric of the universe. You can experience this by rotating your HYPERSPHERE through its center."
From the Ummo letters, they again stress that subatomic particles are not particles:
"What you call a subatomic particle, like a neutrino, a meson or an antiproton, with various attributes such as mass, charge and spin, are only multiple orientations of an IBOZOO UU. If the Earth physicists continue to spend their time on detection, evaluation and classification of all the possible particles, it will take them a billion years to finish since this classification is as sterile as giving a name to each infinitesimal angle under which we can see a star over the course of a day."
I can keep quoting from these letters, but they will continually repeat: the properties we observe in subatomic particles are merely angular momentums of dimensions we cannot see with the senses, and can only approximate in math and geometry.

ASCENSION THROUGH THE SPIRITUAL DIMENSIONS


So what do the physical dimensions have to do with the higher spiritual dimensions?  Everything, for these physical dimensions that we experience every day correspond to the spiritual dimensions that our souls progress through.  What are the properties of these higher dimensions?  These are things that we will abstractly know generally as "good" and "truth."  In the highest sense, Good and Truth is God Himself. In the same manner as physical dimensions, good and truth progress downward towards us, until we receive and reflect a certain aspect of good and truth. Good and truth are not properties of the self, but rather good and truth are properties received by the self in the will and thought that originate from Divine influx into our lower dimensions.

In the Christian revelation, God is known as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Here, we must recognize that defining this Trinity as a trinity of three beings is the result of the primitive minds of its time in the 4th century, born in a culture that was polytheistic.  It should be seen as different planar dimensions of one Divine being in Jesus Christ, for in each person there is a trine of soul, body, and spirit. The Father is the invisible God that no one can see or comprehend; the Son is His visible form we can experience directly, and the Holy Spirit is the outpouring of the Divine into us.  We see this in physics: there is an invisible probability wave we can't observe, but it collapses into a point or the visible form, and the progression of this form produces a field around it.

Put in another way, the Trinity can be expressed as end, cause and effect.  This is reflected in the human form as our intention or will, our thought, and the action that is the outcome of our intent and thoughts to carry out that intention.

These higher level spiritual concepts are simply reflected into these lower dimensions that we can understand.  So lets take the first three planes of dimensional reality.  The plane of space-time, with its cosmological constant causing expansion, represents purpose or intent.  The purpose here is to create something. The plane of charge, in which light operates, represents cause or thought.  We can see this in the human form - for all of our actions, before they become action, are expressed in thought. How is thought communicated to our body? Through the electromagnetic impulse. There is correspondence with electromagnetism, and light, with thought. As Jesus was the Divine truth incarnate, He thus said "I am the light of the world."  The end effect comes about in the plane of mass. This is the end result, the effect, the outcome of action.

WHAT IS THE PROCESS OF SPIRITUAL ASCENSION?

The process of spiritual ascension is defined in the seven days of creation, which I mentioned in the previous blog post (see The Seven Practices of Peace).  It has nothing to do with the creation of the world, but rather with the creation of a new spiritual being destined to become an angel in heaven. They are described in extensive detail in Swedenborg's work, Heavenly Arcana.  The first state is described actually before the first day:
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." (Gen. 1:1-2)
This represents the lowest spiritual dimension. So what is it? It is simple: the lowest spiritual dimension is the LOVE OF SELF, or THE SELFISH EGO.  The ego has no true love, it loves itself.  This is the formless void. It is supported by falsehood, this is the darkness on the face of the deep.  This is the spiritual state that is represented by the empty formless darkness of space-time.

I mention this first, because so many eastern and New Age religions look to see God in the self. They elevate self pride and this is a step backwards. It is false, and is actually the error committed by the ancient antediluvian race. This first step of spirituality is to not recognize God in self, but to recognize the evil and falsehood in one self.  This acknowledgment is the first step, and this brings us to the second stage:
"And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness." (Gen. 1:3-4)
This is the step in which one is introduced into the knowledge of good and truth.  One begins to separate and reject the falsehoods - the darkness - that one used to hold true.  And of course we see in the second plane the force of electromagnetism, which is mediated by light. There is thus a correspondence between the stages of spiritual development and the different planes of order in physical existence.  Without knowledge of the truth, one cannot be reformed by the truth.  It is from a knowledge of spiritual truth that one can fight against the falsehood of the selfish ego.

SPIRITUAL MEDITATION

The above process of reformation concerns that of regenerating the selfish will, into something spiritual that is a recipient of good and truth from the Divine that is acknowledged to be outside of one self. The other process of spiritual ascension is mental, and this involves prayer, slowing one's breath, and withdrawing from the senses.  For the senses immerse our soul into these lower dimensions. Withdraw one's senses from these outer dimensions, one can then get in touch with the inner spiritual dimensions:
"When man is elevated toward interiors, he then comes out of the gross sensual light into a milder light, and at the same time is withdrawn from the influx of scandals and defilements, and is brought nearer to what is of justice and equity, because nearer to the angels who are with him, thus nearer to the light of heaven. This elevation from sensuals was known to the ancients, even to the Gentiles, therefore their wise men said that when the mind is withdrawn from sensuals, it comes into an interior light, and at the same time into a tranquil state, and into a certain heavenly blessedness; hence also they drew conclusions as to the immortality of the soul. Man is capable of being yet more interiorly elevated, and the more interiorly, into the clearer light he comes, and at length into the light of heaven, which light is nothing else than wisdom and intelligence from the Lord." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 6313)
Withdrawal from the selfish ego, and withdrawal from the external senses and thus materialism, are the two processes by which one can spiritually ascend into the higher dimensions of love and truth. It is simple, simple enough for a child, and anyone can do it once they follow the path. The path is to fight the selfish ego, resist evils as sin, and escape from the "Matrix":

Saturday, April 11, 2015

The Seven Practices of Peace



The Seven Practices of Peace is a book that describes the seven steps of spiritual development, described in a symbolic fashion by the seven days of creation in Genesis.  For literal fundamentalists, the book is misinterpreted as describing the creation of the earth in a literal seven days.  In the New Church, it has been revealed that it symbolically represented seven stages of spiritual development - where each "day" is a state of being, beginning with the lower states of preparation of cleaning and opening one's inner self, followed by successive states where the Divine begins to flow inside our soul.  For scripture is not talking about heaven and earth here, but rather a new creation of the soul (heaven) and the body (earth). 

I had previously blogged about this in Seven Stages of Spiritual Development (or, the Seven Chakras).  These seven stages of spiritual development, I believe, describe the 7th level of order in the theory of Arthur M. Young as described in his book The Reflexive Universe.  I have been blogging about this theory, with some of my corrections, under the label of "Universal Order."  The first six orders describe external material realities, which divides creation into seven discrete degrees of order. The final 7th order describe internal spiritual realities, something that Arthur M. Young was unfamiliar with to complete his theory.  As each person advances through these spritual stages, inwardly their soul advances into another spiritual level.


I picked up the book The Seven Practices of Peace today at a book expo in Bryn Athyn Pennsylvania, for it is written in a simple manner which can be used in a group discussion (see New Church Journey for more info). It allows one to take a theory and put it into practice. It is my opinion that the Swedenborgian or New Church needs to do more to get this spiritual information out there to ordinary people, and starting a group discussion in one's home is a good start.  Start with yourself, then your family, then others.


Most will probably think that these are seven steps of knowledge. But that is incorrect, and it is a fallacy to place all of one's spiritual development in knowledge or just receiving "enlightenment." A true spiritual path combines love with truth, or the will with one's thought. One begins with the truth, and the next step is to change one's will. While the book gives a seven week program, in reality it is a process that lasts one's entire life.  And it should be known that very few reach the higher stages of spiritual development. Swedenborg describes these stages as follows:
"The first state is that which precedes — both the state from infancy, and that immediately before regeneration — and this is called a void, emptiness, and darkness. And the first movement, which is the Lord's mercy, is the Spirit of God moving upon the faces of the waters. 
The second state is when a distinction is made between the things which are the Lord's, and those that are man's own. Those that are the Lord's are called in the Word remains; and here are especially knowledges of faith, which have been learned from infancy. These are stored up, and not manifested until he comes into this state; which is a state rarely attained at this day without temptation, misfortune, and sorrow, that cause the things of the body and the world, and thus of man's own, to become quiescent, and as it were dead. The things that are of the external man are thus separated from those of the internal. In the internal are the remains, stored up by the Lord unto this time and for this use. 
The third is a state of repentance; in which man from his internal talks piously and devoutly, and brings forth things that are good, as works of charity, but are yet inanimate, because he thinks they are from himself. And these are called tender herbage, then herb yielding seed, and afterward, the fruit-tree. 
The fourth state is when man is affected with love, and enlightened by faith. He talked indeed piously before, and brought forth things that were good, but from a state of temptation and distress, not from faith and charity. For this reason faith and love are now enkindled in the internal man, and are called two lights. 
The fifth state is when man talks from faith, and thereby confirms himself in truth and good. The things which he now produces are animate, and are called fishes of the sea, and fowl of the heavens. 
The sixth state is when man speaks truths and does good works from faith and thence from love. The things that he now produces are called the living soul, and the beast. And as he now begins to act at once both from faith and from love, he becomes a spiritual man, who is called an image. His spiritual life is delighted and sustained by the things that are of knowledges of faith, and that are of works of charity, which are called his food, and his natural life is delighted and sustained by those that belong to the body and the senses; from which a conflict arises, until love reigns and he becomes a celestial man. 
Those who are regenerated do not all attain this state. But some, and the greatest part at this day, only reach the first; some only the second; some the third, the fourth, the fifth, rarely the sixth; and scarcely any one the seventh." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 7-13)
Thus it can be seen that this is not seven steps of knowledge, it is seven steps of reforming the selfish ego, away from selfishness towards love.  This path is not tied to any particular religion, it is universal. Its just that many do not get these steps down correctly, and have been revealed in waking visions to Emanuel Swedenborg.  

Those who are in ignorance are at "ground zero" where they are a formless void of self interest, absorbed in external material things.  The first step is when one begins to receive knowledge of what is good and truth. For without knowledge, there is no guidance. But knowledge is the lowest step, and is not the end of the journey.

The second stage is the hard one: after one acknowledges what is good and truth, one then self examines one self and begins to realize that one's desires and life is not according to what is good and truth.  This is a period of temptation and distress.  Those who overcome temptation, enter a period of repentance, this is stage 3.  But very, very few are willing to self examine themselves, fewer still take action and turn against their selfish desires:
"It is wonderful that one can find fault with another who is intending evil, and say, "Do not do that, because it is sin," and yet it is hard for him to say so to himself; this is because the latter moves the will, but the other only the thought nearest to the hearing. Inquiry was made in the spiritual world who could practise this second kind of repentance; and they were found as rare as doves in a vast desert; and some said that they could indeed do this, but that they were not able to examine themselves and confess their sins before God. But still, all they who do good from religion avoid actual evils; and yet how very rarely do they reflect upon the interiors, which are of the will, in the belief that they are not in evils because they are in good, yes, that the good covers the evil. But, my friend, the first of charity is to shun evils; the Word teaches this, the Decalogue, Baptism, the Holy Supper, and also reason; for how can any one flee from evils and banish them without some self-inspection? and how can good become good unless it has been inwardly purified? I know that all pious men, and also all who have sound reason will assent to this while they read it, and will see that it is genuine truth; but still that few will act accordingly." (True Christian Religion, n. 535)
True Christianity is to inwardly examine oneself and turn away from evil.  It is for this reason Christianity in its true form I consider better than so many "New Age" type of spirituality and meditation, for they only address knowledge or enlightenment, and they never address the problem of evil in the will, and how to cleanse it. It is easy to know, but much harder to do.


Here is a video of a sailboat of  Bernard Moitessier taking a long trip over water, which symbolizes the period of temptation. Appropriately done to the music of Every Day by Carly Comando.

Saturday, April 4, 2015

The Hope of Easter and the Iranian Nuclear Deal



Easter approaches, in which we remember how Jesus saved the human race by overcoming sin and glorifying His human body, averting the spiritual separation we experience from heaven.  As we remember this, other good news has arrived - a breakthrough deal that would ensure that Iran does not develop the capability of developing nuclear weapons. This of course ruins certain military plans to create another war in the future in the Middle East, as some would rather have a cause for war than to negotiate a deal for peace. And the media puts forth its propaganda to the American public that this is a "bad" deal, hoping to brainwash them. So lets review the facts, what does this deal do, in return for lifting sanctions against Iran?  The deal does this (from Highlights of the Iran deal):
1. Arak's nuclear reactor would be redesigned so that it would not produce weapons grade plutonium.
2. Fordow would be converted into a research facility with no fissile material.
3. Natanz would be the only site containing uranium enriching centrifuges.
4. The operating centrifuges for uranium would be reduced by two-thirds.
5. Uranium enrichment would only last for 10 years.
6. For 15 years uranium will not be enriched above the 3.67% needed for a nuclear power plant. Weapons grade uranium needs to be enriched to about 90%.
7. The IAEA would be given full access to inspect all nuclear sites, any site "deemed suspicious," uranium mines, the supply chain, and centrifuge storage facilities.
Its that last point that Iran refused to do up until now.  But who can blame them?  The American-Iranian relationship has been bad since the 1953 overthrow of the democratic government of Iran over the privatization of its oil industry.  Yes, the American government overthrew a democratically elected government to maintain control over the oil supply:



Both see the need to negotiate now: America and Iran have "silently" cooperated in the war against ISIS, and Iran can see its sanctions lifted. The point to watch is that if Iran does not allow inspections, America will seek to quickly put back the sanctions in place.

This deal is very good news - and yet, there is opposition from a very vocal Republican congress.  Republican senators overstepped the constitution and actually wrote a letter to Iran that they will have the "final say" in the negotiation - not true - and that any deal could be reversed in the next administration.  This is highly unusual behaviour - they are not allowed to directly interact with the foreign government in such manner. Moreover, the Republican congress overstepped protocol and invited Netanyahu to give a speech that states that any deal "threatens" Israel's existence. The opposite is true - the deal will help ensure the safety of Israel. If Israel indeed wanted to be safe, it would give up its own nuclear weapons and support a nuclear free zone in the Middle East.

So why all the opposition? Simply put, the U.S. military has future war plans, and wants to perpetuate endless wars to maintain its control over the oil supply, and oil supplies denominated in U.S. dollars. General Wesley Clark pointed this out years ago: after 9/11, the U.S. military made plans to invade seven countries in 5 years: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan ... and finishing off with Iran:



And now we have Jeb Bush planning to run for President.  Who happened to release all his emails, including ones where people described his brother as the "worst President in U.S. history." Whom of course he defended. Who also happens to be a President who was in fact never elected by accurate vote counting. This breakthrough deal absolutely ruins this future war plan.  

Another point here, under international law it happens to be perfectly legal to develop nuclear power for peaceful purposes. It is still very dangerous, as the Fukushima disaster shows (see UFOs over Chernobyl and Fukushima Nuclear Power Plants), and no religious theocracy should ever have one. And here is the irony of it all: the United States is the nation that helped Iran begin its program of developing nuclear power.  This began with the "Atoms for Peace" program under President Eisenhower and the Shah of Iran. This plan culminated in 1976, from wikipedia:
"President Gerald Ford signed a directive in 1976 offering Tehran the chance to buy and operate a U.S.-built reprocessing facility for extracting plutonium from nuclear reactor fuel. The deal was for a complete 'nuclear fuel cycle'." The Ford strategy paper said the "introduction of nuclear power will both provide for the growing needs of Iran's economy and free remaining oil reserves for export or conversion to petrochemicals."
It just so happens, on September 18, 1976, there is a well known case of a UFO engaging an Iranian fighter jet.  This is the exact same year President Gerald Ford gave permission to Iran to get nuclear reactor fuel.  The below documentary has an interview with one of the Iranian pilot who encountered the UFO.  The part that scared him the most is that the UFO could turn on and off the electrical systems of the U.S. made fighter jet at will. After he landed, he was debriefed not only by Iranian military officials, but also a U.S. colonel and a CIA agent. The declassified document here shows that not only was a report sent back to the U.S. military, but also to the White House:



So, if the White House denies that they are not tracking UFOs, nor have no knowledge of UFOs, they are lying.  President Obama, however, seems to be a bit more honest.  Instead of stating he knows nothing, after all the joking he changes attitude and says "I can't reveal anything":



The video is falsely labeled that Obama denies knowledge of the matter. But he did not deny knowledge.  And here is a detailed analysis of the body language of the Presidentt:



It should be noted here, that while "joking" he is a bit tense, and says two other things:
1. (Joke) "The aliens won't let it happen - we'd reveal all their secrets."
2. (Joke) [The aliens] "exercise strict control over us."
What a funny joke. And it must be completely unrelated to this negotiated deal with Iran.

So out of death, let us hope there is a promise of life in this Easter. Just as the Jewish Pharisees failed to keep Jesus sealed in the tomb, let us hope that Israel does not promote falsehoods to bury this negotiated settlement.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Matt. 5:9)