A Spiritual Theory of Creation: the Big Bang and the "Aether" Levels of the Universe

The best scientific evidence and theories indicate that about 14 billion years ago, the universe began with a giant explosion of energy known as the "Big Bang" which began from a point of singularity. At this moment, space and time was itself created.  And before that, there was no space, and there was no time - the Big Bang essentially started this rapidly expanding "space-time" cone that we call the universe. This cosmological theory is based on Einstein's theory of relativity of the 20th century as well as modern astronomical observations, summarized in a video below:


This brings about the inevitable paradox: what was there before the Big Bang?  For before the Big Bang, there was no space nor time.  As it turns out, among the heavenly visions that Swedenborg received in the 18th century, he was given accurate information on the creation and fundamental nature of the universe that provides remarkable insights for modern science, despite the limits of the scientific knowledge of his day.

THE "NATURAL SUN" OR THE BIG BANG

The first insight Swedenborg was given is that before the creation of the physical material world, it was preceded by the creation of the spiritual world from the emanation of the Divine, who resides in a spiritual Sun of pure Love. Three levels or degrees were created in the spiritual world, which are also known as three heavens which Paul briefly described in one of his visions (2 Cor. 12:2). Although the theory of the Big Bang was essentially unknown to Swedenborg, he was told in his visions that following the creation of the spiritual world a "natural sun" or "sun of the natural world" which was of pure fire was created. This was followed by the creation of "three natural atmospheres":

"...it would be vain to conclude anything concerning the creation of the universe, unless it were first known that there are two worlds, one in which angels are, and the other in which men are; and that men by death pass out of their world into the other; and then also I saw that there were two suns, one from which all spiritual things flow forth, and the other from which all natural things flow forth; and that the sun from which all spiritual things flow forth is pure love from Jehovah God, who is in the midst of it; and that the sun from which all natural things flow forth is pure fire. ...by means of the light and heat from the [spiritual] sun... spiritual atmospheres, which in themselves are substantial, were created one from another; and because there were three, and thence three degrees of them, three heavens were made; one for the angels who are in the highest degree of love and wisdom, another for the angels who are in the second degree, and the third for the angels who are in the lowest degree. But because this spiritual universe cannot exist without a natural universe in which it may produce its effects and uses, then the sun from which all natural things proceed was created at the same time and by this likewise by means of light and heat three atmospheres encompassing the spiritual... and at last by means of these, the terraqueous globe, the abode of men, beasts, and fishes, also of trees, shrubs, and herbs, was formed of lands consisting of soil, stones, and minerals." (True Christian Religion, n. 76)

What Swedenborg was shown only makes sense if what he called the "natural sun" of pure fire is the Big Bang - for the Big Bang was a big explosion of energy, and at the initial moments of the universe the universe was extremely hot. The suns of the various solar systems coalesced later. It is important to distinguish between the Divine spiritual sun from which proceeds all life and the natural sun from which proceeds only dead material things:

"Creation itself cannot be ascribed at all to the sun of the natural world, but wholly to the sun of the spiritual world; since the sun of the natural world is entirely dead, but the sun of the spiritual world is alive; for it is the first proceeding of the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom; and what is dead does not act at all of itself, but is acted upon. Wherefore to ascribe to it anything of creation, would be like ascribing the work which the artificer does, to the tool which is moved by his hand. The sun of the natural world is pure fire from which everything of life has been withdrawn; but the sun of the spiritual world is fire in which is the Divine Life. The angelic idea concerning the fire of the sun of the natural world, and concerning the fire of the sun of the spiritual world, is this — that the Divine Life is from within in the fire of the sun of the spiritual world, but from without in the fire of the sun of the natural world. From this it may appear that the actual existence of the natural sun is not from itself, but from the living force proceeding from the sun of the spiritual world" (Divine Love and Wisdom, n. 157).

Throughout the revelations it is revealed that life originates from spiritual influx from the spiritual Sun into the natural material world - the natural material world is not in itself the source of life. And this is why science cannot understand or explain the origin of life.

THERE IS NO SPACE OR TIME IN HEAVEN

Now, modern science tells use that space and time were created at the time of the Big Bang, which produces a paradox here - what was before the Big Bang? According to Swedenborg, before the creation of the "natural sun" from which the material universe came the spiritual heavens were created - and there is no space or time in heaven:

"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 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. As changes of place are made in this way, it is evident that approximations are similarities as to state of interiors, and that removals are dissimilarities. From this it follows that those are near to each other who are in similar state, and those at a distance who are in dissimilar state; and that spaces in heaven are nothing else than external states corresponding to internal." (Heaven and Hell, n. 191-193)

Essentially our idea of material space becomes "abstracted" into appearances of distance. As God is Love, those who love will be close to Him in heaven according to their state of love. Moreover, in heaven we will be with the ones we truly love, and with those who are similar to our own personality. The spiritual world is the world where our internal ideas and affections become true reality, in fact more real than this material world. In this world we might say "I feel close to you." Or "I feel distant from you."  These internal feeling manifest as apparent distance of space in the spiritual world, for all our internal states of feelings and thoughts have a substantial reality.

Similar to space, there is no time in heaven, but rather changes of state. Moreover, eternity in heaven is not infinite time, but an infinite state:

"That angels know nothing about time, though all things move onward with them as in the world, without any difference at all, is because in heaven there are not years and days, but changes of state; and where there are years and days there are times, but where there are changes of state there are states... Since angels have no notion of time, they have a different idea of eternity from that which men of the earth have. By eternity they perceive infinite state, not infinite time. I was once thinking about eternity, and by the idea of time could perceive what to eternity might be, namely, without end, but not what from eternity is, and so not what God did from eternity before the creation. When anxiety on this account arose in my mind, I was elevated into the sphere of heaven and thus into the perception in which angels are about eternity, and then it was made clear to me that we must not think of eternity from time, but from state, and then we may perceive what from eternity is" (Heaven and Hell, n. 163, 167)

Thus the state of the universe before creation was a state of no space or time, thus before the Big Bang we are thus now talking about the nature of the spiritual heavens beyond the material. Moreover, it does not make sense to think of "before" the Big Bang. Rather, the three spiritual heavens are higher dimensions outside of space and time which co-exist and permeate the lower material world which dwells in the plane of space and time. This is an important clue for scientists who are still investigating the true nature of the universe.

The spiritual concept that space and time are created things, and not the fundamental or original form or reality, is relevant to modern theories of science such as Einstein's theories of General Relativity and Minkowski Space-Time, which describe space and time as a "fabric" that was created at the time of the Big Bang.

AETHER, SPACETIME, AND QUANTUM FIELDS

Following the creation of the heavens and the "natural sun," which is probably more accurately described as the Big Bang, Swedenborg was told that "three natural atmospheres" were created in the natural world. However he is using the word "atmosphere" in a different manner than our modern definition, in the context of 18th century science. By "atmosphere" he is referring to a degree or level of what scientists in his time knew as aether - a medium in space through which light propagates, similar to how sound travels through air or waves through water. Here is a brief description of the 18th century idea of aether:

"The motion of light was a long-standing investigation in physics for hundreds of years before the 20th century. The use of aether to describe this motion was popular during the 17th and 18th centuries, including a theory proposed by Johann II Bernoulli... In his theory, all space is permeated by aether containing "excessively small whirlpools". These whirlpools allow for aether to have a certain elasticity, transmitting vibrations from the corpuscular packets of light as they travel through. This theory of luminiferous aether would influence the wave theory of light proposed by Christiaan Huygens, in which light traveled in the form of longitudinal waves via an "omnipresent, perfectly elastic medium having zero density, called aether". At the time, it was thought that in order for light to travel through a vacuum, there must have been a medium filling the void through which it could propagate, as sound through air or ripples in a pool." (from Aether (classical element)

These ideas of aether were disproven by the Michaelson-Morley experiments in the early 20th century. So another model was needed. It was at this time that Einstein developed his theories of relativity, in which the speed of light was shown to be constant, and fused the separate concepts of space and time into a four dimensional manifold known as "spacetime." This spacetime manifold could be warped by gravity. As such, Einstein considered calling it the "new aether," with the caveat that no substance or motion can be associated with this aether (see Einstein's views on the aether). However this term never became popular and so at the present day we still call it "spacetime." But for the purpose of understanding what was shown about creation to Swedenborg, lets call this four dimensional manifold of spacetime as the "aether" of gravity.

So this leaves light, which Swedenborg also describes as travelling through its own "aether."  In the 20th century science was able to achieve a better understanding of light in Quantum field theory, which says that all fundamental particles are vibrations of fields that exist in all points in space and time through the universe. At this low level, particles do not travel through a medium, but rather they are manifestations of the medium itself. It is non-intuitive, so here is a summary of the theory:

These vibrations of quantum fields can be compared to sound waves traveling through air, which in the 18th century was also used as the model for the concept of aether for gravity and light. So essentially, quantum fields are the accurate and true representation of what we used to call aether - its just that in a quantum field, there is no separation between the manifestation of the particle and the field itself, as the particle is an excited state of the field. There is no separate "medium" as had originally been imagined. Again for the purpose of this discussion, lets also call these quantum fields "aether," as it will help us understand what Swedenborg was describing in what he called "natural atmospheres." For just as he saw that these natural atmospheres permeated all of space, so the quantum fields permeate all of space.

THE THREE NATURAL ATMOSPHERES OR AETHERS OF THE UNIVERSE

With this scientific background, we can now analyze what Swedenborg was shown regarding the three natural "atmospheres" or aethers that were created following the creation of the three prior spiritual atmospheres, as well as what he labeled as the "natural sun" which I interpret as the Big Bang. The first piece of information is that the three natural atmospheres are "discrete substances and least forms." They are distinct from the three spiritual atmospheres that precede them, and yet the spiritual atmospheres co-exist with them:

"The natural atmospheres are similar to the spiritual atmospheres in this, that they also are discrete substances and least forms, originating from the sun of the natural world; which also singly receive the sun and store up its fire in themselves, and temper it, and bear it down as heat to the earth, where men are; and similarly the light. The difference between the spiritual atmospheres and the natural atmospheres is that the spiritual atmospheres are receptacles of the Divine fire and the Divine light, thus of love and wisdom, for they contain these within themselves; but the natural atmospheres are not receptacles of the Divine fire and the Divine light, but receptacles of the fire and light of their own sun, which in itself is dead... wherefore within there is nothing in them from the sun of the spiritual world, but still they are environed by the spiritual atmospheres which are from the spiritual sun. That this is the difference between the spiritual atmospheres and the natural atmospheres is from the wisdom of the angels." (Divine Love and Wisdom, n. 174-175)

The second piece of information given is that the three natural atmospheres descend and become more "compressed and inert" until they cause the creation of substances:

"...there are three atmospheres in each world, the spiritual and the natural, which are distinct from each other according to degrees of altitude, and which decrease in their downward progression according to degrees of latitude... And because the atmospheres decrease in their progression downward, it follows that they become continually more compressed and inert, and at length in ultimates so compressed and inert that they are no longer atmospheres, but substances at rest, and in the natural world fixed substances, such as are in the earths and are called matter" (Divine Love and Wisdom, n. 302)

The third piece of information given is that the three natural atmospheres hold together the material substances:

"...the substances and matters of which the earths consist are the ends and terminations of atmospheres which proceed as uses from the spiritual sun... And because the substances and matters of which the earths consist are from that origin, and in their aggregation are held together in connection by the pressure of the atmospheres round about, it follows that they have therefrom a perpetual effort to produce forms of uses. The very quality of being able to produce they derive from their origin, which is that they are the ultimates of the atmospheres, with which they therefore agree" (Divine Love and Wisdom, n. 310)

The fourth piece of information is that in several passages, Swedenborg speaks of these three atmospheres as distinct from the animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms (see Heavenly Arcana, n. 3000, Divine Love and Wisdom, n. 225, True Christian Religion, n. 186, Apocalypse Explained, n. 1208.2, Spiritual Diary, n. 2360). So this is puzzling, what are these so-called three natural atmospheres? In an unpublished manuscript, Swedenborg spells it out further:

"There are three natural atmospheres arising from the sun of the world, and there are three spiritual atmospheres arising from the sun of heaven, which is the Lord. The three natural atmospheres arising from the sun of the world are the purer aether, which is the universal atmosphere, from which springs all gravity; the intermediate aether, which forms a vortex around the planets and surrounds the moon and other satellites, from which springs magnetism; and the lowest ether, which is air. These three atmospheres hold together all physical and material things of the earth, which have been composed in conformity to those three degrees." (Last Judgment Posthumous, 320; see also Spiritual Diary, n. 222)

This actually is rather an amazing insight. Gravity is a bosonic force in the spacetime field, which was considered to be a "new aether" according to Einstein. Magnetism is something we now know is part of the electromagnetic force mediated by the photon, and as stated earlier a photon is an excitation of its quantum field, which can also be considered to be an aether. But on the third atmosphere, Swedenborg confuses it with "air" which is a macroscopic representation of aether as sound waves travel through the medium of air molecules. We know its an error since Swedenborg distinguished the mineral kingdom from the three natural atmospheres. Moreover he acknowledged in this instance that his statements should be verified by experimental knowledge:

"...the statements we have made so far regarding degrees and atmospheres are for the most part theoretical. Yet all theoretical conclusions must be drawn from and based on empirical observations, and also verified by them. Unless the observations of experience guide a person's hand, so to speak, he may be deluded in his theoretical speculations, and from a premise seized on in his imagination or imaginary assumption he may easily be borne through a series of conclusions into falsities entirely contrary to the truth-falsities which he may then confirm by fallacious and deceptive appearances of every kind. For falsities can be confirmed by deceptive and fallacious appearances, even to the point that a person believes them to be absolute truths." (Last Judgment Posthumous, 323)

So from spiritual revelation Swedenborg knew that there were three degrees or levels of aether in the natural material world, but in trying to map this to his scientific knowledge he regarded it as theoretical until confirmed by empirical facts. But from his statements describing the three atmospheres, with our modern scientific knowledge we can propose that these three "atmospheres" or "aethers" refer to three degrees of the four fundamental forces mediated by bosonic particles in their respective quantum fields. The justification for this is as follows:

1. The three atmospheres were described as "discrete substances" in their "least forms." Quantum particles and their fields are the least forms of atomic matter.
2. The three atmospheres are responsible for making matter more "compressed and inert." The Higgs field gives fermionic matter mass, and matter in the form of quarks are further constrained by the strong nuclear force, and further by the electromagnetic and gravitational forces. The bosonic forces are responsible for fermionic matter becoming more constrained and inert.
3. Matter is aggregated and held together by the three atmospheres, and this is now known to be caused by the bosonic forces.
4. The three atmospheres are distinct from the mineral kingdom, and the mineral kingdom is composed of fermionic matter. Thus the atmospheres or aethers can only be the quantum fields that permeate all of space.
5. Swedenborg also often describes the aethers as mediating light, and electromagnetism is mediated by the photon.

Moreover, Swedenborg explicitly stated that these natural atmospheres essentially become forces in their ultimate manifestation:

"Atmospheres in ultimates become such forces, by which substances and matters, such as are in the earths, are reduced into forms, and are held together in forms both within and without." (Divine Love and Wisdom, n. 311)

Now, why are there three degrees or levels of aether, or "atmospheres"? What was shown to Swedenborg is that all that exists can be divided into three degrees, modeled after the process of end, cause and effect:

"A knowledge of degrees is as it were a key for opening the causes of things, and for entering into them. Without this knowledge scarcely anything of cause can be known; for, without it, the objects and subjects of both worlds appear of such a sameness, as if there were nothing in them except what is seen with the eye; when yet this, compared to the things which lie hidden within, is as one to a thousand, nay to tens of thousands. The interiors which are not manifest cannot be revealed in any way unless degrees are understood. For exteriors pass to interiors, and by these to inmosts through degrees; not through continuous degrees, but through discrete degrees. Diminishings or decreasings from grosser to finer, or from denser to rarer are called continuous degrees — or rather the increments and increasings from finer to grosser, or from rarer to denser — as of light to shade, or of heat to cold. But discrete degrees are entirely different: they are as things prior, posterior, and postreme; or as end, cause, and effect. These degrees are called discrete, because the prior is by itself, the posterior by itself, and the postreme by itself; but still taken together they make one. The atmospheres — which are called ethers and airs — from the highest to the lowest, or from the sun to the earth, are discreted into such degrees" (Divine Love and Wisdom, n. 184).

This knowledge of degrees is not only useful for investigating scientific matters, but also spiritual theology, and it is part of the framework Swedenborg used to describe the theology of the New Church in a systematic and rational manner. It is also key to understanding the true meaning of the Trinity. Quantum physicists actually make use of discrete degrees, as "quantum" itself means a discrete degree of energy. But what are the three degrees of the bosonic forces? We can propose the following degrees:

1. The space-time manifold, mediated by the graviton which has a spin of 2.
2. The electromagnetic field mediated by the photon, the weak field mediated by the W/Z bosons, and the strong field mediated by the gluons. All of these forces have a spin of 1.
3. The Higgs field mediated by the Higgs boson, which gives most other particles mass. It has a spin of 0.

One reason for this arrangement is that Swedenborg stated that the aether forces of the atmospheres get progressively stronger (Spiritual Diary, n. 418), and we can see this in the relative strengths between the forces:

In this arrangement, the weak, electromagnetic and strong forces form three discrete "subdegrees" within the intermediate atmosphere or aether. Also both the electromagnetic and weak forces have been mathematically combined into an electroweak force.

Other than this, what scientific justification do we have for creating three degrees or levels for the bosonic forces? Intuitively spacetime should be in the first degree, as that is often used as the independent background in frameworks for physics. Another clue comes from the discrete spin of the bosonic particle: it can be 0,1 or 2. In mathematics, these discrete spins correspond to tensors, vectors and scalars:

"The force carrying bosons of the standard model (gluons, photons, and the W and Z) have spin 1 since they go with vector fields. The Higgs boson corresponds to a scalar field so it has spin 0. If the particle of the gravitational field is ever discovered, it would be called a graviton and would have a spin 2 since it corresponds to a tensor field. A tensor is a mathematical object that's more complex than a vector, which is in turn more complex than a scalar. See the trend? A scalar field with no direction gets a particle with spin 0. A vector field with a direction gets a particle with spin 1. A tensor field that stretches and squeezes space in two directions gets a particle with spin 2. " (from The Physics Hypertextbook)

Most people have heard of vectors and scalars. But what is a tensor? Tensors have numerous applications in data analysis and artificial intelligence, and are used to model stress on 3D objects. Here is a visual representation:

Tensors, scalars and vectors each represent, lo and behold, three discrete mathematical degrees of order:

"The tensor is a more generalized form of scalar and vector. Or, the scalar, vector are the special cases of tensor.

• If a tensor has only magnitude and no direction (i.e., rank 0 tensor), then it is called scalar.
• If a tensor has magnitude and one direction (i.e., rank 1 tensor), then it is called vector.
• If a tensor has magnitude and two directions (i.e., rank 2 tensor), then it is called dyad.
• And so on…

Please note that there are differences between the term “direction" and the term “dimension." All the types of tensor (scalar, vector, and dyad) can be defined in a three dimensional space or co-ordinate system." (from Mechanical Vectors, Rotations, and Tensors)

There is another reason to consider the gravitational force and the space-time manifold as a prior discrete degree from the electromagnetic field mediated by the photon. This is related to some complex math involving a hyperbolic universe, otherwise known by the obscure name of "anti-de Sitter space."  It is called AdS/CFT correspondence, in which a complete string theory involving gravity corresponds to a formal quantum theory with one less spacial dimension:

The name of the theory itself is interesting because Swedenborg constantly used the word "correspondence" to show how lower literal concepts "correspond" to higher level spiritual ideas. For details of its applicability in solving several problems in physics, see AdS-QCD correspondence. The theory is a bit complicated and is most easily understood in the following two videos; the first one below gets to the meat of the matter at 12:19 --


This provides evidence that our universe is holographic, as further explained in the following video, especially beginning at 9:33 --


Ads CFT Correspondence describes how quantum forces are a discrete degree below gravity, similar to how Swedenborg described how electromagnetism is in a discrete degree of aether below the aether or gravity. The idea of correspondence, where the physics of higher dimensions correspond to another physics in a a smaller number of dimensions, is also very similar to Swedenborg's idea of the correspondence in which he discovered that all material things in the universe were a theatrical representation of higher level spiritual ideas.  It is a useful idea in science, and can help us achieve an overarching spiritual theory of the universe.

The Spiritual Symbolism of the Animal, Vegetable and Mineral Kingdoms

Swedenborg saw in his waking visions that this material in which we live in is but a theatrical representation of spiritual realities in the heavenly realm, a higher dimension in which space and time have no meaning. His writings expose us to a systematic way of thinking, for both science and theology, which categorizes everything into degrees of order. In our natural material world, we can generally divide things into animal, vegetable and mineral. Each of these three kingdoms correspond to universal spiritual realities:

"All things of the earth are distinguished into three kinds, called kingdoms, namely, the animal kingdom, the vegetable kingdom, and the mineral kingdom. The things of the animal kingdom are correspondences in the first degree, because they live; the things of the vegetable kingdom are correspondences in the second degree, because they only grow; the things of the mineral kingdom are correspondences in the third degree, because they neither live nor grow." (Heaven and Hell, n. 104)

In his exposition of the spiritual meaning of scripture, it is revealed that in general animals correspond to the will and its affections, plants correspond to the understanding or thoughts of truth, and minerals correspond in the lowest degree to knowledges, or mere obedience to authority. From mineral to vegetable to animal there are increasing degrees of freedom.

The animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms are the most well known general degrees of order. However within each of these three kingdoms the degrees of order repeat. Swedenborg wrote in the 18th century before the periodic table of elements was known, and before the structure of molecules was known. Despite this, he makes this rather interesting statement in regards to the mineral kingdom:

"In all forms of uses there is an image of creation. Forms of uses are of three kinds — the forms of uses of the mineral kingdom, the forms of uses of the vegetable kingdom, and the forms of uses of the animal kingdom. The forms of uses of the mineral kingdom cannot be described, because they do not appear to sight. The first forms are the substances and matters of which the earths consist, in their least parts; the second forms are aggregations of these, and are of infinite variety; the third forms are from plants fallen to dust, and from the remains of animals; and from continual evaporations and exhalations of these, which add themselves to the earths, and form their soil. These forms of the three degrees of the mineral kingdom represent creation in an image in this, that being acted on by the sun through the atmospheres and their heat and light, they produce uses in forms, which were the ends of creation." (Divine Love and Wisdom, n. 313)

Despite not knowing about atoms and molecules, Swedenborg divides the mineral kingdom into the following three degrees:

1. Substances in their least parts.
2. Substances that are aggregates of the least parts.
3. Organic substances.

It is possible that the the first degree is atoms, but its also possible he may be referencing simple molecules. So, I was curious, with our knowledge of modern science, how do we classify molecules? For this I found this article: Classification Of Compounds. One method is classification based on what the molecules contains (e.g., oxides contain oxygen). But within this method there is a broad classification between inorganic and organic. So what about inorganic molecules, can they be divided into two further degrees? Yes:

Another classification scheme for chemical compounds is based on the types of bonds that the compound contains. Ionic compounds contain ions and are held together by the attractive forces among the oppositely charged ions. Common salt (sodium chloride) is one of the best-known ionic compounds. Molecular compounds contain discrete molecules, which are held together by sharing electrons (covalent bonding).

So with this scheme, we can divide molecules into three degrees:

1. Ionic compounds
2. Molecular compounds (covalent bonding)
3. Organic molecules that support life

So this is different from the classification of Arthur M. Young in his theory of The Reflexive Universe. He had come up with seven divisions of molecules which is described in this post: The Universal Order of Design - part II, one of which is based on the covalent bond.  However Swedenborg had classified the mineral kingdom into three broad degrees which is also supported by the general modern classifications. The final degree - organic molecules - is actually a subset of molecular compounds. But since it supports life, it is classified as a higher degree of order as it leads to the next higher kingdoms of plants and animals. For Young, his classification is based more on functional form where the highest degree of order was the DNA molecule, so there may be some validity to his classification which requires more analysis. Each higher degree uses the previous degree as a foundation for the next.

Below the mineral kingdom of molecules, there are perhaps three other degrees of order, which we can classify as dimensional, subatomic, and atomic. As they were invisible to the ancient world they were unknown, and at the time could only be inferred.

The three degrees of order can be extended to classify three levels of spiritual development, which Swedenborg terms as natural, spiritual and celestial. These three degrees also correspond to three degrees of heaven in the afterlife. The levels of spiritual development, in most general terms, are as follows:

1. A life of usefulness, and obedience to laws
2. Mutual charity, or living by the truth from one's understanding and rationality
3. Acting from love to the Lord

There are three heavens that correspond to these three stages, and these three stages overall correspond to Love, Wisdom and Use in the Lord:

"because the Lord is Love Itself and Wisdom Itself, therefore also He is Use Itself; for love has use for its end, which it produces by means of wisdom. For love and wisdom without use have no boundary or end, that is, they have no home of their own; wherefore it cannot be said that they are and exist unless there be a use in which they are. These three constitute the three degrees of altitude in the subjects of life. These three are as the first end, the middle end which is called the cause, and the last end which is called the effect... These three degrees with the angels are named Celestial, Spiritual, and Natural; and for them the celestial degree is the degree of love, the spiritual degree is the degree of wisdom, and the natural degree is the degree of uses. These degrees are so named because the heavens are distinguished into two kingdoms, and one kingdom is called the celestial and the other the spiritual, to which is added a third kingdom, in which are men in the world, and this is the natural kingdom. And the angels of whom the celestial kingdom consists, are in love; and the angels, of whom the spiritual kingdom consists, are in wisdom; but men in the world are in uses; and therefore these kingdoms are conjoined." (Divine Love and Wisdom, n. 230, 232)

Thus one can see that the theology of the New Church is rational, and conjoins both spirituality and science into one systematic spiritual philosophy that is applicable to one's life.

Quantum Physics, Virtual Reality and the Revelations of Emanuel Swedenborg

Recently physicists have proposed that the universe is more like a virtual reality simulation created by a universal consciousness, rather than a mechanical machine that runs like a ticking clock without any intervention or interaction.  At first I thought this was just an analogy of order seen in physics and nature proposed recently due to the increased usage of virtual reality games in the age of the internet, but this is actually based upon philosophical ideas from the 18th century as well as modern findings in quantum physics at the beginning of the 20th century.

The surprise here is that there is actually evidence in modern physics that indicates that we indeed live in a virtual reality of sorts overseen by a vast orderly consciousness. It is summarized in the article Is the Universe a Vast, Consciousness-created Virtual Reality Simulation? and there is a full PDF article here. It is a thought provoking read. There are two simple experiments involving photons of light that are easy to replicate:

1. Measuring the amount of light that reflects off a pane glass window, and,
2. Examining the diffraction pattern of light in what is known as the "two slit experiment."

What is interesting is that light behaves in a predictable way, independent of the time factor.  It does not matter if the stream of light is slowed down to a trickle. Photon by photon, always 4% of the photons will reflect off the pane of glass, as if each photon "knew" that 96% of the photons did not reflect. Same for the two slit experiment: photons will "know" that there are two double slits ahead in its path and will "know" where previous photons have gone before it.

This of course is preposterous, but it is true and verified by experiments, and physicists are at a loss to explain it.  Moreover, quantum physics tells us the following:

1. There is no such thing as an elementary particle. Each sub-atomic particle is a manifestation of a wave function. These "wave functions" are actual manifestations of probabilities that they are there, or not there.
2. Two sub-atomic particles can become "entangled," similar to the light photon experiments above, and no matter how far they are separated they can communicate their state together. This feature can be used to achieve faster than light communication. This of course disrupts Einstein's equations on light, and Einstein thus called it "spooky action at a distance."

So physicists are confronted with the fact that there are no elementary particles, but instead probabilities and manifestations of a probability. Thus the reality we see is an "illusion." And this caused several quantum physicists to become attracted to eastern mysticism, which states that the reality we see, the world of sensory perceptions, is an illusion. This is discussed in an interesting book, a favorite of mine, The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism. The "virtual reality" explanation is just another way to communicate the same idea in the age of the internet.

THE REVELATIONS OF EMANUEL SWEDENBORG

So all of this I knew before encountering Swedenborg in a university library while I was attending U.C. Berkeley.  Swedenborg lived in the 18th century, and I knew had described experiences concerning the after life in the 18th century that are similar to the modern Near Death Experience that was encountered by medical doctors with modern revival procedures beginning in the 1970s. As part of the revelations, he actually received information that was later verified by quantum physics.  Here is what Swedenborg said about atoms:

"it is a fallacy of the merely natural sense, that there are simple substances, which are monads and atoms; for whatever is within the range of the external sensual, the natural man believes to be such, or nothing" (Heavenly Arcana, n. 5084.4, from The Divine Revelation of the New Jerusalem)

"They who do not know these things, and do not thus distinguish the objects of reason, cannot avoid terminating the ideas of their thought in the atoms of Epicurus, the monads of Leibnitz, or the simple substances of Wolff, and thus closing up their understandings as with a bolt, so that they cannot even think from reason concerning spiritual influx" (Interaction between the Soul and Body, n. 17, from The Divine Revelation of the New Jerusalem).

In the 19th century, with the discovery of atoms, it looked like Swedenborg was wrong. But then it was discovered that atoms are composed of neutrons, protons, and electrons. Then later even these subatomic particles can be broken down into further sub-atomic particles, which are not even particles, but wave functions.

The main discovery of quantum physics is that energy is released in discrete packets, known as quanta. Also at this level, particles have a property called "spin", which has discrete values of 0, one half, 1 and possibly 2 (for the hypothetical graviton). Up until that time everyone thought all reality was continuous.  But before this discovery Swedenborg explained that reality is composed of continuous and discrete degrees:

"There are continuous degrees and there are discrete degrees. Both of these are in every form in the spiritual world and in the natural world. All are acquainted with continuous degrees; few, however, have any knowledge of discrete degrees, and those who have no knowledge of these grope as in the dark when they are investigating the causes of things." (Divine Love, n. 11).

The knowledge of discrete degrees is a primary foundation that allows one to understand not only how the spiritual world interacts with the natural world, but also in how the elements of the natural world. What Swedenborg described are entire discrete degrees of reality, with our natural world being the lowest plane of reality.  Heaven, and hell, are other planes of reality that reside in the spiritual world. And what is the spiritual world? The spiritual world is the realm where time and space do not exist:

"God is infinite, for He was before the world, thus before spaces and times arose. In the natural world there are times and spaces, but in the spiritual world, not so actually, and still apparently... In the spiritual world, however, there are not material spaces, and times corresponding with them; but still there are appearances of them, which appearances are according to the differences of states in which are the minds of spirits and angels there; wherefore, times and spaces there conform themselves to the affections of their will, and thence to the thoughts of their understanding; but those appearances are real, because constant according to their states." (True Christian Religion, n. 17, from The Divine Revelation of the New Jerusalem).

This statement is remarkable, because in modern cosmology the best theory we have of the origin of the universe is from the Big Bang, where all things begin from a singular point that explodes in an enormous explosion, leading to the creation of all things in the universe. But it is more than that - this Big Bang began at a specific point in time, 14 billion years ago, and as part of that Big Bang, space and time were created. As to what came before that, scientists cannot answer, but Swedenborg already was given the answer in the 18th century. As from the revelations we now know there is an existence where space and time are meaningless, it is quite possible that from this spiritual realm there have been multiple Big Bangs, to create an even larger reality of multi-verses.  Each Big Bang would create its own "space-time" cone:

This inflationary universe, according to Einstein's theory, is an expanding space-time cone:

Up until the 16th century many had thought of heaven as the literal sky above us. But it is within us, as it pervades all of creation outside of space and time. Instead of time, there is state, and shared state where things of similar state are in the same location. And this provides an explanation for quantum physics, where particles of nature behave outside of space and time. And "entanglement" is nothing other than shared state.

IS THE UNIVERSE A VIRTUAL REALITY?

So back to the question, is the universe a virtual reality, a product of a God-mind consciousness? The answer to that is a resounding yes, according to the revelations received by Swedenborg - except by "virtual" we would mean a lower plane of reality that corresponds to a higher one.  However its more vast and beautiful than the analogy of a virtual reality simulation that we are all familiar with. The concept of discrete degrees pervades several "overlapping reality dimensions," where a higher reality dimension will flow in by spiritual influx into our lower reality, the natural material world of space-time. What happens in the higher realm affects the lower realm. To understand the higher realm, one has to realize that things such as love, though, emotion feeling are real spiritual things that have substance and affect the things around us. "Abstract thought" - for all abstractions are abstracted from time and space - are real things, and all things of "abstract thought" - and its corresponding love or affection, pre-existed in the spiritual world. The things we feel inside are very real spiritual realities that have an effect on ourselves and our surrounding reality. The abstract conceptions of the spiritual world lead to the created thing that corresponds to it. For example God is Love itself and Truth itself, and in the physical world this corresponds to heat and light. We can say it corresponds to the explosion of the Big Bang, which was of enormous heat, and the light of the space-time cone. All things of nature are a theatrical representation of the Divine:

"Whatsoever is anywhere seen in the universe, is representative of the kingdom of the Lord, insomuch that there is not anything given in the atmospheric and starry universe, or in the earth and its three kingdoms, which does not in its own mode represent. The things in nature are, one and all, ultimate images, inasmuch as from the Divine are celestial things which are of good, from celestial things spiritual things which are of truth, and from both celestial and spiritual are natural things. From this it may be evident how gross, how earthly, and also inverted, human intelligence is, which ascribes everything to nature separate or exempt from influx prior to itself, or from the efficient cause. Moreover, they who so think and speak, seem to themselves to be wiser than others, that is, in attributing all things to nature; when angelic intelligence on the contrary is, to ascribe nothing to nature, but each and everything to the Divine of the Lord, thus to life, and not to anything dead. The learned know that subsistence is perpetual existence, but still it is contrary to affection for falsity and thence to reputation for learning, to say that nature continually subsists, as it originally had existence, from the Divine of the Lord. Inasmuch now as each and everything subsists, that is, continually exists, from the Divine, and all and each of the things which are therefrom must needs be representative of those things whereby they had existence, it follows that the visible universe is nothing else than a theater representative of the kingdom of the Lord, and that this kingdom is a theater representative of the Lord Himself." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 3483, from The Divine Revelation of the New Jerusalem).

So yes, we live in a virtual reality. And whoever learns to love others and overcome their lower selfish nature, "wins" the game.  For God is Love itself, and as such Love desires to love someone other than his or her self. However death is not "game over" - its an advancement to the next level, and our growth and progression continue to eternity.

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":