A map of the universe and human mind
The order of the universe helps us understand the dual existence of human life. At the center of the universe is the spiritual Sun amidst this Sun is God. The spiritual sun radiates life in the form of love and truth outward or downward. The flow of life from the spiritual sun is represented below in diagram 1.
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Each ring of this picture represents a level into which life flows. The center ring is the source of life, which is God amidst the spiritual sun at the center of the spiritual world. From amidst the spiritual sun God is constantly radiating life outward from himself in all directions. The life God is radiating is a compound of love and truth, which are spiritual substances.
In the diagram, the barriers in-between the levels indicate a discrete degree of separation between them. Each ring represents a level of mental function with in the human mind. Any level that receives the flow of life from God receives it in different understanding and thinking. The mental reception of God’s radiated life is done first by the celestial mind of humans. The center circle in the drawing is God amidst the spiritual sun, indicated by the number 1, and the next three circles closest to God are the levels of the spiritual world. The spiritual world is the native home of the human spirit-body, which is the mind of a person.
There are three spiritual levels of the human mind: the celestial rational mind, the spiritual rational mind, and the natural rational mind. These minds are ordered in accordance to their proximity to the spiritual sun, amidst which is God. The closest, represented by the number 2, is the celestial rational mind, which operates at the highest rational level available to man; this level of life reception is closest to God only because of its ability to comprehend spiritual truths with full understanding. God is a rational human being who has as his goal the creation of eternal heaven from the human race. Rationality is the highest form of mental function. God is higher than humans in his rationality and His Divine Rational is the source of our rational, just as His Divine Life is the source of our life. We share rationality with God and this is why we can understand His explanation of Himself to us through the writings of Swedenborg.
