Will and Understanding are Everything in the Mind
As all things in creation relate to good and truth (see Part 1), so all things in a person relate to the will and the understanding. These two halves of the human mind are both the receivers of good and truth and the place where good and truth act on a person—good with the will and truth with the understanding. Together, will and understanding make the whole life of a person. Everything that was said about good and truth in part 1, can also be said about will and understanding, since these two faculties are where good and truth reside in a person. In the heavenly marriage, the will is the essence or substance of a person’s life and understanding is the expression or form of that life. Good in the will causes truth to form the understanding, and the will takes its quality from the form of the understanding. Finally, since the life of a person is essentially in the will, the quality of a person’s life is based wholly on fitting your life into the shape of genuine truth.
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March 13th, 2011 on 2:07 am
It is interesting to think about the fact that we have moments where the marriage of the will and understanding creates a heaven within us. I feel as if I can see that a couple of ways; first, it is clear that, as we reform the will by using the understanding we do achieve a type of peace, which has a heavenly quality in itself. Additionally, it seems like the will denotes action of a sort, so the moment where we become a heaven may need to be a moment of interaction…not saving babies from burning buildings (though that would be great and very cool), but actions where we intuitively draw on the truths of the Word and act (react?) in a positive of charitable way. For me, those types of situations often involve a recollection or understanding of how I handled that type of situation in the past. It is interesting to understand that this reformation is a process, that we cannot “storm the gates of heaven”. Even as our sins are continually forgiven, we cannot achieve Heaven based solely on understanding or faith, but we must reform the Will and remove the evils to achieve heaven. When we experience the will in action, applying truths, then we experience heaven. Sometimes when I reflect on heaven, I am drawn to reflect not on the afterlife, but these states where everything comes together, whether in this life or the next.
March 16th, 2011 on 7:13 pm
Very nicely said, Rick! Thanks for posting it.
~Amos
February 10th, 2012 on 8:01 am
Id’ like to
here your thoughts on “Letting Go” how God will have us live when were able to understand the importance of doing so.
February 16th, 2012 on 10:51 pm
Wow, Robert, you are getting into some big questions.
Of course, I have tones of thoughts on the subject, but I’ll limit myself to just this:
“Letting Go” doesn’t mean absolving one’s self of responsibility in any way. But it does mean learning to replace your own intentions with the Lord’s. In will and understanding terms, it means ultimately replacing your own will (which is inherently selfish and corrupt) with the Lord’s will (which is selfless and pure). Again, this doesn’t mean getting rid of yourself, only applying yourself to a better set of intentions, goals, hopes, dreams….
February 11th, 2012 on 6:00 am
could you explain in a way what a pragmatic faculty of the mind is, in a sense of how that would be with a christian science.
February 16th, 2012 on 10:44 pm
I’m not sure I understand your question, Robert, so maybe you can clarify a little if my answer is totally off base.
It seems that you’re asking about the interaction between the mind and the body, or how something happening in the mind impacts what happens in the body. My (quite limited) understanding of Christian Science is that practitioners believe that the very knowledge of the Bible (in the mind) will heal ailments of the material body. They would read and study especially the healing miracles of Jesus with the intention that something similar would happen to them.
The New Church teaches a very different mind-body connection: the material body is the physical vehicle for the spiritual mind or a platform upon which a spiritual body can be formed. The mind and body are closely connected via correspondances. For example, excitement in the mind is the actual cause of an elevated heart rate in the body. Conversely, conscious attention to one’s breath can support (though not cause) a relaxed and reflective mental state.
Put simply, the spiritual causes the natural, and the natural supports the spiritual. So, if I understand your question at all, we can say that the changing state of mind that is spiritual regeneration both causes and requires the practical application of those new ideas and affections via the body. That is, doing something with your body that is charitable and faithful will help solidify any charity and faith already in your mind as well as encourage your mind to open to accept additional charity and faith.
Does that come anywhere close to answering your question?
March 11th, 2012 on 7:29 am
Yes; say will we be expecting anything new cause id love to hear it.