In Logopraxis the aim is a transformation in consciousness through a commitment to the Word as the basis for inner work. This requires an active affection for truth or a willingness to apply truths to the life of the mind. These truths, that are to be applied, are ideas offered from a higher level that are specifically designed to transform the very structures of our beliefs and affections. The aim is that the lower might be re-formed into a corresponding pattern of the higher, so that the higher can be held with some degree of permanence in the lower. This state of permanence is what it means to be "born again", or "born from above", or regenerated. To be born again means not to be the same as before, it means to think and feel differently, to be in possession of a different sense of self to that sense of self that existed prior to this transformation taking place. The processes of transformation revolve around the ability to navigate ontological shocks that are repeatedly delivered through having our sense of self being placed in front of its patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving as truths, from the Word, are practised. One of the Logopraxis aphorisms states, "… that whatever you think it is, you can be sure of one thing, it is not that." This can be applied to almost anything in Logopraxis, but here, its meaning is in relation to what we take to be our self. Ontological shocks are characterised by a sudden discontinuity in one’s sense of self. It’s a state where we see that who we normally take ourselves to be is not what we see ourselves to be in the moment of the shock. It’s the shock of seeing the fragility of our self-image. Here, in this moment, something new becomes possible. But there is also the possibility of stepping back from the potential insight in an effort to keep our self-image intact. Yet, the stepping back from really seeing the infernal proprium we have invested our sense of self in, is a necessary part of the process. This is part of our preparation for stepping into a new sense of self. For to step forward is to step into the void of not knowing. It is to move from a state of apparent stability into the state of apparent chaos. That chaos involves being confronted with the realisation that, for a new self to be born it requires the death or the giving up of our current sense of self. This is a place of threshold that all, in Logopraxis work, must repeatedly cross if that sense of self, which can no longer serve our spiritual development, is to be stripped back making way for what can carry us to the next threshold of development. Logopraxis work involves being in shock of seeing what must die while contemplating the birth of new possibilities. From a higher perspective this movement is ordered and stable. It is simply the process through which the transformation of consciousness is made possible. This transformation in our sense of self is a shift from a sense of self based in a natural, sensual, mode of being into a sense of self grounded in truths from the Word that have been worked into the fabric of one’s life through their practice.

Logopraxis

The Third Round: The Shock of Seeing One’s “Self” in the Light of the Word

Jn 11v11-16: Raising Lazarus – Preparing the Understanding for Spiritual Work

ACV7S30 CLICK TO PRINT 5429. Verses 9-16. And Joseph remembered the dreams that he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. And they said unto him, Nay my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man's sons; we are upright; thy servants are no spies. And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. And they said, we thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not. And Joseph said unto them, This is it that I spoke unto you, saying, ye are spies; hereby ye shall be proved; by the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither. Send one of you, and let him get your brother, and ye shall be bound, and your words shall be verified whether there be truth with you; or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies. "And Joseph remembered the dreams that he dreamed of them," signifies that the celestial of the spiritual foresaw what would happen in regard to the general truths of the church in the natural; "and said unto them" signifies perception thence; "Ye are spies" signifies that they came only to seek gain; "to see the nakedness of the land ye are come," signifies that they would like nothing better than to know in themselves that there are no truths; "and they said unto him, Nay my lord, we are upright," signifies that they are truths in themselves; "but to buy food are thy servants come," signifies that they are to be appropriated to the natural by means of good; "we are all one man's sons," signifies that these truths are from one origin; "we are upright," signifies that thus they are truths in themselves; "thy servants are no spies," signifies that therefore it was not for the sake of gain; "and he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come" signifies that they do not care whether there are truths; "and they said, We thy servants are twelve brethren," signifies that all things of faith were thus conjoined together; "the sons of one man," signifies from one origin; "in the land of Canaan," signifies in the church; "and behold the youngest is this day with our father," signifies that there was also conjunction with spiritual good; "and one is not" signifies that the Divine spiritual from which it is does not appear; and Joseph said unto them," signifies perception concerning that matter; "This is it that I spoke unto you" signifies that the truth is as I thought; "saying, ye are spies," signifies that they are in the truths of the church for the sake of gain; "hereby ye shall be proved," signifies it will be seen whether it is so; "by the life of Pharaoh," signifies of a certainty; "ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither," signifies that it must needs be that the truths with you are such, unless they are conjoined with spiritual good; "send one of you, and let him get your brother," signifies if only there is some conjunction with that good; "and ye shall be bound," signifies even though there is separation in all other respects; "and your words shall be verified, whether there be truth with you," signifies that it will then be so; "or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies," signifies otherwise it is certain that you have truths only for the sake of gain. 5430. And Joseph remembered the dreams that he dreamed of them. That this signifies that the celestial of the spiritual foresaw what would happen in regard to the general truths of the church in the natural, is evident from the signification of "remembering," as being presence, for the thing which is remembered becomes present (that "to be remembered" is predicated of foresight may be seen above, n. 3966); from the representation of Joseph, as being the celestial of the spiritual (of which often above); and from the signification of "dreams," as being foresight,

ACV7 S30: AC 5429-5454

Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments offered in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to keep the focus on understanding the Text in terms of its application to the inner life along with reinforcing any key LP principles that have been highlighted in the exchanges.

The Third Round: Gen 42:1 – The Meaning of Jacob as Restraint in the Spiritual Life

The Third Round: Benjamin the Spiritual of the Celestial AC 5398

Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments offered in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to keep the focus on understanding the Text in terms of its application to the inner life along with reinforcing any key LP principles that have been highlighted in the exchanges.    

The Third Round: The Hunger for Meaning AC 5397

The Third Round: Joseph – The Celestial of the Spiritual AC 5396

ACV7S29 CLICK TO PRINT 5416. Verses 6-8. And Joseph he was the governor over the land; he it was that sold to all the people of the land; and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves to him with their faces to the earth. And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spoke hard things with them; and he said unto them, Whence came ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food. And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. "And Joseph he was the governor over the land," signifies that the celestial of the spiritual, or truth from the Divine, reigned in the natural where memory-knowledges were; "he it was that sold to all the people of the land," signifies that from this was all appropriation; "and Joseph's brethren came," signifies the general truths of the church without mediation; "and bowed down themselves to him with their faces to the earth," signifies humiliation; "and Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them," signifies perception and acknowledgment by the celestial of the spiritual; "but made himself strange unto them," signifies non-conjunction because without an intermediate; "and spoke hard things with them," signifies hence also non-correspondence; "and he said unto them, Whence came ye?" signifies exploration; "and they said, From the land of Canaan," signifies that they were of the church; "to buy food," signifies to appropriate the truth of good; "and Joseph knew his brethren," signifies that these truths of the church appeared to the celestial of the spiritual from its light; "but they knew not him," signifies that truth from the Divine did not appear in natural light not yet illumined by heavenly light. 5417. And Joseph he was the governor over the land. That this signifies that the celestial of the spiritual, or truth from the Divine, reigned in the natural where memory-knowledges were, is evident from the representation of Joseph, as being the celestial of the spiritual (see n. 4286, 4963, 5249, 5307, 5331, 5332; that the celestial of the spiritual is truth from the Divine will be seen below); from the signification of a "governor," as being one who reigns; and from the signification of "land," here the land of Egypt, as being the natural mind, thus the natural (n. 5276, 5278, 5280, 5288, 5301). (That the celestial of the spiritual reigned in the natural where memory-knowledges were, may be seen above, n. 5313; and also that "Egypt" in the internal sense is memory-knowledge, n. 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 4749, 4964, 4966.) That the celestial of the spiritual is truth from the Divine, is because the Lord's internal Human, before it was fully glorified, being the receptacle of the Divine Itself, was the celestial of the spiritual, which must be so called because it cannot be expressed in any other words or forms of thought. This receptacle or recipient of the Divine is the same as truth from the Divine (that "Joseph" is this truth may be seen above, n. 4723, 4727). 5418. He it was that sold to all the people of the land. That this signifies that all appropriation is from him, is evident from the signification of "selling," as being appropriation (see n. 5371, 5374); and from the signification of the "people of the land," as being the truths of the church (n. 2928), here in the natural (n. 5409). 5419. And Joseph's brethren came. That this signifies the general truths of the church without mediation, is evident from the signification of "Joseph's brethren," as being the general truths of the church (of which above, n. 5409). They were "without mediation" because they were without Benjamin, who is the intermediate (as may be seen above, n. 5411, 5413). 5420. And bowed down themselves to him with their faces to the earth. That this signifies humiliation, is evident from the signification of "bowing down themselves," as being humiliation (see n. 2153), and of "with their faces to the earth," as being the humiliation of adoration (n.

ACV7 S29: AC 5416-5428

Jn 11:9-10 Easter Reflection: Raising Lazarus – Living in the Light

ACV7S28 CLICK TO PRINT 5397. First is described the endeavor to appropriate these truths by means of the memory-knowledges of the church, which are "Egypt," and without the intermediate, which is "Benjamin," together with truth from the Divine, which is "Joseph;" but in vain, wherefore they were sent back and some good of natural truth was given freely. 5398. The Internal Sense. In this chapter and in those which follow about Joseph and the sons of Jacob, in the internal sense is described the regeneration of the natural as to the truths and goods of the church-that this is not effected by means of memory-knowledges, but by influx from the Divine. At the present day they who are of the church know so little about regeneration that it is scarcely anything. They do not even know that regeneration goes on through the whole course of life of one who is being regenerated, and that it is continued in the other life; or that the arcana of regeneration are so innumerable that scarcely a ten thousandth part of them can be known by the angels, and that those they do know are what effect their intelligence and wisdom. The reason why they who are of the church at this day know so little about regeneration is that they talk so much about remission of sins and about justification, and believe that sins are remitted in a moment, and some that they are wiped away like filth from the body by water, and that man is justified by faith alone or by the confidence of a single moment. The reason why the men of the church so believe is that they do not know what sin or evil is. If they knew this, they would know that sins can by no means be wiped away from anyone, but that when the man is kept in good by the Lord they are separated or rejected to the sides so as not to rise up, and that this cannot be effected unless evil is continually cast out, and this by means which are unlimited in number, and for the most part unutterable. [2] Those in the other life who have brought with them the opinion that man is justified in a moment by faith, and wholly cleansed from sins, are astounded when they see that regeneration is effected by means unlimited in number and unutterable, and they then laugh at and call insane the ignorance in which they had been in the world in regard to the instantaneous remission of sins and justification. They are sometimes told that the Lord remits the sins of those who desire it from the heart; yet still they are not thereby separated from the diabolical crew, to whom they are held fast by the evils that attend their life, which they have with them complete. They then learn by experience that to be separated from the hells is to be separated from sins, and that this cannot be done except by thousands upon thousands of ways known to the Lord only, and this-if you will believe it-in a continual succession to eternity. For man is so evil that he cannot to eternity be fully delivered from even one sin, but can only by the mercy of the Lord (if he has received it) be withheld from sin, and kept in good. [3] In what manner therefore man receives new life and is regenerated, is contained in the sanctuary of the Word, that is, in its internal sense, chiefly to the end that when the Word is being read by man the angels may thereby be in their happiness of wisdom, and also be at the same time in the delight of serving as means. In this and the following chapters about Joseph's brethren, the subject treated of in the supreme internal sense is the glorification of the Lord's natural, and in the representative sense, the regeneration of the natural in man by the Lord, here as to the truths of the church therein. 5399. Verses 1-5. And Jacob saw that there was produce in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, Why do ye look at one another? And he said, Behold I have heard that there is produce in Egypt; get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; and we shall live, and not die. And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn from...

ACV7 S28: AC 5397-5415

Jn 11:8 Easter Reflection: Raising Lazarus – Resistance to the Leading of the Word

Jn 11:7 Easter Reflection: Raising Lazarus – Going to Judea

Easter Reflection: Lazarus – When the Lord Tarries

Easter Reflection: Lazarus – This Sickness is Not Unto Death

ACV7S27 Click to Print 5377. Continuation concerning the correspondence with the Grand Man; here concerning the correspondence of the interior viscera therewith. The subject treated of at the close of the preceding chapter was the correspondence of some of the interior viscera of the body with the Grand Man, namely, of the liver, the pancreas, the stomach, and some others. The subject is now continued with the correspondence therewith of the peritoneum, the kidneys, the ureters, the bladder, and also of the intestines; for whatever is in man, both what is in the external man and what is in the internal, has a correspondence with the Grand Man. Without correspondence therewith (that is, with heaven, or what is the same, with the spiritual world) nothing would ever come into existence and subsist, for the reason that it would have no connection with what is prior to itself, nor consequently with the First, that is, with the Lord. What is unconnected, and thus independent, cannot subsist for a single moment; for its subsistence is from its connection with that from which is all existence, and its dependence upon it, because subsistence is a perpetual coming into existence. [2] Hence it is that not only all things in general and particular in man correspond, but also all and each in the universe. The sun itself corresponds, and also the moon; for in heaven the Lord is the Sun, and also the Moon. The sun's flame and heat, and also its light, correspond; for it is the Lord's love toward the whole human race to which the flame and heat correspond, and the Divine truth to which the light corresponds. The very stars correspond, the societies of heaven and their habitations being what they have correspondence with; not that they are in the stars, but that they are in a similar order. Whatever appears under the sun corresponds, as all and each of the subjects in the animal kingdom, and also all and each of the subjects in the vegetable kingdom; and unless there were an influx from the spiritual world into all and each, they would instantly sink down and shrivel away. This has been granted me to know by much experience; for I have been shown with what things in the spiritual world many things in the animal kingdom, and many more in the vegetable kingdom, correspond, and also that without influx they would by no means subsist; for when that which is prior is taken away, that which is posterior necessarily falls, and the same is the case when what is prior is separated from what is posterior. As there is an especial correspondence of man with heaven, and through heaven with the Lord, a man appears in the other life in the light of heaven according to the quality of his correspondence. Hence the angels appear in ineffable brightness and beauty, but the infernals in inexpressible blackness and deformity. 5378. Some spirits came to me, but were silent. After a while, however, they spoke, yet not as many, but all as one. I noticed from their speech that they were such that they desired to know everything, and were eager to explain everything, and in this way to confirm themselves that a thing is so. They were modest, and said that they do nothing of themselves, but from others, although it appears to be from them. They were then infested by others, who were said to be those who constitute the province of the kidneys, ureters, and bladder, and whom they answered modestly; yet these continued to infest and assail them, for such is the nature of the kidney spirits. And as they could not prevail against them by their modesty, they resorted to what was according to their nature, namely, to enlarging themselves, and thereby causing terror. Thereupon they seemed to become great, but only as a one, who so swelled in stature, that like Atlas he seemed to reach to heaven; a spear appeared in his hand, but still he did not wish to do any harm beyond exciting terror. In consequence of this the kidney spirits fled away,

ACV7 S27: AC 5377-5396

Seeking to make the Lord God Jesus Christ visible in our midst... "Where two or three are gathered together in My name there am I in the midst of them." (Matt. 18:20)

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Logopraxis

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