flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and
my house, we will serve the Lord.”
(BMH)
religious feelings: conjugial love
If we think of conjugial love just in terms of romance it must seem strange
to call it a “religious” feeling. But when we reflect on the Divine source and
spiritual essence of that love, as revealed in the Heavenly Doctrine, then we see
that it is indeed a religious feeling.
This is speaking of conjugial love in its purest form, of course. Although
it originates in the Divine, this love manifests itself on many levels and in
many ways. The sphere that goes forth from it is a universal sphere that affects
all creatures, “from angels to worms.” Its holiness is not apparent to our lower,
animal nature, but our spiritual, distinctly human nature senses the Divine and
heavenly essence of conjugial love.
This does not mean we have to wait until we are angels to experience this
love. A wonderful thing about it is that, more than any other love, it serves
to awaken the angel within us, and gives us the most beautiful and powerful
awareness of heaven’s reality that we can experience in this world.
Swedenborg did not learn about heaven just by instruction, but from
experience. The fullness of his experience, for the special purpose of preparing
him to receive a new revelation, was unique, but we, also, learn about heaven
from experience – especially the experience of conjugial love.
This does not apply just to people who are fortunate enough to be happily
married in this world, but to everyone. Swedenborg never married during his
life on earth, but his knowledge of conjugial love was not just intellectual or
theoretical; clearly, he felt the joy of it in his spirit. That feeling is something
everyone can experience, married or not. In fact, the yearning people have
for “connubial bliss” that leads them to seek marriage in the first place shows
that they know what that bliss is--and not just from hearing about it but from
feeling the influence of it, from heaven, within themselves.
Consider what is said regarding the states of this love. They are:
“innocence, peace, tranquility, inmost friendship, full confidence, and a mutual
desire of mind and heart to do each other every good. And from all these come
blessedness, happiness, joy, pleasure, and from their eternal fruition, heavenly
felicity.” (Conjugial Love 180)
Like the dew on the early morning grass as the sun moves higher in
the sky, the first exquisite feeling of being in love wanes as the love of self
reasserts itself and worldly concerns reoccupy the mind. But in the Lord’s
providence, the impression it has made upon our soul is preserved, like a
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