Angels live in communities, wear clothes, and have no wings! So said Emanuel Swedenborg, Swedish scientist and seer who, for the last twenty-seven years of his life, visited heaven and hell almost daily and met angels and evil spirits. Swedenborg's visions and the meaning they can have in our lives are explained in this remarkable book. Author Robert H. Kirven also shows how angels work for us from birth through death and how we can be angels on earth.

Between Method and Madness: Essays on Swedenborg and Literature addresses the question of Emanuel Swedenborg’s (1688–1772) influence on literature of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The collection opens with a seminal essay by William Butler Yeats, a lyrical and critical masterpiece in which the Nobel Prize-winning poet reveals his breadth of lifelong philosophical and theosophical interests, framing them around the significant influence of Swedenborg. The collection also studies Swedenborg’s role in the birth and rise of the Symbolist movement and his influence upon Victorian poetry. The volume closes with an essay by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who views Swedenborg as a founding figure for the Spiritualist circles he himself advocated. This volume, the fourth in the Journal of the Swedenborg Society series, contains the following six essays:
 
• W. B. Yeats, “Swedenborg, Mediums and the Desolate Places”
• Gary Lachman, “The Spiritual Detective: How Baudelaire invented Symbolism, by way of Swedenborg, E. T. A. Hoffmann and Edgar Allan Poe”
• Adelheid Kegler, “Elements of Swedenborgian Thought in Symbolist Landscapes: with reference to Sheridan Le Fanu and George MacDonald”
• Richard Lines, “Eros and the Unknown Victorian: Coventry Patmore and Swedenborg”
• Gary Lachman, “Space: the Final Frontier. O. V. de Lubicz Milosz and Swedenborg”
• Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Story of Swedenborg”
 
Also included are a preface by Stephen McNeilly, a chronology of Swedenborg, biographies of the essay subjects, and an index.

Composed at a time when Robert H. Kirven was coping with the terminal illness of his wife, A Book about Dying affirms that the universal fear of death is eased by knowing what comes after. Using the unique Swedenborgian perspective of the afterlife and his own hard-earned knowledge of the day-to-day realities of caring for a loved one, Kirven writes of the spiritual experiences of the dying and of the survivors; offers practical advice on measure that can lessen the burden on the sick and the caregiver; and convincingly asserts that "for patient and survivor alike, living really does continue after dying."

"...an engaging, fascinating contribution to angelic studies."
---Reviewer's Bookwatch

This fresh translation brings together the most remarkable selections from Swedish visionary Emanuel Swedenborg's works about the wisdom imparted to him by angels. These stories reveal the angels' natures, their spiritual loves, their heavenly education, and the true source of wisdom and beauty. These spirits share their knowledge for the good of those on earth, who are themselves created to become angels.

Look for this book's companion piece, Debates with Devils.

Recent biographies of John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed, have portrayed him as anything from a schizophrenic wandering ascetic to a hedonistic pleasure-seeker. But who was the real man behind the misconceptions?

In this spiritual biography, Ray Silverman explores the stories and the popular misconceptions about Johnny Appleseed as well as the truths behind the legends. As a businessman, Chapman owned nineteen nurseries and twenty other land holdings throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana, brokering deals that belie the popular image of him as a wandering nomad with a tin pot on his head. But it is only once we talk about Chapman’s spiritual convictions that we come to the core of who he was: a thoughtful and also joyful Christian who was deeply moved by the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg.

The picture that emerges is of a lighthearted person whose convictions led him to seek harmony not only in nature but in the spiritual realms also—and to share his bounty with as many people as he could.

The European Enlightenment in the latter half of the eighteenth century heralded a grave conflict between theological and scientific modes of thought, starkly revealing the ancient tensions between spiritual knowledge and rationalism. Yet there was another, lesser-known movement during this time---a "covert" Enlightenment---that sought to bring fresh perspectives on the soul, and by extension, on the human mind and on consciousness. This work examines the influence of Emanuel Swedenborg and Anton Mesmer on the budding movement toward psychology in the late-eighteenth century and also spiritualism and millennialism in the nineteenth century.

In The Design of Existence, Wilson Van Dusen offers spiritual explorers a guidebook for mystical experience, describing the inner landscape in detail. Though considering himself a scientist, Van Dusen approaches reality as a mystic, using the writings of 18th-century visionary Emanuel Swedenborg as a lens. For Swedenborg and Van Dusen, our interior realm reflects the external cosmos, which makes a mystical sense of oneness possible: "We are in a massive order, far greater than we can see. Yet we are not alien to this order. We are created out of it."

For Van Dusen's mysticism, Swedenborg is the exemplar of universality. A scientist who mastered fields as varied as chemistry, physiology, optics, and metallurgy, Swedenborg turned inward to investigate the psychological and the spiritual. He affirmed the value of other religious cultures and even wrote in gender-inclusive Latin. He had startlingly contemporary insights: he saw that the spiritual must inform everyday experience, that feelings must aid the intellect in seeking the spiritual, that the quest for the soul leads to understanding the cosmos and vice versa.

Van Dusen uses Swedenborg's ideas as the basis for a true universal mysticism. In The Design of Existence, he invites each of us to confront mystical experience as proof that we and the cosmos share a spiritual design, which orders our lives as surely as it orders the universe itself.

The Worship and Love of God is one of the most unusual writings of Swedish scientist and theologian Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772). A "poetical novel," it dramatizes the Creation and examines the life of Adam and Eve as the first truly united couple. Considered Swedenborg's last work before he embarked on his visionary period, the manuscript was left unfinished by its author and published only after his death.

Inge Jonsson, one of the world's leading scholars on Swedenborg's works, offers a scholarly look into a neglected literary achievement. He examines this unique work from the perspective of sources and influences. The literary genre f hexaemeron, ancient and modern philosophy, and scientific discoveries in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries come into play in Swedenborg's richly imagined and beautifully articulated world. Yet The Worship and Love of God also offers an intriguing glimpse into Swedenborg's future as a biblical exegete and revelator.

This classic biography of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772), first published in 1948, gives us a sharp, witty, personal insight into the life of the Swedish scientist and theologian.

Though not a Swedenborgian herself, and somewhat skeptical of Swedenborg’s claims to divine revelation, Toksvig praises Swedenborg’s genius as both a thinker and a man of faith: “Swedenborg in his later phase has as great treasure to bestow as many of those millionaires of the spirit we call mystics, even if one reads him strictly from an ethical point of view. And, apart from an interest in distinctions between good and evil—not an unnecessary interest at the present time, one would think—Swedenborg in his life and works can, if one takes a little trouble to understand him, open travel horizons for us far exceeding all others for beauty and strangeness.”

An introduction by the Reverend Brian Kingslake, added to a 1983 edition, provides a Swedenborgian perspective and retrospective on a work that remains a fascinating, informative look at Swedenborg’s world.

Available for the first time in English, Martin Lamm's work on the evolution of Emanuel Swedenborg's (1688-1772) philosphical system has stood as the standard humanist interpretation of Swedenborg's writings. First published in Swedish in 1915, the book has influenced generations of European scholars. His detailed investigation of the philosophical and religious background of Swedenborgian thought is an illuminating inquiry into the mystery of how Swedenborg was transformed from a scientist into a seer.

Lamm demonstrates that there is a logical and consisten line of thought developed from Swedenborg's earliest childhood experiences to his most mature theological statements. Backed by scholarly evidence, Lamm shows that Swedenborg's scientifically based worldview was not changed by his religious revelations -- rather, his visions completed and corroborated the picture.

Martin Lamm's analysis of the genesis of Swedenborgian philosophy is a masterful and lively portrait of one of history's most remarkable thinkers.

In 2010, a scholarly conference on Emanuel Swedenborg’s ideas and influence was held at the Center for the History of Science at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm. The conference was a celebration a recently completed digital catalog of the academy’s Swedenborg archive, which in 2006 was designated as part of UNESCO’s World Memory program. This was the first time that an academic conference on Swedenborg was hosted by a non-Swedenborgian institution.

The conference attracted presenters from all over the world, including some top scholars. Papers were divided into three categories. “Content” describes Swedenborg’s thought, from his use of spheres in his scientific writings to his views on sexuality and marriage to analyses of his theological writings. “Context” explores his times, putting Swedenborg in the context of eighteenth-century philosophy and looking at the organization of the earliest Swedenborgian church. “Contribution” looks at Swedenborg’s influence on philosophy and the arts, from Ralph Waldo Emerson and Czeslaw Milocz to Elizabeth Barrett Browning and William James.

These papers present a rare insight into Swedenborg. Although only a limited number of attendees were invited to the conference, now the research is available to all.

As a poet and storyteller, Olaf Lagercrantz approaches the works of Swedish scientist-turned-seer with the eyes of an artist, exploring the complex philosophy of one of Sweden's most famous sons with curiosity and open wonder. Lagercrantz examines Swedenborg's life, his experiences in heaven and hell, and writings about faith, the nature of the universe, and human relationships as works of literature, casting a new light on Swedenborg's ideas that often differs from the usual theological interpretations.

What is the "secret of Great Tartary"? What became of the Swedish clerk Carl Robsahm's original manuscript of his talks with Emanuel Swedenborg? What was Strindberg's reaction to Balzac's novel Seraphita?

These and other provocative questions are answered by Anders Hallengren in a selection of essays. Hallengren's research in various parts of the world brings to light records that were formerly thought to be lost. In addition, Hallengren traces routes of subtle influence that range from the experiences of Swedish soldiers captured in Russia to a chance encounter in a hotel in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, in the Virgin Islands. Hallengren argues that these influences show the profound effect of Swedenborgian thought on celebrated and ordinary people, resulting not only in profound art but in a better world.

At the core of Swedenborg’s thought is the understanding that our purpose in this life is to progress spiritually—to learn, to grow, to do good works, and, ultimately, to allow as much of God’s love as possible to enter into us and manifest through us.

Scattered throughout his works are descriptions of our mind and how it relates to both the physical and spiritual worlds. In this book, Taylor pulls these loose threads together and weaves them into a simple, coherent whole, presenting Swedenborg’s teachings as a system that anyone can follow. Taylor describes the external or natural mind as primarily concerned with material things, and the inner mind, in its essence, as love. As we elevate our thoughts toward higher and higher types of love and wisdom, we draw closer to God and begin the process of regeneration, or rebirth as spiritual beings.

This is the first time in many decades that a book has been published on Swedenborg’s philosophy of the mind. Taylor’s straightforward commentary gives readers a rare insight into this crucial aspect of Swedenborg’s theology.

Swedenborg’s books are an inexhaustible well-spring of satisfaction to those who live the life of the mind. I plunge my hands into my large Braille volumes containing his teachings, and withdraw them full of the secrets of the spiritual world.

— Helen Keller, How I Would Help the World

This essay by Helen Keller expresses her deep gratitude to Emanuel Swedenborg, the Swedish seer, who had a profound influence on her spiritual life. In it she talks about the importance of love and truth in a world filled with materialism and selfishness, and the joy that comes from true understanding.

Her great advice on how she would help the world is to have people read Swedenborg’s writings and thereby overcome the many problems of the human condition. She states, “It would be such a joy to me if I might be the instrument of bringing Swedenborg to a world that is spiritually deaf and blind.” She further states that reading Swedenborg and understanding his words “has been my strongest incitement to overcome limitations.”

Her words are interwoven with photographs of her life and quotes from Swedenborg on spiritual topics. This book will be a treasure for readers who already know and respect Helen Keller and an inspiration for those who do not.

In October 2004, Andrea Garrison’s mother, Mattie Pearl, passed into the spiritual world. The weeks leading up to her crossing were a powerful time for Andrea and the rest of her family as Mattie Pearl shared her love, her insights, and her visions of heaven with those around her.

Andrea knew from the time she was a little girl that there was a spiritual reality beyond what we could see, and her mother encouraged her to explore different understandings of the Divine. As an adult, Andrea encountered the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg and was struck by the similarities between his theology and her experiences. Her quest to find others who knew about the Swedish mystic led her to new friends and, ultimately, a deeper exploration of her family history.

Originally published as The Crossing Over of Mattie Pearl, this expanded edition tells more about Andrea’s family history, including the role her father played in her life, as well as her reflections on Emanuel Swedenborg. Anyone who has mourned the loss of a loved one or been curious about the other side will be inspired and uplifted by this true story of a remarkable woman.

A Lexicon to the Latin Textof the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) by Dr. John Chadwick and Dr. Jonathan S. Rose is a unique specialist dictionary of fourteen thousand Neo-Latin words and their usages as contained in eighteenth-century theological works of Emanuel Swedenborg.
 
Beyond its use for scholars of Swedenborg, the Lexicon is also of great assistance to students and academics of history, philosophy, theology and science, and anyone who encounters texts written in Neo-Latin (the branch of Latin that was in use by learned writers and thinkers from the Renaissance period through to the Enlightenment and beyond). The Lexicon is beautifully and simply designed and easy to navigate. In addition to a preface by editor John Chadwick, this edition also features a new introduction by Jonathan S. Rose containing an important section on the morphology of Swedenborg’s Neo-Latin (as distinct from the morphology of classical Latin); an appreciation of the life of John Chadwick by John Elliott; an appendix with a detailed listing of the various Latin editions of Swedenborg’s theological works; and an appendix on Swedenborg’s use of the Latin Bible of Sebastian Schmidt.

One of Time's women of the century, Helen Keller, reveals her mystical side in this best-selling spiritual autobiography. Writing that her first reading of Emanuel Swedenborg at age fourteen gave her truths that were "to my faculties what light, color and music are to the eye and ear," she explains how Swedenborg's works sustained her throughout her life.

This new edition includes a foreword by Dorothy Herrmann, author of the acclaimed Helen Keller: A Life, and a new chapter, "Epilogue: My Luminous Universe."

If the Bible is a divinely-inspired moral guide for personal and social good, why does it contain so many stories that seem to glorify violence and the mistreatment of others? Why does God sometimes seem so angry and cruel? And what about the parts of the Bible that just don’t make sense?
 
In his vast writings, eighteenth-century spiritual teacher Emanuel Swedenborg offers clarification: beneath the often-confusing literal text of the Bible is a clear inner meaning that directly points to an inclusive, always-loving, always-present God. In A New Key to the Bible: Unlock Its Inner Meaning and Open the Door to Your Spirit, author Bruce Henderson guides the reader through Swedenborg’s interpretation of the Bible, offering up a thought-provoking yet digestible way to understand the Creation story, as well as other famous parables such as Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark, Abraham and Sarah, Moses, the life of Jesus, and the apocalyptic imagery of Revelation. At each step of the way, Henderson shows how these Scripture stories written thousands of years ago reflect our own spiritual paths and give meaning to the challenges we face along our journey in the present day.
 
For readers new to Swedenborg, A New Key to the Bible serves as an overview of the thousands of pages Swedenborg wrote about the inner meaning of the Bible. For spiritual seekers who feel a connection to the Bible but are sometimes troubled by its contents, Swedenborg reassures with a transcendent level of understanding about how God wants to inspire us through sacred text.

Based on the teachings of G.I. Gurdjieff, P.D. Ouspensky, Maurice Nicoll, and Emanuel Swedenborg, Peter Rhodes presents a practical guide to spiritual progress. Stressing personal responsibility for overcoming negative traits, each chapter explains how we can realize our true spiritual potential by cultivating awareness of our baser reactions and by applying the tools of Gurdjieff's spiritual method, "The Work," to our everyday existence.

Rhodes joins "The Work" with the spiritual philosophy of Emanuel Swedenborg to enhance our understanding of how the world of spirit intersects our lives on the earthly level. At the conclusion of each chapter, tools for measuring the reader's progress are provided in the form of weekly tasks and meditations. This book can be used in group workshops or by the individual.

In 1974, Wilson Van Dusen published a groundbreaking study on the findings of Emanuel Swedenborg, a book that has inspired thousands to look more closely into Swedenborg's works and to consider the implications of living a useful and thoughtfully directed life. This updated second edition, published on the thirtieth anniversary of the book's original publication, includes a new introduction to this bestselling work.

An account of the monumental journey of an eighteenth-century scientist and philosopher into the depths of his own mind and to spiritual worlds beyond, The Presence of Other Worlds shows how Swedenborg's personal experiences radiate with insights about psychological and spiritual develpments that are relevant to modern-day seekers. It has been hailed since its first publication as a passport for all spiritual voyagers into the human psyche and the innter sanctum of the afterlife.

Dr. Raymond Moody, author of Life After Life, provides a foreword that explains the importance of Swedenborg's mystical experiences in connection with the near-death experience. Dr. James Lawrence presents a tribute to Wilson Van Dusen and his enduring legacy in an afterword.

In this comprehensive work, Eugene Taylor uses the tenets of modern psychology, concepts from the world's religions, and a lifetime of spiritual experiences and interior exploration to show how true healing comes from within. Taylor asserts that "consciousness and healing are linked and this connection can best be understood within the context of a growth-oriented psychology of self-realization." Everyone has the capacity to develop a healing personality.

Drawing from such diverse interpreters of transcendental and psychological experiences as William James, Emanuel Swedenborg, Mircea Eliade, Carl Jung, Victor Frankl, and Abraham Maslow, Taylor explores the divisions between science and religious traditions; presents his own personal experiences, including his meetings with the Dalai Lama and Tenzin Norgay; and provides glimpses into the spiritual lives of others who have shared their experiences with him. The function of belief in the alleviation of suffering, the development of self-awareness, and the importance of human relationships form the basis for Taylor's psychology of spiritual healing. This cogent work both provides answers and raises questions for the spiritual seeker.

In this groundbreaking study, Friedemann Horn documents Friedrich Schelling's intense personal engagement with Emanuel Swedenborg's theological works, an engagement fueled to a considerable extent by the untimely death of two women whom Schelling loved. In Swedenborg's vision of the spiritual realm, Schelling found an invaluable resource that supplied an underpinning for his own romantic idealism. Horn details the linguistic similarities in the writings of the two philosophers and shows how, particularly in Clara and the Stuttgart Lectures, Schelling employs the ideas of the "seer of the North."

The scholar will find suggestive contacts with Goethe, Wagner, and Franz von Baader, and with a theosophical tradition whose importance may have been overshadowed by Kant's scathing criticism of Swedenborg. In giving access to that undercurrent, Horn provides a unique and neglected view of nineteenth-century thought.

Twelve-step programs, which are based on psychological and spiritual growth, serve all who desire a path to freedom from destructive tendencies and consequent suffering. Using a twelve-step approach, Grant Schnarr presents readers with the tools needed to live a life guided by a greater awareness of both others and self. Filled with practical advice for incorporating these twelve principles into one’s life, Spiritual Recovery provides a road map for developing a deeper relationship with God and experiencing greater joy.

As a young schoolteacher, Douglas Taylor turned to the teachings of Swedish visionary Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) because Swedenborg's language of symbol made perfect sense to him as a way to understand the Bible. Taylor's book is an easily understood overview of Swedenborgian thought -- a theology that "makes sense." Developing a clear idea of God, Taylor says, "is of supreme importance and has consequences to eternity."

This book explores the concepts of the Creator as Redeemer, the spiritual world, redemption, and the Trinity. Taylor looks at personal morality in Swedenborgian terms, addressing such concerns as the nature of evil, how to escape from evil feelings, and why we must take responsibility for our actions.

This volume makes two essays by Henry Corbin, the eminent French scholar of Islam, available in English for the first time. Although his primary interest was the esoteric tradition of Islam, Corbin was also a lifelong student of the theological works of Emanuel Swedenborg. The first essay, "Mundus Imaginalis, or The Imaginary and the Imaginal," clarifies Corbin's use of the term he coined, mundus imaginalis, or "the imaginal world." This important concept appears in both Swedenborgian and esoteric Islamic spirituality. The second piece, "Comparative Spiritual Hermeneutics," compares the revelation of the internal sense of the sacred boks of two distinct religions, Christianity and Islam.

Ursula Groll relates the metaphysical thought of Emanuel Swedenborg to current New Paradigm science, especially to the interface of science and spirituality. By providing extensive excerpts from Swedenborg's works and drawing parallels between his visionary insights and the works of philosophers and physicists such as David Bohm, Fritjof Capra, Rupert Sheldrake, and Albert Einstein, Groll shows how Swedenborg's voyage of discovery led him increasingly from the great to the small, from the outer to the inner, until he discovered the mirror of the universe, the seat of the Divine as the source of truth.

"…important for anyone who is concerned with inter-religious dialogue and the meaning of… visionary mysticism."
--The Reader's Review

This first complete English translation of two works by Zen scholar D.T. Suzuki introduces Emanuel Swedenborg and compares Swedenborgian thought to Buddhism. The first work stresses Swedenborg's message that true spirituality demands an engagement in this world; the second compares Swedenborg's description of heaven to the paradise of Pure Land Buddhism.

For more than 250 years, followers of scientist and visionary Emanuel Swedenborg have been translating and commenting on his writings, and for those unfamiliar with Swedenborg's works, it can be a difficult field to navigate. This revised and expanded edition of the Swedenborg Explorer's Guidebook offers:

* An annotated bibliography of all primary works by Emanuel Swedenborg -- including scientific, literary, and theological writings as well as personal letters and journals -- containing the latest information on holdings, publication dates, and available translations.

* An extensive annotated bibliography of secondary literature, including major biographies, bibliographies, analyses of Swedenborg's works, dissertations and theses, historical writings about the New Church, and works on and by prominent figures in the Swedenborgian community.

* Easy-to-use listings of Swedenborg's works by date, by subject, and by title, with cross-references to each title's bibliographic information.

* A glossary of special terms used in Swedenborg's writings.

* A listing of major documentary collections in the United States and Europe.

* A chronology of Swedenborg's life and works

* An expanded index

In this meticulous study, Wouter Hanegraaff examines the structure, themes, and development of Emanuel Swedenborg's massive work Secrets of Heaven (Arcana Coelestia), published between 1749 and 1756. Written as a work of biblical exegesis (of Genesis and Exodus), Swedenborg also interpolated material on his visionary experiences, which have long fascinated readers.

In the second part of the study, Dr. Hanegraaff examines the contemporary reception of the multi-volume work, particularly the critical reactions of Immanuel Kant and Friedrich Christoph Oetinger. He finds that Swedenborg's biblical exegesis, so important in his divine calling, was largely ignored in favor of the mystical experiences.

Though better known for his theological writings, Swedish scientist and visionary Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) was also an inventor who was extraordinarily ahead of his time. One of his early designs, circa 1714, was "a machine to fly in the air" -- anticipating the modern airplane by more than 150 years. With its oval, fixed "sail," Swedenborg's contribution soars above its predecessors with its simple, workable design.

Henry Soderberg encountered this remarkable invention while research for a book on the history of flight. In this account Soderberg offers an overview on the dream of flight through the centuries and places Swedenborg at a pivotal point in aviation history.

Swedish man of letters Lars Bergquist explains the often enigmatic but always fascinating dream journal kept by Emanuel Swedenborg from 1743 to 1744. A scientist, Swedenborg meticulously recorded his dreams and visions, adding interpretations that foreshadowed modern dream analysis. After an Easter vision in 1745, Swedenborg abandoned his scientific studies and dedicated his life to studying the inner meaning of Sacred Scripture. In his diary, he reveals his daily life and the reflections that are a key to understanding his later spiritual works.

"The book enables us to follow Swedenborg...from dismal gloom to inner splendor."
--Gunnar Bronerg, Upsala Nya Tidning

When he entered the visionary phase of his life, Swedish theologian Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) set out on a journey to document all that he had seen, heard, and learned while in contact with the spirits of heaven and hell. Before his death, he wrote eighteen different works published in twenty-five volumes, totaling about three and a half million words.

Navigating that rich garden of thought has been a challenge even for scholars of Swedenborg, let alone those new to his work. In this compact guide, Jonathan S. Rose introduces readers to the basic concepts of Swedenborg’s thought, including Swedenborg’s view of God and the afterlife and his description of humanity’s spiritual history. Rose also examines how Swedenborg’s theology relates to other Christian denominations, both in his time and ours, and takes a side trip into some of Swedenborg’s more unusual ideas.

Swedenborg’s Garden of Theology provides an ideal introduction for anyone seeking a starting point to delve into Swedenborg’s religious thought.

José Antonio Antón-Pacheco exercises his expertise in philosophy in this meditation on the ideas of Emanuel Swedenborg.

In this book he tackles subjects as diverse as the nature of unity and the way that the Divine manifests in the world; the nature of human beings as they relate to the higher realms, and specifically Swedenborg’s concept of the Grand Man or Universal Human; the mystical nature of Swedenborg’s interpretation of the Bible; and the nature of time and space in the spiritual world. Alongside his exploration of Swedenborg’s thought are examinations of Swedenborg’s influence on a variety of different thinkers and authors, from Jorge Luis Borges to Ibn ’Arabi.

This book was originally published in Spanish as El profeta del norte: Un libro sobre Swedenborg. Perfect for scholars and serious students of Swedenborg’s thought, Antón Pacheco’s powerful writing casts a new light on the Swedish prophet.

This collection of essays highlights the influence of Swedish visionary Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) on art, spirituality, and culture. Opening with an essay by Spanish-language writer and metaphysician Jorge Luis Borges, from which the collection draws its name, the volume includes a description of Swedenborg's influence on Fyodor Dosteovsky by Czleslaw Mloscz; a look at Swedenborg from a mystical perspective from Wilson Van Dusen; the transcendentalist connection with Ralph Waldo Emerson in an essay by Eugene Taylor; and Buddhist scholar D. T. Suzuki's describes similarities between Swedenborg's philosophy and Buddhism. Essays by Kathleen Raine on Swedenborg's poetic influence and Colin Wilson on the psychological perspective on Swedenborg's visions round out the collection.

From the experience of dying to awakening to tunnels, bright lights, unfamiliar realms, life reviews, and different levels of consciousness, Leon Rhodes takes the reader on a great adventure into the unknown. An officer in the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS), Rhodes recounts the stories of near-death experiences (NDEs) that people have shared with him over the years. Chronicled as a source of inspiration are the profound changes that occurred in their lives after the discoveries they made.

In addition, the fascinating parallels between NDEs and the spiritual world described more than two hundred years ago by Emanuel Swedenborg provide many insights into the transition from this life to the next world. Rhodes’s unique Swedenborgian perspective broadens the discussion over the significance of the near-death phenomenon.

The Universe and I: Where Science & Spirituality Meet offers scholar and theologian George F. Dole’s thought-provoking insights on the dynamic nature of the ongoing science and religion debate. Why are we here? Where are we headed? Dole argues that to understand these questions, we need not only the grounding of science but also the insights of spirit. 
 
As experts continue to work out the relationship between cosmology and human evolution, Dole, who has spent a lifetime making sense of the spiritual world, joins the conversation with a clarity that only he can provide. Shaped primarily as a response to the scientific community, he engages with a wide spectrum of thinkers, including Stephen Hawking, Richard Dawkins, and eighteenth-century polymath Emanuel Swedenborg, just to name a few.

Accessing a wealth of knowledge from across a wide variety of disciplines—philosophy, religion, biology, physics, and more—Dole presents his own model for our physical and spiritual existence. Starting with what we don’t know and what we can observe about the fundamentals of existence, Dole explores “the creative tension between differentiation and integration”—the drive to be individual and yet be united to a greater whole, a tension whose persistent progress since the Big Bang has brought about such gifts as the emergence of life and consciousness.
 
Dole not only presents us with the empirical evidence of science but also provides us with a first-person understanding of the spiritual dimension and how it might inform the way we consider those grand speculations on the meaning of the universe and of life. Reflecting on how life began leads to questions of how we will continue to advance humanity and goodwill for all—both as a species and as individuals striving for personal growth. 
 
Asking the question “How can I, infinitesimal I, have the gall to regard myself as significant in the context of the universe?”, Dole embarks on a journey that spans the life of the universe itself, making every effort along the way to answer this question—for all of us.

Most of the books written on eighteenth-century theologian and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg analyze his theology, detail his remarkable mystical travels, or investigate his influence on philosophers and artists who succeeded him. Distinguished Swedish scholar Inge Jonsson approaches Swedenborg’s oeuvre from the standpoint of the history of ideas and relates it to the intellectual milieu of the time. From the impact of Cartesian philosophy on eighteenth-century thinkers to the effect of Leibniz and his disciples on Swedenborg’s emerging views of science and spirit, Jonsson recreates the debates that electrified the Enlightenment.

Despite Swedenborg’s enduring fame as a mystic, his early reputation was firmly based on scientific treatises that he wrote during years when new theories of life were exploding through microscopic and anatomical research. In the first part of this study, Jonsson examines Swedenborg’s philosophy of nature, his cosmology, and physiological and psychological theories and shows how Swedenborg’s unique spiritual perspective was rooted in his early scientific endeavors and in agreement with contemporary science.

However, after a spiritual crisis in the years 1744-1745, detailed in the remarkable document The Journal of Dreams, Swedenborg turned his intellectual energies and scientific precision toward biblical exegesis and examination of spiritual nature. In the second half of this work, Jonsson investigates Swedenborg’s detailed and sensitive rendering of spiritual life in such works as Arcana Coelestia, Heaven and Hell, and Conjugial Love.

In the wake of life-changing events—whether as global in reach as the terrorist attacks on September 11 or as personal as the death of a child—the first question that springs to mind is “Why?” Why do good people suffer pain and loss? Why does God allow these things to happen?

In this simple, straightforward book, Bruce Henderson tackles some of the most difficult questions that people of faith face in their lives. Drawing from the wisdom of visionary Emanuel Swedenborg, who wrestled with these same questions more than two hundred years ago, Henderson describes a universe in which God allows us free will and choice, subtly guiding the course of our lives with an insight no mortal can comprehend. Pain and suffering ultimately lead to good, and as we walk the path, we draw ever closer to heaven.

In the end, the question is not why these things happen, but what good can come of them, and how we can use our gift of free will to create a better world for ourselves and others. In this, Henderson says, God is our partner and guiding hand, turning pain to hope and trust.

What happens to us when we die? Is there really a heaven and hell? Are there angels watching over us? These questions follow us from early childhood to old age, particularly in moments when we’re confronted with the loss of a loved one.

In Window to Eternity, Bruce Henderson draws from the teachings of visionary Emanuel Swedenborg to paint a vivid picture of heaven and hell, where the souls of the departed become angels and demons and indescribable wonders await. But far from being a distant destination, Henderson shows that heaven is a choice that each of us makes every day—ours to have or to turn away from, regardless of our background or religious upbringing.

Does God love and care for each individual? Should the Bible be interpreted literally? Why are we here? Questions such as these persist for many people today. Grant Schnarr presents "the new Christianity," based on the Bible and the teachings of the eighteenth-century theologian Emanuel Swedenborg. Schnarr examines the underlying reasons that prevent people from truly believing and provides logical and positive answers to life's questions. The result is a solid foundation for building faith and embracing a relationship with God.