Swedenborg describes creation as made up of two separate and yet coexisting “worlds”: the natural world and the spiritual world. The natural world includes everything you see around you—the grass, the sky, houses, other people, your own body, and so on. The spiritual world consists of the unseen realities that we do not fully encounter until after death: heaven, hell, and the world of spirits in between.
In the spiritual world, people have bodies, live in houses, enjoy community life, and are surrounded by landscapes are like those of Earth, with familiar plants and animals. However, things work very differently in spiritual reality. Everything there is vivid and much more alive. What we see responds to what we are thinking. We always have all the time we need. Particular individuals are only as near or as far away as our thoughts of them, and thinking of a person or place can actually bring us there.
In short, while the spiritual world might not seem very different from ours at first, Swedenborg describes a realm where the inner state of individuals are reflected in their surroundings and where all life originates from, and is sustained by, the love and wisdom of the Lord.
The Process of Crossing Over
In his book Heaven and Hell, Swedenborg says that he was allowed to experience the process of dying and being awakened in the spiritual world so that he could tell people on earth what it was like. He describes how angels sat beside him, unseen by most because angels are in the spiritual world. These angels stayed with him throughout the entire transition, surrounding him with loving thoughts. He experienced the transition from a physical existence to a spiritual one as though his eyes were being opened for the first time. He was then able to see into the spiritual world. (Click here to read the entire passage in Swedenborg’s own words.)
Swedenborg says that once awakened to spiritual realities, a person might experience a number of different things, depending on what type of life he or she has led. Most people start in the world of spirits.
