Swedenborgian Community Interfaith Podcast

Many scriptural reflections on “the fall of humanity” tend to point to Genesis’ serpent and Adam and Eve’s eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, but interestingly, the Christian-mystic Emanuel Swedenborg pointed to a chapter before these events when he describes what he thought was the true beginning of our movement into feelings of separateness and isolation from God. Indeed, living up to his title as the Buddha of the North (given to him by the famous D.T. Suzuki), Swedenborg wrote that it was our desire for autonomy and sense of ownership that drove us further away from being led in deep connection with Divinity, as well as a truly Divine sense of autonomy. I find it further interesting that this start to our “fall” occurs right before Adam starts naming the things in creation: cognitively labeling and dividing things is another key attribute of what many lines of Buddhism describe as part and parcel with our vain need for disconnected self-direction, which keeps us from our Buddhahood and re

Many have asked the question, “Why do the Hebrew and Christian Bible’s have two creation stories, back-to-back?” It’s strange, right? And the typical guess seems to center on the possible Israelite history of bringing diverse cultures together and not being able to choose just one! Although this might be plausible, in-line with our approach toward the Bible as primarily spiritual parable, today we’ll explore the second creation story as a deeper tale about the peace, growth, and bliss we find once we’ve reached a state of Sabbath (the first creation’s seventh day) and truly allow Divinity to help us let go of our egoic sense of self and ownership. Read the corresponding message at https://www.swedenborgiancommunity.com/blog/2nd-creationOur community's affirming Swedenborgian spirituality, inspired by an interfaith, mystical Christianity, is centered on love and openness. It has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Carl Jung, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), William Blake, Henry Ja

We explore the 18th-century mystic Emanuel Swedenborg's view of why Jesus died on the cross, from his book "The Lord."Our community's affirming Swedenborgian spirituality, inspired by an interfaith, mystical Christianity, is centered on love and openness. It has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Carl Jung, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), William Blake, Henry James, Robert Frost, DT Suzuki, and others.

The spiritual meaning of the seventh day of creation, called the Sabbath (“rest”), is uplifted throughout scripture: biblical and others. We’re told that a true sense of inner peace comes from surrendering to the greater love within that if we work to disentangle ourselves from our obsessive attachments and distracted, lustful thinking, we find that we can surrender to an underlying clarity and peace of consciousness, which gently taps into the reality of love in our depths and around us. This Divine or Universal Love, at the root of all our minds, ultimately makes all things one and can’t help but naturally uplift and empower justice, equality, and abundance. Read more here: https://swedenborgiancommunity.org/blog/day-7-2Our community's affirming Swedenborgian spirituality, inspired by an interfaith, mystical Christianity, has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Carl Jung, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), William Blake, Henry James, Robert Frost, DT Suzuki, George Inness and Wi

Alyssa and Cory continue their exploration of the mystical book, Faith, from 18th-century scientist turned spiritual visionary, Emanuel Swedenborg. They find that according to him, faith is nothing without care and compassion, and should center on a love for the good in all people. Our community's affirming Swedenborgian spirituality, inspired by an interfaith, mystical Christianity, has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Carl Jung, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), William Blake, Henry James, Robert Frost, DT Suzuki, George Inness and William Keith.

Our world is staring down the barrel of a few life-as-we-know-it-ending calamities, from climate change to the rise of fascism in the hearts of many “far-right” politicians and supporters in the U.S. Demagoguery and divisive thinking are the roots of almost-unimaginable cruelty, fear, and pain in this world and indeed, in each of our hearts. And so, personally and socially we must work to uplift their opposites: a compassionate justice from a true acceptance of our interconnected oneness if we are ever to find the Sabbath and the peace that Divinity invites us toward, no matter our religion or lack thereof. Read more here: https://swedenborgiancommunity.org/blog/day-7Our community's affirming Swedenborgian spirituality, inspired by an interfaith, mystical Christianity, has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Carl Jung, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), William Blake, Henry James, Robert Frost, DT Suzuki, George Inness and William Keith.

In a way, day 6 is the culmination of all of our spiritual explorations of days 1 through 5, which have invited us to and described what this parable believes is a “good” model for spiritual renewal and wholeness of life and peace. A journey that starts with our initial awareness of Divine or spiritual life in our lives (I’ve seen the light!), and has come to a place where we’ve started to live and contemplate from the light of God’s love (the sun) and the faith that reflects the light from that love (the moon). This spiritual growth is available to all humanity, no matter our religions, and is now describing a state that all humans were meant to know and embody: a true humaneness and awareness of our one shared humanity - meaning that we truly start to accept and express the One Divine Life within that we all share. Read more here: https://swedenborgiancommunity.org/blog/day-6Our community's affirming Swedenborgian spirituality, inspired by an interfaith, mystical Christianity, has deeply influenced the like

We continue our exploration of 18th-century mystic Emanuel Swedenborg's book, The Lord (free to download below), and the assertion that God came into the world to subdue and reorder Hell. Enjoy and please comment! The Lord - https://swedenborg.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/NCE_TheLord_portable.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0lZ9RMg0ngkn8VGS10WS6kIuHOY_wV80hYPMz7Hue9i1CCGnlQwzz_gw8Our community's affirming Swedenborgian spirituality, inspired by an interfaith, mystical Christianity, has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Carl Jung, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), William Blake, Henry James, Robert Frost, DT Suzuki, George Inness, and William Keith.

We explore the deeper meaning of day 5 of the Hebrew and Christian creation story, and how loving Life, its diversity and interconnectivity, helps to bring abundance to our societies, lives, and spirits. Read more about this here: https://swedenborgiancommunity.org/blog/day-5Our community's affirming Swedenborgian spirituality, inspired by an interfaith, mystical Christianity, has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Carl Jung, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), William Blake, Henry James, Robert Frost, DT Suzuki, George Inness and William Keith.

God continues to seek to shine more and more in our spirits so that we may receive the love, peace, and life that we all are meant to have. The parable of the creation story uplifts and seeks to empower this, using imagery found throughout the Bible and other scriptures to describe spiritual truths while inviting us toward greater love and faith. In this we’re told that God’s love, which like the sun shines on and illuminates everyone, should take root at the heart of our spirits, allowing our ideas and faith to become a guide even in the darkest of times and allowing us to find a life of abundance, diversity, and peace. Read the corresponding written message here: https://swedenborgiancommunity.org/blog/day-4Our community's affirming Swedenborgian spirituality, inspired by an interfaith, mystical Christianity, has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Carl Jung, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), William Blake, Henry James, Robert Frost, DT Suzuki, George Inness and William Keith.

Curtis Childs is the director of OffTheLeftEye at the Swedenborg Foundation. While obtaining his degree in communication studies from Oakland University, Curtis experienced an internal battle with depression that led him to question God and his lifelong interest in Swedenborgian theology. After a period of intense suffering, he recovered from his depression with the help of modern medicine, therapy, and a return to the spiritually uplifting messages he found in Swedenborg’s writings. Now, Curtis is applying his education and desire to help others find peace through Swedenborg’s insights by producing and hosting OffTheLeftEye's weekly webcast.Our community's affirming Swedenborgian spirituality, inspired by an interfaith, mystical Christianity, has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Carl Jung, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), William Blake, Henry James, Robert Frost, DT Suzuki, George Inness and William Keith.

Today we are being called by the depth of Divine Love to uplift each other with justice and compassion. Often, this starts with ourselves - being patient with our progress while focusing on living virtuously, with humility, and living up to all the higher ideas that should come into our daily lives. Day 3 of the creation story symbolizes this in a way: starting to ground the roots of Divine enlightenment and nourishment into our earthly thinking and embodiment. Read more about this here: https://swedenborgiancommunity.org/blog/day-threeOur community's affirming Swedenborgian spirituality, inspired by an interfaith, mystical Christianity, has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Carl Jung, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), William Blake, Henry James, Robert Frost, DT Suzuki, George Inness and William Keith.

We explore Emanuel Swedenborg's early insights into the brain, as well as his meditative breathing with special guest, Eleanor Schnarr. To learn more about this subject, visit Eleanor's YouTube channel Eleanor Schnarr. Our community's affirming Swedenborgian spirituality, inspired by an interfaith, mystical Christianity, has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Carl Jung, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), William Blake, Henry James, Robert Frost, DT Suzuki, George Inness and William Keith.

An enlightening and peaceful Fathers’ Day to you, particularly as we as a society continue to slowly open our eyes to the burdens we’ve placed on the necks of all too many fathers and families for the last 400+ years. Although seemingly inconvenient, acknowledging both the light and the darkness associated with a celebratory day like today is called for if we hope to continue to grow into health in our various cultures, transforming our lives towards receiving the heavenliness that Divinity offers all peoples in all traditions in every moment. Read more here: https://swedenborgiancommunity.org/blog/skyGive to support your loving, affirming, interfaith-Swedenborgian community https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=D6AH3CYY3LQWA&source=urlFind FREE EBOOKS below. Please subscribe and hit the bell! Our community's affirming Swedenborgian spirituality, inspired by an interfaith, mystical Christianity, has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Carl Jung, Ralph Waldo Emer

The most prolific world scriptures make it clear that above all we are tasked with rejecting bigotry and the spirit of domination in our hearts and actions if we are to ever experience heaven within or without. Indeed, this is often the core message of the Bible, although we tend to twist the text into something of our own making. The current protests and civil rights activism in the wake of George Floyd’s murder by police officers can be viewed as an embodiment of the Spirit of God moving through the people, in the same vein that Jesus drove the money changers out of the temple – flipping tables and wielding a whip. Read more here: https://swedenborgiancommunity.org/blog/tableOur community's affirming Swedenborgian spirituality, inspired by an interfaith, mystical Christianity, has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Carl Jung, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), William Blake, Henry James, Robert Frost, DT Suzuki, George Inness and William Keith.

Alyssa and Cory continue their discussion on the 18th-Century Mystic Emanuel Swedenborg's Book, "Faith", exploring the relationship between faith and caring. Our community's affirming Swedenborgian spirituality, inspired by an interfaith, mystical Christianity, has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Carl Jung, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), William Blake, Henry James, Robert Frost, DT Suzuki, George Inness and William Keith.

Learn about the deeper, inner meaning of the Creation story - specifically, the second day, and how it speaks to and uplifts our spiritual growth. To read the corresponding message visit: https://www.swedenborgiancommunity.org/blog/day-twoOur community's affirming Swedenborgian spirituality, inspired by an interfaith, mystical Christianity, has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Carl Jung, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), William Blake, Henry James, Robert Frost, DT Suzuki, George Inness and William Keith.

Learn about the deeper, inner meaning of the Creation story - specifically, the first day, and how it speaks to and uplifts our spiritual growth. To read more about this: https://swedenborgiancommunity.org/blog/day-oneOur community's affirming Swedenborgian spirituality, inspired by an interfaith, mystical Christianity, has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Carl Jung, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), William Blake, Henry James, Robert Frost, DT Suzuki, George Inness and William Keith.

Our mothers are often one of the greatest examples of Divinity that we experience in our lives, sharing care, wisdom, and so much more with the world. Today (and every day), let's celebrate our mothers and motherly figures and rejoice in the Divine Mother of us all. Our community's affirming Swedenborgian spirituality, inspired by an interfaith, mystical Christianity, has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Carl Jung, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), William Blake, Henry James, Robert Frost, DT Suzuki, George Inness and William Keith.

In part 2 of our series on 18th-Century Mystic, Emanuel Swedenborg's book "The Lord," we explore what he thought it means that God(dess) came as Christ to renew each of us no matter our tradition. And we find out what the Bible might mean when it says that Jesus came to fulfill the scriptures, it might surprise us! Download "The Lord" - https://swedenborg.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/NCE_TheLord_portable.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0lZ9RMg0ngkn8VGS10WS6kIuHOY_wV80hYPMz7Hue9i1CCGnlQwzz_gw8Our community's affirming Swedenborgian spirituality, inspired by an interfaith, mystical Christianity, has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Carl Jung, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), William Blake, Henry James, Robert Frost, DT Suzuki, George Inness and William Keith.