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April 27, 2008 Worship Service: text only
READINGS
BIBLE: Genesis I
27. And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. 28. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth.
SWEDENBORG
The Divine is the same in the greatest and the smallest things. (Divine Love and Wisdom n.77)
So long as man is spiritual, his dominion proceeds from the external man to the internal .. But when he becomes celestial, and does good from love, then his dominion proceeds from the internal man to the external... [Heavenly Secrets, #2]
The Divine fills all space of the universe w/o being bound by space. [Divine Love and WIsdom, #69]
I've always loved the music of John Denver, which reminds us of how precious our earth is. I think he is right that W. Virginia -- and all the beautiful places on our earth -- are "almost heaven."
A Heaven in A Wildflower
1. God in a Painting
Our earth truly is, as John Denver says, "almost heaven." In our final worship service of Earth Month here at swedenborgiancommunity.org, let's focus on how we create heaven right here, right now, in ourselves and in our lives.
Swedenborg says: Heaven is in our inner self--in the motives and thoughts we get from love and faith. From there it goes into our outer self, which does and says things from love and faith. [Heavenly City, #233.]
I have always loved this verse written by William Blake.
To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
This verse has always inspired me to see the heaven all around me. I walk on the beach, and let the sand run through my fingers. All those this grains -- each one holding a world.
For those of us in the Northeast, we are quite joyful that spring has arrived after a difficult winter. As I see the first flowers peeking up through the remaining snow, I think: "there is a heaven in each flower."
I find that this piece of poetry inspires me to see the heaven that is in my life right now.
Swedenborg saw art as a pathway to find the heaven on earth. He said that “art is from heaven itself,” [HH 185], and that It is often the angels of heaven whose art comes to us as inspiration, and guides us to create the art of the earth.
Wilson Van Dusen, psychologist and mystic, felt that the arts were an important pathway to the Divine. He ask "what is art?" and then says "I include all of the arts: sculpture, painting, music, literature, decorative arts, architecture." then he adds that actually it includes "anything that someone finds beautiful."
To Van Dusen, mysticism is having a direct exprience of God; something available to all of us everyday. And he says "there is a point at which art and mystcism join." So often, art is seen as something "out there." But he says that art is an experience; a relationship "between the perceiver and the perceived." In fact, Van Dusen says that if he were to train mystics, he would use art appreciation as entrance to mysticism. "With no discussion of God or religion, a person can begin directly on the basic mind-set that leads to mysticism."
So, on our quest to experience heaven on earth, we can consider the arts as a doorway into the essence of life and of God. Some people find that the arts open them to an understanding beyond words. For others, reading the words in a sermon, such as this, is the easiest way for them to open to the earthly heaven. In today's service, we offer a range of options to help you find your own way to the inner heaven. In addition to the music in the service, there will be three links to a page that explores a part of the sermon theme through visual arts.
Shortly, you will be invited to enter a world created by Robert Bush in a breath-taking painting. Later you will have the opportunity to see wholeness through holograms, and then to see the God of sculpture and symmetry, through the work of Carolyn Judson. Robert and Carolyn are both Swedenborgians. I often wonder if their art communicates the messages in the writings of Swedenborg, but at a non-verbal level.
So, this ends the first part of the sermon; and you are invited to experience God through Robert Bush's painting. The link is below. You can then come back to the sermon, or follow more links to learn about lupines. Or come back later for this experience. Or not do it at all! You are invited to experience heaven on earth in whichever way/s most call to you today.
"Mountain Lupines" by Robert Bush.
Shortly, you will be invited to enter a world created by Robert Bush in a breath-taking painting. Later you will have the opportunity to see wholeness through holograms, and then to see the God of sculpture and symmetry, through the work of Carolyn Judson. Robert and Carolyn are both Swedenborgians. I often wonder if their art communicates the messages in the writings of Swedenborg, but at a non-verbal level.
So, this ends the first part of the sermon; and you are invited to experience God through Robert Bush's painting. The link is below. You can then come back to the sermon, or follow more links to learn about lupines. Or come back later for this experience. Or not do it at all! You are invited to experience heaven on earth in whichever way/s most call to you today.
"Mountain Lupines" by Robert Bush.
2. God in a Hologram
In his book, Sorting things out, Rev. Dr. George Dole says that he came to see Swedenborg’s theology differently through reading the work of physicists Karl Pribram and David Bohm on the subject of the hologram. “It attracted me because it contained statements that reminded me of statements in Divine Love and Wisdom. These were statements that I had taken as presumably true in a philosophical sense, but as basically incomprehensible, statements such as the Divine is the same in the greatest and the smallest things. (Divine Love and Wisdom n.77). He later wrote:
In his book, Sorting things out, Rev. Dr. George Dole says that he came to see Swedenborg’s theology differently through reading the work of physicists Karl Pribram and David Bohm on the subject of the hologram. “It attracted me because it contained statements that reminded me of statements in Divine Love and Wisdom. These were statements that I had taken as presumably true in a philosophical sense, but as basically incomprehensible, statements such as the Divine is the same in the greatest and the smallest things. (Divine Love and Wisdom n.77). He later wrote:
“Attention to the wave properties of matter, and to the holographic model in particular, highlights elements of Swedenborg’s theology that have often hitherto seemed elusive, and which therefore have not been brought to bear effectively on the situations in which we commonly find ourselves. … [the hologram] calls attention to aspects of our inner and outer relationships that we normally ignore and that offer promise of progress towards a peaceful way of living on all scales; from the very private to the global.”
So George Dole and other Swedenborgians are claiming that the New physics" is proving in the laboratory the basic concepts of Swedenborg. That is truly an amazing claim! In Swedenborg's time he was a lone voice trying to keep religion and science together, as the Enlightenment pulled them apart. Now in the latter 20th and our early 21st centuries, we may have established that always were together.
To understand this assumption, it's helpful to understand what a hologram is. I have read quite a bit about the new physics and holograms. I'm very drawn the concept on holograms, but couldn't begin to explain what it is! You have probably encountered the 3D holograms that look absolutely real. I finally grasped that concept at DIisney World, where I saw in the audience as bad guys, bugs, and plates of food were hurled at us by figures who came out from the stage and seemed to stand right next to us! i knew this "trick" before I went in, yet I screamed and ducked with everyone else, because I couldn't convnce my eyes and mind that this was all an illusion. There are some UTube vidoes that can help you to experience the 3D hologram.
The most important thing I've learned about holograms did not happen at Disney World, but rather in George Dole's theology classes at the old Swedenborg School of Religion. He delighted in bringing his lovely starfish puzzle to school. We would admire the six pieces of a puzzle that consgtituted a lovely, shimmering star fish. Then George would take out one of the pieces and had us look at it in the light. I always expeected tp see a regular puzzle where each piece contained one part of the whole puzzle. I found it absolutely astounding that each piece had in it a picture of a complete starfish; not one piece of it.
How could this be? Ah, that was where our theology lesson came in. George would quote Swedenborg: The Divine is the same in the greatest and the smallest things. (Divine Love and Wisdom n.77). I believe that to be what Blake's verse was about:
So George Dole and other Swedenborgians are claiming that the New physics" is proving in the laboratory the basic concepts of Swedenborg. That is truly an amazing claim! In Swedenborg's time he was a lone voice trying to keep religion and science together, as the Enlightenment pulled them apart. Now in the latter 20th and our early 21st centuries, we may have established that always were together.
To understand this assumption, it's helpful to understand what a hologram is. I have read quite a bit about the new physics and holograms. I'm very drawn the concept on holograms, but couldn't begin to explain what it is! You have probably encountered the 3D holograms that look absolutely real. I finally grasped that concept at DIisney World, where I saw in the audience as bad guys, bugs, and plates of food were hurled at us by figures who came out from the stage and seemed to stand right next to us! i knew this "trick" before I went in, yet I screamed and ducked with everyone else, because I couldn't convnce my eyes and mind that this was all an illusion. There are some UTube vidoes that can help you to experience the 3D hologram.
The most important thing I've learned about holograms did not happen at Disney World, but rather in George Dole's theology classes at the old Swedenborg School of Religion. He delighted in bringing his lovely starfish puzzle to school. We would admire the six pieces of a puzzle that consgtituted a lovely, shimmering star fish. Then George would take out one of the pieces and had us look at it in the light. I always expeected tp see a regular puzzle where each piece contained one part of the whole puzzle. I found it absolutely astounding that each piece had in it a picture of a complete starfish; not one piece of it.
How could this be? Ah, that was where our theology lesson came in. George would quote Swedenborg: The Divine is the same in the greatest and the smallest things. (Divine Love and Wisdom n.77). I believe that to be what Blake's verse was about:
To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
Each grain of sand hold the entire universe. Each flower contains heaven. Infinity can be held in our hands, and eternity can be experienced in an hour.
Ok, you now you undoubtedly believe what I said about not being able to explain a hologram. I have had some personal encounters with holograms that have left me with an instantaneous paradigm shift about the world. If you'd like to explore holograms a bit more now, the next link will take to a page with video clips, diagrams, and articles. If you have a scientific mind, you might enjoy reading the articles with lots of detail about a hologram is and how you can make one. Or, you can take your "artist's mind" to the pictures and videos and just let yourself have an experience.
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
Each grain of sand hold the entire universe. Each flower contains heaven. Infinity can be held in our hands, and eternity can be experienced in an hour.
Ok, you now you undoubtedly believe what I said about not being able to explain a hologram. I have had some personal encounters with holograms that have left me with an instantaneous paradigm shift about the world. If you'd like to explore holograms a bit more now, the next link will take to a page with video clips, diagrams, and articles. If you have a scientific mind, you might enjoy reading the articles with lots of detail about a hologram is and how you can make one. Or, you can take your "artist's mind" to the pictures and videos and just let yourself have an experience.
. God in Form and Sculpture
If you noticed that I'm quite unable to describe a hologram, you will not be surprised to learn that I had never heard of a torus until exploring Carolyn Judson's web site. I don't have a clue about what they mean mathematically. But I do know that I found the pictures of her sculptures to be absolutely incredible. If I did have a sermon to write I would just be staring at them. I can't wait to make the trip up to her home in Maine and see them 'in person." So, again, if you have a scientific mind, there are some links to get you started in this fascinating area. If you, like me, have a mind that needs to see the concept in art to grasp you, then you will greatly enjoy the sculptures. You need to know Carolyn's perspective on her work. This is from her web site.
If you noticed that I'm quite unable to describe a hologram, you will not be surprised to learn that I had never heard of a torus until exploring Carolyn Judson's web site. I don't have a clue about what they mean mathematically. But I do know that I found the pictures of her sculptures to be absolutely incredible. If I did have a sermon to write I would just be staring at them. I can't wait to make the trip up to her home in Maine and see them 'in person." So, again, if you have a scientific mind, there are some links to get you started in this fascinating area. If you, like me, have a mind that needs to see the concept in art to grasp you, then you will greatly enjoy the sculptures. You need to know Carolyn's perspective on her work. This is from her web site.
Artist Carolyn Judson says: "Occasionally I am influenced by other people's ideas or other artists' work. I am particularly interested in the writings of Buckminster Fuller, impressed with his global philosophy and how he bases his thought in geometry. Exploring further, I have discovered the beauties and mysteries of math and physics. Symmetries from ancient times to modern theories seem to translate readily for me into sculptural forms.
Since we can now look into space to the distance of 40 million light years, the idea of endlessness overwhelms me. My solution to portraying this concept is in the torus form. It is similar to the eternal twisting edge of a Mobius strip forever turning back on itself.
This shape, the torus, has a most satisfying perfection of form. One visually travels in, out and around it in a spiral movement which is more tantalizing than traveling over a sphere or plane which are more common relational shapes.
The torus crops up in math and molecular biology. In our everyday world it's the wheel, the doughnut, the rainbow's arc. But to me this common form implies the ineffable, the fleeting consciousness of mysterious uncharted realms.
This might be what my art is about: the need to grab and hold something that's too ineffable, too fleeting, yet seems surprisingly important like the warm light in an old friend's eyes whom one hasn't seen for many moons. "
Click the link below to visit a virtual studio of her sculpture.
Carolyn Judson, the torus
______________________________________________________________________
So, in conclusion, I am enjoying sharing with you in cyberspace about pictures of things that I don't understand. HOWEVER, I can look at a wild flower, and I grasp something of heaven. I look at Robert Bush's incredible painting, and I see what it means that God is in nature. I can look at the sculptures of Carolyn Judson's sculptures [we'll consider her paintings in another sermon]. I can read for hours about the torus and God in mathematics and have gained no knowledge. But let just sit and "experience" her sculptures, and I knowing that I am growing closer to God.
And I know that I don't have to wait until I die to find heaven. It is here. For me, the arts are the doorway to God's heaven on earth.
Since we can now look into space to the distance of 40 million light years, the idea of endlessness overwhelms me. My solution to portraying this concept is in the torus form. It is similar to the eternal twisting edge of a Mobius strip forever turning back on itself.
This shape, the torus, has a most satisfying perfection of form. One visually travels in, out and around it in a spiral movement which is more tantalizing than traveling over a sphere or plane which are more common relational shapes.
The torus crops up in math and molecular biology. In our everyday world it's the wheel, the doughnut, the rainbow's arc. But to me this common form implies the ineffable, the fleeting consciousness of mysterious uncharted realms.
This might be what my art is about: the need to grab and hold something that's too ineffable, too fleeting, yet seems surprisingly important like the warm light in an old friend's eyes whom one hasn't seen for many moons. "
Click the link below to visit a virtual studio of her sculpture.
Carolyn Judson, the torus
______________________________________________________________________
So, in conclusion, I am enjoying sharing with you in cyberspace about pictures of things that I don't understand. HOWEVER, I can look at a wild flower, and I grasp something of heaven. I look at Robert Bush's incredible painting, and I see what it means that God is in nature. I can look at the sculptures of Carolyn Judson's sculptures [we'll consider her paintings in another sermon]. I can read for hours about the torus and God in mathematics and have gained no knowledge. But let just sit and "experience" her sculptures, and I knowing that I am growing closer to God.
And I know that I don't have to wait until I die to find heaven. It is here. For me, the arts are the doorway to God's heaven on earth.
