"Hell and heaven are near to people, in fact, within people.
Hell exists within people who are in a state of evil.
Heaven exists within people who are in a state of goodness.
Even more than this, to the extent that people are receptive
of the goodness of heaven, they are in heaven right now."
(Emanuel Swedenborg)
The words 'heaven' and 'hell' are frequently used in ordinary discourse as metaphors for people, places, things, experiences in the extreme—that is, things that are extremely pleasing or extremely un-pleasing to us. We say things such as:
- "Going through that short-sale escrow was absolute hell."
- "Waiting for word on Dad’s kidney transplant is hell."
- "Jessica’s piano recital was fantastic, and she’s been in heaven all week."
- ...or even: "This apple pie smells heavenly."
It’s perfectly natural to do this. But for the moment, I want to invite us all to go to the original meanings of these words, as they arose from religious concepts:
Heaven is said to be "the dwelling place of God and the blessed dead."
- Hell is said to be "the nether realm of the devil and the demons in which the damned suffer everlasting punishment."
Since I began working as a hospice chaplain, concepts of heaven and hell as actual destinations for our spirits once they have departed our bodies at the time of death have become of great interest to me. One of the things that has truly amazed me about having this role of "chaplain" is that many people seem to believe I have some kind of authority or specialized knowledge about such matters, such as "where do we go when we die?"
At first, when I was still a brand-new chaplain and received this kind of question, I would just answer, "I have absolutely no idea"—which certainly is the truth. However, as I gained experience as a hospice chaplain, I came to realize that this is not a very helpful answer for someone who might be facing her own death as soon as next week.
Also, I have learned that living in the not-knowing is a mature act of faith. We place our trust in God, and then we go forward in faith and do the next right thing that is asked of us, even when we don’t know what the final outcome will look like. ...Yet this is easier said than done, especially for someone facing imminent death. Such a person wants answers, reassurance about what is to come.
Recently, I have attended a few seminars about the 18th century Swedish scholar, Emanuel Swedenborg. He was a brilliant thinker whose father was a Lutheran minister, and who grew up a devout Christian. He studied and worked in the fields of science, mathematics, engineering, invention, and statesmanship. And he wrote volumes on all these subjects, which were studied by the leaders of his time all over Europe.
I won’t go into his fascinating life here—that's a subject way too big for this moment, but I will say that he had a transformation in his 50's to a passion for understanding the inner life, the life of the mind and heart, and of how religion explained all that. And he went on to write a great many volumes on what Christianity was about.
I was taken with Swedenborg's explanation of heaven and hell—that they were not only possible realms for departed spirits, but that during our lifetime, we dwell in heaven or hell, to the extent that we are "good" or "evil." Now, these are pretty strong words for someone who does not preach or even hold to the idea of sinners in the hands of an angry God. But I could relate to Swedenborg's saying, "After death everyone enters into the hell or the heaven in which he had predominantly chosen to live while in the world."
Swedenborg was not trying to create a new religion; he was simply trying to understand clearly what Christ came to teach us and how then should we live. He believed that Christ was love incarnate, and that in our lives we were to find out what it would mean to have lives centered in love. To my mind, this is what is meant by being "people who are in a state of goodness." It is the goodness of the love between people, and the love between us and God. When this is truly experienced, we are “in heaven right now.”
We have lived lives which had their share of hell in them—times of despair, wretchedness, feeling completely alone, separated from love from others or God. And some of the hell we lived through existed only in our minds, as we imagined horrors that never happened, cruelties that never came to pass, dire consequences that were only fantasies. On the other hand, we have had many times when we have made choices driven by compassion, service, joy, creativity, healing and love. These times, according to Swedenborg, are choices for heaven.
A few months ago, the 7 chaplains at Hospice by the Bay, in our monthly summit, had a discussion where we shared with one another what we each thought about where we think we go when we die. One of the chaplains said he had started asking that question of patients, and heard the most fascinating answers. I took a few notes on what people in our group said. And since then, I have begun asking that question of some of my patients. It is a wonderful discussion to have, and I am deeply touched by what people have shared with me.
Here are some of the statements reported by members of our chaplain team:
1. Nature takes care of itself; transition happens.
2. It's like taking off a tight shoe. It’s a continuation of your spiritual energy, an experience of awe.
3. It's part of a greater cycle. We are all part of a "great soulness", and we go back to the great cosmic oneness.
4. (When you die)…you hold onto the love in your heart and you let go.
5. I picture myself encountering my patients after I die, and they say to me, "Why didn’t you tell me it was so easy? I was so worried!" Death is more our normal state; this (life) is the anomaly.
6. Before you were born, you were in a safe place, and then you were born and forgot about it. When you die you will remember that safe place, and you will return, you will want to return. Your dreams are helping you feel the safety of those realms—the place and the beauty. You will have a new perspective of life.
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We will all, some day, be given the experience of what is to come, after we leave our earthly journey. Until then, we get to live in the not-knowing. But in the meantime, we carry within us the possibility of choosing heaven every day, by the choices we make at every moment. Quoting Swedenborg once more: "To the extent that people are receptive of the goodness of heaven, they are in heaven right now."
May you experience heaven right here and now,
in your own precious, amazing life.
Amen.
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This article is adapted from a sermon delivered at Community Congregational Church of Tiburon on April 11, 2010.
