Thought Brings Presence – Bryn Athyn Church

A huge part of our daily life in this physical world is dealing with time and space—figuring out where to live, where to work, planning our calendar, and transportation.

For people in the spiritual world, there is no time and space (although it appears as if there were), so “When anyone thinks affectionately about someone else, with the focused intent of seeing or talking with that other individual, there is an instantaneous presence” (Divine Providence 50).

In the spiritual world, when thinking of others makes them present for a time, yet loving them forms a permanent bond. “Just as thinking about others, together with some awareness of them, causes presence, so a feeling of love for them causes union. This is what makes people accompany each other and converse amiably along the way, live in the same houses or in the same community, meet with each other often, and work on tasks together.” (Divine Providence 326.2)

This is how the whole spiritual world is organized. People who are in a similar state of mind are present with each other in the same “space,” so they are gathered together in communities that share the same values, priorities, and ways of thinking. It is also the reason why heaven and hell are separated from each other.

For those of us still in the physical world, our bodies are subject to time and space, yet our spirits are actually living in the spiritual world, subject to the laws there. As a result, our spirit can be present with the spirit of another who is on the other side of the world or not in this world at all. We see this in widows and widowers who love their partners. “Because the two are not actually separated by the death of one; for the spirit of the deceased continues to dwell with the spirit of the one not yet deceased, and this until the death of the other, at which time they come together again and are reunited, loving each other even more tenderly than before, because they are in the spiritual world.” (Married Love 321.7)

As we celebrate Memorial Day, we call to mind our loved ones who have laid down their lives for their family, friends, communities, and country. This is not focusing on the past, but bringing a real presence in spirit between us and those heroes. The fact that we feel love for them testifies to that actual spiritual connection that remembers the past, but lives in the present connection and looks to a future with them.

Previous Entries

Thought Brings Presence

By Rev. John Odhner, 5/26/25

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By Rev. Malcolm Smith, 5/19/25

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By Rev. Coleman Glenn, 5/12/25

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