ng in
accord with the love of another, to the same extent is the other
plainly present, with full, joyous, and lively countenance; but when
one is speaking or acting contrary to another's love, to that extent
the other's countenance begins to be changed, to be obscured and
undiscernible, until at length he wholly disappears as if he had not
been there. I have often wondered how this could be, for nothing of
the kind can occur in the world; but I have been told that it is the
same with the spirit in man, which when it turns itself away from
another ceases to be within his view. [5] Another proof that a spirit
is his ruling love is that every spirit seizes and appropriates all
things that are in harmony with his love, and rejects and repudiates
all that are not. Everyone's love is like a spongy or porous wood,
which imbibes such fluids as promote its growth, and repels others.
It is also like animals of every kind, which know their proper food
and seek the things that agree with their nature, and avoid what
disagrees; for every love wishes to be nourished on what belongs to
it, evil love by falsities and good love by truths. I have sometimes
been permitted to see certain simple good spirits desiring to
instruct the evil in truths and goods; but when the instruction was
offered them they fled far away, and when they came to their own they
seized with great pleasure upon the falsities that were in agreement
with their love. I have also seen good spirits talking together about
truths, and the good who were present listened eagerly to the
conversation, but the evil who were present paid no attention to it,
as if they did not hear it. In the world of spirits ways are seen,
some leading to heaven, some to hell, and each to some particular
society. Good spirits go only in the ways that lead to heaven, and to
the society there that is in the good of their love; and do not see
the ways that lead elsewhere; while evil spirits go only in the ways
that lead to hell, and to the society there that is in the evil of
their love; and do not see the ways that lead elsewhere; or if they
see them have no wish to enter them. In the spiritual world these
ways are real appearances, which correspond to truths or falsities;
and this is why ways have this signification in the Word.{1} By this
evidence from experience what has previously been affirmed on the
ground of reason is made more certain, namely, that every man after
death is his own love a