52 HEAVEN and HELL §94
b. On the correspondence of the heart and the lungs with the universal human that is heaven,
based on experience: 3883 – 3896. The heart corresponds to people who are in the heavenly king-
dom, while the lungs correspond to people in the spiritual kingdom: 3685 [ 3885 ], 3886 , 3887. In
heaven there is a pulse like that of the heart and a breathing like that of the lungs, but on a deeper
level: 3884 , 3885 , 3887. The heartbeat there varies depending on states of love, and the breathing
varies depending on states of charity and faith: 3886 , 3887 , 3889. “The heart” in the Word is voli-
tion, so what comes from the heart is what comes from volition: 2930 , 7542 , 8910 , 9113 , 10336. So
too, the heart in the Word means love, so what comes from the heart comes from love: 7542 ,
9050 , 10336.of these members (see above, §§ 59 – 72 ). The communities that are in a
particular member, then, correspond to the like member in a human
being. For example, the ones in the head in heaven correspond to our
head, the ones in the chest there correspond to our chest, the ones in the
arms correspond to our arms, and so on for the rest. We continue in exis-
tence because of this correspondence, for heaven is the only basis of our
continued existence.95 The differentiation of heaven into two kingdoms, one called the
heavenly kingdom and the other the spiritual kingdom, has been pre-
sented in its proper chapter above. The heavenly kingdom in general cor-
responds to the heart and to all the extensions of the heart throughout
the body. The spiritual kingdom corresponds to the lungs and to all their
extension throughout the body. Further, the heart and the lungs form
two kingdoms in us, the heart governing through the arteries and veins
and the lungs through the nerve and motor fi bers, each involved in every
effort and action.
Within each one of us, in the spiritual world of ours that is called our
spiritual person, there are also two kingdoms. One is volitional and the
other is cognitive, the volitional governing through affections for what is
good and the cognitive through affections for what is true. These king-
doms also correspond to the kingdoms of the heart and lungs in the
body. The same holds true in the heavens. The heavenly kingdom is
heaven’s volitional side, where the good that fl ows from love rules. The
spiritual kingdom is heaven’s cognitive side, where truth rules. These are
what correspond to the functions of the heart and the lungs in us.
It is because of this correspondence that “the heart” in the Word
means volition and the good of love, while “the breath of the spirit” means
understanding and the truth of faith. This is also why we ascribe feelings
to the heart, even though they do not reside or originate there.b96 The correspondence of heaven’s two kingdoms with the heart and
lungs is the general correspondence of heaven with the human being.