296 HEAVEN and HELL §496
attention when it is about more inward matters, about the true and good
principles of the church and heaven. They do hear such things, but with-
out any real attention or pleasure. One can also identify them by the fact
that they consistently turn toward certain regions, and when they are left
to themselves follow paths that lead to them. One can tell what love is
leading them from the regions they face and the paths they follow.497 All the spirits who arrive from the world are put in touch with some
community in heaven or some community in hell. However, this applies
only to their deeper natures, and their deeper natures are not apparent
to them as long as they are focused on their outward concerns. This is
because their outward concerns cloak their inner ones, especially for peo-
ple more deeply involved in evil. However, they come out in the open
when they arrive in the second state because there their deeper levels are
opened and their outer ones become dormant.
498 This fi rst state after death lasts a few days for some people, months for
some, and a year for some, but rarely more than a year for anyone. The
difference for particular individuals depends on the harmony or discord
between their inner and outer natures. These inner and outer natures must
act as one and correspond for everyone. No one is allowed to think and
intend one way and speak and act another way in the spiritual world. Every-
one must be an image of his or her affection or love, which means we must
be outwardly what we are inwardly. This is why the fi rst thing that happens
is that the outer concerns of a spirit are uncovered and reorganized—so that
they may serve as a plane corresponding to the inner ones.
Our Second State after Death
499
O
UR second state after death is called a state of our deeper inter-
ests, because then we are given access to the deeper reaches of our
minds, or of our intentions and thoughts, while the more outward inter-
ests that engaged us in the fi rst state become dormant.
Anyone who is observant of our life and our words and actions can rec-
ognize that we all have more outward and more inward natures, or more
outward and more inward thoughts and intentions. We can recognize this