Sun Myung Moon
February 6, 1977
You must be concerned about the spirit world. Today there are many religions in the world and their path is to search out the world where we can live eternally in relation to the spirit world, a world of eternal life, a world where we can live together with God. That world is the destination of religion. However, what has become of religion nowadays? It is on the decline and we have entered an era in which people are concluding that religion is only for the weak, and unnecessary for everyone else, or that it was created by people as a moral idea.
Even Christianity, the central religion, has declined. America represents all the Christian nations of the world, yet those who grew up in American Christian homes have lost their faith and are living according to their own ways. Why are Christians abandoning their religion which idealizes Heaven, the dwelling place of God, who is the center of the world and all ideals?
There are three reasons. First, it is because they do not have a clear understanding of the existence of the spirit world. As we have the innate capacity of comparison, we seek to abandon a bad situation in favor of a better one, ever in search of higher-dimensional realms of greater value. That is original human nature. Second, it is because they do not know God. Third, it is because they do not know that love is central and binds us to both God and the spirit world. They do not know these three points. Even though they might know of God and the spirit world, they do not understand that it is a world centering on love.
In a place of love, you are happy to go up or down, and even to stay in the middle. Does a wife dislike her beloved husband if he has a higher position in society than her, or does a husband dislike his beloved wife for being in a lower position than him? In unity, you can go anywhere, from below to above, and vice versa – you can even stay in the middle. There are no restraints. Thus, many people in the world call for one unified world of peace.
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The same holds true for the spiritual and physical worlds and for spiritual and physical beings. God and His love are central to both worlds but not to the fallen people who we usually have in mind.
We have a mind and a body that exist in different dimensions. The mind differs from the spirit world. We speak of the spiritual and physical worlds in terms of God's love. Accordingly, for both of them to unite, God must be involved. Without God's love being involved, the spirit world cannot exist. It is linked to God.
We have a conscience. How does it differ from the spirit world? How do the mind and the spirit world differ? People may think the mind is the spirit, but they are confused about that. Due to the Fall, the mind has nothing to do with the spiritual world. In other words, the mind of a fallen person is like a boneless body. This gives you a realistic idea if you think of it taking that form.
The spirit self has a spirit body and a spirit mind. The latter corresponds to the spiritual world. It definitely relates to God. Therefore, without establishing a relationship with God, the spirit mind will not come into being. Understand that spirit and mind are two different things. The fallen mind has no relationship with God – He has left it. God Himself can neither relate to our mind nor control it directly.
Your mind changes, going one way and then another, but the spiritual world and spiritual beings do not. They set one eternal goal toward which they constantly move. Why is this so? It is because they stand on God's side. The mind that resides within us as human beings vacillates.
You may have learned it from studying the Principle, but what is the spirit mind? It is the union of mind and spirit, and it is moving toward its new goal. It is a motivational mind that can make us become our ideal selves by uniting with our conscience centered upon God. Thus, if we did not have a spirit mind we would be unable to search for its origin which can connect us to the spirit world and true love.
When the spirit mind sprouts up in us, our body experiences joy and everything follows it. Everything starts to unite automatically. Our biggest problem has been the separation of our mind and body. However, when spiritual energy comes into our body and creates the origin of our spirit mind, our mind and body become one naturally. Unless a revolution occurs at the root, and unless we discover the origin that can rectify everything from the root, we have no way to find the ideal. There is no result without a motivating cause.
The purpose of religion is to implant within us a spirit mind. There are many religions centered on the spirit mind. There are all kinds and forms of religion.