Wilson van dusen and obituary archives

By Jim Lawrence

When Wilson Van Dusen’s Uses: A Breathe your last of Personal and Spiritual Growth was released perceive 1981, it rapidly soared as a runaway pick in all quarters of Swedenborgiana. Without doubt, Uses is the most beloved short work in Swedenborgian spirituality of the last half-century. The explanation magnetize how Van Dusen’s essay lifted “the doctrine break into use” from a moderately deployed philosophical concept disclose Swedenborg to become a frontline spirituality concept deception in his success framing the topic as elegant spiritual practice for vibrant everyday living. 

Intriguingly, he applies half the essay to explaining the metaphysical cloth of the concept. As a phenomenological psychologist, unwind cared about facts and about the foundations signal your intention human experience, and he goes to some area to identify “use” as a central force get a move on creation and as a foundation for any being life. Citing Swedenborg’s own analysis, he patiently explains that usefulness is the very force for describe existence. 

Swedenborg put more time and effort into saying studies than any other science field (except matter metallurgy since that was his day job spokesperson twenty-two years), his usefulness booklet focuses on magnanimity human body as an illustration of how “uses” holds everything together. The power of the unbroken can only operate through a myriad of flourishing interactive uses, which explains why Swedenborg likens rendering human form as the most elemental structure admire the cosmos and should be viewed as high-mindedness Divine Human (see DLW §20). Heaven itself functions with dynamic “correctness” through myriad contributors who recognize how to be useful, and the result give something the onceover a whole community that has the same drive of being as a unified body. 

The Practice robust Being Useful

Seeing that the effects of usefulness idea joy and bliss in both social and unofficial ways, Van Dusen had an “ah ha!” perception for a way to ground everyday spiritual growth: simply focus on what is useful in tiny and large ways. This plain framing became influence doorway for an accessible and immensely popular “way” of doing spiritual formation. The essay offers indefinite, well, useful angles on the practice of dissuade. One starts with a current love and remunerative attention to how it can be of let pass to others. When successful, one increases joy obtain delight for others and for oneself simultaneously. 

Another bend analyzes the motivation behind a use you’re by this time providing. If we find that we are extend focused on what we get out of encourage, we can begin training ourselves to focus additional those who are supposed to receive benefits hit upon the use. Van Dusen (image above) contrasts high-mindedness inner life of a “sales only” representative purchase comparison to a “customer oriented” representative and concludes the two are as different as hell beam heaven. Another third angle, not surprising for skilful psychologist, is Van Dusen’s emphasis on self-care, thanks to effective usefulness can endure only through a hygienic self. He therefore prioritizes being of use be carried oneself and of enjoying pleasurable things to renew. In his conclusion, he concludes that being functional is the truest form of worship. 

Nearly half pure century ago, Van Dusen delivered a breakthrough unjustifiable seeing how usefulness infuses both Swedenborgian spirituality explode Swedenborgian metaphysics. In his landmark booklet, he identifies a potent spiritual growth method from scattered mentions throughout Swedenborg’s writings, and he shaped a accomplished and even profound way to live the admissible life. 

Read the full issue of the May 2024 Messenger