Onionplays read that following our departure from this life, we wake up in a 'spirit body' like a normal human body we have on earth. In this afterlife existence we are said to be conscious of people and things but not those still present in the material universe. We are not it seems reincarnated back in the world in a physical body. Nevertheless, we each retain our individuality in a 'spirit body' - one that can see, hear and smell as well as think and feel.
Swedenborg's idea of a 'spirit body' may resemble the idea of a 'subtle body' thought to be a psycho-spiritual part of living beings according to various esoteric, occult, and mystical teachings. For example in yoga, practitioners claim that the 'subtle body' consists of 'chakras', connected by channels, that convey 'subtle breath'. Through breathing exercises, it is claimed a person may direct the 'subtle breath' to achieve immortality.
What is Swedenborg's vision of human contact after death?
For Swedenborg, with our 'spirit body' we can be in contact with others who also are no longer alive in the physical body. We can communicate and socially interact like we usually do. He says the afterlife is a spirit dimension of existence. It is real with even more vivid sensations than we experience in the natural world. This is so even though our surroundings are not part of the physical universe. Writing in Latin three hundred years ago, he called this environment 'mundi spiritualis'. I like to translate this phrase for afterlife as 'spirit world'. Most translators have used the term 'spiritual world'.
Furthermore, we learn that the individual's mental state projects itself on to what they see and hear. For example, if after death we are looking for kindness and thoughtfulness, then beauty surrounds us. But if we prefer crime and corruption, then ugliness is all around.
Is there time and space in the afterlife?
Swedenborg's vision of the afterlife, is that time and space do not follow the laws of physics. Instead they mirror our inner states of mind. I would point out that, in the material world, time is objectively measured for example by clocks and the rotation of our planet. But imagine what it would be like if these physical measures are no longer possible. We would be left with 'subjective time' which depends on our mood. Something of this idea can be seen when we are bored or in pain for then time drags. But, if we are getting on with things and engaged with what interests us, then time passes before we know it.
Swedenborg says how far things seem from us depends on psychological rather than physical rules. For example, if you and someone else feel emotionally close, then in the afterlife, both of you will appear to be located near to each other. So what matters is psychological time and distance.
