In this slim volume, author Kim Bentley explains how the Divine affects our spiritual and physical existence, primarily through the work of 18th century Swedish engineer and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg.

Swedenborg achieved great success as a scientist, engineer, and Swedish government official. At 56, he had a vision of Christ and spent the rest of his life investigating the paranormal and developing an understanding of the soul, higher mind, lower mind, spiritual body, and physical body. An engineer, too, Bentley makes Swedenborg’s concepts accessible to anyone intent on spiritual development. He also discusses the work of contemporary authors, such as healer Barbara Brennan and mystic Dr. David Hawkins, known for his research on consciousness.

Everything starts with God: “Creation cannot come from nothing,” Bentley writes. “…. What we describe as nothing is the invisible realm of the Divine, full of potentiality.” God gave humans free will and rationality, which allow us to choose between altruistic or selfish actions. God sends His “influx” (defined by Swedenborg as spiritual energy flow) into the soul, which moves through the mind (where consciousness resides and emotions develop) and into the spiritual body (the chakras and meridians), which affects the physical body. Individual choices between good and evil affect physical and emotional health in the earthly lifetime and determine whether afterlife is spent in heaven or hell. Bentley delves deeply into all the details, for example how there can be a true or a false self and the stages of development of a heavenly love.

With clinical writing devoid of a unique voice, this reads like a science textbook. Yet to Bentley’s credit, his engineering background allows him to organize these concepts clearly and concisely, from the superficial to the granular. Sidebars and simple infographics help readers grasp key words and concepts. There’s also a bibliography of books by and about Swedenborg, Brennan, Hawkins and others.

For seekers who believe in God, or are open to such belief, this is a valuable narrative, all in the service of helping readers find more love, joy, and fulfillment in this life, with the promise of better things to come.