My short essay “Transformational Fire in Nature, Society, and Spiritual Life” has been published by the Swedenborg Foundation online. The essay begins with an analysis of our evolving understanding of the benefits of occasional fires in the forest ecosystem. We have learned that human efforts to control and suppress all forest fires have had disastrous consequences, and more enlightened forest management practices are yielding significant benefits. Similarly, in our economic system, efforts to control or curtail the creative destruction by which competitive markets evolve and thrive can undermine prosperity. How does this relate to our spiritual life? Sometimes we get stuck in unhelpful though patterns or behaviors, specifically including those that are self-inflicted — fire represents the transformational power of love in helping us get unsuck. “Fire in nature, in society, and in our spiritual lives presents an example of the principle of correspondence: in each instance, it represents the power of a higher beneficial purpose that can lead us through the pains of transition and reconstruction on the way to a more empowered life.”
