405. The "being in bliss", therefore, differs from terrestrial man in that thoughts about heavenly worlds cannot inspire him with any marked gladness, but rather with the very quintessence of boredom and will thus seem to be a kind of "darkness". An attitude of this kind would be almost incomprehensible for an advanced terrestrial individual, for the tendencies in his consciousness are actually supported by an immeasurable longing for higher and better mental levels and for a cleaner, more beautiful social world. This is based on that individual's extreme satiation with earthly conditions, experiencing horrifying details of the "killing principle" in the form of illness, misfortune, war and bodily mutilation. The "being in bliss" and terrestrial man are thus contrasts to each other in their aims and longings. Terrestrial man is proceeding on a "rising plane" while the "being in bliss" is on a "downward path" in the spiral.
      However depressing this may seem to a terrestrial being on the "rising plane", satiated as he is beyond measure with all the stuff of killing, if he possesses a higher intellect he cannot but feel glad at this divine arrangement in the Universe, without which any eternal continuance of life would be a total impossibility.