Livets Bog, vol. 4
Universal love and the origin of perception
1153. Universal love is thus Nature's or life's highest and ultimate answer, the only one that can determine that "everything is very good". This "universal love" or "neighbourly love" constitutes a specific combination of the basic energies of the universe. These must thus be maintained in a specific measured ratio to one another so that the vibration or contribution of each is apportioned in such a way that they are advantageous to this ultimate, great answer. But the only thing that can combine these energies in this specific way is the exercise of the living being's will, which in turn is guided by the being's perception of "pleasantness" and "unpleasantness". This perception is in turn promoted by the senses, which in turn means, the contact of the organism with the surrounding energies, that is to say the manifestation of its surroundings, its fellow beings and Nature. Contact with this manifestation is conveyed by the individual's organism and its senses, creating reactions that the individual feels as either "pleasantness" or "unpleasantness". And this evaluation of the manifestations of its fellow beings and of Nature is its perception or view of life.