Why We Feel Stuck

We feel stuck because we believe what our senses and our self-made stories tell us.

Our senses present us with appearances of reality. These appearances are powerful; they feel immediate, concrete, and undeniable. Add to this the stories our mind creates, stories of who we are, what we need, what others think, and what our lives mean, and a convincing picture of “reality” emerges. The problem is that this picture is not the whole truth.

The New Church teaches that appearances and sensory impressions are not inherently evil, but rather partial, shallow, and often misleading. When we take them as absolute, the mind is deceived. We begin to live by what seems real rather than what is real.

Believing appearances to be true is why we feel stuck. We keep circling in the same thought patterns, because our inner sight is caught in illusions:

• We cling to old fears as if they define us.
• We trust in self-derived intelligence rather than Divine Wisdom.
• We make our judgments based on appearances instead of spiritual truth.

Using a study tool like Logopraxis helps us to see this dynamic in action. By working consciously with the text of revelation, we begin to notice the gap between appearances and reality, between the story the mind tells us and the truth the Lord is offering. Over time, this practice loosens the grip of illusion.

What is reality?

An idea that comes to the fore in New Church thought is that to know spiritual reality, we must come to see how easily the natural mind is fooled. Our senses are limited; our imagination spins endless tales. But truth comes from a higher source. When we recognise that our “stuckness” in destructive habits or negative reactions is not caused by external circumstances, but by an inward misperception, then the possibility of freedom opens.

In other words, we are not truly stuck. We are simply believing a picture that is too small. The way out is not by forcing life to change, but by allowing the Word, through the use of a self-study tool like Logopraxis, to reshape the way we see.

We Trust What Our Senses Tell Us

Our senses give us appearances of reality: what we see, hear, touch, and feel. These appearances are useful in the natural world, but they are limited and often misleading.

Example: Wealth may look like security, or another person’s words may sound like rejection, but the deeper spiritual reality is often different.

We Build Stories Around These Appearances

The natural mind weaves interpretations around these appearances: “I’m a failure,” “They don’t love me,” “This will never change.” These stories feel real because they are reinforced by emotions and memories. Over time, these stories become our identity, the “lens” through which we interpret everything.

Remember: The mind is easily fooled by what it tells itself; it clings to what seems real, not what is real.

Why This Makes Us Feel Stuck

If the senses are limited, and the stories we build on them are flawed, then our “reality” is already distorted. When we try to solve problems within that distorted framework, we just circle back to the same patterns. This produces the feeling of being stuck, characterised by repeating cycles of thought, emotion, and behaviour without lasting change.

How Logopraxis Helps Us See Differently

Logopraxis, or any practice of becoming self-aware in the light of the WORD, invites us to work with the Word in a practical, lived way. By engaging with the sacred texts, we are led to notice the contrast between appearances (what seems real) and spiritual truth (what is real). The practice reveals the mind’s deceptions and gently loosens its grip.

Moving From Illusion to Reality

As we practice, we begin to see our “stuckness” not as an external prison but as an inward illusion. The Lord’s truth reframes our situation: what once felt hopeless becomes an opportunity for growth. This shift is not forced but received, the fruit of living in the Word and letting it reshape our perception.

New Church thought: All temptation and struggle are nothing but combats against falsity and evil; and in these combats, truth from the Word fights on behalf of a person against what is false and evil from the self.

The Core Takeaway

We feel stuck because we trust appearances and cling to stories that are not true.

Logopraxis, by grounding us in the living Word, helps us:

• Recognise how the mind deceives itself.
• See beyond appearances of senses to spiritual reality.
• Find freedom in the truth that comes from the Lord alone.

We are not truly stuck; we are simply believing a picture that is too small.