158. I have been informed from heaven why there are such changes of state there. The angels said that there are many reasons. First, the delight of life and of heaven which they have from the love and wisdom that are from the Lord, would gradually become worthless if they were in it continually, as is the case with those who are in delights and pleasures without variety. A second reason is that angels as well as men, have a proprium, and this consists in loving self. All in heaven are withheld from their proprium, and in so far as they are withheld from it by the Lord, to that extent they are in love and wisdom. But so far as they are not withheld they are in the love of self, and because everyone loves his proprium and it draws him,# they have changes of state or successive alternations. A third reason is that they are in this way perfected, for they thus establish a habit of being held in love to the Lord and of being withheld from the love of self. Also by alternations between delight and lack of delight, the perception and sensation of good becomes more exquisite.## The angels added that the Lord does not bring about their changes of state, since He, as a Sun is unceasingly flowing in with heat and light, that is, with love and wisdom. But the cause is in themselves in that they love what is their proprium and this continually leads them away. This was illustrated by comparison with the sun of the world, showing that the cause of the changes of state of heat and cold, and of light and shade, year by year and day by day, is not in that sun which remains stationary, but the cause is in the earth. # Man's proprium is loving self (n. 694, 731, 4317, 5660). This has to be separated, for the Lord to be present (n. 1023, 1044): it is indeed actually separated, when any one is held in good by the Lord (n. 9334, 9335, 9336, 9445, 9452, 9453, 9454, 9938). ## The angels are perfected to eternity (n. 4803, 6648). In the heavens one state is never exactly like another, and hence there is perpetual perfection (n. 10200).