Freedom And Bondage

JAN. 18, 1982, 5:20 AM
FARM, FRONT OF FIRE

Much is made these days, in the earth, of the concept and practices of freedom and its counter-condition, which I shall call bondage. Ready yourself for some words, o son, that shall tell some of My thoughts about this seemingly important matter.

Why do I say “seemingly important”? (This is reinforcement and repetition from earlier teachings… that you shall recognize, I hope.) Because the only true freedom is in Me, and the only real bondage is to sin, which is to say any condition in which your hand is not firmly in Mine. Social freedoms, such as the political and the economic, are essentially man-developed… and may seem extremely important in day-to-day life. Their effects, however, will differ greatly in different individuals. Those persons farthest from Me will feel loss of political freedom the most keenly. Some will exist in misery, composed mostly of self-pity. Others will fight, but usually without a clear sense of what government is best for bestowing freedom.

But let Us look at the positive… or what freedom truly is. The base of true freedom is a strong, positive knowledge-sense that you are a son or daughter of Mine… more than just a creation… a being of whom I am aware and that I do appreciate and direct. You have this solid base. Next you accept this relationship… and also the added gift of grace, which is acceptance as you are and forgiveness for your mistakes and departures from My Ways. This knowledge and acceptance can give you the spiritual means to behave in ways that give you a strong sense of freedom. In practice that means you are not prevented from doing what you wish to do… and those things you are prevented from doing do not seem important enough to stimulate concern.

Freedom also seems more evident to one who has a sense of the continuity of life… of life as a journey along the path toward enlightenment and spiritual maturity. This life exists in other realms of being and only occasionally in the earth, where one’s own karma may be largely responsible for the lack of freedom or for the actual bondage that one may feel. Conversely, to know that all life conditions are grist for growth is fundamental to feelings of freedom. I realize that it takes some spiritual maturity, which is to say that those who have not grown in spirit are those most likely to feel unfree and in bondage.

This has very little to do with social, economic, or educational level in life. Some Russian peasants feel more free than do some affluent Americans (and understand that not all peasants feel free… it is spirit that determines.)