Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/2439

2439 The blessing of being free.... the agony of being bound....

August 7, 1942: Book 33

Life on earth is given to you to detach yourselves from form.... What this means will only really become understandable to you in the spiritual kingdom, where every cover is a hindrance to you because it always means a shackling of the spirit. And the spirit is bound as long as there is still an earthly thought, an earthly desire in the soul, for it is bound to a certain environment which it creates for itself through its desire. The free spirit, on the other hand, is master of time and space. Where it wants to dwell, there it is; spiritual territory is accessible to it, for its will alone is enough to move it to where it wants to dwell. His will can accomplish everything, he is no longer hindered by anything, therefore completely free. Once it has become free it no longer has to fear a decline either, but it does not completely distance itself from the spiritual, which is still languishing in bondage, because it urges itself to help it to freedom too. And the still unfree soul only feels the benefit of becoming free when its earthly desire begins to subside.... Then its ascent will also begin, but before that unthinkably long times can pass where it does nothing to become free from the form, which no longer consists of earthly substances but burdens the soul in such a way that it feels it as compulsion or pressure. It often has to walk arduous paths which it hardly believes it can overcome, it has to endure hardship, albeit in a different way than on earth, yet the suffering does not weigh it down any less than on earth. And it could have easily averted this painful state on earth, for it was given the opportunity to become free from the form.... This awareness is agonizing and increases its torment, for it certainly recognizes its state of suffering but not in what way it can still free itself from it in the beyond. For this realization is only the result of its will to want to help; only when it disregards its own suffering and takes the hardship of fellow suffering souls to heart, when it wants to help them, does it realize that this is the only way to become free itself, that the activity of love is also necessary in the beyond in order to illuminate the dark surroundings and to reach somewhat brighter regions, and it becomes easier and freer for the soul the more willing it is to serve the other suffering souls.... The free spiritual essence assists it by instructing the soul and giving it advice, yet even unrecognized by its abundance of light, for just as on earth the ascent upwards has to be striven for of completely free will and all compulsion has to be eliminated. Yet the free spiritual essence does not abandon the suffering souls in their adversity but tries to help them wherever and however it can....

Amen

Translated by Doris Boekers