Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/7222

7222 Earthly or spiritual thought currents....

December 6, 1958: Book 76

The more you isolate yourselves from the world, the easier you find the entrance into the spiritual realm, for the thoughts flowing to you from the spiritual kingdom will no longer be met by opposition. The world, however, is a constant obstacle for such spiritual thoughts, for only in total seclusion will they be accepted by the human heart. And thus you can understand why people spend so little time on spiritual thoughts while they are still bound by the world, for worldly thoughts will always displace spiritual thoughts.... i.e., the human being will be incapable of accepting mental knowledge, because worldly thoughts push to the fore and prevent spiritual thoughts from reaching the person's heart. And yet, the human being is responsible for the mental knowledge he is subject to, for free will alone determines what the human being thinks, and free will either rejects or accepts the waves of thoughts encircling him. And the will, in turn, is directed in accordance with the human being's nature.... it is either spiritually or worldly inclined. It is not forced to take one direction or the other, it is completely free. Nevertheless, everything depends on the direction of this will, his thinking and activity, his present and the future fate of his soul, which can be glorious but also dreadful. Thus, the world is a danger for the human being's will, and yet it has to be in order to enable the soul to gain clarity, in order to urge it to make a decision, which must be taken between itself and the spiritual realm. Both kingdoms exist but the soul can only want one kingdom, and it has to determine which kingdom it wants. If it chooses the material realm, which is the world, then it will remain attached to this realm.... if it chooses the spiritual realm then it will become its abode when the soul leaves the earthly body, when its earthly progress is over. And it is courted by both kingdoms, it is influenced by both kingdoms but not forced.

For this reason the soul bears the responsibility for its own thinking and intentions, for it is able to choose either direction, it is not impossible for it to make the right decision even if it is tangibly confronted by the material world and the spiritual world seems to be unreal. For the spiritual forces have a specific power over the soul so that they are repeatedly able to intervene even with someone unwilling.... so that he, too, is grasped by them and thus the person has to deal with them.... he can simply reject them if he is unwilling.... Nevertheless, they affected him and therefore he cannot avoid the responsibility if it is demanded of him. The human being is able to think, this is the reason for his responsibility.... And no-one imposes thoughts upon him. It is entirely up to him what he thinks. The aim of the helpful spiritual forces who try to influence him in a positive sense will always be that he thinks correctly.... But since negative forces also exert an influence, the human being has to make his own decision, and therefore one cannot speak of 'spiritual coercion' to which one person succumbs and the other does not. And thus, it occasionally requires inner battles to remain focussed on spiritual thoughts when earthly thoughts try to crowd in. The will to mature spiritually can provide strength for this inner battle, and then the person will already have won, for his will was positive and must also have positive results. And the more a person is involved in the world the greater will be his victory, for the greater the oppositions and enticements are, the greater the will is which overcomes them and chooses the spiritual kingdom. But one day the soul will delight in its victory, for it shaped its own fate for eternity, it will approach a life of blissful happiness and only ever thank God for providing it with the strength to prevail....

Amen

Translated by Heidi Hanna