Carl Jung once wrote that we cannot solve a problem in the same state of consciousness in which it was conceived. Jung must certainly have been familiar with this passage from John. Here, Jesus calls us to step out of that old, familiar place where we have been conditioned to act (or more often, react) by our fragile egos and emotional programs for happiness (power, control, safety, security, approval, esteem). Jesus tells us that when we act from these conditioned patterns learned from the external world, we become a “slave to sin.” From this place, we cannot know the truth, because the truth comes from another place altogether.
Jesus points us in a new direction – toward that interior place where the Divine Indwelling rests and where all truth exists. By opening ourselves to that Divine life force, we open ourselves to God’s unconditional love for us. Only then can we “hear the words of God” and know the truth, which will “set us free” – free of the conditioned patterns of our ego.
The only path I know to this place is through the practice of prayer, most especially through “silent prayer.” By setting aside a regular time of quiet where we empty ourselves of the constant chatter in our head and sit in silence with the sole intention of resting with the Divine Love that lives within us, we will surely be set free.
—Zonnie Breckinridge
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