Selection from Divine Providence ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
The more nearly a man is conjoined with the Lord the more distinctly does he seem to himself as if he were his own, and the more clearly does he recognize that he is the Lord's.There is an appearance that the more nearly one is conjoined with the Lord the less he is his own. It so appears to all who are evil; and it so appears also to those who believe from their religion that they are not under the yoke of the law, and that no one can do good from himself. For all such are unable to see otherwise than that not to be one's own means not to be allowed to think and will evil, but only good; and as those who are conjoined with the Lord are neither willing nor able to think and will evil, all such conclude from the appearance to themselves, that this is not to be one's own. This, however, is the exact opposite of the truth.
There is infernal freedom and there is heavenly freedom. To think and will evil, and to speak and do it so far as civil and moral laws do not hinder, is from infernal freedom. But to think and will good, and to speak and do it so far as opportunity is granted, is from heavenly freedom. Whatever a man thinks, wills, speaks, and does from freedom seems to him to be his own; for every one's freedom is wholly from his love. For this reason, those who are in a love of evil have no other perception than that infernal freedom is freedom itself; while those who are in a love of good perceive that heavenly freedom is freedom itself, and consequently its opposite is slavery both to the good and to the evil. Yet every one must confess that either the one or the other of these is freedom — for there cannot be two kinds of freedom, in themselves opposite and each freedom in itself. Furthermore, every one must confess that to be led by good is freedom, and to be led by evil is slavery; because to be led by good is to be led by the Lord, and to be led by evil is to be led by the devil. Since, then, everything that a man does from freedom appears to him to be his own, for it is of his love, and to act from one's love is to act from freedom, as has been said above, so it follows that it is conjunction with the Lord that makes a man seem to himself to be free and therefore his own; and the nearer the conjunction with the Lord is the more free he seems, and thus the more his own. He appears to himself more distinctly as if he were his own, because the Divine love is such that it wills its own to be another's, thus to be the man's or the angel's. Such is all spiritual love, and pre-eminently the Divine love. Moreover, the Lord in no case compels any one; for anything to which one is compelled does not appear to be his own; and what does not appear to be one's own cannot come to be of his love, and thus be appropriated to him as his. Therefore man is led by the Lord continually in freedom and is also reformed and regenerated in freedom.
The more distinctly a man appears to himself to be as if he were his own the more clearly he recognizes that he is the Lord's, because the more nearly he is conjoined with the Lord the wiser he becomes; this truth wisdom teaches and recognizes; and the angels of the third heaven, because they are the wisest of the angels, also perceive it and call it freedom itself; but to be led by themselves they call slavery. And this, they say, is the reason: that the Lord does not flow immediately into what belongs to their perception and thought from wisdom, but into their affections of love for good, and through these into the former; that they have a perception of the influx in the affection from which they have wisdom; and that then all that they think from wisdom appears to be as if from themselves, and therefore as if it were their own; and that by this a reciprocal conjunction is established.
As the end of the Lord's Divine providence is a heaven from the human race, it follows that its end is the conjunction of the human race with Himself; also that its end is for man to be more and more nearly conjoined with Him , for thus man possesses heaven more interiorly; also that its end is for man by that conjunction to become wiser; also to become happier, because it is from wisdom and according to it that man has heaven, and by means of it also has happiness; and finally, that its end is for man to appear to himself more distinctly to be his own, and yet to recognize more clearly that he is the Lord's. All these things are of the Lord's Divine providence; for they all are heaven, which it has for its end.
(from Divine Providence 42-45)