Understanding

In spiritual work, understanding in itself has the capacity to bring about change.  It acts as a catalyst and opens new ways of looking at things.  It brings about growth and spiritual advancement.  As spiritual growth continues, old styles of thinking and contextualizing are surrendered and accompanied by the joy of new discoveries.  Anger at the absurdities of life is now replaced by laughter, and what a lot of the world bemoans and makes much of as melodrama is now seen as comical.  Spiritual teachings need to be accepted to become integrated.  Resistance comes from the ego, which lacks humility, and that, out of pride, resents being ‘wrong’.  It is better to realize that one is not giving up wrong views but instead is adopting better ones.  That peace is better than war and that love is better than hate makes sense to the intellect, but the ego may rebel at giving up its favorite hate and justified resentments.

From The Eye of the I, ch. 8, pg. 167-168