Insight

Insight is the first step on the spiritual path. I truly believe that. The insight to realize that the "I" is a creation of our minds and the problems in life are reactions of the mind to situations that categorizes them as bad or terrible. The insight to think of oneself as a part of a whole that comprises other possessors of consciousness and that the whole is affected by the part and vice versa. From this step progresses all forms of spiritual development. Of course the importance of discipline and practice is paramount once this insight is gained as without them the insight is feeble and only invariably in function.
What causes some people to have this insight and not others? That is the question of our age I believe and maybe what we as a collective have to learn. This will determine what happens to our world and ourselves as the development of this insight changes everything at the core of an individual. Everything becomes precious and every minute a life-time and at the same time transient. Everything changes! And what a change that would be if every person on this planet gained the insight into Self.