“Begin by meeting your lower self, in courage, in optimism, in humility, and in a spirit of warfare, if I may use this expression. And once you discover it, once you shed all the masks and all the coatings, then you begin to work on these different aspects of the lower self. You do this by daily observation and self-testing, by observing again and again how far your inner currents still deviate from what you wish them to be. As you do that, as you become master over your lower self, as you learn real self-honesty, as your motives for development become purer and purer, your vision will widen, enlightenment will be given to you, and gradually your illness will disappear. So you should not even think of your illness first, but of the root of the problem. That will be the only lasting success, the only one, my dear! If your wish is recognized in the spirit world, if your wish is truly sincere that you want to purify yourself and not merely get rid of unpleasant consequences that are most visible or noticeable to you, help will be extended to you, guidance will come to you so that you can go to battle with your lower self with help, because no one can really do it alone.” (PL #14)