The answer to this question is crucial. Mortal selfhood—believed in, indulged, and justified—acts, in belief, as a block to spiritual growth and healing. We should often ask ourselves, "Do I want to be mortal or immortal?" and "Am I ready to be healed?"
God, infinite Truth, is omnipotent. Therefore people whose attitude or conduct suggests they are totally unready to be healed can be reached by Truth and be healed. Most of us are more open to cooperation with Truth, however. And when there is something we can do to enhance our readiness to be healed, shouldn't we be willing to consider it? One of the most effective approaches to this spiritual preparation is to gain a deeper understanding of self-justification and its spiritual opposite: self-abnegation.
The nature of self-justification is to hide itself under other guises. We need to become skillful detectives in order to recognize it and root it out of consciousness. Its surface expressions are easy enough to spot. We all know people—perhaps we are among them—who never do anything (or fail to do anything) without parading an excuse. "I was late because there was a traffic jam," or "I should have known better, but I got confused," or "If only the circumstances of my life had been different, I would have accomplished more."
