An ember lying in a fireplace cannot do anything to ignite itself. However conditions can be created in which the ember can be brought into a new relationship with its environment and thus be turned into a small flame. The point at which the ember catches fire is its ignition point. There is an ignition point for physical objects, but there also exists a kind of spiritual ignition point. A true spiritual shock always reveals where there is an immense disparity between who we have taken ourselves to be, and who we actually are in reality. The mechanical mind that we presently live from does not want the healing spiritual shocks that reveal to us our actual condition.

Each time we are willing to see something about ourselves and not reject what has been revealed, that kind of conscious suffering is like an ember. But that ember will go out unless it is put into proper relationship with the materials and conditions around it. This is where our attention comes in. This is where we must remain with what is being revealed, especially when we are shown things about ourselves that we would rather not see. If we will do the work of not resisting what the light wants to reveal to us, then a spiritual flame will ignite in our hearts.