In our world today, it is very often the case that the people who are considered experts on certain subjects have actually done no real research or experimentation to discover the things they are expert at. There expertise comes entirely from reading books or attending lectures given by other experts, who themselves may have learned the same way. They learn of their world, not from experience, but from what others tell them.   Of course, it is understandable that we can't research everything all over again from scratch, but we also can't blindly trust what others have done and their interpretation of it.

    I recently completed the classic novel, Don Quixote, which I recommend very highly, about a guy who reads many books about the art of chivalry or, more specifically, about the adventures of those fabulous knights in shining armor, without realizing that most of the books are complete fiction. As a result, Quixote decides, long after the age of knights has ended, that he is going to be one. Many of the so-called experts of today resemble Don Quixote far more that they, or their followers, like to admit.

    While this reliance on someone else's written or spoken words as a source of knowledge is common in all fields, it is especially common in religion and spirituality.

    In many churches, and even in many spiritual groups, the minister, guru, or some holy book is the only source of knowledge. The Gnostics and St. Thomas knew that such knowledge was always limited, incomplete, and subject to interpretation. The only way to get true spiritual knowledge, not just the superficial kind, but the knowledge and wisdom that will awaken our souls and reveal to us our true mission as given by God, is to communicate directly with God, the angels, and the other Beings of Light. And the primary purpose of the minister, guru, or spiritual teacher should be to teach us how to do that.