Enlightenment involves a retraining of our mental muscles as we go against the emotional and psychological gravity of the fear based mind. The ego seeks to preserve itself by luring us into loveless thoughts at every opportunity. And make no mistake about it; it seems not merely to annoy us, but to make us suffer greatly: not merely to inconvenience us, but if at all possible to kill us. From addiction to warfare, the ego seeks not merely to withhold love, but to destroy it.
Marianne Williamson
Emerging From The Dark Night 