And on the mental plane the same thing is true. The hunger for knowledge, when it once possesses a man, will cause him to cut loose from old environments, surroundings and everything else which has held him, and he forces himself to the place where that knowledge may be obtained--and he obtains it. If he only wants it hard enough he gets it. When we think of Lincoln in his boyhood days, painfully and laboriously striving for knowledge, lying on his side before the log fire and reading his book by the light of its flames--and this after a hard day's work such as only the boy on the farm knows--when we think of this we may understand the effects of a strong desire possessing the mind of man or boy, woman or girl. And this hunger for spiritual knowledge and growth, from whence comes it? When we understand the laws of spiritual unfoldment we begin to understand that the Ego is growing and developing--unfolding and casting off old worn-out sheaths. It is calling into operation new faculties--exploring new regions of the mind. In the super-conscious regions of the Soul are many faculties lying dormant, awaiting the evolutionary hour of manifestation along conscious lines. As the faculties approach the hour of birth into the new plane they manifest an uneasiness which is communicated to the subconscious and conscious planes of the mind, causing a restlessness and uneasiness which is quite disturbing to the individual in whom they are manifesting. There is a straining for expression--a reaching forward for development--a desire for growth which produces something akin to pain. All growth and development is accompanied by more or less pain. We speak of the beautiful growth of the plant--of the lily--and wish that we could grow as easily and as painlessly as it does. But we forget that _all_ growth means a breaking down--a tearing away--as well as a building up and adding to. The lily's growth appears painless to us, but if we were endowed with keen enough vision--with clear enough sight--with a power enabling us to feel that which is going on within its organism, we would be made aware that there is a constant change going on--a tearing down of tissue, a using up of cells, a pressing upon and breaking through of confining sheaths--all meaning growth, development and unfoldment. We see only the birth of the new parts and lose sight of the pain and destruction preceding it. All through life is manifested the "growing pains" of development. All birth is attended with pain.