Thoughts on why to do research

1. The truth is often convoluted by misrepresentation of facts. Only by diving more deeply into the information that is available, we can discover the truth that is behind. This is a process of separating truth from lies and it takes time and effort.
2. We don't learn truth just by reading or studying it. We need to go deeper than that. Finding truth is a road of discovery of a treasure. It is important to walk that road ourselves rather than just seeing the treasure that someone else discovered. In that way the truth becomes our own and we have access to it even when dark clouds surround us.
3. It is difficult to find the occult secrets behind the real story or history. Often, however, such hidden secrets are too easily mixed with fantasies and lies, which greatly diminishes or even negates the value of what was discovered. Most difficult and most important is to separate truth from untruth or lies.
4. Research literally means re-search, or search again. We need to do research to find the truth, which was lost. Even when we know truth in the form of principles, it still demands an extra effort to find the truth for each situation of the present and the past and for each realm of life.
5. Doing your own research is one of the best methods of learning.
6. Internal truth applies to our own inner being. External truth refers to the world around us. We need to investigate the functioning of our habits, thoughts, feelings and plans, the condition of our love, if we wish to use internal truth well. We need to research the world around us if we desire to have a positive influence on it.
7. All human beings and even animals have a natural drive to explore their environment. This is how they can develop themselves in relation to the environment. While we grow up, our interest expands for the world around us. When this is done in an original way, we can grow in love, wisdom and experience.
8. Behind the reality of the daily news is what goes on behind the scenes. What goes on behind the scenes of the present is to an extent caused by historic events. What occurs in the physical reality of past and present has been influenced by the spiritual reality. Also in the spirit world there are deeper causes behind more superficial phenomena. That is why we must search and investigate and re-search to find the truth.
9. To come to know facts can be done by simple learning and memorizing. But when we wish to understand a deeper meaning of something and the connections between one entity or event and other ones, we need to dive more deeply. By researching we start this process of coming to deeper understanding.
10. Knowledge only becomes our own when we learn to live it. To begin with, all our living is a process of trial and error. It is in this stage of trial and error that we are searching or researching for the truth, the truth that is applicable to that particular situation and that helps us to grow and advance. The goal of everything in life is our unity with God and eventually the unity of all of God's creation with God. In that unity with God, life develops further and so does our searching for truth.