DP152 - Being Reformed

DP 152

Since a person has an inner self and an outer self,
and both must be reformed 
for the person to be reformed,
and since no one can be reformed
unless he examines himself,
sees and acknowledges his evils,
and afterward desists from them,
it follows that he needs to examine
not only his outer self but also his inner self.
If a person examines only his outer self,
he sees no more than what he has actually done --
as for example, that he has not murdered,
has not committed adultery,
has not stolen,
and has not borne false witness, and so on.
Thus he examines his physical evils,
but not the evils of his spirit;
and yet for anyone to be reformed
he needs to examine the evils of his spirit,
for a person lives as a spirit after death,
and all the evils that are in him remain.
He examines his spirit, moreover,
only by paying attention to his thoughts,
especially to his intentions,
for intentions are thoughts springing from the will.
Evils have their origin there and their root,
which is to say,
they exist there in their lusts and in their delights,
and unless these are seen and acknowledged,
the person is still governed by evils,
however much
he has not committed them in outward acts.