Pleasure is always waiting to ascend into bliss. The personality resists effortless growth. Thus, the higher self must use drastic measures. We manifest a car accident or a crisis that forces us to move in the right direction. Pain becomes our only inspiration.
Effortless awareness is the key.
The less we struggle with ego, the more energy ascends. Most people, upon seeing bright white light for the first few times, become immediately excited or overwhelmed by this purer love, and run back into the comfort of darkness. If, during meditation, we put all of our attention on the One who is meditating, then we become the light of awareness. We see that awareness is effortlessly awake, that awareness needs no support from the mind, and that only awareness creates more awareness. Thus, the more we allow ourselves to rest in the Self, the more we can accept and transform our demons.