Spiritual ideas reach man through the mind, for the mind is the instrument of the soul, and meditation is the method of contacting the soul. The seed thought used in meditation is an idea planted in the mind where it germinates and becomes rooted before the effect of its influence can be seen in the outer life expression. Once the life of the soul is recognized as being real, then the person is interiorly pointed toward soul unfoldment regardless of how erratic his personality expression may be, or regardless of what is going on around him. The outer effects of meditation are not immediately noticeable. The growth of an idea is similar to the process of the growth of a seed that is planted in the soil of the earth.
Ideas also require the interval of hidden development under the surface.
A seed expands and breaks its outer shell, it develops roots to anchor the new growth in the soil before it reaches in the opposite direction to continue growing above the surface where it can be seen and identified. The indications vary. Another person may think that nothing has changed since he started meditating because his life continues along the same old pattern of outer activities. Perhaps he is looking for change in the wrong place and therefore fails to notice the change in his attitude toward the conditions around him, for inner change and inner growth always precede any change in outer conditions. The spiritual impulse of a new idea of wider scope than personal affairs disturbs this self-centered attitude, and then the person becomes aware of the thoughts and aspirations of groups beyond his circle of acquaintances, and his field of consciousness expands beyond that which personally concerns him.