How can we make and sustain true change for the better in our lives? There are three steps to understanding any subject well enough to manifest true change, according to the Dalai Lama. Here they are–the three levels, stages, or steps to true change, from the Dalai Lama’s book An Open Heart:

1. Understanding through listening (to subject matter taught by experienced teachers).

2. Understanding derived through contemplation (processing the teaching to the point of profound conviction).

3. Understanding derived through meditation (the mind becomes completely absorbed by the subject matter).

Note that The Dalai Lama believes it is important to implement these three levels, or stages of practice in a consecutive manner.