I am a very visual person. Concepts are much easier to grasp when I can see or, at least, imagine a visual representation of the concept that I am trying to understand. At some point in my studies, I became aware of the fact that I have "bookshelves" in my brain--places where I can categorize, sort, and prioritize all of the information that I take in--and that awareness has allowed me to better comprehend the process that I go through to assimilate information.
When I visualize these bookshelves, I first imagine a large bookshelf on the right side of my brain. On this bookshelf are all of the ideas and concepts that I consider to be good and correct. On the left side of my brain is a bookshelf that houses all of the ideas and concepts that I consider to be evil and incorrect. At the back-center of my brain, there are shelves and shelves--an infinite number of shelves--storing (and ready to store) all of the information about which I do not have an opinion.
For most of my life, I thought that I was involving God in my sorting process. I was, in a way, I suppose, but I wasn't using direct communication from Him as much as I could. I was giving it my best guess based on my understanding of God without allowing Him to teach me where that understanding was lacking. I also did that with things that, at first glance, don't seem to have anything to do with God at all. Not fully realizing that God is the source of all truth, I tended to not ask Him about subjects like math, geology, astronomy, economics, politics, arts, or any other number of subjects that I believed God had nothing to say about. I regret to say that that was a great loss on my part for a very long time.
Those bookshelves at the back of my brain have played such an important part in my ability to trust God and I can see how not having them would make learning from the Lord very difficult for me (or anyone else for that matter). Were I to not have the bookshelves at the back of my brain, there wouldn't be a space for me to store information that I wasn't immediately ready to receive. It has been my experience that, not only does the Lord like to show us what is right and what is wrong, but He also enjoys showing us why things are right or wrong and quite often it takes time for us to fully comprehend the "whys". The center bookshelves give me a place where I can put information that the Lord gives me until I can know better whether to move it to the right or left. This doesn't mean that I just sit on the information and wait to understand the "whys". It means that I don't immediately put anything on the right or the left which gives me the time to experiment upon the things that God gives to me, trusting in Him that He can help me make sense of it all. On countless occasions, the Lord has introduced me to one new piece of information and has taken multiple (what I considered to be random) things off of those bookshelves to show me why the new piece of information was correct or incorrect.
Putting things on my back bookshelves helps me deal with cognitive dissonance. It isn't fun to entertain the thought that something you have learned and based decisions on is incorrect. Knowing that I have a place to temporarily shelve ideas prevents my rejection of ideas that are true, but that I am unable to incorporate at any given moment. Instead of a "wait, what?" reaction that throws me into a tailspin, I can easily adopt a "hmmm, that's interesting" mindset and let the Lord help me sort it out on His timetable.
I should mention, too, that even when the Lord has helped me to determine if something should be shelved on the right or left bookshelves, I still give Him a complete "carte blanche" to rearrange things as He sees fit. I recognize that the Lord knows things about every situation that I do not and I try to listen to Him when He shows me that things need to move around a bit.
I think that children do all of this quite naturally because they don't perceive any loss in being wrong. They don't take any offense in being wrong or in misunderstanding something. Unfortunately, as we grow into adulthood, we don't like being wrong. For some reason, we start to feel shame in being wrong about things and, to protect ourselves from embarrassment, we dig our heels in and proclaim that we already know where things need to be shelved based on prior life experiences. What a dangerous idea! If that isn't the definition of "damnation", I don't know what is! It is like saying to God that in certain areas of our life we know all that there is to know. And, while it is true that our life experiences can teach us a lot, thinking that we have learned everything is a very precarious position and one that, in the very moment that we adopt such an idea, renders us unteachable.
If you don't already have a back bookshelf, I highly recommend getting one. Many, actually. You will need them. If you have one already, honestly assess whether or not you use it for every subject you study, including, but certainly not limited to, religion. Ask and then stand ready for God to show you where you are lacking in what is true. Constantly search for truth that might add to or even replace what He has already given you. Give God the title of "Head Librarian". Let Him put ideas and concepts where He wants and ask Him to show you why He puts things where He does. If He doesn't immediately make clear where something should go and why, use that back bookshelf as a place to store everything that you continue to investigate until He gives you the clarity that you seek. Talk to Him frequently and ask Him questions in your search for truth. He delights in doing this--in bringing our minds into order.