One of the reasons we do not understand ourselves completely stems from the reactivity of the emotions.   Normally, we rely on understand the world through personal feelings which have no real objective value.A great method of processing our normal reactive disposition is to allow or accept things in the our experience, through circumstance or decision, to be as it is, without reacting - as an experiment.  Through practice, you will realize how much your emotions go into gear by wanting things to turn out the way you expect or personally need.