Our suffering, caused by unawareness, is based on our misconceptions and projections about reality. To get rid of this confusion, we need to have a clear understanding of how things actually exist. For that we need to be able to know if we are seeing things and understanding things correctly, and this is deeply connected to knowing how our mind works. The seven ways of knowing are an extremely useful tool to analyze what is going on in our meditation and interactions with others. With discriminating awareness, we need to be able to differentiate an incorrect way of knowing or of understanding something from a correct way. The ability to do that accurately, decisively and quickly enables us to rid ourselves of suffering and its causes. If we are doing this with compassion, it also enables us to be of best help to others.