Several Jewish sages have noted that the terms emuna (faith) and imun (training) stem from the same root, indicating the need for inner training and habituation in order to develop faith and to be capable of attaining meaningful religious experience.
This need for training, however, does not imply that there is no place for spontaneous religious experience, but rather that such spontaneous experience by itself cannot serve as the basis of religious life.
Only by cultivating awareness and understanding through conscious and ongoing preparation can one draw the capacity for meaningful and profound experience from the inner resources in his soul, and only then can he act upon it.
Although such religious experiences are not built out of complete spontaneity, they are no less authentic.
They are simply more human by virtue of being guided and directed.
–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz