There's many different levels to work on. There's the emotional level, and letting go of ignorance on the emotional level is very important in a balanced practice. This can be done by letting go of aversion by developing the Compassion/Lovingkindness meditation, letting go of doubt by developing sympathetic joy, letting go of the ignorance of ownership by developing more equanimity that everyone's the owner of their Kamma. This is the emotional level and it's very important in the practice, because understanding and maturity on the emotional level is a prerequisite for going deeper to uncover the deeper levels of wisdom. If we have an understanding that letting go of selfishness on the emotional level is the way to more peace and happiness, then when we let go of the deeper levels of self. We see that the only thing we're going to lose is Dukkha. So I believe that letting go of the ignorance on the emotional level is very important so that there's a certain stability in the mind. Then when we see the deeper levels of wisdom, especially that of impermanence, Dukkha and Anatta, fear doesn't tend to arise so much in the mind, and one becomes more courageous on that level.
There's also the intellectual level in the sense of understanding. Getting a grasp of the Buddhist teachings on an intellectual level is often a prerequisite for actually reflecting on it and making it experiential. Unless we understand the benefits of the Four Noble Truths on an intellectual level, we won't put in the effort to practice this difficult work and get more insight into the Four Noble Truths on an experiential level. So there are different levels of work in order to let go of ignorance, wrong view, on the emotional level, intellectual level, and on the deeper level as we practice the deeper techniques.
Steve and I try very hard to give a teaching that is appropriate for the progress of the person to take them to deeper levels. I was once in an interview with an assistant and I had quite a deep conversation about not-self in that interview. I smiled at the end of the interview and said, "Well, what would you have done if I had talked about that in your interview?" The person said very truthfully, "I probably would have run down the hill!" So as we practice, we get more used to this understanding on these levels, and that brings about a gradual renunciation of some of the things that we thought we needed, or even our views and opinions that we thought we needed. Then it's easier to accept the deeper levels of truth.