A. It is true we need to have a fairly good relationship with ourselves in order to cultivate the path. By learning (maybe with a particular meditation developed for this purpose such as one of the Brahma Viharas) to make friends with ourselves (and others) at the beginning of practice does help the path to deepen. But remember, as the whole of the practice of the Dharma is nothing more than a ongoing deepening process of making friends with ourselves, we will be engaging in true practice anyway, even in the infancy of day one.