Maxims for the Spiritual Life

Maxims for the Spiritual Life

     For those few of you who enjoy reading my Orthodox blogs—a lot of folks read my strength-training blog; not so many my other two—please forgive my long delay in Orthodox blogging.

     One of the reasons for my lack of posts on Blue Jean Theosis is because I want to make sure that I actually have something to say.  I love Orthodox spirituality—and the great joy of my life has been my entrance into the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church—and I would love to do more writing on Orthodox hesychastic spirituality and its intersection with modern life, but I have often felt that my writing fails to capture the essence of my thoughts, and not just the essence of my personal thoughts, but also the “fragrance” or mindset of the Holy Fathers of the Church.  (Along a similar vein, I must confess “despondency” as my greatest sin, or at least the one I’m most frequently aware of, for we must confess our sins committed not just in “knowledge” but in “ignorance” as well, as the Divine Liturgy so often reminds us.)

     Having said that, I hope this is the first of what will be a more continual line of posts, even if the posts are rather short.  Although I often feel as if I don’t have much to write about from a unique perspective, perhaps there are those of you who will find some comfort and solace from what I have to say, even though it comes from such a broken person such as myself.  (For more on “brokenness” see my previous post “Paradox and Mystery”.)

     Earlier this morning—I’m currently “snowed in” from work even though I live in Alabama, which means I’ve had the luxury this morning of surfing the internet—I came across these 55 “maxims for the spiritual life” from Father Thomas Hopko.  Father Hopko is the Dean Emeritus of Saint Vladimir’s Seminary, and apparently this is a much-published, much-read series of maxims, but I had never seen them before until I came across them on Father Stephen Freeman’s “Glory to God for All Things” blog, so perhaps others have not read them either.

     If we were to focus on these basics each year, each week, each day of our lives, we would surely be on the road to salvation.  With that being said, here they are:

1. Be always with Christ.


2. Pray as you can, not as you want.


3. Have a keepable rule of prayer that you do by discipline.


4. Say the Lord’s Prayer several times a day.


5. Have a short prayer that you constantly repeat when your mind is not occupied with other things.


6. Make some prostrations when you pray.


7. Eat good foods in moderation.


8. Keep the Church’s fasting rules.


9. Spend some time in silence every day.


10. Do acts of mercy in secret.


11. Go to liturgical services regularly.


12. Go to confession and communion regularly.


13. Do not engage intrusive thoughts and feelings. Cut them off at the start.


14. Reveal all your thoughts and feelings regularly to a trusted person.


15. Read the scriptures regularly.


16. Read good books a little at a time.


17. Cultivate communion with the saints.


18. Be an ordinary person.


19. Be polite with everyone.


20. Maintain cleanliness and order in your home.


21. Have a healthy, wholesome hobby.


22. Exercise regularly.


23. Live a day, and a part of a day, at a time.


24. Be totally honest, first of all, with yourself.


25. Be faithful in little things.


26. Do your work, and then forget it.


27. Do the most difficult and painful things first.


28. Face reality.


29. Be grateful in all things.


30. Be cheerful.


31. Be simple, hidden, quiet and small.


32. Never bring attention to yourself.


33. Listen when people talk to you.


34. Be awake and be attentive.


35. Think and talk about things no more than necessary.


36. Speak simply, clearly, firmly and directly.


37. Flee imagination, analysis, figuring things out.


38. Flee carnal, sexual things at their first appearance.


39. Don’t complain, mumble, murmur or whine.


40. Don’t compare yourself with anyone.


41. Don’t seek or expect praise or pity from anyone.


42. We don’t judge anyone for anything.


43. Don’t try to convince anyone of anything.


44. Don’t defend or justify yourself.


45. Be defined and bound by God alone.


46. Accept criticism gratefully but test it critically.


47. Give advice to others only when asked or obligated to do so.


48. Do nothing for anyone that they can and should do for themselves.


49. Have a daily schedule of activities, avoiding whim and caprice.


50. Be merciful with yourself and with others.


51. Have no expectations except to be fiercely tempted to your last breath.


52. Focus exclusively on God and light, not on sin and darkness.


53. Endure the trial of yourself and your own faults and sins peacefully, serenely, because you know that God’s mercy is greater than your wretchedness.


54. When you fall, get up immediately and start over.


55. Get help when you need it, without fear and without shame.

Judging our Neighbor, Judging Ourselves

     Growing up in an evangelical church, as a child I can often remember Sunday school teachers, preachers, or even my mother (on occasion) saying that we should “hate the sin, but love the sinner.”  This was meant to be helpful, to allow me – and others growing up in the culture of the “Bible Belt” – to love others as Jesus loved (and loves) them.  The problem, however, is that it too many times allows us to pass judgment on others.  (And, I must add, that I don’t think many of my loving teachers and “elders” meant for this saying to work in such a way.  It’s one of those sayings that’s meant to be used in a loving way, but this use of it doesn’t take in the psyche of our fallen nature, or it doesn’t admit how truly prideful and broken we are, incapable of using such a saying in a constructive manner.)  The fact is that we – in our human and sinful nature – will end up passing judgment on our neighbor for his or her sins, for it is almost impossible for us (because of our own sinfulness) to separate the sin from the sinner.

     The Orthodox Church takes a different approach to judgment.  It allows judgment to remain where it should: with God.  Judgment (and salvation, for that matter) are God’s domain, not ours.

     Here are some words from Abba Dorotheos[1] on not judging others:

The Publican and the Pharisee

     It is one thing to speak evilly or reproach, it is another to judge, and yet another to belittle. To reproach means to say of someone that he lied, or got angry, or fell into fornication, or did some other such thing. Such a one has spoken evilly of his brother, that is, he has spoken with passion concerning his brother's sins. But to judge is to say that the man is a liar, an angry man, a fornicator. Here he has judged the very disposition of that man’s soul, he has pronounced a sentence on his whole life by saying that he is such a thing, and he has judged him as such; and this a serious sin. For it is one thing to say "He became angry," and another thing to say, "He is an angry man," and as I have said, to thus pronounce a sentence on his whole life. The sin of judging is so much more serious than any other sin that Christ Himself said, Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye (Luke 6:42), and the sin of one's neighbor is like a mote—a sliver; while judging is like a beam. So serious is judging, surpassing every other sin.

     And that Pharisee praying and thanking God for his own virtues did not lie; he was telling the truth, and was not for this that he was condemned—for we should thank God when we have been vouchsafed to do something good, as He has helped us and worked with us to do it. The Pharisee was not condemned, as I said, for thanking God, enumerating his virtues, and he was not condemned for saying, I am not like other men (Lk. 18:11); but when he turned his attention to the publican and said or like this publican. Then he was given over to condemnation, for he condemned a person and the disposition of his soul—to put it briefly, his whole life. Therefore, the publican rather than the Pharisee went away justified.

     Nothing is more serious, as I have said many times, nothing worse than judging, having contempt for or despising our neighbor.

On Judgment Remaining in God’s Domain

     Why do we not rather judge ourselves and our own sins, which we know so well, and about which we have to give an answer before God? Why do we usurp God's right to judge? What do we demand from His creature, His servant? Ought we not to tremble when we hear about what happened to that great elder, who upon hearing of a brother falling into fornication said, "Oh, he has done badly!" Or do you not know about the terrible story related in the Patericon? For an angel brought [Isaac the Theban] the soul of someone who had fallen into sin, and said to him, "Here is the person you have judged. He has just died. Where do you order him to be put, into the Kingdom or into eternal punishment?" Could there be anything more terrible than this burden? What else could the angel mean by these words than, "Since you want to be the judge of the righteous and the sinners, what do you command for this poor soul? Shall you have mercy on him, or give him over to tortures?" The holy elder, stunned by this, spent the rest of his life in moaning and tears and measureless work, praying to God to be forgiven this sin, and all this after having fallen face to the ground before the angel and been forgiven, for the angel said to him, "You see, God has shown you what a serious sin is judging, so that you would never do it again. This signified forgiveness but the soul of the elder would not be consoled or cease its lamentations until he died.

     So what is it we want from our neighbor? Why are we so concerned about the burden of others? We have plenty to be concerned about, brothers! Let each one of us attend to himself and his own sins. God alone has the authority to judge, to justify or to condemn, inasmuch as He knows the state of each one of us and our upbringing and our gifts, our constitution and abilities, and it is for him to judge each of these things according to the knowledge that He alone has. For God judges the affairs of a bishop in one way and those of a secular governor in another. His judgment is different for an abbot or for a disciple; he judges differently the aged and the young, the sick man and the healthy man. Who could understand all these judgments except the One who has created everything, formed everything, knows everything?

     I remember once hearing the following story: a slave ship put in at a certain port where there lived a holy virgin who was in earnest about her spiritual life. When she learned about the arrival of the ship she was glad, for she wanted to purchase a little girl. She thought to herself, "I will take her into my home and bring her up in my way of life so that she knows nothing of the evils of the world." So she sent and enquired of the master of the ship and found that he had two small girls who he thought would suit her. Whereupon she gladly paid the price of one of the children and took her home. The ship's master left the place where the saint dwelt. He had not gone very far when he was met by a harlot, totally depraved, who saw the other small girl with him and wanted to buy her; the price was agreed and paid, and she took her away. Do you see this mystery of God? Do you see His judgment? Which of us could give explain this? The holy virgin took one of these little ones to bring her up in the fear of God, to instruct her in every good work, to teach her all that belongs to the monastic state and, in short, all the sweet fragrance of God's holy commandments. The harlot, having taken the unfortunate child, made her an instrument of the devil. For what could this plague teach her but the ruin of her soul? What can we have to say about this terrible fate? Both were small, both were sold, neither knew where they were going; one is found in the hands of God and the other falls into the hands of the devil. Is it possible to say that what God asks from the one he asks also from the other? How could that be! Suppose they both fell into fornication or some other deadly sin; is it possible that they both face the same judgment, although they fell into one and the same sin? Could this be possible? One learns about the Judgment and about the Kingdom of God day and night, while the other unfortunate knows nothing of it, never hears anything good but only the contrary, everything filthy, everything diabolical? How can He allow them to be judged by the same standard?

     Wherefore a man can know nothing about the judgments of God. He alone is all-seeing and can judge the sins of all as He alone knows. Truly it happens that a man may do some sin out of simplicity, but he may have something good about him which is more pleasing to God than his whole life; and you sit in judgment and burden your own soul? And should it happen that he has fallen away, how do you know how much and how well he fought, how much blood he sweated before he did it? Perhaps so little fault can be found in him that God can look on his action as if it were just, for God looks on his labor and all the struggle he had before he did it, and has pity on him. And you know only his sin, then how God spared him; are you going to condemn him for it, and destroy your own soul? And how do you know what tears he has shed about it before God? You may well know about the sin, but you do not know about the repentance.

On Not Judging Others for Your Own Salvation

     Those who want to be saved scrutinize not the shortcomings of their neighbor but always their own, and they make progress. Such was the man who saw his brother doing wrong and sighed, saying, "Woe is me; him today—me tomorrow!" Do you see his caution? Do you see the disposition of his soul? How he swiftly foresaw how to avoid judging his brother? When he said "me tomorrow" he aroused fear of sinning, and by this he increased his caution about avoiding those sins which he was likely to commit, and so he escaped judging his neighbor; and he was not satisfied only with this, but cast himself under his brother's feet, saying, "He has repented for his sin but I do not always repent as I should, nor do I attain to repentance, for I have not the strength to repent." Do you see the divine light in his soul? Not only was he able to escape making judgment but he threw himself beneath his brother's feet as well. And we wretches judge rashly, we loathe and despise if we see something, or hear something, or even only suspect something! And what is worse, we do not let it stop at harming ourselves, but we go and look for another brother and say, "Here is what happened!" We harm him and put vile sin into his heart also and we do not fear the saying, Woe to the man who gives his neighbor something dark and dangerous to drink (Habbakuk 2:15)! But we do the devil's work and are not one bit concerned about it. What else has the devil to do but disturb and harm us? We are found to work with him for our own destruction and that of our neighbor, for a man who harms his own soul is working with, and helping, the demons. The man who seeks to profit his soul is co-operating with the angels. How is it that we fall into this state unless it is because we have no true love? If we had true love, then we would view our neighbor's shortcomings with co-suffering and compassion, as it is said, Love shall cover the multitude of sins (I Peter 4:8). Love thinketh no evil; covers everything and the rest (I Cor. 13:5).

     As I said, if we have true love, that very love would cover all sins, as did the saints when they saw the shortcomings of men. Were they blind and did not see sins? And who hated sin more than the saints? But they did not hate the sinners all the same time, nor condemn them, nor turn away from them, but they suffered with them, admonished them, comforted them, gave them remedies as sickly members, and did all they could to save them. Take a fisherman: when he casts his hook into the sea and a large fish takes the bait, he perceives first that the fish struggles violently and is full of fight, so he does not try to pull it in immediately by main force for the line would break and the catch would be lost in the end. No, he rather plays out the line and, as he says, allows the fish to run freely, but when he feels the line slacken and the first struggles have calmed down, he takes up the slack line and begins, little by little, to draw him in. So the holy fathers, by patience and love, draw the brother and do not spurn him nor become disgusted with him. As a mother who has an unruly son does not hate him or turn away from him but adorns him with love, and everything she does, she does for his consolation; so do the saints always cover, adorn and help the sinner, so that with time he will correct himself, and not harm anyone else, and in doing so they themselves greatly advance towards the love of Christ.

---

[1] Abba Dorotheos was a monk who lived at the end of the 6^th century and into the 7^th.  These words on not judging others comes from his book “Practical Teachings on the Christian Life” as it’s commonly known.

Elder Paisos on "Spiritual Study"

Elder Paisos on Spiritual Study

— Geronda, what books should be read by those who are beginning their spiritual search?

— First, they should read the New Testament to learn the meaning of Christ, to be shaken up a little; later they can read the Old Testament. Do you know how hard it is when they have read nothing and yet they come to ask for help? It is like an elementary school child going to a university professor and saying, ”Help me.” What can the professor tell him? ”One plus one equals two”? Others, again, are not spiritually restless; they come and say, ”Father, I have no problems and I am just fine; I only dropped by to see you.” Man can never say that he has no problems, no concerns; he will have something. The struggle for the spiritual life never ends. Or some people come and tell me, ”Tell us spiritual things.” It is as if they went to the grocery store and said, ”Give us some groceries.” The grocer is at a loss and needs to know what they need. They need to say, ”I want so much sugar, so much rice, and so on, but they only say, ‘Give us groceries.' ”It is like going to the pharmacy and saying, ”Give us medicines,” without first saying what their illness is, or whether or not they went to the doctor, and what he advised them to do. Go figure! You see, whoever is seriously concerned over his spiritual condition knows, more or less, what he is lacking, and once he seeks it, he benefits.

As a novice, when I read something I liked, I wrote it down so as not to forget it, and I would try to apply it to my life. I didn't readjust to pass my time pleasantly. I had a spiritual restlessness and, when I could not understand something, I would ask for an explanation. I read relatively little, but I checked myself a great deal on what I read. ”What point am I at? What must I do?” I would sit myself down and go through such a self-examination. I did not allow what I read to pass me by untaxed.

Today with so much reading people end up like tape recorders, filling up their cassettes with superfluous matters. According to Abba Isaac, however, Wisdom not based on righteous activity is a deposit of disgrace. [1] You see, many who are interested in sports read sports magazines and newspapers while they are sitting. They may be like the fatted calf, but they still marvel at the athletes. ”Oh he is marvellous! He is great! Bravo!” But they don't work up any sweat, and they don't lose any pounds. They read and read about athletic events, and then they go and lie down; they gain nothing. They are satisfied with the pleasure of reading. Some worldly people read newspapers, others romantic literature or an adventure novel, still others watch a football game at the stadium and pass their time. The same thing is done by some people who read spiritual books. They may spend the whole night reading spiritual books with great intensity and be content. They take a spiritual book, sit comfortably, and begin reading. ”Oh, I profited from that,” they say. It would be better to say, ”I enjoyed myself, I spent my time pleasantly.” But this is not profit.

We profit when we understand what we read, when we censure ourselves and discipline ourselves by applying it: ”What does this mean? Where do I stand in relation to this spiritual truth? What must I do now?” After all, the more we learn, the more responsibility we have to live up to what we have learned. I am not saying that we should not read so that we can plead ignorance and therefore be free of responsibility, for this is a cunning deception; I am saying that we should not read merely to pass our time pleasantly. The bad thing is that if someone reads a lot and has a strong memory, he may remember many things and may even talk a lot about what he has read, and thus deceive himself into thinking that he also personally observes the many things he reads. So he has created an illusion toward himself and others. So don't be comforted by the thought that you read a lot. Instead, turn your attention to applying what you have read. Much reading alone will only educate you encyclopaedically. Isn't that what they call it?

— Yes, Geronda.

— The goal, however, is to be transformed in a God-centred manner. I am not aiming to be a university professor where I would need to know many things. But if I ever need something from this worldly knowledge, I can easily learn it once I have acquired the God-centred knowledge. Do you see what I mean?

— When one has a distraction, is it beneficial to concentrate through study?

— Yes, one should read a little, something very demanding, in order to warm the soul. This keeps distractions and concerns under the lid, and the mind is transposed into a divine realm. Otherwise, the mind is diverted by whatever task is preoccupying it.

— Geronda, when someone is tired or upset, he usually wants to read something light and easy, a short story or a novel, perhaps, or something like that.

— Is there no spiritual book that is appropriate for such times? The purpose is not to forget one's worry, but to be redeemed. Such light reading does not redeem. Novels, newspapers and television have no value in developing a spiritual life. Quite often even some religious periodicals are damaging to Christians, because they stir a foolish zealousness that leads to confusion. Take care. Do not read unnecessary things during your free time. Some reading matter is completely hollow, like a water-pumpkin; it is like looking in a haystack to find a kernel of wheat. Some people say, ”Yes, but they relax me.” But how can they be relaxing, my good man, if they make you dizzy and cause your eyes to ache? It is better to rest by sleeping. You can learn much about a person's spiritual state from what he reads. One who is very worldly will probably be reading indecent magazines. One who is less worldly will read less indecent magazines and newspapers. One who is religious will read religious periodicals, or contemporary religious books or patristic texts, and so on.

— Geronda, which spiritual books are the most helpful?

— The various patristic texts, which thank God are available by the thousands today, are very helpful. One can find whatever one needs and desires in these books. They are authentic spiritual nourishment and a sure guide on the spiritual path. However, in order to be of benefit to us, they have to be read with humility and prayer. Patristic texts reveal the inner spiritual condition of the soul, much as axial tomography reveals the inner structures of the body. Each sentence of the patristic texts contains a multitude of meanings, and each person can interpret them according to their own spiritual state of being. It is better to read the ancient text rather than a translation, because the translator interprets the original verse according to his own spirituality. In any case, in order to understand the writings of the Fathers one must constrain oneself, focus and live spiritually, for the spirit of the Fathers is perceived through and by the spirit only. Especially helpful are the Ascetical Homilies by Saint Isaac the Syrian, but they must be studied slowly so that they can be assimilated little by little as spiritual food. The Evergetinos is truly of great benefit, because it gives us insight into the Whole spirit of the Holy Fathers, it is helpful because it describes the struggles of the Fathers against each and every one of the passions, and, by learning how they worked on the spiritual life, the soul is greatly assisted. Also, the Synaxaria, the Lives of the Saints, are sacred history and very helpful, especially for young people, but they should not be read as stories.

We do not need great knowledge to be devout. If we concentrate and meditate on the few things we know, our heart will be spiritually embroidered. One may be profoundly affected by a single hymn, while another may feel nothing, even though he may know all the hymns by heart, as he has not entered into the spiritual reality. So, read the Fathers, even one or two lines a day. They are very strengthening vitamins for the soul.

An excerpt from “Spiritual Awakening”

The Rule for Attending to Oneself

The Rule for Attending to Oneself 

Written for a Certain Layman As a Result of His Desire to Live a Vigilant Life in the World 

By St. Ignatius Brianchaninov 

The soul of all practices in the Lord is VIGILANCE. Without VIGILANCE, all these practices are fruitless. He who is desirous of saving himself must so establish himself that he might remain continuously VIGILANT toward HIMSELF, not only in solitude, but also under conditions of distraction, into which he is sometimes unwillingly drawn by circumstances.

Let the fear of God outweigh all other sensations upon the scales of your heart; and then will it be convenient to for you to be VIGILANT TOWARD YOURSELF, both in the silence of yourkellia [cell] and in the midst of the noise that surrounds you from all sides.

A well-reasoned moderation in foodstuffs, diminishing the passionate heat of his blood, tends greatly to facilitate your being able to ATTEND TO YOURSELF; while the impassioning of your blood, stemming, as it does, from an excessive consumption of foodstuffs, from extreme and intensified bodily movements, from the inflammation of wrath, from being heady with vanity, and by reason of other causes, gives rise to a multitude of thoughts and reveries—in other words, to distraction. The Holy Fathers, first of all, ascribe to such a one as is desirous of ATTENDING TO HIMSELF a moderate, evenly-measured, constant abstention from food. (Dobrotoliubiye [Philokalia], Pt. II, Ch. of St. Filofei [Philotheus] of the Sinai)

Upon awakening from sleep—an image of the awakening from the dead, which awaits all men—direct your thoughts to God, offering up to Him the first-thoughts of your mind, which has not yet become imprinted with any vain impressions whatsoever.

Having carefully fulfilled all the needs of the flesh upon arising from sleep, quietly read your customary rule of prayer, taking care not so much for the quantity of your prayerful expression, as for the quality of it; i.e., do it ATTENTIVELY, so that, by reason of your ATTENTION, your heart might be enlightened and enlivened through prayerful feeling and consolation. Upon concluding your rule of prayer, do you again, direct all your strength to the ATTENTIVE reading of the New Testament, primarily the Evangel. In the course of this reading, intently take note of all the instructions and commandments of Christ, so that you might direct all your actions—both manifest and veiled—in accordance with them.

The quantity of the reading is determined by one's strength and by one's circumstances. It is unnecessary to weight-down one's mind with an excessive reading of prayers and Scripture; likewise, is it unnecessary to neglect one's needs in order to practice immoderate prayer and reading. Just as the excessive use of foodstuffs disorders and weakens the belly, so too does the immoderate use of spiritual food weaken the mind and create in it a revulsion to pious practices, leading it to despair. ([St.] Isaac the Syrian, "Sermon 71")

For the novice, the Holy Fathers suggest frequent—but brief—prayers. When one's mind matures with spiritual age, becoming stronger and manlier, then shall one be in proper condition to pray without ceasing. It is to such Christians as have attained to maturity in the Lord that the words of the Apostle Paul pertain:

I DESIRE, THEREFORE, THAT MEN PRAY EVERYWHERE, LIFTING UP HOLY HANDS, WITHOUT ANGER AND REPROACH. (I Tim. II, 8) i.e., dispassionately, and without any distraction or inconstancy. For that which is natural to the man is not yet natural to the infant.

Enlightened, through prayer and reading, by our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, one may then go forth to carry out the affairs of one's daily course, VIGILANTLY taking care that in all one's deeds and words, in one's entire being, the All-holy will of God might prevail, as it was revealed and explained to men in the Commandments of the Evangel.

Should there be any free moments during the course of the day, use them to read ATTENTIVELY some chosen prayers, or some chosen portions of Scripture; and, by means of these, fortify the powers of your soul, which have become exhausted through activity in the midst of a world of vanities.

Should there not be any such golden moments, it is necessary to regret their loss, as though it were the loss of a valuable treasure. What is wasted today should not be lost on the day following, because our heart conveniently gives itself up to negligence and forgetfulness, which lead to that dismal ignorance, so ruinous of Divine activity, of the activity of man's salvation.

Should you chance to say or to do something that is contrary to God's commandments, immediately treat your fault with repentance; and, by means of sincere contrition, return to the Way of God, from which you stepped aside through your violation of God's will. Do not linger outside the Way of God! Respond with faith and humility to sinful thoughts, reveries and sensations by opposing to them the Gospel commandments, and saying, along with the holy patriarch Joseph:

HOW SHALL I SPEAK THIS EVIL WORD AND SIN BEFORE GOD? (Gen. XXX, 9)

One who is VIGILANT toward oneself must refuse himself all reverie, in general—regardless of how attractive and well-appearing it might seem, for all reverie is the wandering of the mind, which flatters and deceives it, while being outside the truth, in the land of non-existent phantoms, and incapable of realization. The consequences of reverie are: loss of VIGILANCE toward oneself, dissipation of the mind, and hardness of heart during prayer, whence comes distress of the soul.

In the evening, departing into slumber—which, in relation to the day just past, is death—examine your actions during the course of that day. Such [self-] examination is not difficult, since, in leading an ATTENTIVE life, that forgetfulness which is so natural to a distracted man is destroyed through VIGILANCE TOWARD ONESELF. And so, having recollected all your sins, whether through act, or word, or thought, or sensation, offer your repentance to God for them, with both the disposition and the heart-felt pledge of self-amendment. Later, having read the rule of prayer, conclude the day which was begun by meditating upon God by meditating, once again, upon God. Whither do they depart—all the thoughts and feelings of a sleeping man? What mysterious state of being is this sleep, during which the soul and body are both alive and yet not alive, being alienated from the awareness of their life, as though dead? Sleep is as incomprehensible as death. In the course of it, one's soul reposes, forgetting the most-cruel earthly afflictions and calamities that have beset it, while it images its eternal repose; while one's body (!!) ... if it rises from sleep will also arise, inevitably, from the dead.

The great Agafon said: "IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO SUCCEED IN VIRTUE WITHOUT EXERTING VIGILANCE TOWARD ONESELF." (The Patericon of Skete)

Amen.

Excerpted from The Writings of Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov: Ascetic Essays, Volume I, pp. 185-187 (in Russian). Translated into English from the Russian by George Spruksts intrprtr@prodigy.net. English-language translation copyright (c) 1999 by The St. Stefan of Perm' Guild, The Russian Cultural Heritage Society, and the Translator. All Rights Reserved. Permission is hereby granted to use this essay for non-commercial purposes, as long as this entire notice is included therewith.

Orthodoxy and Other Traditions

The Difference Between Orthodox Spirituality and Other Traditions

by Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos

Orthodox spirituality differs distinctly from any other "spirituality" of an eastern or western type. There can be no confusion among the various spiritualities, because Orthodox spirituality is God-centered, whereas all others are man-centered.


The difference appears primarily in the doctrinal teaching. For this reason we put "Orthodox" before the word "Church" so as to distinguish it from any other religion. Certainly "Orthodox" must be linked with the term "Ecclesiastic," since Orthodoxy cannot exist outside of the Church; neither, of course, can the Church exist outside Orthodoxy.


The dogmas are the results of decisions made at the Ecumenical Councils on various matters of faith. Dogmas are referred to as such, because they draw the boundaries between truth and error, between sickness and health. Dogmas express the revealed truth. They formulate the life of the Church. Thus they are, on the one hand, the expression of Revelation and on the other act as "remedies" in order to lead us to communion with God; to our reason for being.


Dogmatic differences reflect corresponding differences in therapy. If a person does not follow the "right way" he cannot ever reach his destination. If he does not take the proper "remedies," he cannot ever acquire health; in other words, he will experience no therapeutic benefits. Again, if we compare Orthodox spirituality with other Christian traditions, the difference in approach and method of therapy is more evident.


A fundamental teaching of the Holy Fathers is that the Church is a "Hospital" which cures the wounded man. In many passages of Holy Scripture such language is used. One such passage is that of the parable of the Good Samaritan: "But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion . So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, and gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you" (Luke 10:33-35).


In this parable, the Samaritan represents Christ who cured the wounded man and led him to the Inn, that is to the "Hospital" which is the Church. It is evident here that Christ is presented as the Healer, the physician who cures man's maladies; and the Church as the true Hospital. It is very characteristic that Saint John Chrysostom, analyzing this parable, presents these truths emphasized above.


Man's life "in Paradise" was reduced to a life governed by the devil and his wiles. "And fell among thieves," that is in the hands of the devil and of all the hostile powers. The wounds man suffered are the various sins, as the prophet David says: "my wounds grow foul and fester because of my foolishness" (Psalm 37). For "every sin causes a bruise and a wound." The Samaritan is Christ Himself who descended to earth from Heaven in order to cure the wounded man. He used oil and wine to "treat" the wounds; in other words, by "mingling His blood with the Holy Spirit, he brought man to life." According to another interpretation, oil corresponds to the comforting word and wine to the harsh word. Mingled together they have the power to unify the scattered mind. "He set him in His own beast," that is He assumed human flesh on "the shoulders" of His divinity and ascended incarnate to His Father in Heaven.


Then the Good Samaritan, i.e. Christ, took man to the grand, wondrous and spacious inn - to the Church. And He handed man over to the innkeeper, who is the Apostle Paul, and through the Apostle Paul to all bishops and priests, saying: "Take care of the Gentile people, whom I have handed over to you in the Church. They suffer illness wounded by sin, so cure them, using as remedies the words of the Prophets and the teaching of the Gospel; make them healthy through the admonitions and comforting word of the Old and New Testaments." Thus, according to Saint Chrysostom, Paul is he who maintains the Churches of God, "curing all people by his spiritual admonitions and offering to each one of them what they really need."


In the interpretation of this parable by Saint John Chrysostom, it is clearly shown that the Church is a Hospital which cures people wounded by sin; and the bishops and priests are the therapists of the people of God.


And this precisely is the work of Orthodox theology. When referring to Orthodox theology, we do not simply mean a history of theology. The latter is, of course, a part of this but not absolutely or exclusively. In Patristic tradition, theologians are the God-seers. Saint Gregory Palamas calls Barlaam [who attempted to bring Western scholastic theology into the Orthodox Church] a "theologian," but he clearly emphasizes that intellectual theology differs greatly from the experience of the vision of God. According to Saint Gregory Palamas theologians are the God-seers; those who have followed the "method" of the Church and have attained to perfect faith, to the illumination of the nous and to divinization (theosis). Theology is the fruit of man's cure and the path which leads to cure and the acquisition of the knowledge of God.


Western theology, however, has differentiated itself from Eastern Orthodox theology. Instead of being therapeutic, it is more intellectual and emotional in character. In the West [after the Carolingian "Renaissance"], scholastic theology evolved, which is antithetical to the Orthodox Tradition. Western theology is based on rational thought whereas Orthodoxy is hesychastic. Scholastic theology tried to understand logically the Revelation of God and conform to philosophical methodology. Characteristic of such an approach is the saying of Anselm [Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093-1109, one of the first after the Norman Conquest and destruction of the Old English Orthodox Church]: "I believe so as to understand." The Scholastics acknowledged God at the outset and then endeavored to prove His existence by logical arguments and rational categories. In the Orthodox Church, as expressed by the Holy Fathers, faith is God revealing Himself to man. We accept faith by hearing it not so that we can understand it rationally, but so that we can cleanse our hearts, attain to faith by theoria* and experience the Revelation of God.


Scholastic theology reached its culminating point in the person of Thomas Aquinas, a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. He claimed that Christian truths are divided into natural and supernatural. Natural truths can be proven philosophically, like the truth of the Existence of God. Supernatural truths - such as the Triune God, the incarnation of the Logos, the resurrection of the bodies - cannot be proven philosophically, yet they cannot be disproven. Scholasticism linked theology very closely with philosophy, even more so with metaphysics. As a result, faith was altered and scholastic theology itself fell into complete disrepute when the "idol" of the West - metaphysics - collapsed. Scholasticism is held accountable for much of the tragic situation created in the West with respect to faith and faith issues.


The Holy Fathers teach that natural and metaphysical categories do not exist but speak rather of the created and uncreated. Never did the Holy Fathers accept Aristotle's metaphysics. However, it is not my intent to expound further on this. Theologians of the West during the Middle Ages considered scholastic theology to be a further development of the teaching of the Holy Fathers, and from this point on, there begins the teaching of the Franks that scholastic theology is superior to that of the Holy Fathers. Consequently, Scholastics, who are occupied with reason, consider themselves superior to the Holy Fathers of the Church. They also believe that human knowledge, an offspring of reason, is loftier than Revelation and experience.


It is within this context that the conflict between Saint Gregory Palamas and Barlaam should be viewed. Barlaam was essentially a scholastic theologian who attempted to pass on scholastic theology to the Orthodox East.


Barlaam's views - that we cannot really know Who the Holy Spirit is exactly (an outgrowth of which is agnosticism), that the ancient Greek philosophers are superior to the Prophets and the Apostles (since reason is above the vision of the Apostles), that the light of the Transfiguration is something which is created and can be undone, that the hesychastic way of life (i.e. the purification of the heart and the unceasing noetic prayer) is not essential - are views which express a scholastic and, subsequently, a secularized point of view of theology. Saint Gregory Palamas foresaw the danger that these views held for Orthodoxy and through the power and energy of the Most Holy Spirit and the experience which he himself had acquired as a successor to the Holy Fathers, he confronted this great danger and preserved unadulterated the Orthodox Faith and Tradition.


Having given a framework to the topic at hand, if Orthodox spirituality is examined in relationship to Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, the differences are immediately discovered.


Protestants do not have a "therapeutic treatment" tradition. They suppose that believing in God, intellectually, constitutes salvation. Yet salvation is not a matter of intellectual acceptance of truth; rather it is a person's transformation and divinization by grace. This transformation is effected by the analogous "treatment" of one's personality, as shall be seen in the following chapters. In the Holy Scripture it appears that faith comes by hearing the Word and by experiencing "theoria" (the vision of God). We accept faith at first by hearing in order to be healed, and then we attain to faith by theoria, which saves man. Protestants, because they believe that the acceptance of the truths of faith, the theoretical acceptance of God's Revelation, i.e. faith by hearing saves man, do not have a "therapeutic tradition." It could be said that such a conception of salvation is very naive.


The Roman Catholics as well do not have the perfection of the therapeutic tradition which the Orthodox Church has. Their doctrine of the Filioque is a manifestation of the weakness in their theology to grasp the relationship existing between the person and society. They confuse the personal properties: the "unbegotten" of the Father, the "begotten" of the Son, and the procession of the Holy Spirit. The Father is the cause of the "generation" of the Son and the procession of the Holy Spirit.


The Latins' weakness to comprehend and failure to express the dogma of the Trinity shows the non-existence of empirical theology. The three disciples of Christ (Peter, James and John) beheld the glory of Christ on Mount Tabor; they heard at once the voice of the Father, "This is My beloved Son," and saw the coming of the Holy Spirit in a cloud, for, the cloud is the presence of the Holy Spirit, as Saint Gregory Palamas says. Thus the disciples of Christ acquired the knowledge of the Triune God in theoria (vision of God) and by revelation. It was revealed to them that God is one essence in three hypostases.


This is what Saint Symeon the New Theologian teaches. In his poems he proclaims over and over that, while beholding the uncreated Light, the deified man acquires the Revelation of God the Trinity. Being in "theoria" (vision of God), the saints do not confuse the hypostatic attributes. The fact that the Latin tradition came to the point of confusing these hypostatic attributes and teaching that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son also, shows the non-existence of empirical theology for them. Latin tradition speaks also of created grace, a fact which suggests that there is no experience of the grace of God. For, when man obtains the experience of God, then he comes to understand well that this grace is uncreated. Without this experience there can be no genuine "therapeutic tradition."


And indeed we cannot find in all of Latin tradition, the equivalent to Orthodoxy's therapeutic method. The nous is not spoken of; neither is it distinguished from reason. The darkened nous is not treated as a malady, nor the illumination of the nous as therapy. Many greatly publicized Latin texts are sentimental and exhaust themselves in a barren ethicology. In the Orthodox Church, on the contrary, there is a great tradition concerning these issues, which shows that within it there exists the true therapeutic method.


A faith is a true faith inasmuch as it has therapeutic benefits. If it is able to cure, then it is a true faith. If it does not cure, it is not a true faith. The same thing can be said about medicine: a true scientist is the doctor who knows how to cure and his method has therapeutic benefits, whereas a charlatan is unable to cure. The same holds true where matters of the soul are concerned. The difference between Orthodoxy and the Latin tradition, as well as the Protestant confessions, is apparent primarily in the method of therapy. This difference is made manifest in the doctrines of each denomination. Dogmas are not philosophy, neither is theology the same as philosophy.


Since Orthodox spirituality differs distinctly from the "spiritualities" of other confessions, so much the more does it differ from the "spirituality" of eastern religions, which do not believe in the Theanthropic nature of Christ and the Holy Spirit. They are influenced by the philosophical dialectic, which has been surpassed by the Revelation of God. These traditions are unaware of the notion of personhood and thus the hypostatic principle. And love, as a fundamental teaching, is totally absent. One may find, of course, in these eastern religions an effort on the part of their followers to divest themselves of images and rational thoughts, but this is in fact a movement towards nothingness, to non-existence. There is no path leading their "disciples" to theosis-divinisation (see the note below) of the whole man.


This is why a vast and chaotic gap exists between Orthodox spirituality and the eastern religions, in spite of certain external similarities in terminology. For example, eastern religions may employ terms like ecstasy, dispassion, illumination, noetic energy, etc. but they are impregnated with a content different from corresponding terms in Orthodox spirituality.


Endnotes


* Theoria is the vision of the glory of God. Theoria is identified with the vision of the uncreated Light, the uncreated energy of God, with the union of man with God, with man's theosis (see note below). Thus, theoria, vision and theosis are closely connected. Theoria has various degrees. There is illumination, vision of God, and constant vision (for hours, days, weeks, even months). Noetic prayer is the first stage of theoria. Theoretical man is one who is at this stage. In Patristic theology, the theoretical man is characterized as the shepherd of the sheep.


Theosis-Divinisation is the participation in the Uncreated grace of God. Theosis is identified and connected with the theoria (vision) of the Uncreated Light (see note above). It is called theosis in grace because it is attained through the energy, of the divine grace. It is a co-operation of God with man, since God is He Who operates and man is he who co-operates.


From Chapter 2 of Orthodox Spirituality: A brief introduction, published in 1994 by Birth of the Theotokos Monastery, Levadia, Greece. See also "Way Apart: What is the Difference Between Orthodoxy and Western Confessions?", by Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Kiev and Galic.

Peace of Mind Not Contingent Upon Conditions

     The goal of the spiritual life – forgive me for using such a vague term, but despite its inadequacies, and despite is overuse, it’s still a useful term – should be to acquire a peace of mind that is not contingent upon conditions.  Of course, as an Orthodox Christian, this should not be the ultimate goal.  The ultimate goal should be to attain salvation – and salvation for the Orthodox is nothing other than theosis, to attain union with the Uncreated Energies of the Incarnate Logos.

     But I think that theosis often seems too lofty a goal, despite the fact that the means to attain it – humility, fasting, unceasing prayer – are simple things (though simple, obviously, doesn’t equate to easy.)  How does one know that he or she is even moving toward theosis?  The answer, I think, is how at peace one’s mind is, regardless of the conditions in one’s life.

     And on the flip side of this, if you believe you have attained theosis but are not experiencing an inner peace and tranquility not dependent upon conditions, then, sorry, but theosis is not yet in your grasp – in fact, you would be guilty of spiritual pride.

     For the remainder of this article, I would like to discuss the things in one’s daily life that lead to this kind of peace.  Two of the things that I won’t be discussing in this article are fasting and prayer (although I will discuss watchfulness some).  There are plenty of great articles and books available – even if just online – for anyone interested in these subjects, material written by people far more wise than I.  The suggestions, pointers, and subtleties suggested here assume that one is already partaking in a life of prayer, fasting, and watchfulness.  This article also assumes that one is already immersed in the life of the Church: regular attendance of the Divine Liturgy, partaking of the Holy Mysteries (especially the Eucharist and Confession), and contributing to a local parish.

Peace of Mind

     What is peace of mind?  The inevitable thing that many do is to equate peace of mind with happiness, but this isn’t the case.  Of course, there is nothing wrong with being happy (as long as the happiness isn’t coming from some of the lesser forms, such as happiness at another’s expense, or happiness that will cause you un-happiness at a later date), but “being happy” should not be the goal of the spiritual life.  Happiness is fleeting.  It comes and it goes.  Many things will happen in our lives that will not make us happy.  Friends and loved ones die (sometimes tragically), our spouses may leave us, we may lose our job – when things of this nature happen, happiness is not going to be the result.  But we are capable of maintaining an inner peace, a tranquility that transcends our suffering, even in the midst of tragedy.

     Acquiring peace of mind first means that you must be willing to set your priorities on the things that matter – namely, the one thing that matters: attainment of theosis.  (There are a lot of Orthodox, I think, who like the thought of attaining theosis, but they don’t want to do the work that is required.  Their priorities are simply not in the right place.)

     In order to set your priorities, you need to come to terms with the fact that there are things that you should and should not do.  A lot of people don’t like Orthodoxy (or any “religion” for that matter) because they don’t want to be told a list of “shoulds or should nots”.  But the spiritual life – or any disciplined life, no matter whether the discipline is “spirituality” or not – doesn’t work in such a manner.  You should (or should not) do certain things because of the result of your actions.  If you want a life of spiritual peace and of inner tranquility, then not only should you do certain things, but you must do them.

     The first thing that Orthodox need to realize – and I don’t think it’s a subject that is even thought about too much, perhaps because of its seeming simplicity – is that your practice should be of one piece.  In other words, attainment of theosis is not comprised of different steps that you can take, discarding the lower steps as you move toward your goal of union with the Divine.  As you begin on the ladder of Divine ascent, you start with being more kind, more generous, more giving to others, doing your best to practice humility and to bear the cross of the many things that the Lord will place in your life along your journey.  But you don’t drop these things as you climb higher along the ladder.  If anything, you more easily increase them, even developing layers of subtlety that you wouldn’t have done before.  A God-realized elder or saint of the Church sees his passions – and his thoughts that lead to those passions – more clearly as he attains theosis.  Although the path to salvation is often depicted as a ladder, we need to realize that it could be just as easily represented by a wheel (as in the Eightfold Path - see my previous post comparing and contrasting Orthodoxy with Buddhism).

Humility

     One aspect of Orthodox spirituality that clearly distinguishes it from the western forms of Christianity (whether Catholic or Protestant) is that Orthodox spirituality represents a negation of the self.  (Western spirituality is all too often an affirmation of the self – a spirituality that affirms that our thoughts really are what we are, and that we can trust our truest, deepest self.)  And negation of self begins with humility.

     Humility is the most difficult aspect of the spiritual life.  But it’s also the most important because it’s the “springboard” that allows the rest of the spiritual life to flourish.  Humility is – despite our western mindset that wants to say otherwise – one of the most surefire ways to bring about a true peace of mind.  A humble mind does not cling to self and others (whether those others are people or things) as being me, myself, or mine.  Humility allows us to let go of our sense of self – the sense that we are somehow more important than others, and are the real center of the universe.

     Humility does not mean that we revile the self, however – a common misunderstanding, I’m afraid, even among Orthodox.  Listen to these words of Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain:

    

“Humility is the thought and conviction of our heart that we are more sinful than all men and unworthy of the mercy of God. Reviling ourselves doesn’t mean that we have true humility. True humility is when someone shames and abuses us publicly, and we endure it and say, “God ordered that brother to shame me for my many sins.” We should receive everything as a command of God. When someone shames you, say that God commanded him to do it. When someone takes something of yours, God commanded him to take it, in order to make you a monk. When you are removed from a higher place, God changed your place so that you would change from your passions and bad habits. This is true humility. And pride is when we trust in ourselves, in our mind, our strength, when we think we are more capable than someone else, better, more beautiful, more virtuous, more pleasing to God. Then it is certain that we are overcome by the ugly sin of pride, from which may God, who humbled Himself for our salvation, preserve us. Let us humble ourselves, brethren, because a proud man cannot be saved. Let us weep for our sins here, so we can rejoice forever in the next life, for after we leave this world everyone will forget us. Let us not hope in men, but only in God. A man changes. Today he gives to you and tomorrow he asks from you. Today he praises you and tomorrow he condemns you. Let us place our hope in the mercy of God, and we will never go astray.


“Brother, often animals are wiser than men. Let us learn obedience and patience from the ox, humility and meekness from the lamb, cleanliness and industry from the ants and bees. We can learn a lesson for our life from all the animals.


“It’s best for a man to become a clay vessel, which is useful to all people and for all kinds of daily work, for food, water, and so on. Golden vessels are put in safes and locked up in cupboards. For fear of thieves they are seldom used, maybe only once a year. A clay vessel has its daily use and service to man. So also is a humble man who does not seek honors and rank. He remains insignificant even amid men of lower rank, but he benefits, counsels, and helps everyone, and all seek him out and rejoice with him. Humility is a great gift to monks and all Christians!”

Our Thoughts

     Our thoughts – as Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnika would tell us – determine our lives.  If our thoughts are kind, peaceful, calm, tranquil, and full of loving-kindness toward others, then that is how our lives will be lived.  It really is that simple.  Once again, however, simple doesn't always equate to easy.

     In today’s spiritual marketplace – a world that is essentially nothing more than what the late Buddhist teacher Chogyam Trungpa would have labeled “spiritual materialism” – you will find plenty of books that deal with the “power of positive thinking” or stuff of similar ilk.  There is usually some degree of insight to these books – our thoughts are very powerful, after all – but the approach that these books take is misguided at the least ( downright demonic at the worst).  Our thoughts don’t need to become more positive, but they do need to conform to the will of God.  Here is what Elder Paisios has to say about positive thoughts, and then the kind of thoughts that we need to truly nurture:

     “In the beginning, we should willingly try to develop positive thoughts, which will gradually lead us to the perfect good, God, to whom belongs every glory, honor and worship; on the contrary, to us belongs only the humility of our conceited attitude.

     “We must always be careful and constantly question the nature of our thoughts.  When someone is preoccupied and trusts his own way of thinking, he becomes vulnerable to the devil, who is capable of transforming us into sly persons, even when we are honest by nature.”

     For me – and my spiritual struggles to conform to the will of God – it really does begin and end with thoughts.

     Practice watchfulness of your thoughts throughout the day.  Here is what Metropolitan Jonah has to say about inner watchfulness:

     "On an even deeper level, this spiritual principle – do not react – teaches us that we need to learn to not react to thoughts. One of the fundamental aspects of this is inner watchfulness. This might seem like a daunting task, considering how many thoughts we have. However, our watchfulness does not need to be focused on our thoughts. Our watchfulness needs to be focused on God. We need to maintain the conscious awareness of God’s presence. If we can maintain the conscious awareness of His presence, our thoughts will have no power over us. We can, to paraphrase St. Benedict, dash our thoughts against the presence of God. This is a very ancient patristic teaching. We focus our attention on the remembrance of God. If we can do that, we will begin to control our troubling thoughts. Our reactions are about our thoughts. After all, if someone says something nasty to us, how are we reacting? We react first through our thinking, our thoughts. Perhaps we’re habitually accustomed to just lashing out after taking offense with some kind of nasty response of our own. But keeping watch over our minds so that we maintain that living communion with God leaves no room for distracting thoughts. It leaves plenty of room if we decide we need to think something through intentionally in the presence of God. But as soon as we engage in something hateful, we close God out. And the converse is true – as long as we maintain our connection to God, we won’t be capable of engaging in something hateful. We won’t react…"

     The key point, for me, with what Metropolitan Jonah has to say is that we need to “maintain the conscious awareness of God’s presence.”  This is one thing that distinguishes Orthodox spirituality from other forms – for instance, this is a key difference between Orthodox watchfulness and Buddhist mindfulness.  We cannot truly control our thoughts without the Divine’s help.  Saint Hesychius, in the Philokalia, tells us this:

     “The spirit cannot conquer a demonic fantasy by its own unaided powers, and should never attempt to do so... The demons are a sly lot: they pretend to be overcome and then trip us up by filling us up with self-esteem.  But when we call upon Jesus Christ, they do not dare to play their tricks with us even for a second."

The Peace that Passes All Understanding

     As we practice these things – being more humble, kind, compassionate, caring, and conquering our thoughts through inner watchfulness – something will begin to happen to us.  We will develop a peace that –as the Bible tells us – passes all understanding.  And as we live, move, and dwell in this peace, something else will slowly happen: union with God.  But it won’t happen because we forced it, or because we were seeking an “experience” of God (which can often be a dangerous, misleading practice, by the way).  It will happen because you can’t acquire theosis without first acquiring a peace of mind that is not contingent upon conditions.

     

Living in the Divine Presence

In today’s world, many people have given up on religion.  A lot of times, this isn’t such a bad thing.  When people give up the cultural conditioning of their childhood, it is often because they are seeking authenticity, and they are not finding it in religion.  As an Orthodox – even though I belong to what a lot people would call a “religion” – my life is one lived in Christ.  (Or, at least, it’s an attempt to do such a thing – I fail miserably a good bit of the time.)  This Orthodox life is not a religion, then, since it’s not a belief system.

Despite the fact that it appears as if “religion” is dying, many of these people who have given up the religion of their childhood are nonetheless searching for something more.  This something more is often what is referred to as “spirituality.”

And, yet, the “spiritual” life can be just as dangerous as the “religious” life.  And by “dangerous” I mean that it can very easily lead one off track, so to speak.  It can lead away from a life lived in Christ, a life lived in – and through – the Presence of the Divine.

Many religious people practice their belief system because they want to give their lives meaning – nothing wrong with that in and of itself.  But what too often happens is a religion that is all exterior – it is about insulating oneself with a myriad of beliefs, and then finding other likeminded people to gather with, thus ensuring that your beliefs will rarely be questioned.  And when your beliefs are questioned, well, you have plenty of support to assure you that you were right all along.

This is what often happens with Protestants in our country.  (Although not always.  There are some exemplary contemplatives – and others – that have come from the Protestant traditions.)  But it can also happen to Orthodox, as well, especially when Orthodoxy, too, becomes nothing more than a belief system, nothing more than one of the many religions of the world.

I know more than a few people who were actively involved in their churches, and even tried their best to cultivate a “spiritual” life, as well, but became burned out.  Why?  Because too often what is taken to be a “prayer” life, or a “biblical” life is one that is simply lived around the edges of true prayer.  It skirts the outsides of it, or it hovers about it, but it doesn’t become a life lived within it.  Or, even more likely, it never becomes a prayer life that understands to be truly contemplative, then the life must embrace – and live out – the beneathness of things.

The spiritual life – for it to be true – must not be all edges.  And it cannot be a life that occasionally goes within the spiritual, only to retreat to the edges for the remainder of its being.  (Here I am thinking of the person that attends Divine Liturgy on a regular basis, receives the Sacraments and thus enters within for a brief period during the course of the week.  And this person tries his/her best to say their daily prayers, to read the Gospel and Epistle of the day, yet never enters into the withinness of the truly spiritual – never understands the true gnosis that the early Fathers spoke of – because their life is still edges.)

What, then, is one to do?  First, you must participate in all of the Sacraments, and it is good to read the Gospel and Epistle of the Day, and to pray the Divine Hours.  But this is not all.  You must pray unceasingly.  (The best way to pray unceasingly would be with the Jesus Prayer).  You must be vigilant in your practice of watchfulness.  (Along with prayer, watchfulness should be the other pillar of the life lived in Christ.)  But reading Holy Scripture, practicing watchfulness, and constant prayer are also not all that must be done.  For these things are still only tools that lead you directly into a life lived in the Divine Presence of the One who loves you and desires for intimacy with you.

And this quest for intimacy with the Divine is what people are often seeking when they talk of being spiritual, or when they say they are “spiritual but not religious.”  But too often, this “spirituality” is worse than the “religion” it replaces.  It becomes nothing more than a narcissism that replaces God with man.  (We were created in the Image of God, but He was not created in ours.)

Often, “spiritual” people will even talk of intimacy with God, or practicing the presence of God, but too often, all they are talking about is a feeling, nothing more.  (In Christian circles, too, this has become common.)

But living in the Divine Presence – and thus partaking of a life lived in Christ – is not a feeling, it is a reality.  And it is a reality lived out in the Reality.

Not just in, either, but through and beneath.  By a true spiritual life that embraces the beneathness of Christ, I mean living the kind of faith that moves mountains.  When Christ spoke of having the faith of the mustard seed, enough to tell the mountain to move, and it will, is, of course, not to be taken literal.  But it doesn’t mean, either, what a lot of Christians think it means.  It doesn’t mean that if you have a lot of faith you will be able to pass the exam, win the marathon, or become Mayor of your town (or President of the country) – even though this is typically how it is interpreted.  Rather, it means having the kind of faith that is even more shocking than making a mountain move through the sheer force of your prayer.  It means loving others who don’t love you, even those who hate you.  It means forgiving seventy times seven.  It means clothing the naked and feeding the hungry.  It means ministering to prisoners, even murderers, rapists, and child molesters.  In short, it means doing all of the things that world says are crazy, a world that too often claims to Christian but is never lived in Christ.