Peace (Psychological vs Spiritual)
“What about psychological peace? Meditation starts from thought and mind discipline. People try to master the self-control of the intellect to bring a peaceful feeling to their brain, nerves and muscles. It psychologically works. It can be achieved. Even Saint Sophrony of Essex explains that he was able to reach such levels of concentration to the point where he saw the light of his nous. This light and peace however, are not uncreated—they are created. Even if we were to exp
Passing Judgment
“…we often lightly pronounce sentence and form an idea about someone based upon… not even the knowledge of different facts of his biography, but much more often upon hearsay, conjecture, and our own opinions supported by nothing, yet influencing us so powerfully that we consider our opinions the sole and precise truth about one or another person. But this is not at all correct—not in 99 cases out of 100, but in all 100 cases. Therefore, if we speak about a negative, disagreea
Attachments
" 'In the same way therefore not one of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all of own possessions' (Luke 10:33). The...
Sin (Three Sins of Mankind)
“Note the three sins...of all mankind: (1) forsaking God; (2) false worship; and (3) preoccupation with themselves.” (Orthodox Study...
Free Will
“At times we may become so consumed and focused on our own problems and worries that we forget that God is there. We also may feel that...
Withdrawal from God
“He who withdraws from communing the Sacred Mysteries, causes God himself to withdraw from him…When we turn from Him, God effectively...