|
WEB 4 - ARCHIVE
Commentary 15 - Page 2 |
||||||
|
HOME . PRAXIS NOW . PRAXIS PAST . CLASSES . EVENTS . BOOKSHOP . WHAT'S NEW . REGISTER . LOGIN | ||||||
|
PRAXIS NOW
Darkness of
the psyche The Hermit's Message
Way of Theosis Psychological method Prayer of the heart
praxis studies
Introductory studies
LOGOUT |
See what is in your sight One example is in a saying of Jesus which seems to me to be a true 'gospel phrase' although I first actually found it in the Gospel According to Thomas, which had been rediscovered perhaps fifty years ago after being lost for almost two thousand years. It is a cryptic saying that advises us: "See what is in your sight, and what is hidden from you will be revealed to you." To understand this we need to ponder it at some length. Then we will find that what obstructs our view of what goes on inside us also obstructs the vision of our eyes, the hearing of our ears, etc. When the physical eye is blinded we lose the vision of the outer world, but when the inner eye is blinded, we also lose the vision of the inner world. But what is it that blinds us? For modern man, it is the fact that he thinks all the time. Not only do we think about ourselves continually, but our thoughts persistently come to the front of our mind, so that not only do they come between us and our God, but for much of the time they come between us and our awareness of the world outside us. But how can we stop having our attention taken all the time by all this thinking about things, and to what should we give attention instead of thinking about ourselves all the time? Elder Leonid "A great many turn out to be monks only in their intention, although in this world they were unable to be tonsured by mortal hands due to the judgments of the Ruler of the world. Saint Pelagia knew the true faith and ... by the might of indescribable ascetic exercises she became saintly although she was not clothed in the monastic habit. The monastic mantle signifies physical affliction, the vow of voluntary poverty, of obedience and monastic humility; but the mantle of inner clothing has been pre-ordained by the most high as an eternal reward in the heavens; this is the all-sacred clothing in the garments of the Holy spirit." ( Clement Sederholm - Elder Leonid of Optina - p191.) |
NECESSITY
PRAXIS PAST
A New Vision The Ark Text List SITE INFO Recent site changes Search Site
|
||||
