The
following is advice Elder Paisios gave on spiritual growth after he was asked
for his blessing by a visitor:
1. You
must take care of the purification of your soul on a daily basis.
2. You
must acquire divine justice and not logic, for only then the grace of our
Christ will come to you.
3. Before
you do something, think if Christ wants you to; the, act accordingly.
4. You
must perfectly practice obedience, so you may later talk to others about the
virtue of obedience.
5. The
"no" you say to people must be "no", and the
"yes" must be "yes".
Do not pretend, but say whatever you think, even if it hurts the other
person; say it in a good manner, however, and also give some explanations.
6. You
must have and maintain this spiritual dignity; always pay attention to what
pleases your fellow monks and not to what pleases yourself.
7.
Everyday, you should read a section from the New Testament for the purification
of your soul.
8. Do not
look at what other people do, or examine how, and why they do it.
Your own
goal is the purification of your soul and the perfect submission of your mind
to divine grace. So everything for the sake of your goal; pray, study, say
humbly the Jesus prayer, being aware that you absolutely need God's mercy. In other words, pay attention to your
spiritual work.
This is
advice we can all benefit from.
Source: http://orthodoxwayoflife.blogspot.com.by/2010/10/8-points-for-our-spiritual-growth-from.html
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