Art of living Well

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Art of living Well

Calming the Interior Dialogue

In his work The Conferences, John Cassian describes a transition in which we move from repentance to reparation. His idea is relatively simple. Once we have cultivated a genuine contrition for our sins and have sought to be reconciled with...

Art of living Well

Cultivating Stillness in the Body

The human person is a composite of a immaterial soul that dwells within a physical body. This understanding of the human person recognizes that there is a profound interconnection between our interior life and our physical existence. We are not...

Art of living Well

Cultivating Stillness

In Eastern Christianity, an important part of our seeking the Lord involves cultivating what the spiritual masters call “stillness,” or dispassion. The idea is simple enough. They view fallen human nature as being in a state in which the human...

Art of living Well

Breaking through the Void

At the center of all reality is not a formless void, but rather a personal and loving God who desires to enter into relationship with us. The movement of Christian perfection is not simply akin to the Buddhist notion of...

Art of living Well

The Power of Observation

As we learn to see and experience the different sensations that make up our physical and interior lives, our gentle observation leads to greater freedom and self-mastery. The acquired skill of observation, mindfulness if you will, allows us to let...

Art of living Well

Unscripted Time with God, Unscripted Time with Neighbor

Recently at my seminary, one of the most interesting things has taken place. We have a new priest on staff who has had an incredible impact. For the most part, the priests on staff tend to be incredibly smart and...

Art of living Well

The Importance of Elders

Discovering God’s will is not an isolated activity that we are called to do as an individualistic quest for perfection. In his Conferences, the great spiritual writer John Cassian illustrates that the wisdom of the Desert Fathers was to rely...

Art of living Well

It Was Always About Love

The measure of spiritual progress is the extent to which we receive and give love. Asceticism, fasting, contemplative prayer, and the whole life of virtue is merely the means that dispose a heart to receive the unconditional love of Christ....

Art of living Well

Using the Breath to Draw Closer to Christ

In Eastern Christian spirituality, there is a rich tradition of praying with the breath. The method they employ is fairly easy to learn and summarize. First, it was tied to the Jesus prayer (My Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,...