Pamphlet - Five Steps of Sin - asna.ca

1 The5 Stages ofUnderstanding the reasonswe do the things we do,the things we from the intellect, the world, and thedemons. The Greeks call these thoughts, and Father Maximos points outthat they are not natural for us:logismoi The was a time when human beingslived in full accordance with their trueworse throughout our exactly does this happen? The holyelders of Christian tradition teach us thatthere are five basic stages to thought knocks on the door of ourmind, and suggests, Look at this pile ofmoney. Nobody is looking - take it! .Just because a thought comes, we re notresponsible for it. We commit no sin. EvenJesus Himself was tempted by Satan. Whenthoughts assault us, we should feel no guiltwhatsoever. No human being has ever livedwithout being assaulted by the, thethoughts. Only the dead are free from thoughts have nothing to do withthe quality of our soul.

2 Some people fallinto real despair and ask, Why me? Beingobsessed with such feelings is simply ourego at work. The lives of the saints and holyones must be our guides. Do you knowwhy? Because they reached a point wherealthough they were bothered by hundreds ofthoughts, they had reached a state beyondthe passions, a state of stillness of (Other pamphlets in this series talk aboutthe way in which one begins doing this).In his book,Kyriacos Markides presents his talks with theengaging Father Maximos, a monk fromCyprus. Father Maximos offers Kyriacos aglimpse into the mystical life of OrthodoxChristianity. One of the greatest gifts hegives him is the insights of generations ofholy elders into the workings of the spiritualheart - the five Stages of Maximos explains that all sinsbegin with thoughts, images in the mind thatThe Mountain of Silencenature.

3 All their energy was totally focusedaround one motion - the motion towardGod. Their spiritual mind had one ceaselesspreoccupation, ceaseless prayer to sole experience was what the elderscall, that is the vision of God Adam and Eve, the earliest humans,disrupted this relationship with God throughthe Fall. They became trapped in their ownegotistical passions. They ceased being in aconstant prayerful state, their essential andtrue function by nature. What we have nowis the ceaseless production of thoughtsinstead of ceaseless prayer. TheoriaThis is the so-called original sin, but it snot a childish understanding about breakingsome moral rules - it s the and alienation of the entirehuman race from God. The result is ourspiritual sickness, which can get worse andWhat canbe done?All Saints of North AmericaOrthodox because a thought comes, we re notresponsible for it.

4 We commit no sin. EvenJesus Himself was tempted by Satan. Whenthoughts assault us, we should feel no guiltwhatsoever. No human being has ever livedwithout being assaulted by the, thethoughts. Only the dead are free from thoughts have nothing to do withthe quality of our soul. Some people fall intoreal despair and ask, Why me? Beingobsessed with such feelings is simply our egoat work. The lives of the saints and holy onesmust be our guides. Do you know why?Because they reached a point where althoughthey were bothered by hundreds of thoughts,they had reached a state beyond the passions,a state of stillness of (Other pamphletsin this series talk about the way in which onebegins doing this).At this stage , you consent to do what thethought is urging you to do - you invite thethought in, and ask it to sit down and becomfortable! You have made a s when guilt and accountability begin toemerge.

5 This is the beginning of sin . Jesuswas referring to this stage when He said thatif you covet a woman in your mind you havealready committed adultery with her in yourheart. The moment this decision is allowed totake root in your heart, you are well on theway to actually committing the act in theouter s still possible, though, to liberateyourself from the stage of from the intellect, the world, and thedemons. The Greeks call these thoughts, and Father Maximos points out thatthey are not natural for us:TheoriaThis is the so-called original sin, but it snot a childish understanding about breakingsome moral rules - it s the original separationand alienation of the entire human race fromGod. The result is our spiritual sickness,which can get worse and worse throughoutour exactly does this happen? The holyelders of Christian tradition teach us thatthere are five basic stages to The was a time when human beings livedin full accordance with their true nature.

6 Alltheir energy was totally focused around onemotion - the motion toward God. Theirspiritual mind had one ceaselesspreoccupation, ceaseless prayer to sole experience was what the elderscall, that is the vision of God Adam and Eve, the earliest humans,disrupted this relationship with God throughthe Fall. They became trapped in their ownegotistical passions. They ceased being in aconstant prayerful state, their essential andtrue function by nature. What we have now isthe ceaseless production of thoughts insteadof ceaseless prayer. the event that you are not able to freeyourself from the stage of consent, then thereis real defeat. You become captive to thethought - you are no longer in control: youare a moment the person gives in, the nexttime around, the thought returns with greaterforce. That s when the person can no longerretreat and proceeds with the act, which nowbecomes a habit which is repeated time andtime thought knocks on the door of ourmind, and suggests, Look at this pile ofmoney.

7 Nobody is looking - take it! .This is the stage where we open the doorof our spiritual mind to a though. When athought urges you, for example, to steal thatpile of money, you begin to wonder, ShouldI or should I not? What s going to happen if Isteal it? This is risky and dangerous. Yet even atthis stage , there is no accountability of thepart of the individual - no sin is committed asyet. But if the person is weak, as we all aremost of the time, then defeat is the likelyoutcome of this conversation with