rational mind – The Tao of Holy Orthodoxy

November 19, 2017September 26, 2018

38. Maintain Harmony and Balance

Baoding Balls

Rotating Baoding balls (also called Iron Balls or Chinese Medicine Balls) in the hand promotes good health, according to tenets of traditional Chinese medicine. Whether or not the claim is accurate, these therapeutic balls from Hebei, China can serve to remind us of the necessity of harmony.

Two Baoding balls in good condition rotate smoothly around each other in the hand as chimes inside the hollow spheres produce a pleasant, relaxing tone. A skilled practitioner can rotate them without the two touching each other. The two spheres work together for the intended health of the body. If someone cut a chunk out of a ball, destroying the completeness of the sphere, the two would not rotate smoothly together. They would likely not work very well at all.

When the various aspects of the spiritual life are kept whole and in balance, they promote the health of your soul. So, nurture harmony within your soul. Bring all your thoughts, opinions, and actions into harmony with the Spirit-guided mind, vision, and life of the Church. Be consistent. Align both your rational mind and your heart with the Way of Christ. If you do this, you will be able to see clearly, think soberly with wisdom, and live well in truth and love.

Ensure that your external action, what you do every day, remains in harmony with who you are within. Contradiction between your being and your doing promotes dysfunction and chaos. Instead, promote wholeness and wellness through harmony.

Your body must be brought into harmony with your soul. Always maintain both your soul and your body in purity. You cannot live a truly spiritual life if you misuse your body. If you are unmarried, guard the virginity of both your soul and body. If you are a man married to a woman or a woman married to a man, maintain purity in your own soul while extending self-denying love and absolute fidelity (loyalty and faithfulness) to your only beloved. Guard your marriage as you guard your soul.

We are called to speak the truth in love and to love others according to the truth. No opposition exists between truth and love. You may be accused of being unloving by someone who does not understanding the fullness of Truth. You may be accused of being narrow-minded and ignorant by someone who misunderstands the fullness of Love. Truth and love are sisters who should always be kept together.

animal-avian-beak-349758

You do not need to look to man-made craftsmanship or symbols to see harmony. The Creator has filled the creation with harmonious balance and symmetry. A bird cannot fly with one wing. Neither can you live well and ascend toward your potential by practicing some aspects of the Way while ignoring other complimentary elements.

Generally, the health of your human body depends on the various systems working properly and cooperating together. A chemical or hormonal imbalance dramatically affects health. The health of your soul also depends on maintaining balance. If you live the whole Way, you will find balance.

You are still imperfect and in the process of healing. When you find disharmony in your life – in your heart, your thoughts, or your actions – immediately repent. Change your mind and your heart. Correct your behavior. Turn away from whatever is causing the dysfunction and, with humility and obedience, bring yourself into harmony with Christ and His pure teaching. Set things right. Bring more and more of yourself into alignment with the Way of Life.

You must constantly repent in order to make progress. Whatever you do to promote harmony through repentance will prepare your soul for God’s healing, transforming Grace to work within you.

Read: Ephesians 4.11-16; Colossians 3.1-17; 1 Corinthians 6.12-20; 13.1-13; 1 John 3

October 31, 2017March 13, 2018

28. The Holy Tradition

My box photo (2)

We call the Way of Holy Orthodoxy by another name: Holy Tradition. The Tradition is Holy because it has been revealed to the Church through the Holy Spirit. We also call this Apostolic Tradition because it has been passed down to us through history from the Apostles, whom the Holy Spirit led into all Truth. The Orthodox bishops and priests, having Apostolic succession, are particularly responsible for guarding the Holy Tradition. The Tradition is not just a list of dogmas or doctrines, but our entire Way of Life, the Way that has been preserved, passed down, received, and lived in every generation for nearly two millennia, whole and undefiled.

Holy Tradition includes what the Apostles’ preached and taught after Holy Pentecost. The Old Testament, received by the Church, and the New Testament, written within the Church by members of the Church, is part of the Tradition. Within Holy Tradition, both the Scripture and the correct interpretation of Scripture are held together. Holy Tradition encompasses what we believe, the way we pray and worship, how we express the Faith through our sacred writings, music, and art (iconography), and how we live the Faith in the world. Holy Tradition, then, is opposed to the traditions of men, that is, religious traditions invented by human beings that contradict what God revealed and the Apostles’ taught.

Consider what would happen if a terrible plague swept across the world and you were entrusted with an ancient box, passed down for millennia, containing detailed instructions and all the components necessary to prepare an antidote capable of curing anyone willing to take the medicine. Would you not be careful to preserve and keep safe the whole contents of the box in its entirety? Would you also not make sure that this life-saving gift is used to cure people? This box should not be kept on a shelf like a museum piece because of its outward beauty. It was given to you freely so that you may liberally use its contents to save and protect people in need.

This box is an image of Holy Tradition. Holy Tradition is given to us whole and complete, containing everything necessary for our salvation. The Tradition holds our panacea, the medicine that completely cures the illness of the soul and, ultimately, even death of the body. Within the Church, this box has been passed down to us and received by our generation so that we will use it for the benefit of the world. We bear the noble responsibility to live Holy Tradition faithfully every day and the responsibility (and the honored privilege) to pass it on to others whole and unaltered as we have received it.

800px-Fast_mountain_river_makes_a_hazy_waterfall

Holy Tradition is also like a mountain. It stands high, strong, firm, heavy, and immovable. Yet, Holy Tradition is also like a river that flows from the mountain, nourishing everything drawing its water. If you were to stand in one place on the banks and look at a single point in the river, the light would glimmer on the surface. It is not static, by dynamic. The river flows under, over, and around the rocks and fallen trees effortlessly. It fills wide spaces and narrow passes, shifting shape without altering what it is – its essence. The river moves straight and winds, flowing calmly in silence, rippling gently and quietly, then rushing with a roar.

Holy Tradition is unchanging because it is founded upon the immoveable Truth, which remains constant in all times and in all places. At the same time, Holy Tradition is a living Tradition embodied by Orthodox Christians in the real world. Without changing what it is, Holy Tradition is expressed differently in various times and places. Although the Tradition is immovable and unchanging with regard to Truth, the expression of the Tradition is fluid. Observe the tremendously diverse variety of liturgies, music, art, practices, and cultural traditions within the Church, all embraced by Holy Tradition. While the expressions of Holy Tradition show development and diversity throughout history and across cultures, the variety remains in symphonic harmony with the mind (phronema), ethos, and vision of the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit. Wherever Holy Tradition goes, it fits the culture without compromise. Tradition can fit into a new society where Holy Orthodoxy takes root like water fills a glass, taking its shape to reflect the people who live in that particular place at that particular time. What is good within the society is affirmed and what is not good is either purified or removed.

cracked-diamond-1391540681ogF

Holy Tradition is also like perfectly cut and beautifully clear diamond. The diamond is strong and whole. When light shines on the stone, its interior glows with white-light brilliance. On the surface of the diamond, the light is dispersed, projecting a rainbow of the various colors that together comprise the white light. As the diamond is turned, the light reveals the various angles cut into the singular diamond. Holy Tradition is simple and complex. If you wish to see the beauty of the Holy Tradition, see it in the Light.

Read: Mark 7.7-9; John 16.13; Matthew 28.19-20; Acts 2.42; 2 Thessalonians 2.15; Jude 1.3; Galatians 1.6-24; 2 Timothy 4.1-4

October 30, 2017

26. You are in Good Company

geese-flying-in-v-formation-at-ferry-bluff-wisconsin

The Holy Orthodox Church is a Mystery, whole, pure, and perfect. She is the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ, and the living Temple of God on Earth, indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Individual members of the Church, however, are only personally whole, pure, and perfect to the extent that they have immersed themselves into the Mystery of the Church, the Fountain of Divine Grace, and have been healed and perfected, becoming like Christ.

The Orthodox Church is a Hospital whose patients demonstrate various degrees of sickness and health. Some have achieved tremendous improvement as model patients and others progress slowly in the Intensive Care Unit.

The disease of death in our hearts affects our rational minds and behaviors. Members of the Church are not only patients in the Hospital, but we are all psychiatric patients. (The root of the word psychiatric actually refers to the soul.) Pride makes us delusional, causing us to think we are better than other people. We do not see others as our neighbors. Even though we know that that our lives should be oriented entirely toward God at every moment, we are often irrationally distracted by the passions and temporary things in the world. We know what we should do, but we do the opposite of what is right, good, and nurturing for the soul.

Since the Orthodox Church is the Hospital, do not be surprised to find its floors full of sick people. Where else should sick people go? Although we are affected by death, too, we may be tempted to judge others as unspiritual hypocrites. If someone does suffer from hypocrisy, the Church is where he should be! Perhaps in the past, this person possessed far worse symptoms, but, through the therapeutic life of the Church, he has made tremendous progress. If he is aware of his sickness, he may be improving. If he is not yet aware, be patient with him and pray for him.

A cancer patient in a hospital should not complain that the hospital is full of cancer patients, nor judge others for being sick and week. Since we all suffer from the effects of death, we are in good company among other sick people. Be understanding, compassionate, and lenient with other people. Regarding yourself, be attentive to carefully follow the physician’s instructions. Even though the Physician and Hospital are perfect and lacking nothing, you will not heal if you refuse treatment or fail to follow the therapy prescribed for you. Keep your eyes on your own sins and symptoms and let other patients worry about their own personal failings. You have enough problems of your own to keep you occupied. Keep in mind how much patience and love God has for you so that you remember to extend the same to others.

The Mystery of the Church is where we find spiritual sanity and a clear spiritual vision of the world. It is also where we find the Way to attain sanity and clarity. Attend to your healing so that you may be in good company with the Saints, the members of the Church who have already been healed and perfected. As you work toward your salvation, they offer their help by the examples they showed us while living on Earth and by their present prayers beyond the earthly life near the throne of God.

October 30, 2017October 30, 2017

25. Becoming a Catechumen

Nikolaos_Gyzis,_To_Kryfo_Scholio_-_oil_on_canvas

Once you have placed yourself under the care of an Orthodox priest in a local church, you may be enrolled as a catechumen of the Holy Orthodox Church. A catechumen is a student of the Way of Christ who is preparing for entrance into the Church through Holy Baptism.

Becoming a catechumen means that you believe in Jesus Christ and commit yourself completely to being an Orthodox Christian and to living His Way. This requires repentance and a sincere desire to be obedient to Christ, our Lord and Master. When you join the catechumenate, you renounce all previous attachments to other beliefs and religious groups so that you may come under the spiritual care and protection of Christ’s Holy Church.

As a catechumen, you will immerse yourself in the life of the Orthodox Church as much as possible. You will receive formal instruction from the priest or an instructor, who has been appointed and blessed by the priest to serve as a catechist. You must learn what we believe and how we live the Apostolic Faith in our hearts and in our actions. You should always be present in the communal prayers and worship of the Church alongside Orthodox Christians, as appropriate. You will begin to practice prayer and fasting according to the custom of the Faithful. During this period of preparation, you should get to know the Orthodox Christians around you in the congregation and participate in the social fellowship of the community.

Learning the Tao of Holy Orthodoxy is not an academic exercise. In some respects, it is more like vocational training and military training. Through catechism, you learn the inner way of the heart and mind by experience, which produces faithful, virtuous action. If you are willing to be changed and possess a proper disposition of heart, you will be shaped with the help of Divine Grace into an Orthodox Christian.

As a catechumen, you may not yet receive the Holy Mysteries, the sacred Medicines of the Church. These are reserved for the members of the Church. While you are a catechumen, you prepare your soul to receive the Mysteries with the right disposition of heart in the proper time, when you have been joined to the Church. As the physical marital union and the process of having children are properly the result of a Holy Marriage between a man and woman that has already been accomplished, the reception of the Holy Mysteries is the result (or fruit) of a union with the Church that has already been accomplished. Catechism is a time of sincere repentance and preparation in the present mixed with joyous anticipation of the future.

(Note: Some catechumens have previously been baptized as Christians while separated from the Holy Orthodox Church in one of the many non-Orthodox groups that have resulted from heresy and schism. The Orthodox Church does not recognize such a baptism as valid, but if the form of the baptism is considered sufficiently an Orthodox form, with water in the Name of the Holy Trinity, the catechumen in this situation may be united to the Holy Orthodox Church by being anointed with special oil, Holy Chrism. The Chrismation brings Grace to the previous baptism, completing whatever is lacking, and unites the catechumen to the Church.)

September 30, 2017October 16, 2018

13. Our Summary Diagnosis

California_Drought_Dry_Riverbed_2009

The disease of death shows itself through a variety of interconnected illnesses. Holy Scripture summarizes the effects of death on our human race by describing the how the various consequences affect humanity. These consequences include the darkening of the heart, pride and delusion, misuse of a rational mind disconnected from the heart, forgetfulness of God, the influence of chaotic passions that lead us toward suffering and death, and the struggle to choose good instead of evil.

Near the beginning of his Letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul summarizes the disastrous effects of sin and death on our ancestors in the past. Since we have inherited death, we still experience these affects today. This particular passage (Romans 1.18-32) explains that when our ancestors lost knowledge of the true God, they forgot what it means to be true human beings, made according to the image of God with potential to become like Him. Relationships between the Creator and His creatures, relationships among human beings, the relationships between males and females descended into chaos.

When reading Holy Scripture, understand that the sacred writings sometimes attribute human characteristics, including emotion, to God. The language of God’s wrath in this passage, for example, provides an image humans can understand to describe a Mystery that is beyond understanding. God does not really have anger or wrath, which are human passions, as we do. God is passionless. Besides, the “wrath” of God mentioned is not turned against human beings. The divine wrath is turned against the unnatural sin and death afflicting humankind, which prevents us from receiving the Love and Grace of God and keeps us from following the Way toward our healing, purpose, and potential. Holy Scripture says that God gave us over to do evil, which means that God allowed human beings to turn away from Him and His Way. (God created us with the freedom to choose.) Men and women wanted to follow their own desires, so God permitted them to do so. God is Love. The human being decided to forsake God in order to pursue his own opinions and follow the passions, which lead toward chaos, suffering, and death. (Throughout history, God sent his prophets to remind people that He loved them and desired for them to return from the path of destruction so that they might enjoy goodness and life in relationship with Him.)

If you want to be healed, you need the One Physician who knows your diagnosis perfectly and possesses the Power to cure you from death in both soul and body entirely.

Read: Romans 1.18-32