Contemporary people look for ways of counteracting the pressures and stress of duty, information overload, and social life. As a result, meditation and other spiritual practices are becoming more widespread as people search for serenity. But, in the absence of a tradition as a context for validation, it is difficult to ascertain the effects of such practices on a long run. The Christian spiritual tradition has its own ways of addressing issues such as stress, burnout, fatigue, despondency etc. It also has the advantage of having assessed the outcomes of relevant practices through the ages. This unit discusses techniques of nature contemplation (Clement, Athanasius) and scriptural anagogical reading (Origen, Evagrius), together with measurements of these practices from the viewpoint of their anthropological efficacy in terms of “divine sense-perception” (Athanasius, Diadochus, Maximus), dreaming and visions (Antony, Athanasius, Evagrius), and other charismatic experiences, such as the “burning heart” (miscellaneous philokalic authors). The unit suggests ways of integrating techniques of scriptural and natural contemplation into the contemporary quest for serenity, against the backdrop of Eastern and Oriental Christian spiritual traditions.
- Teacher: p. Doru Costache