Watchfulness

Every one of us has the God given power and freedom to connect to our Creator and to refuse those thoughts that are damaging that connection. The quality of our lives depends on the quality of the thoughts we nurture in our minds and hearts. How do we remove pesky logosmoi (strong and persistent thoughts that do not originate with us) and nurture the mindset that unites us with God’s will?

Come learn more about the ancient Orthodox practice, which the Fathers call the forerunner of spiritual knowledge. In the context of the ancient Church writings, "watchfulness means wakefulness, or fine and vigilant guarding of the heart and mind, attentiveness, or guarding the intellect."

The soul is fit when it knows a lot about itself (that is, what God made it to be and how to work with God), say the Holy Fathers. When is readily sees and accepts reality... "When is it is able to prevail against whatever psychological and spiritual obstacles it may face... When it can protect itself from spiritual harm... When it is using its free will for its own greatest benefit.

During this one day retreat, we will explore Watchfullness on several different levels and try out some warm-up techniques that may help your practice.