“When I say someone has caught the Eastern spirit and abandoned the European, I mean that he has left behind logic, rationalism and has instead taking hold of simplicity and piety because that is the Orthodox spirit within which Christ rests, simplicity and piety. Today even spiritual people are often lacking in simplicity, the sacred simplicity that comforts the soul. If we do not renounce the secular spirit and do not adapt to the simple way – in other words if we do not stop being preoccupied with how others see us, or with what they say about us – we will never experience kinship with God and the Saints. But for this to happen we need to move to the spiritual realm. The more we live with simplicity, especially in a group (cenobium), the fewer bumps from our passions and the smoother we become. Otherwise we end up creating a fake person. This is why we must always strive to get rid of the secular carnival and become angels.”
Elder Paisios
~With Pain and Love