Get the study links over on archive.org https://archive.org/details/the-mountain-of-silence-workbook-public-version/The%20Mountain%20of%20Silence%20Study%20Guide-%20Public%20Version/ Mountain of Silence- It’s a good introduction to Orthodoxy spirituality and affordable. It’s the first book in a three part series. It covers a lot of key Orthodox spiritual terms and topics. Most of the terms are found in the Bible, and I find the usages of the root terms in scripture and have their definitions (mostly from the Vines and Philokalia) and some verses included in a study guide. I also add a lot of other quotes for other books and include useful hyperlinks in the guide’s footnotes. I have documented sources but I didn’t not use a standardized documentation format. I cover the main topics of the book in the study guide and have a lot of quotes from the book. I have two versions of the study guide, one 28 pages long and another workbook 33 pages long. I include also PDF versions and Libre office files so the document can be edited as needed. Covers: Western spirituality vs Orthodoxy, how to pray and methods for getting victory over distracting thoughts like daydreaming Illnesses of the Heart: Ignorance, Forgetfulness, Hardness of Heart, Contamination, Imprudence Terms: Metanoia, Nous, Askesis, Logismos, Plani, Theosis, Catharsis, Temptation, Discrimination, Dispassion, and more Five stages when temped by the logismoi: Assault, Interaction, Consent, Captivity, Passion/Obsession 00:00 Introduction 00:35 What’s been going on 01:14 What I’ve been reading 02:32 Neo-gnostics and proto-Protestantism 05:05 Other related books 06:09 The workbook 06:48 Glossary and dictionary for terms 07:59 E-sword 08:47 Back to The Mountain of Silence 10:18 About the book 11:01 Quote 1 12:01 Illness of the heart and key terms 12:39 Quote 2 13:38 Quote 3 14:06 Quote 4 14:20 Quote 5 14:44 Conclusion

Chapter Sections: 00:00 Intro 03:11 The focus of the attention 04:46 About the book 06:47 Authors included in the anthology 08:13 Book topics and their page numbers 11:02 Quotes from the book 15:32 Conclusion The Art of Prayer: An Orthodox Anthology by Igumen Chariton is a collection of quotes with short title descriptions and the attribution of each author that Igumen Chariton collected during the course of his life. He would write down the quotes of authors that he would read and ended up with a collection that makes this book. The majority of the quotes are about interior prayer and the Jesus prayer and these make a great introductory manual into the Orthodox spiritual life. Apart from Theophan and Ignatii, Father Chariton also quotes on occasion from other Russian authorities of the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, such as Bishops Justin and Nikon, and St. John of Kronstadt. As well as these Russian writers, he includes a number of Greek texts—for example, passages from St. Mark the Monk and the Homilies of St. Makarios, from Sts. Barsanouphios and John, St. Simeon the New Theologian, Sts. Gregory of Sinai and Gregory Palamas. A few Syriac Fathers make their appearance, such as St. Ephraim and St. Isaac; also a Latin Father, St John Cassian. This book covers topics such as: natural fruit of prayer vs. grace (p125-126), warmth of heart because of concentration (p136), going from human effort to divine grace (p145), illusion vs. grace (p147), spiritual hedonism (p160), our experience of grace before and after baptism (p172), description of the ‘eye of the spirit’ and what the spirit of man is (p179), the dangers of the imagination (p182), attention in the heart for everyone and also a description of what the mind and heart are (p184, p191), the heart is the spiritual faculty that is the innermost man (p190), Nepsis (p194), prayer and fasting in the world (p53, 251-252), those outside the faith receive a natural spiritual consolation not a grace given state (p259), prelest illusion and those who despise the Jesus Prayer (p264-270), freedom from distraction (p275) Price on Amazon $16.89 and can be purchased for cheaper used for around $10. I would recommend checking bookfinder.com for a cheaper price. ISBN: 9780571191659 https://www.amazon.com/Art-Prayer-Orthodox-Anthology/dp/0571191657/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3IKMXLHACLDJ4&keywords=the+art+of+prayer&qid=1661425060&sprefix=the+art+of+praye%2Caps%2C151&sr=8-1

In this video I briefly go over my former experiences in Pentecostalism and the Charismatic movement and then to my journey into the Orthodox Church.

“A Night in the Desert of the Holy Mountain” by Metropolitan Hierotheos is a recording of conversations that Metropolitan Hierotheos had with an Elder on Mt. Athos while he was still an Archimandrite. After his conversations with the Elder, he jotted the conversations down as to not forget what the Elder had said. In Greece it is a spiritual classic and has had over 9 editions with many printings in the original Greek. It has been translated into French, Spanish, Russian, and Arabic, as well as English, which has had multiple editions and printings. This book is a fantastic read about the Jesus Prayer and the Orthodox interior life and proceeds from one topic to the next and is a great primer on how to pray. The book is 204 pages and at the back of the book there is a glossary of 8 pages of important terms. Currently it can be purchased for about $26 brand new with some slightly cheaper books on the used market. In this book the Elder discusses the Orthodox Hesychastic life and how it differs with the New Age and other philosophical and religious traditions (pgs 45, 50-52). He discusses the soul and its three powers: nous, desire (the appetitive power), and will (the incensive power) (pg57). He talks about the concentration, attention, and watchfullness (pgs 58, 61-66, 81, 84). He also talks about, the body during prayer, imagination, discernment, repentance, keeping the commandments, and the Jesus Prayer, which is the main focus of the book. He also talks about Theosis, and the Uncreated Light. 00:00 Intro 02:10 Topics 03:05 Cat Problems ;( 03:52 Quotes 05:30 Conclusion