Reset your spiritual life. Get out of your comfort zone and go deep.

Summary

The speaker addresses a deeply personal email about the struggle with faith and the fear of losing it, drawing parallels to their own experiences. They discuss the risk of formalizing faith and the importance of a personal spiritual reset, urging the listener to delve deep into their beliefs, challenge themselves, and create a genuine connection with Christ. The message is a heartfelt call to rediscover the essence of faith and to embrace the journey of spiritual growth, even in the face of fear and uncertainty.

Takeaways

• 🙏 The speaker acknowledges the struggle of losing faith and the fear of drifting away from spiritual connection, particularly after experiencing a significant loss.
• 🌱 The speaker suggests that faith can sometimes become formalized or institutionalized, leading to a disconnection from its true essence.
• 🔄 The concept of 'resetting' one's faith is introduced, likening it to resetting a machine to its factory settings, but with the aim of reconnecting with God and love.
• 📣 Two announcements are made: the opening of summer pilgrimages to Iona and other islands, and the offer of free hospitality at the monastery for shorter visits.
• 🗺️ The speaker invites participation in pilgrimages not only for spiritual growth but also as a means of supporting the monastery's survival and work.
• 🏛️ Mention of a pilgrimage to Moldavia, the speaker's monastic home, highlighting the richness of the region's monastic and spiritual history.
• 🤝 The speaker expresses a desire to meet people in person during upcoming visits to the United States, offering hugs and blessings beyond the digital medium.
• 💔 The importance of revisiting the foundational reasons for one's faith is emphasized, especially after experiencing a traumatic event.
• 🛑 The speaker warns against the dangers of prioritizing worldly life over spiritual life, which can lead to an internal conflict and a weakened faith.
• 🧗‍♂️ An encouragement to delve deep into one's faith, to challenge and explore the depths of spirituality without relying on comfort zones.
• 🔥 The necessity of creating a personal and transformative relationship with Christ, moving beyond superficial practices to a genuine and profound connection.
• 🔮 The power of icons and solitude in deepening one's spiritual journey, as well as the importance of finding what resonates personally in one's quest for faith.

Q & A

What is the main concern expressed by the person in the transcript?

The main concern is the feeling of their faith slowly draining away, similar to a broken vessel losing water, and the fear of returning to a state of almost losing their faith.

What traumatic event is mentioned in the transcript that affected the person's faith in the past?

The person lost their best friend to cancer about seven years ago, which caused their life to collapse and their faith to barely survive.

What is the speaker's advice for someone experiencing a crisis of faith?

The speaker advises going through a 'reset' process, similar to resetting a machine to factory settings, but with the aim of resetting oneself to the foundation of faith and the love of God.

What is the risk mentioned in the transcript that can affect one's faith?

The risk is that we might institutionalize or formalize our faith, which can lead to a disconnection from the living essence of faith.

What is the significance of the summer pilgrimages mentioned in the transcript?

The summer pilgrimages are organized week-long trips to beautiful parts of Mall Iona and other islands, providing an opportunity for participants to pray and connect with their faith in a deeper way.

What is the speaker's view on the balance between spiritual and worldly life?

The speaker believes that ideally, spiritual and worldly life should be imbued with each other, with life in the world being a form of prayer itself. However, often one is prioritized over the other, leading to an internal split and tension.

What does the speaker suggest as a way to rediscover one's faith?

The speaker suggests going deep into one's faith, challenging everything, and creating a secret with Christ, doing something that resembles walking on water or doing good deeds in secret.

What is the importance of the 'core of your being' in the context of the transcript?

The 'core of your being' refers to the true self, the foundation of one's faith. Rediscovering this core is essential to rebuilding faith anew and reconnecting with God.

What role do icons play in the speaker's personal spiritual journey?

Icons are essential to the speaker's spiritual journey, providing a means of connection with God, especially during times of solitude and deep contemplation.

What is the speaker's advice for maintaining the spiritual 'heat' of one's heart?

The speaker advises against opening the 'door of the heart' unwisely, as it can lead to the loss of spiritual heat that took a long time to build. Instead, one should create a secret with Christ and engage in acts of devotion and service.

Outlines

00:00

🙏 Spiritual Dryness and Faith Crisis

The speaker begins by sharing a personal struggle with spiritual dryness and a fear of losing faith. They recount the experience of losing a best friend to cancer, which nearly shattered their faith. Despite attempts to maintain religious practices, the speaker feels their faith slipping away, akin to a broken vessel losing water. They express gratitude for the heartfelt email from Seraphima, which resonates deeply with their own experience, and acknowledges the risk of institutionalizing faith and the need for a 'reset' to reconnect with God and love.

05:02

🌳 Announcing Summer Pilgrimages and Free Hospitality

The speaker announces the availability of summer pilgrimages to the beautiful isles of Mull, Iona, and others, which have been organized annually since 2014 or 2015. These pilgrimages offer a week-long spiritual journey, including time at the Monastery of Caninian on Iona. For those unable to commit to a full week or lacking the means, the monastery continues to offer free hospitality for up to three nights. Additionally, there is mention of a pilgrimage to the painted monasteries of Moldavia, the speaker's monastic home, which promises an overwhelming experience of the region's rich monastic heritage. The speaker also plans to visit the United States, with stops in Tennessee and California, offering an opportunity for in-person meetings and blessings.

10:03

🔄 Rediscovering Faith and Prioritizing Spiritual Life

The speaker discusses the need to rediscover the foundational reasons for becoming a Christian, beyond childhood baptism or parental influence. They emphasize the importance of personal conversion and the risk of formalizing faith, which can lead to an internal conflict between worldly and spiritual selves. The speaker encourages a deep dive into one's faith, challenging the comfort zones and the idolatry of a self-created God. They advocate for a radical realignment with the true God, as revealed in the gospels and teachings of the Holy Fathers, to avoid the pitfalls of a superficial spirituality.

15:04

🚶‍♂️ Embracing the Spiritual Journey and Overcoming Fear

The speaker calls for a profound exploration of one's spiritual life, urging individuals to venture into the depths of their faith where they may confront their fears and doubts. They caution against settling for a superficial, comfort-zone spirituality and instead advocate for a transformative relationship with Christ that is both loving and awe-inspiring. The speaker encourages acts of faith that may seem irrational to the worldly self but are life-giving to the spiritual self, such as wild camping in prayer or secretly performing good deeds for others.

20:06

🕊️ Rebuilding Faith and Finding One's True Self

In the final paragraph, the speaker offers guidance on how to rebuild faith by pressing the 'reset button' and rediscovering the foundational beliefs that anchor one's spirituality. They stress the importance of creating a personal and secret bond with Christ, which can involve solitary retreats or immersion in acts of charity. The speaker also highlights the significance of icons in facilitating a deeper connection with the divine. They conclude by blessing the audience, encouraging them to delve into the core of their being to find and embrace their true selves in the light of God's image.

Keywords

💡Faith

Faith in the context of this video refers to a deep trust and belief in God, particularly in the Christian tradition. It is central to the theme as the speaker discusses the struggle of maintaining faith amidst personal trials and the fear of losing it. The video emphasizes the importance of rediscovering the foundation of one's faith, as illustrated by the speaker's own journey and the email from Seraphima.

💡Desert

The term 'desert' metaphorically represents a spiritual wasteland or a period of dryness in one's faith life. In the script, it is used to describe the emotional and spiritual state of the speaker and Seraphima, who feel disconnected from their faith and are seeking to rekindle their spiritual connection.

💡Reset

The concept of 'reset' is used to suggest a process of spiritual renewal or a return to the original state of faith. It is likened to a machine being reset to factory settings, implying that individuals should periodically reassess and realign their beliefs and practices with their spiritual core, as discussed by the speaker in response to Seraphima's email.

💡Spiritual Life

Spiritual life denotes the aspect of an individual's existence that is devoted to matters of faith, religion, and the pursuit of a deeper connection with the divine. The video script discusses the balance between spiritual life and worldly life, emphasizing the importance of not prioritizing one over the other to avoid internal conflict.

💡Traumatic Event

A traumatic event, as mentioned in the script, is a deeply distressing or disturbing occurrence that can significantly impact a person's life and faith. The speaker refers to the loss of a loved one to cancer as an example of such an event, which can challenge and even temporarily extinguish one's faith.

💡Rediscovering

Rediscovering in the video script refers to the process of re-examining and re-establishing one's faith and spiritual connection. It is a key part of the message, as the speaker encourages Seraphima and others to revisit the origins of their faith to overcome periods of spiritual dryness.

💡Spiritual Comfort Zones

Spiritual comfort zones are the safe, familiar areas of one's faith practice where growth and challenge are minimized. The speaker warns against settling in these zones, as they can lead to a superficial and idolatrous form of faith that lacks depth and authenticity.

💡Foundation of Faith

The foundation of faith represents the core beliefs and principles upon which an individual's spiritual life is built. In the video, the speaker advises returning to this foundation when faith is challenged, as it provides a solid base for spiritual growth and recovery.

💡Christ

Christ, in this video, is the central figure of the Christian faith and the source of spiritual life and hope. The speaker discusses the need to create a personal relationship with Christ, moving beyond superficial beliefs to a deep, transformative connection.

💡Transformation

Transformation in the script refers to the process of being fundamentally changed or reformed, particularly in relation to one's spiritual life. The speaker encourages viewers to allow themselves to be reshaped in the image of Christ, rather than shaping Christ to fit their own comfort or expectations.

💡Icons

Icons, in the context of this video, are religious images or symbols, often used in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, that serve as a focus for prayer and meditation. The speaker mentions icons as essential tools for personal devotion and connection with the divine.

Highlights

Personal struggle with faith and prayer, feeling a loss of connection with God.

The fear of losing faith, a deeply personal and frightening experience.

Past experience of losing a best friend to cancer, which nearly shattered faith.

The process of faith recovery after a traumatic event, and the recognition of similar signs of spiritual desert.

The risk of institutionalizing or formalizing faith, leading to a disconnect.

The concept of a 'reset' in faith, akin to resetting a machine to factory settings.

Announcement of summer pilgrimages to spiritual locations, offering a chance for communal prayer and reflection.

Invitation to join week-long pilgrimages or enjoy the monastery's free hospitality.

The importance of supporting the monastery through pilgrimages for survival and spiritual growth.

Upcoming personal visits to the United States for spiritual meetings and blessings.

The need for a personal rediscovery of the reasons for becoming a Christian.

The impact of prioritizing worldly life over spiritual life, causing an internal conflict.

The necessity of returning to the foundational reasons for faith, such as the fear of death and the desire for eternal existence.

Encouragement to delve deep into one's faith, confronting fears and challenging oneself spiritually.

The danger of creating a 'comfort zone' in faith that leads to idolatry and a false image of God.

The importance of creating a personal and secret relationship with Christ, moving beyond superficial spirituality.

The transformative power of engaging in acts of service and charity as a form of deep spiritual practice.

The personal journey of rediscovering one's true self and the image of God within.

The significance of icons and solitude in deepening one's spiritual connection.

The promise of a renewed and reborn faith after pressing the 'reset' button on one's spiritual life.

Transcripts

in the last year or so I have slowly

become a very dry in my prayer

and I have started to fear that I may be

losing my faith

I cannot imagine my life without Christ

I cannot even say the words I do not

believe

but something is changing in me

and I am frightened

about seven years ago I lost my best

friend to cancel I'm so sorry

when he died my whole life collapsed and

my faith was barely surviving

it was a disaster in my life and I

functioned for a while maybe a full year

as if I had no faith until somehow my

love and my trust in God returned

nothing like that happened this time

but I recognized the signs I recognize

the same desert around me

I try to fit as much time in church as I

can I pray as much as I am able but

slowly I feel as if my faith is draining

out of me like a broken vessel that is

losing water

this scares me very much because I know

the hell of almost losing my faith and I

do not want to return there

oh this is such a beautiful such a a

painful but such a beautiful email thank

you thank you very much seraphima this

this is a something that goes straight

to my heart

and I know

I know what you're talking about

unfortunately or by the grace of God it

depends how you look at it I know what

it feels like to to have experienced

life with capital life in you and then

to only

be left with the memory of life where

life wants dwelt you just have this

Shadow and a memory which is almost

painful

and

there is a risk that we we

institutionalize our faith there is a

risk that we somehow formalize our faith

and that can have this effect

Earth is also you know as in your

experience

um something horrible like losing

someone whom we love dearly or a

traumatic event can challenge our faith

but

but the time now is for you to go

through almost like like a reset

you know like those machines or whatever

machines We Buy in our homes if they

have a reset button and reset them to

factory settings we need to from time to

time press that button in ourselves and

reset ourselves to to factory settings

only that instead of being you know made

in China or made in the USA we are made

in gold and by God in love and by love

so we need to reset our settings to God

and to love

but before I go into that I've already

been you know Carried Away by it because

I genuinely love your letter it does so

much heart in it but before I go into it

I have I have to make two announcements

and I don't want the things to be mixed

up so allow me to do this for half a

minute

the first one is that I've realized I

have never actually announced to all of

you that we have opened our summer

pilgrimages every summer as you know

since I believe

2014 or 15. we are running these

organized week-long pilgrimages that

take you to the most beautiful parts of

Mall Iona and some of the other islands

around Mal and Iona such as Saint

Brandon's island or Saint Kenneth's

Island

we go there together we pray there

together we spend a full week

on mall at the monastery at caninian and

on Iona in our pilgrimage on the island

of Iona

and if you are interested in joining us

we still have places available for some

reason I always forget that YouTube is

not Facebook so when I announce

something on Facebook I imagine that

I've already died here as well so I'll

leave the details in the first comment

to this video if you are interested in

joining us please do

if you do not have the time to be with

us for a full week or if you don't have

the funds to afford one of these long

paid pilgrimages that's fine we still

carry on our monastic tradition of

welcoming you and offering you free

Hospitality so three nights whenever you

come assuming within the limits of our

you know accommodation you can stay with

us for free we'll feed you we'll talk to

you we'll play with you we'll give you

all our love

this week long

um pilgrimages allow us to get to places

we are not

able to get to otherwise simply because

it's it's expensive to run sailing boats

and to rent motor boats and to you know

move about uh to do these things and it

also Keeps Us Alive and there's no shame

in working for your survival there's no

shame in work there's no shame in

survival

so if you can come and join these

pilgrimages you are welcome and you are

greatly contributing to our Monastery if

you cannot come you are still welcome

and we would love to meet you person to

person and to play with you

and there is also a pilgrimage to

Moldavia to the painted monasteries of

Moldavia that's my home that's my

monastic home and um it's like taking

you in my in my parents living room or

in the old home where my grandparents

used to live and where I was a child

um maybe I should record a video about

that one because it is something that

especially you Christians in the west

you have a hundred percent not

experienced the madness

The Madness of a small region small

region that has hundreds of monasteries

and skids and hermitages and this does

not include the hundreds of Parish

churches and missions and everything

else

it is so beautiful that it just it's

overwhelming and I need to prepare

better if I am to present that

pilgrimage to you

and to finish this

um speaking of pilgrimages I shall visit

your country if you live in the United

States for two Sundays I think it's the

weekend of February

12th and February 19th

so if you're anywhere close to Franklin

in Tennessee

I shall be at the Parish of Saint

Ignatius there if you're anywhere close

to Santa Rosa in California I shall be

at the Cathedral of Saint sarafim in

Santa Rosa

and I shall also be

next week actually on

Thursday

I'll include the dates below but the

Cathedral of Saint John maximovic or San

Francisco in San Francisco so if you

want to meet in person if you want to

just have a chat I would love to get

Beyond this

machine and just be able to give you a

proper proper monastic hug and a proper

in-person blessing

now we owe a lot to to seraphima because

this this is clearly an email she wrote

out of her heart

and um

and it requires an answer from one's

heart

we've said that sometimes not only you

seraphim about all of us we have to go

through a process of

rediscovering

the reason why we've become Christians

in the first place I'm not talking about

just being baptized as a child I'm not

talking about being dragged to church by

your parents I'm talking about that

process of a personal conversion you

need to go back to the stone to the

foundation of your faith and sometimes

that is challenged because of a

traumatic event something like losing

someone you love very dearly and the

experience of you losing your friend is

such an event

but most of the times it happens because

we have slowly managed to somehow

formalize our faith

and turn something that was meant to be

alive into something that is just a

formality

and that happens almost always because

there's

a misbalance between our priorities we

have our spiritual life and we have the

worldly life

ideally

they are

imbued with each other ideally your life

in the world is prayer itself

and perhaps we should talk about that in

some other video but what happens in in

the case of most of us is that we make a

choice and we prioritize one over the

other

and if we prioritize our worldly

existence our worldly life over our

spiritual life

that creates a tension in you it's

almost as if that creates another you

within you you've got the worldly self

and then you've got the spiritual self

and there is a tension between them

because each of them demons their rights

they all scream for their rights and

that creates a split an internal split

in you and that is going to be painful

and out of that either one or the other

will win

there's no way both of them can win

and this is begins

you need to go back to the stone that

Foundation of your faith for some of us

such as in my case that is a fear of

death not death as in the process of

dying of course I'm not looking forward

to it like anyone else but it's not that

that scares me it's the thought of

going back into nothingness

thought that everything that that that

spark of of being of existence in me and

in you and in every human being I've met

might somehow be extinguished

that thought

is us alive today in me as it was 20

something years ago when I decided to

enter a monastery

that for me is the bottom line that is

the stone foundation of my faith

a need to fight for my being so that I

may be and not be extinguished into

nothingness

go deep my dear Sarafina go deep go

where the waters are deep swimming The

Most Dangerous Waters go into the most

dangerous zones of your faith go where

you are afraid to go don't revert back

into our spiritual comfort zones because

we all build them up but the thing the

truth about these spiritual comfort

zones is that they are built around a

fake God they are built around an idol

and it's actually a process of idolatry

rather than believing in Christ the

Living God and that's what I meant by

formalization

go deep go where it's dangerous go where

you're afraid forget about the forgive

me

lovey-dovey version of Christ my best

friend who travels this journey of life

with me holding my hand and we skip

together through fill the flowers that

doesn't exist

that doesn't exist except in like you

know kindergarten Christianity

Christ God is frightening not in the way

in which someone who wants to harm us is

frightening but he is frightening

because he is the only source of being

and our only hope to be in eternity to

exist in eternity to be be one with him

our only hope is his free will his free

love for us and it is a frightening a

paralyzing thought that somehow we might

lose that

that's our only hope

don't revert in your comfort zones

because in a comfort zone

we worship a god whom we created

according to our image we take God as

revealed in the gospel and by the

teaching of the Holy fathers and then

instead of holding on to the fullness of

the revelation we pick and choose we

choose to ignore parts we don't like and

we exacerbate the parties that we love

and instead of looking at God as he is

as he revealed himself to us

instead of doing that we end up looking

at praying to and worshiping a God we

have created according to our weakness

we take the revealed God and we reshape

him in the image of our fallenness

instead of that and where life resides

where life dwells we should

allow ourselves to be reshaped in the

image of his being

that's what I mean when I say don't look

for an easy way out there is no easy way

out this is a matter of not even life

versus death

because every human being Christian or

not a Believer or not has to deal with

that we all know that we should die and

we all have to deal with that and every

human being even non-christians or

non-believers find a way to deal with

death this is a question of falling back

into nothingness

all being

residing dwelling existing in the being

of God in the act of God's being in

eternity

this is the battle this is what is a

stake

and for this you cannot

play it's safe you cannot

go where it's comfortable and easy

faith is not meant to be easy faith is

supposed to crucify us

which is what you're experiencing

so that we discover that the source of

True Life capital L is in Christ alone

not in the world

create

a story with Christ

create a secret with him make him his

accomplice in your secret spiritual life

close the door

of your room the door of your heart

and make it all happen in the remember

the words of the desert fathers who

taught us that it takes long years or

decades to heat up ourselves

the room of our heart it takes decades

to make a fire and to heat it up and it

takes one hour of opening it unwisely

in order to lose all that heat that it

took so long to create

create a secret with Christ do something

that resembles in your life walking on

water do something wild do jump in your

faith let go of the tediousness and the

safety nets of your daily spiritual life

and do something that is mad

in the eyes of the world around you and

in the perception of your worldly self

because what is mad and unjustified in

the perceptions of your worldly self is

going to be life-giving

for your spiritual self

go deep deep inside my dear Sarah FEMA

don't be afraid to challenge everything

in you because if you do it in a spirit

of obedience if you do it in a spirit of

humility before God and with complete

nakedness honesty before him if you do

it not as an act of rebellion but as an

act of honest truthful searching for him

he will be there guiding you he will be

there blessing you and

pouring upon you much more than you

could have even hoped for go deep deep

deep to the core of your being to the

marrow of yourself of your true self

discover the being the core of your

being and bless it and and act on it you

know I frequently end these videos by

blessing you and I say may may you be

blessed with the core of your being to

the marrow of your being I don't mean

that

as beautiful words as a metaphor I

actually have this in my mind I actually

mean the core of your being the marrow

of who you are what makes you uniquely

yourself

do whatever works for you to get back in

touch with that

and then

and then once you've rediscovered who

you are face again this loving yet

frightful

all inspiring God

swim deep though where all dwells were

all resides and that's where you'll

ReDiscover Who You Are

and that's how you're going to

ReDiscover close True Image reflected on

who you are

if you lose sight of Who You Are

it is impossible to clearly see the

reflected image of God in your heart

I could give you lots of examples of

what this means but it's so personal

it's so Uniquely Yours that the examples

I've heard from others in confession may

seem completely off to you but just as

an example I know people who go wild

camping they just they just take three

four a week off and they just take a

tent and they go all alone and they just

pray in the wilderness and that actually

works for them I know people who do the

opposite they just immerse themselves in

doing good deeds for other people I know

people who just cook until they drop and

then they go out on this feeding spree

and they share food with all the

homeless people that they can meet in

the hometown and they do that for a few

days or they do it recurrently a few

days every week or at least you know a

few days every month

and they do it all in secret

for the reason I've told you because if

it's not your secret with God if it's

not your secret with Christ the glue

between you and him is very

comes undone very easily

for me

I require to be alone

physically removed I require a physical

distance between me and other human

beings

the greater that distance the more alone

I am the more space I have to look

around and see nothing

the closer I am to Christ

the more I can literally fall down and

scream

until I pour my being out

the closer I am to God

and icons icons are essential to me so

hiding somewhere all alone I've I've

actually experienced when I was in

Moldavia in my Monastery moments of such

deep

I don't want to call it depression

because it wasn't depression I've I've

experienced depression as well and I

know the difference it's just a lack of

life that all I wanted to do and all

I've done was to just hide in a closet

you just go into a closet or you hide

under your bed I've done both and you

stay there for hours and just staring

staring at an icon or staring at a white

wall if that white wall for you is an

image of God's

unknowable essence

anything everything can work if it is

the right thing for you but only you and

your spiritual father will know what the

right thing is for you

press that reset button my dear

seraphimov

and I promise you that once you hit

tone again once you find that Foundation

of your faith again

you will be able to rebuild your faith

not as before but completely anew

completely on you

be blessed

all of you my dear ones be blessed to

the Core

the foundation the marrow of your being

amen

amen

amen