Blogsite Purpose

Years ago, as a 20-something, I wrote a pop-jazz song called "OCEAN," whose lyrics reflected a struggle with over-introspection. I perceived that as a “deep thinker,” I was too different from others for them to understand me, and also too much of a dark mystery to myself. In these frustrations, I reached a desire to entrust the ambiguities of being to the God whom I believed fashioned the depths and intricacies of human life.

Today, as a thinker who has become a part of the Holy Orthodox Church, I've discovered that the writings of such spiritual directors as St. Theophan the Recluse, Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom), and others encourage one to go down deep into the self. But the reasons, methods, and preferred outcomes of such voyaging are rather different from those I had years ago. These differences are a part of what Bishop Kallistos Ware calls the Orthodox Way.

My purpose for this blogsite is to reflect on our voyage of life from the perspective of the Orthodox Way. I will use Scripture, Liturgical texts, and the writings of the Church Fathers and other persons, from yesteryear to today, to try and garner some portion of their wisdom for the journey. This wisdom is “lagan,” treasure sunk into the sea of murky humanity but not lost; it is attached to a buoy—the merciful Holy Spirit of illumination—so that it may be recovered.