Have a look at Shamatha meditation, the true origin of Indian meditation which other cultures took away thousands of years. Most people spend 10-15 minutes a day humming and puffing whatever mantra they are taught by T.M teachers.

I believe you. That follows the pattern of previous Indian spiritual teachings. My understanding of yoga is that the original teachings from Indian gurus were never meant to be “fun” or “pleasant” – real yoga is excruciating. But that doesn’t sell well to fat people in the West who want an easy pseudo-spiritual experience.

If you read the short but dense book ‘The way of Ascetics’, people and religious leaders no longer do what is necessary to cultivate a strong body and character.

That is true. This is the reason why so many churches and denominations these days are so thoroughly cucked out.

I’m not bashing the article, but I do believe that you underestimate any huckster’s ability to shift the perspective of culture. I also think that the fat gluttonous and money thirsty priest completely abandoned the principles of asceticism.

I agree with you. From a Christian perspective, most of this was foretold in the Bible. The Big Cheese Himself made it very clear that most people who come to Him saying, “Lord, Lord!” are people that He will cast out and deny, because they only mouthed the platitudes and didn’t put in the hard work.

A demon, whether real or fictional represents the ultimate wordsmith and if you give even an inch, he will manage to twist the words to fit his narrative. We always rationalize harmful behaviour that we repeat and we always play the best lawyer when it comes to avoiding what is healthy and doing something that feels healthy but is utter garbage in reality.

That’s true. That is why daemons are so dangerous. They seduce us with flattery and easy promises.

People sin because sin is fun and easy and pleasant. Discipline, on the other hand, is difficult and painful and unpleasant. Inevitably, most people choose sin.

Ah, I see… I think.

One can additionally observe that all the good Catholic works were written by monks (Thomas Aquinas, Therese de Lisieux, Sr. Faustina, etc.), whereas the crap-shoot of Vatican 2 documents is authored by secular priests and bishops and cardinals.

Absolutely. Vatican II appears to be the biggest mistake ever made in the history of the Church – and given the nonsense that led to the Reformation, that’s saying something.

Oh no I didn’t mean to correct you, because you are right. Fr. Mark-Mary is in fact technically a priest, as well as a monk. My intention was to make the distinction readily apparent. Most, if not all, bad Catholic shepherds are “secular priests”, ie a priest who isn’t also a monk. One can additionally observe that all the good Catholic works were written by monks (Thomas Aquinas, Therese de Lisieux, Sr. Faustina, etc.), whereas the crap-shoot of Vatican 2 documents is authored by secular priests and bishops and cardinals.

The truth is that in order to really tame your mind you have to first meditate for hours every single day for a few months and Shamatha meditation is not about opening your mind. It’s about focusing on one object at a time. It doesn’t sound sexy when you tell people that they have to focus on their breath for hours every day and keep at it for months before they tame their minds. Frankly, that doesn’t sell well.

Nor does repeating ‘κυριε ιησου χριστε ελεησον με’ for hours a day is something that can be marketed. It’s a short form of prayer and does the job well, but people don’t have enough attention span and patience to practice. Hence, the Christian ‘concerts’. Does that sound familiar?

If you read the short but dense book ‘The way of Ascetics’, people and religious leaders no longer do what is necessary to cultivate a strong body and character.

I’m not bashing the article, but I do believe that you underestimate any huckster’s ability to shift the perspective of culture. I also think that the fat gluttonous and money thirsty priest completely abandoned the principles of asceticism. The whole point of it was to exercise the mind and the body to keep away temptation, but people these days always leave the back door open for temptation to enter in so to speak.

A demon, whether real or fictional represents the ultimate wordsmith and if you give even an inch, he will manage to twist the words to fit his narrative. We always rationalize harmful behaviour that we repeat and we always play the best lawyer when it comes to avoiding what is healthy and doing something that feels healthy but is utter garbage in reality.

From what I’ve seen the Catholics, for all of their faults, do have a superior philosophical and religious legacy relative to any of the other denominations.

By the way, priests and monks are different. Priests, and especially bishops, can very well succumb to the rewards of this world. For an example, look up what kind of house Cardinal Cupich of Chicago lives in.

Fair point. I will attempt to be more careful about the distinctions in the future.

Correct. Following Christ comes at a very dear price for those who seek the approval of the world. The Big Cheese even said so Himself, that it would be costly and difficult, over and over again. It is no surprise that most people don’t want to do anything of the sort but would rather just pay their way to a false salvation.