Just recently I ran across the statement that “experience changes us more than understanding”–meaning that what we do or what happens to us, our experiences and our environment, has a more profound effect on us than simply what we are taught, read, study and understand with our minds.

The deepest level of understanding from which our instinctive action arises could be said to be our ‘gut’. Even our thoughts are effected by these ‘gut feelings’ and understanding. Experiences seem to bypass the mind and directly effect us at this visceral level. So we are not usually even aware of how we are being effected and changed by our experiences.

The practices of the Church reflect the understanding of this important means of communicating with the deepest levels of our being through experience and thus we worship not only with our minds and words but with our whole body–all of the senses.

We cannot control all of our experiences but we should be aware of the effects they have on us and be very mindful and careful about the experiences and environmental factors we can control.

In the context of what you wrote – “Bad company ruins good morals” – I long agi started to ask myself a question: why crowds of people are sometimes so aggressive? Why do i feel so uncomfortable & insure when I found myself among a lot of people, and thus hated stadiums, circus, demonstration… Even when I saw them shown on TV I feel like switcing on the programme or switching off the TV at all. It also happens that when people unite into organisations, which may primarily not carry any aggressive or radical character, in the course of time transfer into something like that. Even the idea of the organisation can be at first quite noble by appearance, but then it transforms into its direct antipode. The notion of unity, friendship acquires not a proposition “with”, but – “against” somebody. Maybe it is because the individuals there have not acquire individual godliness? and the soul corruption, which takes place in the individual is multipled when he appeares in the company of those who are similar to him in this respect? But it is obvious that ungodly spirit gains more power when in the crowd. I don’t know exactly, and cannot explain clearly to myself how & why it happens…but events show that dependence…

To distinguish between what is god & what is bad is not that simple, as I noticed, as it may seem. On the surface it’s clear, especially when we have God’s Commandments. But we often face tangled, complicated, inexplicable situations when we find ourselves totally helpless – to distinguish & to act correctly. The ablity to be correct (of course, like Orthodoxes) – depends on our ability to feel God’s will. This ability depends, in its turn, on how we succeed (or not) in following God’s Commandments. Ou failure in this leads us often to some strange decisions or actions, which we might have even not expected from ourselves, but which at the concrete moment “seem”to us very right, even righteous. But in reality they are often a result og our passions & errors. And when a company, a crowd of people is misled like that – it main ruin much.

In this respect, I am also convinced that regular reading, studying of what is definitely, undoubtedly correct – The Scripture, Fathers, Psalms… is the imperishable value. It cleans our mind, enlightens our soul, teaches us what is really godly, distracts our feelings from the secular world, at the same time giving us force & courage to survive in it…

“Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly”.
Really he is blessed. As we all know how not very simple to refuse, to draw the line, we shouuld be ready to sacrifice much. As the ungodly will not be in raptures at our silent opposition, even if we act kindly towards them & do not disturb them.

I read a phrase which seems to me very timely: “The one who does not accept the spirit of the world, is doomed to torture by the spirit of the world”. I am not sure, it’s a liberal translation, but the idea seemed to me actual.

Thank you, Father.