The Philokalia is an anthology of texts which are concerned with finding God within the human soul. It is founded upon a philosophical tradition which draws upon Plato, Aristotle and the Stoics, and a Christian tradition which, beginning with the New Testament authors, continued through Clement, Origen and the early patristic authors, and found its first flourishing in the Desert Fathers. In particular it draws upon the psychological insights of Evagrios of Pontus concerning the?eight thoughts? or passions. The concept of the passions represents a sophisticated phenomenology of the inner life which explains why people fail to adhere to the virtues that they espouse and make judgements which do not withstand the light of reason. It thus provides fertile theological ground for exploring the process of temptation. An understanding of the role of demons in provoking the passions maintains the tension necessary to recognise both external influence and inner motivation; both the way in which human beings are acted upon, and also the way in which they must accept personal responsibility. The passions are both an aspect of the human soul, but also something external which influences from without. They are the focus of an inner struggle against an enemy that threatens to destroy and enslave. The passions are?hostile pleasures?. In a dynamic process, which invites comparison with the phenomenon of addiction, they both confer pleasure and pain, they attract and enslave, they seduce and destroy. The Philokalia was compiled as a?guide to the practice of the contemplative life?. The radical remedies that it sought to provide for the passions were each included with a view to the fundamental vision of prayer which made radical sacrifice worthwhile. They are not cures which will simply make the problem go away, but they offer a way of life which may subdue and overcome the passions in pursuit of a theological vision of human well-being. They include a practical life of ascetic discipline, watchfulness, psalmody, and prayer. According to the Philokalia, to be a flourishing human being is to participate as fully as human beings may in the life of God in Christ. To this end, it is concerned primarily with the flourishing or well-being of the inner life of human beings. However, this is an inner life of a different kind than contemporary discourse acknowledges. Although the Philokalia exercises a kind of reflexivity, it is not the radical reflexivity that Taylor traces back to Augustine. Although it offers an objectification of (what we would call) emotions, desires and feelings, it is not Taylor?s Cartesian disengagement. Perhaps most importantly, the expressivism that gives us positive cause to articulate our own unique understanding of the voice of nature within us is completely inverted in the world of the Philokalia, which is much more concerned with our awareness of the negativity of the passions within and reaching out to the?measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ? beyond. But this is only to acknowledge its situation within an anthropology formed by Platonic philosophy and Christian theology in relative isolation from many of the trends that Taylor identifies. The Philokalia is nonetheless concerned with a radical vision of the inner life which shows as much perceptiveness of the subtleties, deceptions, intricacies and aspirations of human thoughts as anything that has come after it. The Philokalia offers a kind of psychotherapy, but it has a vision of a radically different kind of therapy than contemporary psychologies acknowledge. The Philokalia insists on discussing everything in primarily theological terms. The effect of this is not simply to broaden the discussion in such a way that God must be included, but rather it offers an invitation to encounter God in prayer. It then understands the inner world of thoughts and feelings as something that must be discussed if a conversation about prayer is to begin. Rather than being a manual for psychotherapy, the Philokalia invites us to pray. In order that we progress in prayer, it advises that we will need to talk about things which are now more usually considered the domain of psychotherapy. Whereas Freud?s patient, Anna O, saw the treatment that she was offered as a?talking cure?, the Philokalia offers a?praying cure?. The Philokalia demonstrates that thoughts are powerful. They have the capacity to enslave and control, to deceive, to blind, to make sick and to kill. But they also have the capacity to set free, to empower, to illuminate, to heal and to bring life. Thoughts have the power to deny prayer, and to enable prayer, to obscure God and to reveal God. How may the Philokalia be interpreted for a post-Cartesian, post-Kantian philosophical age where dualism is frowned upon and the nature of the subjective self is no longer universally agreed upon? The language of inwardness is common to psychotherapy and the Philokalia, even if they have different emphases and interpretations to offer. Both worlds of discourse recognise that the psyche is in need of a cure, even if they have different anthropologies, diagnoses and prescriptions to offer. The Philokalia offers a non-dualistic way of discussing the inner life. Although it is pre-Kantian in its suppositions, its effectively?phenomenological? approach to the self works surprisingly well in a post-Kantian world. The kind of?pure prayer? towards which the Philokalia leads its reader requires that prayers be purified of thoughts that are not true, and it is not possible to identify which thoughts these are without some kind of hermeneutical process by means of which to interpret their true meaning. Equally, to pray truly requires that a true interpretation of thoughts be made, in order that these thoughts may be offered to God in prayer. Eventually, however, thoughts in any ordinary human sense become inadequate for prayer, just as all human language is inadequate to express the superabundant excess of meaning that is God. The Philokalia offers a therapeutic programme aimed at finding God in prayer. In order to implement this programme, it is necessary to undergo a kind of psychotherapy. The psychotherapy of the Philokalia is distinctive by virtue of its therapeutic focus on wellbeing understood in terms of prayer and union with God. Ultimately, this therapy leads to a breakdown in boundaries between inwardness and the outer world, between knowledge and unknowing, and between God and self.

The Philokalia, a collection of spiritual texts by fathers of the Eastern Church spanning the fourth to the fifteenth centuries, was first published in Venice in 1782. Significant in bringing about a renaissance of Orthodox spirituality since then, it shows deep psychological as well as spiritual awareness. The Philokalia and the Inner Life critically examines the nature of mental and spiritual well-being as understood in the Philokalia. It identifies the passions as 'hostile pleasures', with a seductive and addictive quality, which are detrimental to human well-being, and explores the remedies for the passions that the Philokalia prescribes. Like the Philokalia, contemporary psychotherapies seek to interpret human thoughts and restore well-being, although the 'talking cure' of secular psychotherapy contrasts significantly with the 'praying cure' of the Philokalia.This book is for all who are interested in spirituality, theology and the life of prayer, as well as students of the Philokalia. It is also for clinicians, counselors and psychotherapists, especially those who wish to explore the relationship between psychological and spiritual well-being.

The Philokalia (literally "love of the beautiful") is, after the Bible, the most influential source of spiritual tradition within the Orthodox Church. First published in Greek in 1782 by St. Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain and St. Macarios of Corinth, the Philokalia includes works by thirty-six influential Orthodox authors such as Maximus the Confessor, Peter of Madascus, Symeon the New Theologian, and Gregory Palamas. Surprisingly, this important collection of theological and spiritual writings has received little scholarly attention. With the growing interest in Orthodox theology, the need for a substantive resource for Philokalic studies has become increasingly evident. The purpose of the present volume is to remedy that lack by providing an ecumenical collection of scholarly essays on the Philokalia that will introduce readers to its background, motifs, authors, and relevance for contemporary life and thought.

Spirituality, Theology and Mental Health provides reflections from leading international scholars and practitioners in theology, anthropology, philosophy and psychiatry as to the nature of spirituality and its relevance to constructions of mental disorder and mental healthcare.

Mental health issues are a growing concern in our modern Western society. This is part of an increasing interest in questions about health, quality of life, personal development, and self-fulfilment. However, most of what has been written so far has had its focus on mental illness or disease, the negative side of the coin, and few attempts have been made to discuss more thoroughly, from a philosophical perspective, what it is to be mentally healthy. The present book is such an attempt. The author's aim is to analyze, philosophically, the notion of `positive mental health'. In so doing a number of ideas found in the literature are presented and discussed. The author also raises some important methodological questions. The final result of the analysis is a formal and a material reconstruction of the concept of "positive mental health". The book will be of value to all professionals within the health care sector, in particular to psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and psychotherapists. It will also be of interest to philosophers and social scientists working with health questions.

Is it possible to develop such a thing as a biblical theology of mental health? How might we develop a helpful and pastoral use of scripture to explore questions of mental health within a Christian framework? This timely and important book integrates the highest levels of biblical scholarship with theological and pastoral concerns to consider how we use scripture when dealing with mental health issues.

This text explores spirituality and its relationship to mental health. It emphasizes the need to look inward and listen to the messages which are channelled through our beings, rather than dismiss these experiences as some form of "disorder". Part One considers spirituality as a reflection of the process of change. A brief overview of the contemporary history of spiritual inquiry in the field of mental health is provided. Part Two considers spirituality as a reflection of the process of meaning making. Part Three considers spirituality in terms of different forms of journey, including a consideration of the traditional concept of pilgrimage. Part Four considers the potential for healing that lies within even the most terrifying forms of madness. The book then concludes with a suggestion of the power of "waiting" and the rewards obtained by the careful, compassionate practice of life.