Roosh V.'s Blog, page 5

How To Spend Less Money Online

I’m an impulsive person. If I see something I want, I make an effort to get it as quickly as possible, and feel a temporary dopamine rush when I behold my new thing. This was a problem for me when it came to online shopping. I’d continually order from stores with little restraint. It got to the point where packages would be at my doorstep but I did not remember what I ordered. Junk started to pile up in my room. I was wasting money for no good reason and knew I had to make a change.

After experi...

74 Things Orthodox Christian Saints Have Never Said

I like to read the lives of the saints and also writings directly from the saints. From this I’ve noticed two things. First, there are recurring spiritual teachings that are common among saints who lived in different epochs and nations, signifying importance for all Christians. Second, I’ve noticed attitudes, sentiments, and behaviors that no saint has taught. I’d like to extrapolate on the latter and imagine some statements that I suspect no Orthodox saint has ever said. (If a canonized saint d...

Modern Culture Is Plastic And Self-Centered

Letters From Father Seraphim Rose is a compilation of letters that Father Seraphim wrote to one of his spiritual children, Father Alexey, a man who started a nearby mission and eventually went on to become a priest. Unlike other works of Father Seraphim that I have reviewed, this book offers more of an intimate look into his personality, daily concerns, and strains of thought that help you come to know him on a more personal level. You realize that this holy man, who is likely to be canonized a...

Why Do You Consume Secular Content?

At risk of reproaching fellow Christians, I am continually surprised by how much secular content they consume. From Facebook to TikTok, from Hollywood movies to pop music, I suspect the average Christian is bombarding his soul with several hours of secular content per week. Do they not know that this consumption may be separating them from God and weakening their faith?

When I first returned to God in the spring of 2019, I was wholly immersed in secular culture. I made several Twitter posts a da...

Signs You Have Strong Faith

Wisdom From Mount Athos is a compilation of sayings from Saint Silouan, a Russian ascetic who lived in Mount Athos around the early 20th century. His disciple, Saint Sophrony of Essex, is responsible for publishing Saint Silouan’s notes and other writings for us to read. (I have also reviewed Saint Sophrony’s book On Prayer.)

The book itself is a slim volume with simply-worded and divinely-inspired thoughts and precepts. The faith that Saint Silouan shares stems from the “basic” teaching of lov...

Heaven Or Hell

Matthew was daydreaming like usual in Art History class. When he came to, Professor Weisman was explaining how primitive artists of Africa influenced the European Renaissance and made it what it was. The famous artists we know—Boticelli, Giotto, Michelangelo, Titian, and Raphael—“appropriated” their best ideas from Africans. Ms. Weisman went on to share names that Matthew had never heard of: Mubanga, Nagudu, Adebowale, Rutendo, and Ekundayo, claiming that without them, we wouldn’t have seen much...

The Best Exegesis Of The Four Gospels

The Four Gospels is written by Archbishop Averky of Jordanville, who was a professor at the Holy Trinity Seminary before becoming abbot of the attached monastery. In this book, he gives you a complete exegesis of the Gospels according to scripture and the traditions of the Orthodox Church as taught and passed on by the Russian torchbearers of the faith. This is technically a textbook that is given to seminary students but it’s also highly readable for laymen. I recommend it to all Christians wh...

The Salvation Of Your Soul Is Not A Game

The Art Of Salvation by Elder Ephraim of Arizona is a compilation of thirty-three homilies concerning spiritual life. It is a powerful and convicting book that will jolt you out of your spiritual slumber to recognize the stakes involved in your salvation. I was so deeply affected while reading that I often had to stop to contemplate or pray. It’s one of the best Orthodox books I’ve read.

Salvation is not a game

The matter of eternal life should not be taken lightly because, after a few moments ...

13 Tips To Improve How You Read Books

You may think it’s absurd to read an article for tips on how to read books, since it is obvious you already know how to read, but consider that private reading is an “unnatural” activity that only became common with the invention of the printing press. Before that, most people alive could not read, and only the intellectual and governing elite had access to reading materials. Also consider that for most of Christendom, there was no printed Bible. The command to “go read your Bible” wouldn’t have...

It’s Not Easy To Escape From The Occult

The Gurus, the Young Man, and Elder Paisios is a spiritual memoir by Dionysios Farasiotis, chronicling the author’s flirtations with the occult and later conversion to the Orthodox Church through the eldership of then Elder—but now Saint—Paisios. The author captures the most notable spiritual episodes of his own life on his path to repentance. The best parts of the book are the appearances of Saint Paisios.

The vanity of the secular world

I realized that every morning you get up early to go to ...