In the old, oft-told story of Abba Anthony, we hear him tell about the vicissitudes of renouncing wealth, honor, status, relationships, and comfort, only to find that the thoughts of wealth, honor, status, relationships, and comfort had followed him into his solitude. Rather than moving into a mystical experience with God, his mind kept his previous life before him. Prayer was very difficult because, although he was in the desert, his mind was back home. He had a second renunciation to undergo. He realized that his thoughts mattered and that they had to be taken seriously, because if he did
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