Κεφ. Μ'
Discerning the Possible
We must practice discernment to avoid the demonic trap of neglecting what is possible while obsessing over what is impossible.
It is not possible to carry out the usual rule at all times. Instead, we must pay attention to the circumstances and try as hard as we can to fulfill whatever commands are possible, because the demons themselves are well aware of such occasions. So when they move against us, they prevent us from doing what is possible and force us to attempt what is impossible. When people are sick, for example, the demons keep them from giving thanks for their pain and from being patient with those who care for them; then, when they have no strength, the demons urge them to fast, and when they are weighed down, to stand and sing psalms.
Read the original Latin
Οὐκ ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ δυνατὸν ἐκτελεῖν τὸν συνήθη κανόνα, προσέχειν δὲ δεῖ τῷ καιρῷ καὶ τὰς ἐνδεχομένας ἐντολὰς ὡς ἕνι μάλιστα πειρᾶσθαι ποιεῖν· τοὺς γὰρ καιροὺς καὶ αὐτοὶ τοὺς τοιούτους οὐκ ἀγνοοῦσιν οἱ δαίμονες. Ὅθεν κινούμενοι καθ’ ἡμῶν, τὰ μὲν δυνατὰ γενέσθαι κωλύουσι, τὰ δὲ μὴ δυνατὰ γενέσθαι πράττειν ἡμᾶς καταναγκάζουσι· καὶ γὰρ τοὺς ἀσθενοῦντας εὐχαριστεῖν μὲν ἐπὶ ταῖς ἀλγηδόσι καὶ μακροθυμεῖν ἐπὶ τοῖς ὑπηρετοῦσιν ἀποκωλύουσιν· ἀτονοῦντας δὲ πάλιν ἐγκρατεύεσθαι καὶ βεβαρημένους ἑστῶτας ψάλλειν προτρέπονται.
The Praktikos companion
A daily portion of stillness
Chosen Portion delivers one short contemplative reading and a guided moment of silence each day — the ascent, one step at a time.
Chosen Portion is the paced doorway into this collection: it portions the dense mystical treatises into one daily reading plus guided silence, exactly as the 14-day plan teaches.
- Daily bite-sized excerpts from the contemplative classics, never a wall of text
- A built-in timed stillness practice that grows from 2 minutes to 10
- Gentle progression through the tradition — the app remembers where you are on the ascent