Daily spiritual injections - Seraphim Rose

"Again, in everything one must be looking upward, and not downward, at the kingdom of heaven and not down at the details of earthly life. 

"That is, the details of earthly life must be second, and this looking upward must be with zeal, determination and constancy. (...)

"Constancy involves also a regular reading of spiritual texts, for example at mealtime, because we must be constantly injected with other-worldliness.  

"This means constantly nourishing ourselves with these texts, whether in services or in reading, in order to fight against the other side, against the worldliness that constantly gnaws at us. If for just one day we stop these other-worldly "injections," it is obvious that worldliness starts taking over. (...) 

"These injections—daily injections of heavenly food—are the outward side, and the inward side is what is called spiritual life."

Fr Seraphim Rose - From "In Step With Sts. Patrick and Gregory of Tours" - http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/rose_tours.aspx

Comment:

I find this concept of 'spiritual injections' both amusing and valuable - it is perhaps a way that we can use modernity to counteract modernity . 

The mass media provides the strongest of temptations to distraction and worldliness; yet, at the same time, this historically-unprecedented dissemination of all types of information may provide (for those who are motivated and disciplined) the ingredients necessary to administer frequent 'spiritual injections'.