Those who want to pray with a cleansed mind (nous)
must not concern themselves with the latest news from the newspapers,
or read books that are irrelevant to our spiritual life –
especially those books that arouse the passions –
and they must not strive to learn out of curiosity whatever pertains to the lives of others.
All these things bring foreign thoughts to mind, and when a person attempts to elucidate
Archimandrite Sophrony Sakharov