Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives:
The Life and Teachings of
Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica
Translated by Ana Smiljanic
Какве су ти мисли, такав ти је живот
was first published in 2004
Saint Herman Press
Published on October 5, 2009
212 pages
Goodreads

I reviewed this book ten years ago on my regular book blog.
This is an important book for your time, so I decided to share it here as well.

I went one Sunday to a very small Russian Orthodox parish in Wisconsin, in fact like a family parish, in a church built by the priest on his own property. The church was gorgeous, all in wood. The Divine Liturgy was heavenly, so prayerful and contemplative. After the Liturgy, all attending were invited to join the family for their Sunday lunch. 
During the meal taken in silence, the son of the family was reading a spiritual book aloud, just like in monasteries, Orthodox or Catholic, for that matter. They were reading this book, Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives.
I enjoyed very much the excerpt, bought the book, and read it all.

I was really struck by how modern this book was. Of course, this Elder lived  in the 20th century, he actually died in 2002, but still, sometimes you don’t have the feeling that writings are that appropriate to our modern age.
This one sure is, focusing a lot on the impact your thoughts can have, not only on your own lives, but also on people around you, and even on the world at large.
Whether your thoughts are positive or negative, they will determine your life and the lives of many.

This is an element used in new-age spirituality, but it is of course also a basic Christian fact, underlined by many Fathers. I’m thinking for instance about St Seraphim of Sarov (1759-1833), saying:  “Acquire a peaceful spirit, and around you thousands will be saved.”

So many people are afflicted by depression these days; doctors tell us this is caused by some chemical imbalance in the brain, but they hardly speak about the major role of the thoughts in that disease, yet spiritual Fathers have spoken and written about it for centuries. I hope that this very accessible book may be of help to our troubled world.

It also helped me become more aware on my own thoughts, and work on not letting the negative ones overcome me and my relationships with others. I work a lot in contact with people, and of course some are going to be unhappy about this or that and upset me. Then is the time to pay attention to my upset and stop it by turning to another person with fresh and positive thoughts.

EXCERPTS

We cannot achieve salvation unless we change our thoughts and make them different… This is achieved by the work of Divine power in us. Our minds thus become deified, free of passions, and holy.
p.60

Our life depends on the kind of thoughts we nurture. If our thoughts are peaceful, calm, meek, and kind, then that is what our life is like. If our attention is turned to the circumstances in which we live, we are drawn into a whirlpool of thoughts and can have neither peace nor tranquility.
p.63

If our thoughts are kind, peaceful, and quiet, turned only toward good, then we also influence ourselves and radiate peace all around us – in our family, in the whole country everywhere. This is true not only here on earth, but in the cosmos as well. When we labor in the fields of the Lord, we create harmony. Divine harmony, peace, and quiet spread everywhere.
However, when we breed negative thoughts, that is a great evil. When there is evil in us, we radiate it among our family members and wherever we go.
p. 63

We have Divine Power, Divine life, and Divine energy. On the day of the Final Judgment we shall have to give an answer for the way we have used this Divine power, life, and energy which have been given to us: whether we have contributed to the harmony in the universe, or have sown disharmony.
p.64

He who has the Kingdom of God in himself will imperceptibly pass it on to others. People will be attracted by the peace and warmth in us; they will want to be near us, and the atmosphere of heaven will gradually pass on to them. It is not even necessary to speak to people about this. The atmosphere of heaven will radiate from us even when we keep silence or talk about ordinary things. It will radiate from us even though we may not be aware of it.
p.66

We Christians have been called to spread Divine peace and the atmosphere of heaven. There are very few of those who realize that this is how we should be – a source of goodness, peace, and joy.
p.135

There can be no peace in the world
unless there is inner peace in each one of us.
p.153

Our wicked thoughts generate evil and disturb the peace in the universe.
p.203

You can even see videos on the book and the author here, as well as other quotations.

DID YOU READ THIS BOOK?
WHAT DID YOU THINK?
Have you ever noticed the impact your thoughts
can have in your day, in your life, on others?
DO YOU FEEL LIKE READING THIS BOOK?
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS  IN A COMMENT PLEASE