What is the Role of Imagination in Prayer?

"Again drawing from the Holy Fathers, Fr. Seraphim counseled his spiritual children not to trust in or get carried away by their imagination, especially in prayer. Fr. Alexey Young recalls how, when he was still a Roman Catholic preparing to become Orthodox, he was given an important lesson by Fr. Seraphim: 'I asked Fr. Seraphim about meditation, which my wife and I, still under the influence of our Roman Catholic background, had made part of our regular routine of morning prayer. We did not yet realize that the Orthodox understanding of meditation is quite different from the Western Christian view. In conversation, Fr. Seraphim explained that the use of imagination in Western spiritual systems of meditation—viz., while saying the Rosary, reciting the Stations of the Cross, or doing the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, etc.—was not compatible with Orthodox spirituality and was forbidden because imagination came into use only after the fall of Adam and Eve; it is one of the lowest functions of the soul and the favorite playground of the devil, who can and does use human imagination in order to deceive and mislead even well-meaning people.'”
-Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works, Ch. 84 "Pastoral Guidance", p. 805.

Excerpt from "OPEN Q & A Session - February 29th"
https://youtube.com/live/FsF_bg8XK_0

Also, see "Q&A on Truth, Imagination, and the Spiritual Life" with Fr. Peter Heers and Fr. Matthew Penney at the St. Kosmas Orthodox Education West Coast Conference of November 2018
   • Q&A on Truth, Imagination, and the Sp...  
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