...by temptations the monks mean thoughts in our mind, passions, and demons. These temptations are an essential part of us. They test us, try us, and leave us the better for it. But this also means that we can't come to God with a clean slate. Our task is rather to take part in the fight with the demons and to be wounded over and over again by it.
The monks don't insist that we be perfect and flawless, correct and without stain. Those who get to know the demons in temptatin will encounter the truth of their souls. They will discover in themselves the abyss of the unconscious: murderous thoughts, sadistic imaginatings, immoral fantacies. We become mature persons only when we confront these truths, when we prove ourselves in temptations.
from Heaven Begins Within You
by Anselm Gruen
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