Smoke for the Head
We’ll often hear warnings about being careful with what we watch and the things we read; the problem is that violent or sexual content plays on our imagination, causing us to think about things that damage the spiritual life.
St. Theophan the Recluse warns us about the danger of the things we think about when he says this:
It is well known how powerfully corrupt images act upon the soul, no matter in what form they may touch it! How unfortunate is the child who, closing his eyes, or being left alone and going within himself, is stifled by a multitude of improper images—vain, tempting, breathing of the passions. This is the same thing for the soul as smoke is for the head.
