Influenced by the thoughts of others

Your thoughts are burdened because you are influenced by the thoughts of your fellow men. Pray to the Lord that He might take this burden from you.  These are the thoughts of others which differ from yours.  They have their plan and their plan is to attack you with their thoughts.  Instead of letting go, you have allowed yourself to become part of their plan, so, of course, you suffer.  Had you ignored the attack, you would have kept your peace.  They could have thought or said anything at all about you, yet you would have remained calm and at peace.  Soon all their anger would have died down, like a deflated balloon because of the pure and peaceful thoughts that would have come from you.  If you are like that, calm and full of love, if all you think are good and kind thoughts, they will stop warring against you in their thoughts and will not threaten you anymore.  But if you demand an eye for an eye, that is war.  Where there is war there can be no peace.  How can there be peace on a battlefield, when everyone is looking over their shoulders and anticipating a surprise attack from the enemy?  Elder Thaddeus of Serbia