Intro to the ESP program: Greek Orthodox Asceticism.

Orthodox Christians are called to live ascetically. This is all a means to the end of Theosis, or eternal life through union with God. This is a process of becoming all light and no darkness in Lord Jesus Christ. Put another way, this means diminishing the worldly passions while growing in the heavenly dispassions through the grace of God. This requires a familiarity with self-emptying (kenosis) and a detachment that is prerequisite to being filled again with The Holy Spirit.

For my own path, I have been inspired by the words of my patron saint St. Basil the Great who once stated “This is how you pray continually — not by offering prayer in words, but by joining yourself to God through your whole way of life, so that your life becomes one continuous and uninterrupted prayer.” This sums up the Orthodox “Bios” (way or conception of life).

One of the terms he used to refer to God was the Greek word “Theasthai” meaning “the one who beholds all things”. It is written in scripture that we are  made in the image of God, so I intuit that part of what this means is our ability to behold creation but from a finite perspective in contrast to the infinite and synoptic perspective of God.

In step with these sentiments, I have chosen as a personal spiritual ambition to try, as far as possible, to meditatively perceive all of my life’s experiences and events as an extended dialogue between I and God mediated by the phenomenal world in one continuous prayer by my way of life. My encounters with other people can then be framed as opportunities to see a finite glimpse of the infinite God through another made in his image, reaffirming that every life is unique and precious along the way. All of the philosophical work that I have privately developed over the past 3 years have been elaborations and variations on the theme of that core project. The totality of this material to come comprises what I refer to as my Experimental Somatic Philosophy (ESP) program.

Below I have provided an outline sketch of my current ascetic practice, which I am using as a seed to branch out into other theological and philosophical topics of my material in later posts. Tied to each section below is a major philosophical concept that has informed the ascetic regimen provided.

1. Spiritual Exercises.

1. Cosmotechnics= Coined by Chinese Philosopher Yuk Hui, cosmotechnics unifies cosmic and moral orders through technical activities, proposing technology isn’t universal but tied to specific cultures, aiming to move beyond a dominant “mono-technological culture” (Google, Meta, Amazon, etc). It grounds making (craft, art, tech) in a specific cosmology, ensuring tools and systems reflect cultural values, like Daoist harmony or Chinese family structures, rather than just Western efficiency, fostering “technodiversity” to address modern resource/environmental crises.
   1. This core idea of uniting the cosmos (universe) and the moral (ethics/values) through technology and making suits my career as a massotherapist. I regularly have to curate the many tools, modalities, and treatment methods of different schools of somatic thought into a coherent treatment experience for my clientele. The somatic technologies that I select expresses and reinforces my own ethics and values within an isolated domain of expertise. In fact, Hui explicitly mentions Traditional Chinese Medicine as an example. The social technologies of life we choose to utilize similarly carry ethical overtones, where our ways of being in the world serve as propositional attitudes that argue for and perpetuate a certain kind of existence in society. I use this to serve as an inner compass as I utilize the meditative technologies that shape me into the sort of person I want to present to my community in daily encounters.
2. Key Points:

• Critique of Modern Tech: Challenges the idea of universal, objective technology (like AI/algorithms) that detaches from cultural roots, leading to issues like environmental collapse.
• Goal: Develop multiple, culturally-specific technics (cosmotechnics) that align with diverse worldviews, fostering “technodiversity”.
• Cultural Embeddedness: Technology inherently carries moral/cosmic assumptions; a tool isn’t neutral.
• Daoist Influence: Draws from Daoism’s concept of continuous, complementary opposites (Yin/Yang, body/use) to link human activity with cosmic flow

1. Metacognition.

1. Social Meditation= Nepsis, meaning “watchfulness” allows me to maintain a meditative state while interaction with others in the world. I approach this by combining three scientific relaxation methods oriented to a respective core of human wellness. This allows me to manage the qualia of my internal state in real-time.

1. The 6R’s (Mental Core)= Mindfulness here defined as “Remembering to observe as mind’s attention moves from one phenomena to another. When distracted:{Recognize distractions, Release your attention, Relax your body, Re-smile in your heart, lips, eyes, and mind, Return to the task at hand, Repeat steps as needed}.
2. Pandiculation (Physical Core)= A method of conscious contract & release of muscles to regain awareness and mobility of chronic holding patterns.
3. Cyclic Sighing (Spiritual Core)= A pattern that mimics deep sleep respiration. The most effective breath work pattern for offloading carbon-dioxide and sedating the nervous system.

1. Work Meditation= Sozo, meaning “salvation”, is a good metaphor for how I view working as a massotherapist. As I serve and help clients, I am also helped by growing in virtue and care for others.

1. The Jesus Prayer (Mental Core): A short prayer used in a similar fashion to mantra meditation. A common phrasing goes “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
2. Tai Chi (Physical Core): Using the principles of this moving meditation allow me to seamlessly transition between hard and soft applications of massotherapy techniques.
3. Vortex Breathing (Spiritual Core): Focuses my attention and helps me continue breathing rhythmically while exerting myself.

1. Private Prayer= Kenosis, meaning “self-emptying” is my approach to seated, meditative prayer. It focuses on the concepts of presence, heart, and trust while engaging in a lovingkindness meditation over one’s prayer list for others. This helps me learn to abide in Love.

1. 1 John 4:16 = “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”

1. Care Rituals.

1. Neoliberal Psychopolitics= Neoliberal psychopolitics is a critical theory, primarily articulated by the German philosopher Byung-Chul Han, which argues that contemporary capitalism exerts power by exploiting the human psyche and individual freedom rather than through overt coercion. This system encourages individuals to willingly exploit themselves in the pursuit of endless self-optimization and productivity.
   1. This is the cognitive lens, or ontological subculture, through which I view my ascetic program, which serves as an “Architecture of interior space”. It is the landscape upon which my spiritual activities take place. I use my prayer rule as an “Architecture of interior time” to regulate my day in a biologically dysregulated digital society.

1. Key Points:

• From Disciplinary Society to Achievement Society: Han argues that Western society has moved from the “disciplinary society” described by Foucault, which used institutions (prisons, factories, schools) to produce “docile bodies” through explicit rules and physical constraints, to an “achievement society”. In the latter, individuals are “achievement-subjects” who operate under an internalized imperative to succeed and maximize performance.
• Self-Exploitation and the “Entrepreneurial Self”: The core mechanism of control is auto-exploitation, where individuals become both the architect and victim of their own exploitation. Neoliberal ideology promotes the idea of the “entrepreneurial self” who views their life as a constant project of improvement. This leads to relentless self-monitoring and optimization (e.g., fitness, education, personal branding).
• Freedom as a Tool of Control: The system co-opts the concept of freedom itself. The illusion of boundless potential (“you can do anything you want”) generates internal compulsion rather than true liberation. Failure in this system is seen as a personal failing rather than a structural issue, leading to self-punishment, depression, and burnout, which are individual psychic maladies resulting from collective suffering.
• Digital Panopticon and Big Data: Digital technologies, particularly social media and smartphones, are central to this power dynamic. Instead of forced surveillance (like the traditional Panopticon), people voluntarily expose information about themselves through “likes,” shares, and online interactions. This data is collected and analyzed to predict and steer behavior and desires at an unconscious level, creating a form of “digital totalitarianism”.
• Emotional Capitalism: Emotions are no longer private but are monetized and instrumentalized for economic gain. The system values emotional intelligence and communicative skills as productive capacities, transforming personal relationships into transactional ones.
• Absence of Resistance: This form of “smart power” is insidious because it operates without visible coercion, making traditional forms of rebellion difficult. Since individuals feel free and are exploiting themselves, they direct frustration inward rather than critically toward the system. 
• Byung-Chul Han proposes “idiotism” (a deliberate withdrawal and non-participation from the hyper-connectivity and endless communication loop) and deep contemplation as forms of resistance against this pervasive system.

1. Daily Prayer Rule
   1. Morning=
      1. The Trisagion Prayers
      2. Hymns to the Trinity
      3. Prayer of Thanksgiving
      4. Prayer of Saint Basil the Great
      5. Prayer to the Guardian Angel
      6. The Nicene Creed
      7. Dismissal
   2. Midday
      1. Afternoon Prayer of Saint Basil
      2. General Prayer before & after a meal (from “Prayers at the Table”)
      3. The Jesus Prayer (x12)
   3. Evening
      1. The Trisagion Prayers
      2. Hymns of Thanksgiving
      3. Daily Confession of Sins
      4. General Prayer for others (from “Prayers for Various Needs”)
      5. Prayer of Saint John of Damascus
      6. Troparia
      7. Prayer to the Cross

1. Focal Things & Practices.

1. The Device Paradigm= The Device Paradigm by American philosopher Albert Borgmann describes how modern technology turns complex “things” (like a fireplace) into simple, convenient “devices” (like a central heater) that provide a single benefit (heat) while hiding the underlying processes, leading to a disengagement from the world. It’s a pattern where technology offers effortless access (instant, easy, ubiquitous) to commodities, making life easier but stripping away the rich context, human effort, and deeper engagement associated with traditional practices, replacing “focal things” with “commodities”. This creates a cultural trend of relying on technology for ease, potentially diminishing human skill, appreciation, and connection to the world, a process called “disburdenment” that results in “disengagement”.
2. Key points:

• Devices vs. Things: A “thing” (e.g., a stove) involves skill, effort, and deep engagement; a “device” (e.g., central heating) is a streamlined commodity that delivers a single function effortlessly.
• Commodities: The valuable aspect of a thing (like warmth) is stripped out and delivered as an easy-to-use, hidden-mechanism commodity.
• Disburdenment & Disengagement: Devices relieve us of burdens (toil, effort) but also detach us from the deeper meaning, skill, and connection inherent in the original practice.
• Focal Practices: The rich, meaningful activities (like gathering around a fire) become replaced by shallow interactions (watching TV).

1. The Church:
   1. Holy Confession & Orthodox Fasting Calendar.
   2. Holy Communion & The Divine Liturgy.
   3. Greek Language School & Greek Festival.
2. Alms & Community Service:
   1. Franklin Co. Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)= Volunteering.
   2. First Responder’s Bridge= Philanthropy.
   3. Community Refugee & Immigration Services (CRIS)= Donations.