I cannot remember the source of these common mistakes, perhaps it was one of the many writings from Father Seraphim Rose, perhaps it was from another Orthodox Priest, or perhaps it was someone from world orthodoxy. However, it does not really matter who originally penned them. I found myself as an inquirer and as a catechumen falling into these mistakes and then having them pointed out to me by my own Father Confessor. That was so embarrassing, and gratefully, so humbling.
I did a duckduckgo.com search and did not find anything. So, if anyone discovers the source of these common mistakes, then please be sure to post a comment below.
Blunders in Conversion and Continuing Conversion
Expecting religion to satisfy emotional, psychological needs; the religion will be unstable
Having no real engagement in life, and spending all of one's time thinking about and discussing,
online and in person, religion; this is not what the faith is forCompartmentalizing one's life so that religion is one detail that can be turned on and off
Maintaining hobbies or interests that manifestly promote dissipation, rather than allowing the
faith to inform one's life more fullyInsufficient development of heart and personality such that one is unable to respond to normal
human circumstances, emotions, needs; expecting religion to supply the deficitReligion as egoic escape; no interest in podvig; reluctance to do the will of God when it goes
against one's interests or personalityLack of simplicity, kindness, warmth, forgiveness; believing oneself 'converted' but exhibiting
coldness or impatience toward those in need, or those who make demands on oneEagerness to pursue religious feats in secret; exaggerating fasts, prayer sessions, prayer
postures; refusal to discuss one's rule with a father-confessorWillfulness, desiring preference, boiling over instantly all indicate that conversion is hampered,
likely by personal refusal to do the will of God in one's personal life i.e. not living the GospelPremature interest in exalted ideas; heading straight for lofty prayer
Cold, calculating pursuit of religion; self-serving motives behind one's zeal, prayers, or
relationshipsPride in being part of the 'true religious club' on earth
Constant talk about Church matters
Sudden coarse or rough talk indicates the Old Man peeping through a veneer
Instantly wanting to change the Church; hectoring others about how they are faithful; eagerness
to change one's parish in some way or waysPreoccupation with one's spiritual 'state' or 'advancement'
Baggage from previous religious exposure e.g. still Calvinist at heart, still Catholic at heart
Making no attempt to learn 'how' to pray
*** (see this very amusing video: )
*** (a most excellent talk: http://tinyurl.com/qhx6a69 )Making no effort to undertake personal change consistent with podvig and modest Christian
livingExpecting Orthodoxy, entirely and by itself, to fix one's worst problems, problems which may
require professional interventionExpecting religious routines themselves to heal, without recognizing the need to obey Christ's
essential commandsBecoming upset when it turns out that other members of the faithful, including clergy, are not
perfectAllowing oneself to be distracted by parish politics
Conflating knowledge about Orthodoxy with Orthodoxy
Finding the prayers awkward that accuse the self of sin or uncleanness; trying to avoid these
prayers; not seeing them with the eyes of loving faithWalking not the Royal Path, but either the path of modernism, or the path of super-correctness
and 'zeal without knowledge' (definitely from Father Seraphim Rose)Having a negative reason for conversion, such as to spite a former pastor
Converting merely to please someone else
Having been attracted by the beauty, perhaps on holiday, seeing no deeper into what faith in Christ personally means
Not attending services regularly, with the result that the liturgy cannot put roots into the soul and
no personal relationships in the parish can formIndulgence in externals such as growing an odd beard, wearing funny clothes, or using
antiquated vocabularyBeing too easily scandalized by exposure to a lukewarm parish or monastery, or to an essay
written by a modernist priestConverting without having come to the conclusion that one can never BE anything BUT
OrthodoxMaintaining involvement in New-Age practices (certainly having demonic dimensions)
Commencing a habit of nagging others to become Orthodox, or to bow or pray in a certain way
Regarding Church as a hobby, rather than as the soul's salvation
Behaving far outside the norms established by other parishioners; falling into eccentricities that
could easily be avoided by pursuing a rule established with a father-confessorNo love for the saints; no relationships forming with any saints
Indifference to the holy fathers of the Church, believing that modern knowledge is always better