I have been in this article the ideas of Maximus the Confessor about spiritual progress and divinization. Maximus is considered one of the preeminent Fathers of the Eastern Church. He expressed his belief that by practicing asceticism (life of habits of self-denial) and contemplation, believers exalt God, who is knowable in ideas about him and unknowable in himself. In his turn, God provides, when a person engages in such   practices as contemplation, a growing nourishment of the intellectual through the sensible and a transformation of the sensible into the world of the mind.

It should be pointed out that one of the main ideas in eastern theology is that we cannot know God as He is but, rather, can really only know what He is not. It is   inappropriate, therefore, to attempt in any way to define God, that is dare to feel that humans can find the words to actually   express Who God Is.

Maximus says further that, in an act of divine condescension, God voluntarily leads the human being toward Himself, guiding the creature along the path of spiritual maturity, for one’s earthly action of contemplation (thinking deeply about something). So, when we try to deeply think about God, God responds to our efforts by drawing us ever closer to Him and providing us with insights about Him and creation. Therefore, the most hidden knowledge of God is granted to the human being at the third, or final, stage of Christian life. The third stage is when we are given a simple experience of God and no longer need to try to discover Him but have an experience of Him. Maximus calls this theology. Of course this takes years. But to the person who tries consistently to think deeply about God, He gives them the gift of experiencing Him in their life. Maximus envisages theology as a relationship with God Who transcends all knowledge. For Him, the whole Christian pilgrimage culminates in the intimate   divine-human union. The mind is deemed worthy of the grace of theology when, on the wings of love, it has passed beyond the material world – the world of things.

It is at the stage of theology that the final mediation between God and the created order is fulfilled.

Again, this is much more in accord with the words of John who tells us that eternal life is not a place but an experience of knowing God and Jesus Christ. Since Jesus Christ is a God-man, this means that we will truly know our relationship with God, our Creator and Father.

Think about this. This truly seems to be a different approach to spirituality than that which we find in western Christianity. It is not a matter of one being right and the other wrong. It does mean that there is a difference. I believe that each of us must seek the spirituality that best fits our own personality and sense of being.