S.N. Lazarev About Importance of Not Crushing Our Feelings

What’s very important is that Christ taught us that we are the children of God. What does this mean?

If I am essentially a sinful person – what can I aspire to? I am essentially  imperfect.  It would be impossible to love myself. How can I develop when this means I would be increasing my imperfection?

These principles which emanated from religious or other philosophical ideas, can limit the depth and brightness of our feelings and inhibit love.

This is why it’s important to understand that we should not crush our instincts and sins, but need to restrain our animalistic desires and try to transform them into higher desires. And then lust can emerge as 'falling in love' and a person will be transformed.

Therefore it’s important to understand that we are essentially Divine and that potentially we have unlimited love, which can be manifested at an external level.

And to do that we must not crush our feelings.

We mustn’t think badly about ourselves, we just need to restrain our instincts.