Trickery of the demons ( Saint John Climacus )

Demons once heaped praise on one of the most discerning of the brothers. They even appeared to him in visible form. But this very wise man spoke to them as follows, "If you cease to praise me by way of the thoughts of my heart, I shall consider myself to be great and outstanding because of the fact that you have left me. But if you continue to praise me, I must deduce from such praise that I am very impure indeed, since every proud hearted man is unclean before the Lord (cf. Prov. 16:5). 

So leave me, and I shall become great, or else praise me, and with your help I shall earn more humility."

 Struck by this dilemma, they vanished.

Saint John Climacus 

Pride begins where vainglory leaves off ( Saint John Climacus )

Pride begins where vainglory leaves off. Its midpoint comes with the humiliation of our neighbor, the shameless parading of our achievements, complacency, and unwillingness to be found out. It ends with the spurning of God's help, the exalting of one's own efforts and a devilish disposition.

Saint John Climacus

The Holy Fathers have taught us that we should not put our trust in dreams ( Saint John Climacus )

Saint John Climacus wrote concerning dreams:

“The demons of vainglory prophesy in dreams. Being unscrupulous, they guess the future and foretell it to us. When these visions come true, we are amazed; and we are elated with the thought that we are already near to the gift of foreknowledge. A demon is often a prophet to those who believe him, but he is always a liar to those who despise him. Being a spirit, he sees what is happening in this lower air, and noticing that someone is dying, he foretells it through dreams to the more light-minded. But demons know nothing about the future from foreknowledge. For if they did, then the fortunetellers would also be able to foretell our death… He who believes in dreams is completely inexperienced. But he who distrusts all dreams is a wise man…” (The Ladder of Divine Ascent 3:28, 3:29)

The Holy Fathers have taught us that we should not put our trust in dreams.

There is an account of an elder who spent many years in asceticism on Mount Sinai who was deceived by the evil one through dreams:

The Sabaite Antiochus… tells as a warning against trust in dreams the story of a solitary on Sinai of many years’ standing, who had a series of dreams that came true, and then one that showed him the people of the martyrs and apostles and all the Christians dark and filled with shame, while Moses, the prophets, and the Jews were enveloped in light, living in joy and gladness. He left the Holy Mountain, came to the Jewish settlements at Noara and Livias, on the two sides of the Jordan Valley (Noara was only three or four miles from Choziba), was circumcised, married a wife, and conducted open propaganda on behalf of the Jews against the Christians… (The Desert A City by Derwas J. Chitty)