The article examines the ‛struggle against oneself’ metaphor in relation to the Orthodox Christian book Unseen Warfare (St Nicodemus the Hagiorite). The examination has a threefold aim. Firstly, the metaphor is analysed against the background of cognitive linguistics, specifically, relying on the Conceptual Metaphor and Blending Theories (CMT and CBT), suggesting that the latter approach is more informative. The CBT analysis is also extended to include the force-dynamic aspects of meaning encoding and the notions of identity connections, compression and fictive interaction. Another aim is to relate the discussion with cognitive science, by referring to this metaphor as a type of double-scope blending. Finally, some theological implications of the metaphor are given. One of them is that metaphors can also have partly literal readings, in which case they can provide insight into the connection between the physical and the metaphysical.