THOUGHTS AND HOW TO CONFRONT THEM
Hieromonk Benedict of Mount Athos
“Just as it is natural for ocean
rocks to be pounded by waves, similarly man will undoubtedly come into contact
with the assaults borne of thoughts.” - St. Ephraim the Syrian
1. The difficult war.
It has been stated many times that prayer is a dynamic
action, which is beneficial for the person who offers the prayer as well as
being pleasing to God.
The fact that all this is real irritates the devil and makes
him fight against the person who engages in prayer.
In this manner, the faithful person who desires to unite
himself to God through prayer faces obstacles placed by demons. These demons
place barriers, which are systematically organized and planned in order for
their attacks to be successful.
Due to this inevitable attack, prayer becomes an act of
labor, which causes great toil. More so than any other type of work. That is
why one of the Desert Fathers emphasizes that “there is no greater fatigue than for someone to pray to God.” In
order for someone to pray until his last breath, he is required to struggle.
It is not only prayer which is tiring. It is mostly the
implacable battle of the demons, which makes prayer much more fatiguing.
Therefore, the hatred, which the demons have for those who
pray, is a reality. The war between the person who prays and the demons has two
aspects to it: the visible (mostly for the beginners) and the invisible for the
spiritually advanced. They use sound, objects, and cause noises in order to
draw their attention away from prayer. Whether beginner or advanced, the demons
often fight a person by use of thoughts.
+++
It is truly a difficult battle for whoever has chosen to
commence the battle against thoughts. For, the thoughts and reasonings are the
greatest barrier man faces in order to achieve his spiritual education and
perfection. And this perfection can by no other means be achieved than by the
continuous invocation of the name of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. In fact, the
invocation must be done often enough, as Saint Gregory the Theologian
emphasizes, so that “it is more desirable
for one to commemorate God than it is to breathe.”
There exists, however, the internal war. There is no war
fiercer than an irrational thought, which nests in our soul. All that, which
originates from inside us, is more intense than that which strikes us from the
outside. The illnesses, which are borne from inside us, are sly and
treacherous, causing greater damage than an external wound. Even nations were
harder hit by internal enemies, compared to those who invaded from a nation's
exterior.
In this way then, the soul cannot be destroyed as much by
the machinations that come from the outside as by the diseases, which grow
inside us, which are the loathsome, obscene and blasphemous thoughts.
2. Thoughts and their origin
What are thoughts and where do they originate? When we say
thoughts, we do not simply mean reflections, but also the images and the
conditions under which they exist with each occurrence, along with the most
suitable reflections. Thus, the descriptive images, along with the reflections,
are called thoughts and reasonings.
The first and foremost cause of thoughts in man is ancestral
sin. Up to that point, man's mind was “one-tracked”; that is, it was not
distracted to think of other things. It is only thoughts were for God! From the
time of the ancestral sin, the thoughts of doubt began and, in continuation,
came all the other thoughts.
The second cause of instigation of thoughts in man is his
senses, when they are not properly governed by their ruling mind. It is
especially so for hearing and sight. Today, particularly due to technology (TV,
radio, etc.), the senses receive more stimulations than ever before. For this
reason, the battle against thoughts is more intense.
The third cause is the passions which exist in man. It is
because of these that the demons gain the opportunity to mobilize malicious
thoughts against us.
The fourth and primary cause are the demons. St. Gregory of
Sinai characteristically emphasizes: “Thoughts
are the words of the demons and forerunners of passions.”
In addition, St. Isaac the Syrian, accentuates that “the natural desire” which exists in us,
as well as our soul's inclinations and tendencies, cause thoughts to arise.
This war is especially intense against monks, who many times
have had to combat against the demons, body to body, during the attack by
cunning thoughts. That is why St. Maximos the Confessor states that this war is
much more difficult than the perceptible war.
In addition, cunning thoughts may arise due to the
temperament and constitution of the body, and even from daily meals, as well as
the movements and motions undergone by the body itself.
The above-mentioned causes give rise to lewd and impure
thoughts.
3. The journey towards the world of
sin.
Externally, the act of sin may appear to be a simple fact,
such as a car accident or some other incident. However, in order to commit this
act, many other successive instrumentations must have taken place. For example,
in order for a murder to take place, there must have, beforehand, occurred
thousands of reflections and plans in the human mind. The human mind, in order
to come to the point of committing the act of murder, had first become an
entire base of demonic thoughts. This is what happens with the commitment of
any act of sin. And it all started because of one simple thought...
Let us proceed, however, to see what happens, after the
assault of one simple thought.
We are not held liable for a simple thought or image, which
passes through our mind, nor is it difficult for us to confront it. However,
from the moment that we open the door to welcome in this thought and commence
to ponder it, it is then that the thought takes its position within us and
becomes a prevailing thought.
The thought is the main reason “for the journey towards
the act of sin.” This journey is for us the same as the path and the
evolution of disease in the human body. Just as for someone to go to a
hospital, various series of events must have previously taken place in the
human organism; it is the same for someone to reach the point of having
committed the act of sin. A great war must have previously taken place. It is
similar to the birth of a child. A complete series of events first take place:
from the conception up to the lengthy pregnancy. It is exactly so in the case
of sin. The conception of the thoughts, their gestation period, and their
birth.
St. Nikodemos the Athonite believes that the thought is the
beginning, or the root out of which sprouts the trunk, the branches and the
complete tree of sin!
The damage begins from the instance of the first thought,
and, in continuation, it intensifies. When someone throws a pebble into a well,
the waves caused by its tossing create one small ripple in the beginning. The
small ripple creates a larger ripple that goes on to create a larger one, up
until the wave reaches the walls of the well.
It is exactly so with sin. Before the sin is committed, a
succession of mechanisms and events previously take place and each one follows
the other in consecutive order.
4. The stages of sin.
We are able to perceive three stages in the journey towards
the world of sin in this order:
a.
the assault, b. the consent or approval, and c. the captivity or imprisonment.
How does this mechanism work? It works in this way: some
cunning thought such as conceit, vainglory, stinginess, gluttony, condemnation,
etc., enters the person's mind. Temptation works through the use of the
imagination and its fantasies. It presents the situation as enticing as
possible. In this way, its presentation becomes stronger and more attractive.
Up to this point, man is not liable for the thought. The
first stage is an assault, an attack from the enemy, or more simply put,
the enemy knocking on that person's door! This situation is normal...
physiological. It is not possible for a human to exist without having received
an assault. St. Ephraim the Syrian says that just as it is normal for someone
to find weeds and flowers growing together in a garden, or just as the islands
are pounded by waves all around their coastline, so it is for man. It is most
certain that we will come into contact with the attacks of evil thoughts.
From this point on comes the stage of sinning. The
commencement of the battle is the assault. If man tosses it out of his mind,
without deliberating on it, he then saves himself and liberates himself from
the wretched consequences, which would follow. If, however, he accepts to
discourse with the cunning thought, he opens the door to this impure thought,
which previously was simply a “knocking on his door.” He creates a friendship
with it and then comes to the point of approval of the sin. This is the
second stage of the execution of the sin.
The person rehearses the sin in the inaccessible depths of
his soul and imagines himself having an active part in sinning. He condemns,
blasphemes, fornicates, commits adultery, murders, and carries out countless
crimes and commits whatever the human mind is capable of imagining. Later,
nothing else remains but the third stage, which is the actual execution
of the act of sin by the person whose mind has become a hostage of the thought.
This person no longer controls the thought, but is imprisoned by it.
Thus, the thought, which began with a simple knocking of the
door (the assault), caused the opening of that door (the consent). In
conclusion, the person was unable to control and dismiss the thought, and he
eventually committed the act of sin. This is the path towards sin, which begins
with one single thought.
5. Passions are the source of sinful
thoughts.
Up to the point of a man's death and as long as his soul
remains in his body, it is impossible for him not to have evil thoughts.
The main reason for the existence of these evil thoughts is
the war, which the devil wages against us. Most thoughts are of diabolical
origin. It is the devil's aim to cast man into sinning, either through the use
of evil thoughts or through the performance of the act itself. St. Makarios of
Egypt states that spiritual adultery is the consent one gives to cunning
thoughts. This is why he says: “a person
is obliged to maintain his soul pure and clean, since it is the bride of
Christ.”
In most instances, evil thoughts resemble themselves to “a
river current,” in front of which a man begins to panic. That is why the demons
first fight with us by use of diabolical thoughts and then follow with
materialistic things. If one yields to them, they will then slowly push that
person into sinning by execution of the act of sin.
St. John of Damascus tells us that the dominating reasons
for evil are eight, the following: 1. Gluttony, 2. Fornication, 3. Stinginess,
4. Rage, 5. Grief, 6. Indifference, 7. Vainglory and 8. Pride and Haughtiness.
Someone else may tell us that the most basic passion in a
human, from which all the passions originate, is selfishness and conceit.
Selfishness is the illogical self-love and care given to our own self. This is
also the passion of today's human being. It is from selfishness that the three
dominating thoughts originate: 1. Gluttony, 2. Vainglory, and 3. Haughtiness.
From these three vices arise all evil thoughts.
6. Categories of thoughts.
All that has been stated previously refer to cunning
thoughts. However, in addition to those, there exist the good-hearted thoughts
and the idle and unprofitable, or human thoughts. The good-hearted arise from
God. How shall we then discern them from those which are cunning and impure?
A fellow monk once asked Abba Barsanuphius about this issue
and received the following explanation: “The
thoughts which originate from God bring internal peace and joy to the person.
On the contrary, the thoughts, which originate from the devil, are filled with
agitation, disturbance and grief.”
7. Thoughts are the beginning of the
war.
Generally speaking, as previously mentioned, the thoughts
are the beginning of the war, which the devil wages against us. The war begins
with an assault of cunning thoughts and later proceeds to the consent and
approval of the sin.
This is the path and the development of thoughts, which
predominantly arise from the devil and from man.
8. The demonic cunningness.
Let us examine, then, how man is attacked by thoughts, or
which methods the demons use in order to overtake us through the use of
thoughts.
The craftiness of the demons, which desire to sow within us
countless impure thoughts, is indescribable. The devil will even take advantage
of the most unimportant incident that has taken place in our lives, or the most
improbable and unlikely situation to contaminate us.
To begin with, before they cast us into sin, they implant in
us the thought that God is a philanthropist. After the act of sin, however,
they bombard us with the thought that God is abrupt, rude and harsh. They do
this in order to bring us to the point of despair. “Before the fall, they call
God a philanthropist, whereas after the fall, abrupt and harsh.”
9. Blasphemous thoughts.
In following, they attempt to infect the holy moments, such
as those of prayer, and the Holy Eucharist, or by implanting in our mind
thoughts of blasphemy against God.
Thus, this vile and impure being adores the moments of holy
gatherings and especially the dreadful moments of the Holy Sacraments (the Holy
Eucharist) in order to blaspheme the Lord and the Sacred Feasts. That is, when
the ceremony of the Holy Eucharist takes place, Satan comes and implants in us
various blasphemous thoughts. Thoughts such as: “The Holy Eucharist is not
the Holy Body and Blood of Christ", and that "that which we go
to receive in us is absolutely nothing!” Worthless! There are even more
impure and wretchedly vile thoughts which one dares not mention.
St. John of Mount Sinai mentions that a monk was fighting a
war against such thoughts for fourteen whole years. There is no other thought
as difficult to withdraw and cast out as that of the thought of blasphemy,
which may lead a person to despair.
This is a war in which the Abbot Pambo took part and, while
he was praying to the Lord for assistance, heard a divine voice from above
which said: “Pambo, Pambo, do not
distress yourself with the sins of others, but tend to your own acts.”
These blasphemous and vile thoughts battled with many other
formidable and virtuous men, such as Meletios the Confessor, as well as others
who witnessed and died because of their faith in the Lord. Among those saints
who confirm this is St. Peter of Alexandria and Paphnutius the Confessor, who
suffered persecution. St. Peter of Alexandria narrates that, “While I was admitting and confessing my
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ in the court of law, where they were, by the use
of various means, flogging, skinning and burning my body, the demon inside me
was blaspheming God.”
It is certain, as St. Nikodemos the Athonite points out,
that these types of thoughts originate mainly due to the condemnation, the
haughtiness, and the jealousy of the demons. For these reasons, the best
weapons one may use against them are humility and self-reproach.
10. The chain of thoughts.
The following are referred to in the writings of St. John of
the Ladder, of Mount Sinai: “Let us take
notice and we will observe that at the time when the church bells sound and we
see our brethren gather into the Church, the invisible enemies also gather
themselves there. Still others gather themselves at the time when we prepare to
wake up to go to church and do so in order to suggest to us that we should
return to our sleep. They say, ‘...stay and rest until the introductory and
preliminary hymns are completed and then you can go to church.’ Again, others,
while we are deep in prayer, come to us in order to bring us drowsiness, others
to bring hunger, others to suggest to us to lean on the wall as if we were
tired, and others cause us to yawn.” Others remind us of loan payments,
contracts and bank accounts. So, it is, that in this manner, we leave the
Church harmed instead of benefited, without having heard even the most
fundamental parts of the Holy Liturgy. There are even many times while we are
in prayer that our mind becomes filled with improper and indecent thoughts.
Yet, as the time the prayer finishes, every temptation suddenly disappears.
The devil is well aware of the benefits which are borne from
prayer. For this reason, he attempts to contaminate it.
Even if we are victorious over the demon, he installs in us
the thoughts of pride and haughtiness through the use of other means, such as
the fact that we have attained virtue, since, for example, all the cunning and
tempting thoughts have been terminated.
This thought that we are victorious resembles a snake which
is coiled and hidden in the dung heap of haughtiness. Cunning and tempting
thoughts are hidden and nesting in the depths of our hearts!
There are demons who infect our soul at the moment we lay
down to sleep and there are others who contaminate our very first thoughts when
we wake up in the morning. The devil never loses the chance of fighting us.
There are times when he implants in us thoughts which are
against our spiritual confessor and guide. On other occasions immediately after
the confession of our sins, he reminds us of the sins we have just confessed in
order to bring us to the point of despair. Yet other times, he even casts us
into sin and, following that, installs in us the thought of teaching others to
perform the same sin!
These, in general terms, are the thoughts which are created
by the devil.
Let us now examine the thoughts which are created by man
himself.
The human mind is fond of creating havoc. That is, just as a
dog goes to the butcher store in order to grab some piece of meat, or a
food-lover is fond of continually speaking of food, the human mind resembles
these examples. Many times, it feeds on improper and unclean notions.
A monk who has no possessions, who owns no property (and by
definition is Christian), therefore has no troublesome temptations at the time
of his prayer. There are no thoughts of problems or issues concerning
possessions or lands, which enter his mind to break his concentration at the
time of prayer. However, a person who owns properties and possessions and is
fond of them, has his reflections and thoughts on materialistic things at the
time of his prayer.
The person who cannot control himself, that is a person who
is a glutton, has his mind and thoughts continuously concerned about impure
images. St. John of the Ladder gives us an example of this. Just as a dung heap
gives rise to vermin, so does the multitude of food generate downfalls through
the production of cunning thoughts and indecent dreams. Gluttony is for
fornication the same as wood is for fire.
It is for this reason that St. John of Mount Sinai when
writing in “The Ladder,” after his dissertation concerning gluttony very wisely
placed the topic of fornication.
“For, I believe,” he states, “that gluttony is the mother of fornication.”
So then, where do the thoughts of fornication originate? If
a person enjoys a leisurely life with all the necessary comfort and, as a
result, does not know how to endure hardships and has no knowledge of how to
engage in spiritual exercises of ascetic nature, then it is very natural for
this person to have thoughts of fornication which will eventually lead to the
act. In other instances, again, when a person liberates senses in order to view
some other person or to touch someone with his hand, or hear something
indecent, it is as if at that moment, he has opened the door to impure
thoughts. Of course, man's nature is prone to him having such thoughts.
Even the disobedience to God's covenants gives birth to a
“warehouse of thoughts.” That is, the human mind becomes a storage of cunning
thoughts. The same types of thoughts are also created by disobeying our
confessor and spiritual father. Many times, human curiosity to explore God's
mysteries creates blasphemous thoughts, such as the thought that God is unjust
and favors some persons over others. That to some He gives visions and miracles
and yet to others He gives nothing!
11. Combination of thoughts.
There exist, however, thoughts, which originate from man as
well as the devil. These are the “combination thoughts.”
“I have seen,” says St. John of the Ladder, “a few men eating with delight and not being
immediately attacked (by the impure thoughts). Also others, dining and keeping company with women and yet not having
had any cunning thought pass through their mind at that moment in time.
However, at the time when they thought that they were in their cell in a
condition of peace and security, that is when they were suddenly overtaken by
disaster. Nature is what pushed them to dining and drinking delightfully and
viewing wantonly. Satan used the moment and cast them into sin.”
These are, in general terms, the thoughts which originate
from man as well as the devil.
+++
Throughout all this battle, there exists a ladder, attack,
combination, consent, and captivity.
The enemy attacks the person with one simple thought or with
one image. When that person accepts, then the consent takes place. Then begins
the conversation with the thought. From this moment on begins the person's own
responsibility for thoughts or actions. Following, the person consents with
delight in order to fulfill that which the thought suggests, and in the end, he
submits and is imprisoned by the passion.
12. Results of the thoughts.
When the thought ages inside us, we then become servants to
attempt its accomplishment. Attempt is the attachment of a person to material
items and his desire to obtain only these items. Thus, the person's mind
becomes detached from eternal nourishment. And when the person's mind withdraws
totally from God, then “it becomes either ferocious or devilish.” That is, the
person becomes either as a beast or a demon. We observe this happening in
today's consumer society. The person's mind has become adhered only to the
earthly and has no thought whatsoever of heaven. The result is that the person
is transformed into a beast and handicraft (technology) in whatever form, has
been deified.
Man becomes unrestrained. He cannot control himself. When a
person does not fight against the cunning thought, he then becomes a slave of
sin. “Whoever retains the thoughts of sin, without fighting or arguing with
them, then commits the act of sin.”
Our thoughts corrupt us and crush us, thus creating problems
within our personal relationships.
Thoughts pollute and contaminate our soul, poisoning it and
mortifying it. “This is the battle of the
cunning demon. And with these arrows he poisons all souls,” as St.
Hesychios the Elder tells us.
With the acceptance of thoughts, the devil obtains authority
and can drive a person even to suicide, since that person cannot withstand the
devil's strength. The thought makes the soul underhanded. That is, it ties the
human soul to the earthly things. The person who senses the continuous
harassments of corrupt thoughts and feels the underbelly of the body on fire
reveals that he is distanced from the sweet fragrance of the Holy Spirit.
One then loses his outspokenness with God. When the mind
begins to converse with shameful and indecent thoughts, then “it is discredited
in its frankness towards God.” It is not possible for God to have communion,
that is communication, with a person whose mind is continually being polluted
with indecent and cunning thoughts. Just as it is detestable for an earthly
lord when he observes someone denouncing him in order to converse with his
enemies, so it is with God.
“Impure thoughts separate God from man.” God does not reveal
His mysteries to a person who is possessed by defiled thoughts.
Since thoughts separate man from God, consequently, for this
reason, a number of bodily abnormalities then arise. Anxiety, insecurity, and
fear, on top of many other bodily illnesses, are caused by thoughts. These
causes are apparent even to medical doctors. For this reason, they order their
patients not to think of various things, which would cause them distress.
One thought is enough to cause a person to lose his sleep
all night long. It is for this reason it can even break his nerves. The Holy
Father, the Abbot Theodore, used to say: “The
thought comes in order to disturb me.” These, in brief, are the results of
cunning and corrupt thoughts. We should, however, also see the manners in which
one must confront these types of thoughts, which mostly originate from the
devil.
13. The confrontation of thoughts.
How can someone become liberated from shameful thoughts?
The Saints and Holy Fathers of our Church have made evident
to us the various ways of confronting such thoughts.
St. John Chrysostom advises us not to declare or express them, but to choke them with silence. It
is just as the beasts and reptiles when they fall into the pit. If they find
some outlet upwards, they climb up and out and usually become more ferocious.
If, however, they continuously remain enclosed therein, they are easily lost
and disappear.
The same happens with the polluting thoughts. If they find
some outlet by way of a person's mouth to be verbally expressed, they then
light up the internal flame. If, however, they are blockaded with silence, they
become weak. They dissolve hunger and quickly disappear.
The passage, “How
could I do anything so wicked, and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9), is
appropriate. When any type of illogical thought comes to agitate us, let us
think of how the most minuscule and illogical thoughts cannot be hidden from
God.
The study of God's laws, the remembrance of things which are
to take place in the future, as well as all that God has done just for us,
decreases the corrupt thoughts. They, therefore, cannot take root within us.
Their redemption. Just as a snake coming out of its nest runs in order to
hide elsewhere, so it is with loathsome thoughts. When they are redeemed, they
then depart from the person. We should know that nothing makes the demons
unhappier than the concealment of shameful thoughts.
The exhaustion of the soul and the bodily trials “on all
occasions, places and things” can result in a person not having indecent thoughts.
“Tend to rid yourself from the
passions and you will immediately expel these thoughts from your mind,” stresses St. Maximos the Confessor.
That is, in order for someone to rid himself from fornication, he should weary
himself bodily and fast. In order to dismiss rage and sadness, he should
despise fame and glory, dishonesty and disgrace. In order to dispel revenge, he
should pray for the person who caused him harm.
We cannot hinder thoughts from coming to us. We can,
however, not accept them. It is the same as with crows. Just as we cannot stop
them from flying overhead of us, we can, however, prevent them from building
their nests on our heads.
Let us follow what St. Basil has to say concerning this
topic and the war that is involved:
“We should confront these attacks
with intensive care and attentiveness, just as an athlete when he evades his
opponent's blows with the accurate precaution necessary, together with the
flexibility of his body. We should entrust the ending of the war and the
avoidance of the arrows to prayer and assistance from above.
“And even if the tricky enemy,
during the hour of prayer, subjects us to cunning fantasies, the soul should
not interrupt its prayer. The soul should also know that it is not responsible
for the cunning attacks undertaken by the enemy, in addition to the fantasies
emanating from the ‘paradoxical miracle maker.’ On the contrary, he should
think of the fact that these thoughts are due to the impertinence of the
inventor of evil. That person should then intensify his kneeling to the Lord
and should plead to God to dissolve the cunning partition caused by irrational
and absurd thoughts, so that, unhindered, he can approach God.
“If, however, the harmful attack of
the thought becomes more intense due to the impudence of the enemy, we should
not turn to cowardice nor quit the battle in its duration, but instead, we
should endure up to the point when God will notice our perseverance. He will
then enlighten us with the Grace of the Holy Spirit, which will on one hand
cause the enemy to flee, and on the other hand, flood our mind with Holy Light,
in order for the thought to adore God with uninterrupted tranquility and joy.”
In general, the Holy Fathers have
these methods of confronting corrupt thoughts: a) Prayer, b) Objection, and c)
Contempt.
a) Prayer. It is not possible for the beginner
to rid himself of these thoughts on his own. It is only those perfected in
prayer who know how to do this.
The prayer of the heart, the monologistic prayer of “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy
on me, a sinner,” is the strongest weapon which someone can use in order to
win over cunning thoughts. “The name of
Jesus scourges the enemies. There is truly no stronger weapon on earth nor in
heaven,” stresses St. John of the Ladder.
“The ever-sweet Name of Jesus,
continuously meditated on with fervent passion and faith in the depths of the
heart, lulls to sleep all the evil thoughts, while awakening all the pure and
spiritual. And wherever there originated impure thoughts from the heart such as
murder, adultery (Matthew 15:19), as the Lord said, it is from there that
follow thoughts filled with purity, and speech of wisdom, and Grace.”
b) The Objection. Prayer is for the beginners and the
weak. Those who are able to fight should then use objection, which usually
muzzles the demons to silence. Our Lord used this method in order to win the
three great wars which were begun in the desert mountain by the devil.
Sensuality with “Man shall not live by
bread alone.” Ambition with “You
shall not tempt the Lord your God.” Avarice with “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve”
(Matthew 4:10).
The holy Martyr Peter of Damascus relates the following to
us: “When the demons inflict us with a
thought of pride, then you should remember the shameful thoughts which they
flung at you, and thus you should humble yourself. Then again, when you are
subjected to corrupt thoughts, remember those thoughts of pride and be
victorious over them by the use of this method so that you either lose hope
because of the impure thoughts, or become proud because of the good ones.”
This is just what one elder said when he would find himself
subjected to thoughts of haughtiness: “Old man, take a strong look at your
fornication,” and the war would then come to an end.
There are instances when one musters up all his spiritual
strength, all the pure thoughts, and yet still is unable to dispel one evil
thought. What is the cause of this? “It is due to the fact that we begin by
accepting the thought of judging our brethren.” By judging our brothers, our
thoughts lose the strength which they previously had. There are many times when
we are nonsensical and, for this reason, we are overpowered by thoughts. Many
times, however, we do not have the power to withstand these thoughts. As a
result, we receive spiritual wounds so deep that they cannot recover, even with
the passage of a great period of time.
For this reason, it is best for one to resort to the power
of prayer and tears, because:
1) The soul does not always have the same strength, 2) the
devil has thousands of years of experience, whereas ours is very limited, with
the result of us quitting the battle defeated and wounded, since our nous is yet again polluted with corrupt
fantasies, and 3) one dispels haughtiness and shows humility when one takes
refuge in God at the time of the war of thoughts, and confesses weakness in the
fight, while declaring Jesus Christ the only One who withstands the war, since
it is He who said: “Take courage, I have
overcome the world” (John 16:33). That is, the passions, the thoughts, and
the devil.
c) Contempt. If we occupy ourselves with the
thoughts that are imposed on us by the devil, we will never be able to do any
good.
To dislike, to disregard, and not to be occupied with the
thoughts imposed by the enemy are the greatest weapons. These are the strongest
blows one can throw to the devil. We must regard his thoughts as being vermin,
as the barks of puppies, as mosquitoes, and in the worst instance, as the noise
of an airplane and nothing else, since: 1) we believe in the power of Our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ and 2) we believe that after the crucifixion and death
of Our Lord, the devil has no power whatsoever over us, but remains powerless
and weak, as is written: “O enemy,
destructions are finished forever!” (Psalm 9:6).
There exists no greater victory and humiliation for the
demon than this contempt and scorn, since the person who has arrived at this
point in the battle, is armed with the Grace of God and remains unapprehended
by the thoughts imposed by demons.
+++
These are the three methods of combating corrupt thoughts,
which originally arise from the devil.
In addition, we should say that the memory of death is a
very powerful method for the contempt of these thoughts. The memory of this
creates heartfelt pain for our sins and prevents our mind from accepting such
thoughts. Whosoever considers the passing day as being the last in his life
will curb the shameful thoughts to a very great extent. Do you sit down at a
table in order to have your meal? You should then think of death in order for
gluttony not to tempt you.
We should paint a picture in our mind of our tombstone, in
order to erase the inconsideration and heartlessness we have. Abba Silouan, the
latest formally declared saint of Mount Athos, said: “You should have your mind continually thinking of Hell, and do not
despair.” By these means, no thought will ever take root in you.
Which method should we use in order to escape the ongoing
and tortuous suffering, (as St. Theodore the Studite aptly characterizes the
thoughts)?
Let us follow the tactics of St. John of Kolovos, who had
tested all the methods available. The great spiritual fighter advises us to do
the following:
“I resemble a person who sits under
a great tree and who suddenly sees a great herd of beasts and reptiles coming
to attack him. Then, since he cannot easily withstand it, runs up the tree and
saves himself. This is exactly what I do. I sit in my cell and watch the
cunning thoughts coming to confront me. That is when I climb ‘The Tree of
Life,’ to my God with prayer and in this way, I am saved from the enemy.”
Translation by Calliope Hatzidimitriou (with minor
corrections). Published by the Attendants of Hieromonk Spyridon, New Skete,
Holy Mount Athos, Greece, 1998.
