by Hieromonk Benedict of Holy Mount Athos
Translation by Calliope Hatzidemetriou
Preface
Among the problems which man must confront at his moments of prayer, are the
various thoughts which enter his mind, or nous.
(Note: Nous- The
word has various uses in Patristic teaching. It indicates either the soul or
the heart or even the energy of the soul. Yet, the nous is
mainly the eye of the soul, the purest part of the soul, the highest attention.
It is also called noetic energy, and it is not identified with
reason. Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos)
This booklet is not the result of an experienced study on this important topic
of thoughts and reasonings. It is a discourse which took place some time ago.
It is presented here in a much improved version without having lost its
original figure of speech. Since there are many who struggle with obscene and
impure thoughts and even more who “panic”, this attempt is made so that the
combatant and fighting Christian may understand what thoughts are, where they
come from, what their results are, and how they are confronted.
If anyone is benefited by this small piece of work, let him
pray for those who labored for it.
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 grater 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 more fierce 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 The Original Sin. Up to that
point, man’s mind, was “one-tracked”, that is, it was not distracted to think
of other things. It’s only thoughts were for God! From the time of The Original
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 stimulation 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 the 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. Maximus, 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, much
other successive instrumentation 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 become 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 a 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. Nikodimus 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 though 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’s 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 he
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 the 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, the Egyptian,
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 bout 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 Varsanoufio 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 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 cunning
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 minds 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 Pamvo took part and, while he was praying to
the Lord for assistance, heard a divine voice from above which said: “Pamvo,
Pamvo, 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. Amongst those saints who confirm
this is St. Peter of Alexandria and Pafnoutios 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. Nikodemus 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 Climacus, 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. In 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 Climacus 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
Climacus”, 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 him to 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 Climacus, “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, 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 the 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 nor
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. Hysichios 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 under handed. That is, it ties the human
soul to the earthly things. The person who senses the continuous harassment 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 that we say that thoughts agitate a person and 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 then 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 help
a person in not having indecent thoughts.
“Tend to rid yourself from the passions and von will immediately expel these
thoughts from your mind” stresses St. Maximus 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 mind, the monologistic prayer of “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of
God, have mercy on me, the 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 Climacus.
“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 combat 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 to 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 neither
lose hope because of the impure thoughts, nor 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 the Death of
Our Lord, the devil has no power whatsoever over us, but remains powerless and
weak, as is written: “The enemy has come to an end in perpetual ruins,”! (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 un-apprehended by the thoughts
imposed by demons.
***
These are the three methods of combating corrupt thoughts which originally
arise from the devil.
In addition, we could 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 the 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 Stouditis 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, 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 by this way I am saved
from the enemy”.
Hieromonk Benedict of Holy Mount Athos, Thoughts and how to confront them
(Translation by Calliope Hatzidemetriou).
Sources
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