ORTHODOX PSYCHOTHERAPY   o  ·   1  ·   2     3     4  ·   5  ·   6   © Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos CHAPTER III Therapy of the soul Interrelations of soul, nous, heart and mind Nous and soul Nous and heart Nous and reason Nous and attention ............................................................................. Thoughts - Logismoi What logismoi are The cause of evil thoughts Consequences of evil thoughts Curing of evil thoughts   [ BACK ] Therapy of the soul

The whole tradition of the Orthodox Church consists in healing and bringing to life the soul which is dead from sin. All the sacraments and the whole ascetic life of the Church contribute to this healing. Anyone who is not aware of this fact is unable to sense the atmosphere of the Orthodox Tradition. We shall see in what follows what this health and vitalising of the soul is, and several ways of attaining it, and how a healthy and living soul functions.

Health of the soul consists in dispassion and spiritual knowledge (58). "The soul is perfect when permeated by the virtues" (59). A soul is perfect "if its passible aspect is totally oriented towards God" (60). A pure soul is "one that loves God" (61). A pure soul is "one freed from passions and constantly delighted by divine love" (62).

The holy Fathers also describe several ways in which the soul is revived, vitalised and healed. Godly sorrow, or repentance, puts an end to sensual pleasure, but "the destruction of sensual pleasure is the soul's resurrection" (63). Anthony, the great servant of God, said that we must purify our minds. "For I believe that when the mind is completely pure and is in its natural state, it gains penetrating insight, and it sees more clearly and further than the demons, since the Lord reveals things to it" (64). That is to say, this holy servant of the soul enjoins us to purify our minds. It has been observed that if anyone keeps his nous pure from evil thoughts and various images, then he can keep his soul pure.

Theoleptos, Metropolitan of Philadelphia, teaches: "When, having put an end to external distractions, you also master inner thoughts, then your nous is stirred to spiritual acts and words." The effort to keep one's mind pure and to free oneself from the many distractions results in the appearance within us of the nous, which had been dead and unseen. Therefore again Theoleptos advises: "Put an end to mixing with the outer world and fight with the inner thoughts until you find the place of pure prayer and the home where Christ dwells" (65). The heart, as we shall point out in another place, is the home where God dwells. We shall discover it only when we strive to live quietly and when we struggle against the thoughts which hold sway in us. Purity of the nous is very important. This method is simple but comprehensive and brings great benefit to man's soul, since it makes it a temple of the Holy Spirit.

The soul is healed when it rejects relations with inferior things and cleaves in love to one who is superior (66).

St. Gregory Palamas, interpreting the whole tradition of the Orthodox Church, says that through transgression and sin we lost the likeness of God, but "we did not lose the image". Precisely because we did not lose the image we can restore the soul. The soul, freed from relations with inferior things and cleaving in love to one who is superior and submitting to him through the works and ways of virtue, "receives from him illumination, adornment and betterment and it obeys his counsels and exhortations, from which it receives true and eternal life" (67). When the soul obeys God's law, it gradually becomes healthy, is illuminated and receives eternal life.

Beside the practical method for healing the soul, Nicetas Stethatos also offers another method, through theoria. Where there is love for God, an active nous, and participation in the unapproachable light, "there is also peace in the powers of the soul, purification of the nous and indwelling of the Holy Trinity" (68). Therefore, beside the effort to keep our nous pure, it is necessary to accustom the nous to inner action and inner prayer, to acquire charity and love for God - because where this love dwells, peace comes to the powers of the soul - and purity of the nous.

In another section of this book we speak more analytically about how the soul is healed when it moves according to nature, and there we describe the natural movement of each part of the soul. Here, since we are speaking of the healing of the soul we shall just briefly emphasise a few facts.

St. Gregory Palamas writes that we struggle to drive the law of sin out of our body and to install in its place the oversight of the nous, in this way establishing a law appropriate for each power of the soul and for every member of the body. For the senses we ordain self-control. For the passible part of the soul, love. We improve the intelligence by rejecting everything which impedes the mind's ascent towards God, and this we call nepsis. If a person has purified his body through self-control, has made his emotions and desires an occasion of virtue, and presented to God a mind purified by prayer, then he "acquires and sees in himself the grace promised to those whose hearts have been purified" (69).

St. Maximus, in the Orthodox tradition, exhorts: "Bridle your soul's incensive power with love, quench its desire with self-control, give wings to its intelligence with prayer, and the light of your nous will never be darkened" (70).

It is not advice or medicines that heal the sick soul, that give life to the dead nous, that purify the impure heart, but the ascetic method of the Church, self-control, love, prayer and guarding of the nous from Satan's provocations through evil thoughts. Therefore we believe that the Orthodox tradition is very important for our time, for it is the only thing that can free a man and heal him from the anxiety and insecurity brought on by the death of his soul.

In the texts of Holy Scripture and the holy Fathers there is confusion, but also distinction, among the terms soul, nous, heart, and mind (dianoia). Anyone delighting in the writings of the Fathers and the New Testament, first faces the problem of the confusion among these concepts and terms. These terms are interchanging. I was occupied with this topic for many years and tried to find a solution. In reading the bibliographies on the subject I found that the interpreters, with very few exceptions, were unable to determine the relations and distinction of these terms. Therefore in this section we shall attempt to distinguish them and to describe the framework within which each term moves.

We have so far explained that man's soul is in the image of God, and since the soul gives life to the attached body, the image in man is stronger than the image in the angels. Since the soul is all through the body, both the whole man and the body itself can be regarded as in the image of God. The hymn by St. John of Damascus sung in the funeral service is characteristic. "I weep and I wail when I think upon death, and behold our beauty, fashioned after the image of God, lying in the tomb disfigured, dishonoured, bereft of form." It is plain that in this hymn the image refers to the body which is in the tomb.

In the texts of the New Testament and the Fathers the soul is identified with the nous. The terms `nous' and soul interchange. St. John of Damascus writes that the nous is the purest part of the soul, it is the eye of the soul: "The soul does not have the nous as something distinct from itself, but as its purest part, for as the eye is to the body, so is the nous to the soul". Thus he is saying that the soul has the nous as its eye (71).

St. Gregory Palamas uses the term `nous' in two senses. It is the whole soul, the image, and it is also a power of the soul, as we explained in another section, because, as the Trinitarian God is Nous, Word and Spirit, so the soul too has nous, word and spirit. According to this Athonite saint, the nous is identified with the soul, but it is also a power of the soul. I shall cite a characteristic passage containing these concepts. After the creation of man, writes the saint, the angels saw with their eyes "the soul of man joined to sense and flesh, and they were seeing another god not only come into being on earth through divine goodness, intellect and flesh the same man, but transformed by this extravagance and by the grace of God so as to be the same flesh and nous and spirit, and so that the soul had the image and likeness of God, as completely unified in nous and word and spirit" (72).

The following things appear in this text. In the beginning it speaks of the soul which is joined with flesh and the senses. A little further on the terms `soul' and `nous' are interchanged. Instead of `soul' he uses `nous', "nous and flesh the same man". In what follows he uses the division: flesh, nous and spirit, the spirit being the grace of the Holy Spirit, since God did not form man only of soul and body, "but also divinely favoured with grace. For such is the truly living soul" (73). After this he writes that the soul is in the image and likeness of God, "completely unified in nous and word and spirit." So it seems clear in this text that the soul is in the image of God, that the nous is sometimes identified with soul and at other times regarded as a power of the soul, the eye of the soul, as St. John of Damascus says.

The identification of nous with soul is clear also in another passage of St. Gregory Palamas. He writes in one of his chapters: "For it is not the bodily constitution but the very nature of the nous which possesses this image and nothing in our nature is superior to the nous" (74).

Man's soul, being in the image of God, is triadic. It is nous, word and spirit. Since in the general meaning the nous is identified with the soul, it means that the nous too has three powers. While the nous is one of the powers of the soul, at the same time it is also the whole soul. We shall cite one characteristic passage in St. Gregory. "When the oneness of the nous becomes threefold while yet remaining single, it is united with the Divine Threefold Oneness...The oneness of the nous becomes threefold while remaining single, when it returns to itself and rises through itself to God" (75). Thus the soul "is one, although it has many powers" (76), one of which is the nous, but in addition the soul as a whole with its three powers is also called the nous.

We have already seen that the Fathers refer the image of God to the soul. But at the same time it is also said that the image refers to the nous: "It is not the bodily constitution but the very nature of the nous which possesses this image" (77).

Inasmuch as God has essence and energy, so too the soul, which is in the image of God, has essence and energy. But since, as we have seen, the nous is also identified with the soul, the nous too has essence and energy.

St. Gregory Palamas, with all his wisdom and discrimination, analyses this fact. The heart is the essence of the soul, and the activity of the nous consisting of thoughts and conceptual images is the energy of the soul. Therefore the nous too has essence and energy. So the term `nous' is used sometimes to mean essence and sometimes to mean energy or action. The saint writes characteristically: "What is called nous is also the activity of the nous, consisting of thoughts and conceptual images. Nous is also the power which produces this and which in Scripture is called the heart" (78). Since St. Gregory's contemporaries reproached him when he spoke of the return of the nous to the heart, he wrote: "It would seem that such people are unaware that the essence of the nous is one thing, its energy another" (79).

The nous is also called the essence of the soul, that is to say the heart. In many passages of Holy Scripture and in the Fathers there is this identification of nous and heart, since these terms are used interchangeably. The Lord blesses the pure in heart: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matt,5,8). God is revealed in the heart and it is there that man comes to know Him. The Apostle Paul writes that God's illumination is there: God has caused His light to shine "in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2Cor.4,6). The same Apostle prays "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your hearts being enlightened that you may know..." (Eph.1,17-18). The heart receives the revelation of the knowledge of God. Elsewhere this heart is replaced by the nous. When the Lord was among his disciples after his resurrection, "He opened their understanding (`nous') that they might comprehend the Scriptures" (Lk.24,45). Since man comes to know God through opening the eyes of his heart and purifying his heart, the phrase "He opened their understanding" is the same as "He opened their hearts". Likewise "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" is, I believe, linked with the apostolic passage: "...be transformed by the renewing of your mind (nous)..." (Rom.12.2).

So in this sense the nous is also called heart and the two terms nous and heart interchange. St. Maximus the Confessor, interpreting Christ's saying: "Give alms from what is inside, and you will find that everything is clean for you" (Luk.11,41), says: "This applies to those who no longer spend their time on things to do with the body, but strive to cleanse the nous (which the Lord calls `heart') from hatred and dissipation. For these defile the nous and do not allow it to see Christ, who dwells in it by the grace of holy baptism" (80). So the nous is called the essence of the soul, that is, the heart. In this conception nous and heart are identical, since Christ dwells in the nous.

However, the energy of the nous, "consisting of thoughts and conceptual images", is also called nous. The Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians: "If I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my nous is unfruitful. What am I to do? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the nous also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the nous also" (1Cor.14,14-15). In this passage the spirit is the gift of tongues, and the nous is reason. So here `nous' is identified with reason, intelligence. There are many passages in Holy Scripture with this meaning.

Beyond these things St. Maximus the Confessor, giving the name nous to the intelligence and the heart, which is the centre of our being, through which we acquire knowledge of God, presents the distinction and energy of each function. "A pure nous sees things correctly. A trained intelligence puts them in order" (81). The nous (heart) is that which sees things clearly and therefore should be purified, and the intelligence is that which formulates and expresses what has been seen. With this passage we come to the point of asserting that in order to be a Father of the Church it is necessary to have not only a clear nous but also expression, that is trained speech, in order to express these supranatural realities as far as is possible.

Other Fathers use the term `nous' to define attention, which is more subtle than reason (82). Theoleptos of Philadelphia links nous with attention, word with invocation, spirit with compunction and love. When the powers of the soul function in this way, then "the whole of the inner man serves the Lord. But it sometimes happens that while the mind is offering the words of prayer, the nous (the more subtle attention) does not go with it, does not fix its gaze on God, with whom the words of the prayer are speaking, but it is distracted by different thoughts without realising it. So the mind says the words from habit, but the nous is taken away from knowledge of God. Therefore the soul too then seems not to be aware or organised, since the nous is scattered in various fantasies and is engaged in things which deceive it or in things which it desires" (83).

So the nous itself, which is not simply the thoughts, but the subtler attention, should return to the heart, to the essence of the soul, which is located, as in an organ, within the bodily organ of the heart, since this bodily organ is the seat of intelligence and "the first intelligent organ of the body". Thus we should concentrate our nous, which is scattered abroad by the senses, and bring it back again "to the selfsame heart, the seat of thoughts" (84).

We have not exhausted the subject of the nous. In this section we simply wanted in some way to distinguish the terms nous, heart and soul and to point out their relations and differences. We shall return to these concepts when we speak at greater length about nous, heart and thoughts.

In this section we want briefly to emphasise that the term `nous' has many meanings in the biblico-patristic tradition. The nous is identified with the soul, but at the same time it is also an energy of the soul. Like the soul, the nous too is in the image of God. And just as the soul is divided into essence and energy, the same is true of the nous. And just as in God essence and energy are separated inseparably, so it is with the nous. That is why in some places the Fathers characterise nous as essence, that is the heart, in which case the nous is identified with the heart, and in other passages they characterise nous as energy, conceptual images and thoughts and the subtler attention which is poured out through the senses, when it should return to the heart. The Fathers mainly refer to the nous more generally as the heart and the soul, without excluding the other names which we mentioned before.

We have lost our tradition relating to it, and many of us identify the nous with intelligence. We do not at all suspect that aside from intelligence there is also another power which has greater value: the nous, the heart. The whole of civilisation is a civilisation of the loss of the heart. And a person cannot understand what he has not in his heart. The heart has died, the nous has been darkened, and we cannot perceive their presence. That is why this clarification has been necessary. A person who has the Holy Spirit within him, who is "in the revelation", does not need many clarifications, because he himself knows from experience the presence and existence of the nous, the heart.

It is in the intelligent part of the soul that evil thoughts operate which excite desire and attempt to capture man's nous so that sin is committed. The development of sin starts with thoughts. Therefore anyone who wishes to purify his inner world, to be released from sin, to be freed from the captivity of his nous must keep his intelligence safe from the impact of evil thoughts. So in this section we shall try to analyse what these thoughts are, what causes them, what results they produce in our spiritual organism, and finally what methods cure us of them. This is a very crucial matter because our spiritual death or spiritual life depend on our confronting them. Furthermore, as we shall see in what follows, many physical abnormalities and illnesses originate from unbridled thoughts.

When the Fathers speak of `thoughts'(logismoi), they do not mean simple thoughts, but the images and representations behind which there are always appropriate thoughts. The images with the thoughts are called `logismoi'. "Images in some cases appear to take on visible form, while others are mostly products of the mind, but more often it is a combination of the two. As visible images also generate some thought or other, ascetics label all images `intrusive thoughts'" (388). The various satanic thoughts sometimes use as their vehicle what the senses bring to the nous, sometimes they mobilise fantasy and disjointed memory, and they attack the person with the ulterior aim of effecting his capture.

According to Hesychios the Priest, most people are unaware that these thoughts are nothing but "images of material and worldly things" (389). As it appears from this text, imagination plays a very important role in the formation of the image in us. Thus one can say that logismoi are painters of various images and representations in our intelligence, most of them memories of the past. One brother who was being attacked by memories of the past said: "My thoughts are old and new painters: memories are troubling me, and idols of women" (390).

All things have their inner principles (words, logoi) with which they speak and communicate with man. According to St. Gregory of Sinai, Holy Scripture also calls these `words' of things `thoughts'. The words of things are also called conceptual images, and vice versa. Their action "is not material in itself, but it takes the form of material things, and its form changes" (391). The words of things are used by the demons and therefore they can also be called the words of the demons (392). St. Gregory of Sinai characterises evil thoughts, or rather their onslaught, as a "flowing river", which, through assent to sin, is transformed into a deluge that drowns the heart (393).

In speaking of `thoughts' and trying to pinpoint exactly what they are, I think that we must refer to the division made by St. Maximus. He says that some thoughts are simple, others composite. Thoughts which are not linked with passion are simple. Passion-charged thoughts are composite, consisting "of a conceptual image combined with passion" (394). The memory of a thing, when combined with passion makes the thought passion-charged or composite. I think that at this point it is well to outline the distinction between a thing, a conceptual image, and a passion as St. Maximus analyses them. Gold, a woman, a man, and so forth, are things. The simple memory of gold, a woman, or a man is a conceptual image. A passion is "mindless affection or indiscriminate hatred for one of these same things". An impassioned conceptual image is a thought compounded of passion and a conceptual image. Therefore we must strive to separate the passion from the conceptual image so that the thought remains simple. And this separation can be made through spiritual love and self-control (395).

Impassioned thoughts either stimulate the soul's desiring power or disturb its incensive power, or darken its intelligence (396).

Evagrius emphasises that there are thoughts which cut off and there are thoughts which are cut off. Evil thoughts cut off good ones, but also evil thoughts are cut off by good ones. He offers an example. The thought of giving hospitality for the glory of the Lord is cut off by the tempter, who suggests a thought of hospitality for the sake of appearing hospitable in the eyes of others. Likewise the thought of giving hospitality to gain human recognition is cut off "when a better thought comes" which prompts us to be hospitable for the Lord's sake and for the sake of virtue (397). So it is possible for one thought to start off as evil, but through our own effort and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to be transformed into a good one, and vice versa. However, we shall look at this more analytically later, when we speak of curing from evil thoughts. At least we see here that there are thoughts which cut off and thoughts which are cut off, good thoughts and bad thoughts.

What we have written about the nature of evil thoughts also shows their causes. According to St. Gregory of Sinai, the origin and cause of evil thoughts lies in "the splitting up, through man's transgression, of his single and simple memory" (398). Before his transgression man's memory was simple, that is, it had no passion and it was turned entirely towards God. All the powers of the soul were centred on God. Immediately after the transgression this single memory was split up. St. Thalassios teaches that evil thoughts arise from three sources: the senses, the memory, and the body's temperament. The worst are those that come from the memory (399).

I think that St. Isaac the Syrian gives us a starting-point for seeing more clearly the causes of evil thoughts and what it is that provokes them. He teaches that "the movement of thoughts in a man originates from four causes. Firstly, from the natural will of the flesh; secondly, from imagination of sensory objects in the world which a man hears and sees; thirdly, from mental predispositions and from the aberrations of the soul; and fourthly, from the assaults of the demons who wage war with us in all the passions. Therefore as long as a person remains in this world he cannot avoid thoughts and warfare" (400).

The basic cause of evil thoughts is the warfare of the devil. The majority of evil thoughts are from the devil. The devil's aim is to lead a man to sin either in thought or in action. He even waged war against Christ Himself, naturally without any success. The demons who are always trying to lay hold of our soul do so "by means of impassioned thoughts" so that they may cause it to sin either in the mind or in action (401). When a man thinks evil, he sins in thought, whereas when he does the will of the devil and gratifies his desire, he sins in action. The committing of sin is called sinning in action. The demons constantly sow thoughts in order to capture the nous. The saints recognise "the seeds of the demons" and advise people accordingly (402).

St. Gregory of Sinai says that thoughts are the words of demons and the forerunners of passions. First comes the thought, and then the sin is committed (403). According to Ilias the Presbyter, demons wage war against our soul first through thoughts and not through things. "Hearing and sight are responsible for the warfare waged through things, habit and the demons for that waged through thoughts" (404). The demons constantly implant impure and shameful thoughts. Each passion has its corresponding demon, and St. John of the Ladder emphasises that shameful and unclean thoughts in the heart come from the deceiving demon of the heart (405). The cunning of the demons in this warfare is great, and only the saints whose nous is pure and who have the gift of insight can distinguish it. Thus St. John of the Ladder writes that he once noticed the demon of vainglory doing a double piece of work. In one brother he sowed thoughts of vainglory, and at the same moment he revealed those thoughts to another brother so that he would be praised as a thought-reader and thus fall into the sin and passion of vainglory (406). Therefore the devil's warfare against us by means of thoughts is harder than that waged by means of material things (407).

But usually the devil takes his opportunity from the passions which exist in our soul in order to launch the appropriate warfare of thoughts. He knows the passions that are there and he excites the soul at those points. "The passions lying hidden in the soul provide the demons with the means of arousing impassioned thoughts in us" (408). And since the most basic passion, from which all the others are engendered is self-love, it is in the passion of self-love that "the three most common forms of desire" have their origin (409). When the heart of man inclines towards self-indulgence, it becomes a source of evil thoughts: "From a pleasure-loving heart arise unhealthy thoughts and words" (410). Since there are voluntary and involuntary thoughts, that is, thoughts which come to us unsought and thoughts coming from our own will - for involuntary ones arise from previous sin, while voluntary ones are from our free will -therefore we can say that the voluntary thoughts are causes of the involuntary ones (411). The causes of thoughts are the passions, and the causes of passions are sinful acts (412).

In general we can say that the thoughts which come from the demons capture the nous and lead it to commit sin in thought and deed. And when this sin is repeated many times and the organism acquires a habit, passion comes into being. Then from the passions, which in a way are the wounds of the soul, come the corresponding evil thoughts. It is the same as with wounds of the body. Something causes the body to be wounded, and as a result the wound causes an irritation, whereupon the problem continues and increases further.

At many points in His teaching the Lord mentions that the evil thoughts come from within the heart. "Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander" (Matt.15,19). Luke the Evangelist mentions that an argument arose among Christ's disciples "as to which of them would be greatest". "But when Jesus perceived the thought of their hearts, he took a child and put him by His side" (Lk.9,46f). When the Lord appeared after the Resurrection, he said to His disciples: "Why are you troubled? And why do questionings arise in your hearts?" (Lk.24,38). All these passages show that questionings come from within the heart of man. Indeed the nous is the first to be attacked by the thought, but then passions work in the heart, and through them the devil takes the opportunity to put his own thoughts into play. Therefore it is said that questionings come from within the heart.

The teaching of St. Diadochos of Photike is related to this. The heart produces good and evil thoughts. However, it does not produce evil thoughts by nature, but from the memory of evil, of that first sin which it committed and which led to the habit. The heart conceives most of its evil thoughts as a result of the evil of the demons. However, we feel that they arise from the heart. Man's nous, being highly responsive, makes its own the thoughts sown in it by the evil spirits. The same happens also with the flesh. Since the flesh delights in being flattered by deception and since there is a union between the soul and the body, the thoughts sown in the soul by the demons seem to come from the heart (413). The nous provides the nourishment for the heart. Whatever it has, good or bad, it transmits directly to the heart. Since most of us are inexperienced in this spiritual combat and since this transmission takes place very quickly, we feel that the thoughts are produced by the heart.

Aside from the devil and the passions, things in themselves engender thoughts. But, as St. Gregory of Sinai teaches, things in themselves give birth to simple thoughts, while suggestions of the devil engender evil thoughts (414). So matter is not bad; what is bad are the shameful desires within us, the passions in us and the provocation on the part of the demons. "Just as it is impossible to stop a watermill from turning" and grinding the wheat or tares that we throw into it, so it is with our mind; it is in constant motion. it depends on us whether we give it spiritual meditation or works of the flesh. Therefore when we are occupied with worldly concerns and matters of the flesh, and when we give ourselves over to pointless and useless conversation, "these base thoughts multiply in us" (415). So the use of the world and the being of the world are not bad, but what is bad is our own disposition, our own self-will.

Certainly aside from evil thoughts there are good thoughts, those coming from God. How can we distinguish these thoughts? Those of us who are beginners in the spiritual life should ask experienced spiritual fathers, and especially those who have the gift of distinguishing spirits. In any case, one general teaching is that when a thought suggests something to us and joy comes, it is a sign that the thought is from God. The thoughts of the devil are full of disturbance and dejection. St. Barsanuphios teaches: "When a thought suggests to you to do something according to the will of God, and you find in this matter joy, and at the same time sorrow which fights against it, know that this thought is from God...The thoughts which come from the devil are filled with disturbance and dejection, and they draw one after them secretly and subtly; for the enemies clothe themselves in sheepskins, that is, they instil thoughts which in appearance are right, but within are `ravening wolves'" (416). It must be noted that a thought is capable of evoking a joy which, however, comes from vanity and a self-indulgent heart. Therefore thoughts can be distinguished only by one who has tasted the grace of the Holy Spirit and has been cleansed from the passions which are found in the soul. Those who lack this experience should consult experienced spiritual fathers, because the devil suggests righteous thoughts, while he is unrighteous.

Now that we have pointed out what thoughts are and what causes give rise to them, we must look briefly at the different kinds of thoughts. Thoughts are analogous to the passions. For each passion there is a thought. St. Cassian of Rome divides them into eight and analyses at length the eight thoughts of evil. These are: "gluttony, unchastity, avarice, anger, dejection, listlessness, self-esteem and pride" (417).

St. Thalassios says that there are three basic thoughts: gluttony, self-esteem and avarice. All other impassioned thoughts follow in their wake (418). These three thoughts correspond to the three great general passions: self-indulgence, love of glory, and avarice or love of possessions, to which the temptations of Christ refer.

We must make mention of one great, disgraceful thought, that of blasphemy. St. John of the Ladder, recognising the wickedness and seriousness of thoughts of blasphemy, as well as the fact that they mainly attack those who are struggling in the spiritual life, devotes a whole chapter to describing them and presenting methods for ridding ourselves of these thoughts. He writes that the thought of blasphemy comes from pride. It attacks a man even during the Liturgy, even at the time of preparation for Holy Communion. It attacks the nous and distracts it from the words of the prayer. It stops many from praying and cuts many off from Communion; it causes the bodies of some to be worn away with grief. St. John of the Ladder advises us not to regard ourselves as the cause of thoughts of blasphemy. They are the demon's words intended to estrange us from God and His Church (419).

Yet evil thoughts are the beginning of the devil's warfare against us. A thought planted by the devil develops until the sin is committed and leads to passion. Therefore in what follows we shall try to see this development of evil thoughts in the light of the experience of the Holy Fathers.

St. Maximus teaches that the impassioned thoughts aroused by the passions lying hidden in the soul fight the nous and force it to give its assent to sin. When the nous has been overcome in this warfare "they lead it to sin in the mind; and when this has been done they induce it, captive as it is, to commit the sin in action". After the action the demons who have desolated the soul by means of these thoughts, retreat, but the spectre or idol of sin remains in the nous (420). Thus thoughts take the nous captive and lead it captive into sin. If the idol of sin is not driven away by intense and lasting repentance, it is a source of abnormalities in the spiritual organism.

This in general outline is the development of an intrusive thought and the course it takes. But we would do well also to see a few details about it, again as described by the Fathers.

The thought that has entered the soul's intelligence endeavours to capture the nous. To this end it prompts a feeling of the pleasure to be afforded by one or another passion which is in the soul. This stage is called temptation and is not to be reckoned as sin (421). Prolonged delectation afforded by the passion attracts the attention of the nous (422). If the nous does not tear itself away from the suggested delights, it finds itself attracted, favourable conversation with them begins, coupling follows, and it comes to assent. The increasing pleasure captures the whole nous, and the will as well. Thus the person's resistance becomes weak. Then the sin is committed. When the captures are repeated, the habit of a passion is formed, "and then all man's natural forces are at its service" (423). The presence and prolongation of pleasure are very important for the capture and activation of passion. Therefore the Fathers advise mortifying the pleasure as far as possible, or better, its transformation, when it captures the person's nous. Abba Dorotheos says that whenever passionate desires reappear in the soul of those who put up a fight, they are immediately rejected (424).

Hesychios writes about the mingling and uniting of the soul's thoughts with the provocation of the demon through fantasy: "...its thoughts become entwined in the fantasy provoked by the devil", and so it comes to assent and to action (425). Fantasy plays an important role, especially in cases where the object or person is far from us. But also when the person or object is seen, that is, when it is linked with the senses, then too fantasy magnifies things and increases their beauty in order to capture the nous and lead it to consent. From this point of view we can say that impassioned thoughts blur and confuse the nous, fill it with impure images and carry it "unwillingly and forcefully towards sinful acts" (426).

It seems that a man's freedom gives its consent not only at the time when it receives the temptation, the proposal from the demonic thought, but also beforehand, when, with freedom's consent, the eye and the ear of the soul are darkened. As Philotheos of Sinai teaches, the reason why a person looks on things adulterously is that "the inner eye has become adulterous and darkened" and the reason for wanting to hear about foul things is that "our soul's ears have listened to what the foul demons inside us have whispered to us" (427). If a person is corrupted inwardly, the eye of his heart is defiled and then his outward bodily senses are also corrupted. That is why man's struggle must first be carried on inwardly.

Likewise when a person keeps thoughts within him and elaborates them, pleasure arises and the nous comes to assent and action. "As eggs warmed in dung hatch out, so unconfessed evil thoughts hatch evil actions" (428).

What has been said shows clearly the consequences of prolonged and elaborated thoughts. In the next section we shall present these consequences.

When a thought is prolonged in us we become enslaved to the attraction. "When a thought lingers within a man, this indicates his attachment to it" (429). Attraction is a person's attachment to created things and his desire to realise them and acquire only those things. When the nous is disengaged from heavenly food, from the remembrance of heavenly things, it constantly offers itself to the sensory and created things of the world. This is called attraction. It is led there by the thought which lingers within it.

The person becomes intemperate. He cannot control himself. "He whose mind teems with thoughts lacks self-control" (430).

"The person who in thought does not fight the thought of sin, saying nothing against it, commits it bodily" (431).

When an evil thought lingers in someone and is not opposed but put into action, it reinforces the passion in him, and then it fights and torments him further (432).

Thoughts rot us and crush us, also creating problems in interpersonal relations. "We spend all our time corrupting ourselves by the thoughts which we have against one another and tormenting ourselves..." (433).

Evil thoughts defile and pollute our soul (434), they damage it, they poison it. "Such is the cunning of the evil one, and with these arrows he poisons every soul" (435).

"A man who is carried away by his thoughts is blinded by them; and while he can see the actual working of sin, he cannot see its causes" (436). This acceptance of thoughts gives the devil mastery over him and can lead him even to suicide, since he cannot resist the power of the devil.

An impure thought debases the soul (437), it throws a man's soul down on the ground.

Impassioned thoughts stimulate the soul's desiring power; they disturb the incensive power and the intelligence. "It is in this way that the nous's capacity for spiritual contemplation and for the ecstasy of prayer is dulled" (438). Without God a man is dead.

Anyone who continuously feels disturbed by thoughts and whose underbelly is aflame shows that he is far from the fragrance of the Spirit (439).

Intimacy with God is lost. "When the nous associates with evil and sordid thoughts it loses its intimate communion with God" (440). God cannot have communion with someone whose nous is constantly defiled by evil and impure thoughts. And God is disgusted by a man who accepts unclean thoughts while standing at prayer, just as an earthly king would be disgusted by a man who in his presence turned his face away and talked to his master's enemies (441).

Not only does a man of unclean thoughts lose his intimacy with God and the fragrance of the Holy Spirit, but he is completely separated from God. "For unclean thoughts separate God from man." God does not disclose His mysteries to one who is possessed by evil thoughts (442). Abba Dorotheos says very clearly, "A single evil thought can turn a man away from God when it is taken in and adhered to" (443).

Since thoughts separate a person from God, they are followed by other, bodily abnormalities. Anguish, insecurity and physical illnesses are caused by thoughts. Physicians too have become aware of this, so they advise us not to keep thinking about things and worrying. One thought can let a person lie sleepless for a whole night. So we say that thoughts disturb a man and even break his nerves. Abba Theodoros said: "A thought comes and bothers me..." (444)

The results of evil thoughts are truly terrible. We have pointed them out very briefly, but we could have cited more patristic passages. We have tried to indicate the general abnormalities which they produce in our psychosomatic organism.

A psychotherapeutic method must, however, also describe the ways in which people are healed of evil, demonic thoughts. We now come just to this topic.

As with all diseases of the soul and body, so also with thoughts there is preventive treatment as well as therapeutic treatment after the illness. We shall look at both.

The preventive work is to try not to let the thought enter us and capture our nous. This is achieved by watchfulness, attentiveness, hesychia, and cutting off evil thoughts. The Apostle Paul instructs his disciple Timothy to be constantly watchful: "As for you, always be watchful" (2Ti.4,5). The patristic writings contain an extensive analysis of this struggle.

Watchfulness is also called guarding of thoughts. St. John of the Ladder teaches that it is one thing to guard thoughts and another to watch over the nous. Watching over the nous is higher than guarding thoughts (445). This is true in the sense that we defined earlier, that the nous is the eye of the soul, the heart, while a thought is what functions in a man's mind. It is one thing to try to keep the mind pure and another to try to keep the nous, that is the heart, pure. Nevertheless purity of thoughts is needed, because it is impossible to keep one's inner self free from sin if one has evil thoughts (446). The patristic commandment is to concentrate our nous (the soul's energy in its essence), to be watchful of thoughts and to fight against impassioned thoughts (447). It is essential that we pay attention to our reflections, recollections and notions (448). Indeed in this struggle to keep the nous pure and have constant remembrance of God, we have to discard the good thoughts as well, because even with good thoughts the nous gradually forms the habit of withdrawing from God. The monk Silouan taught: "The saints learned how to do battle with the enemy. They knew that the enemy uses intrusive thoughts to deceive us, and so all through their lives they declined such thoughts. At first sight there seems to be nothing wrong about an intrusive thought but soon it begins to divert the nous from prayer, and then stirs up confusion. The rejection of all intrusive thoughts, however apparently good, is therefore essential, and equally essential is it to have a nous pure in God" (449). We should never have a single thought in our heart, whether senseless or sensible (450). We should protect the eye of the soul from every thought, as we do the eye of the body from every harmful object.

When a person becomes accustomed to this holy struggle of laying aside all thoughts, then the nous tastes the goodness of the Lord and acquires purity so that it can distinguish thoughts and "store in the treasures of its memory those thoughts which are good and have been sent by God, while casting out those which are evil and come from the devil" (451).

This watchfulness of the soul, this guarding of thoughts, is called inner hesychia. Therefore in Orthodox teaching hesychia is not simply stillness from outward stimulations (this too is the beginning of hesychia, especially for the beginner), but it is mainly stillness of the heart. St. Thalassios advises: "Seal your senses with hesychia and sit in judgement upon the thoughts that attack your heart" (452). According to St. John of the Ladder, "stillness of the body is the accurate knowledge and management of one's feelings and perceptions, but stillness of soul is the accurate knowledge of one's thoughts and is an unassailable mind". Brave and determined thinking, watching at the doors of the heart, killing or driving off invading notions are the friends of hesychia (453). When a person perseveres in this struggle, and especially when the nous has been captivated by the Kingdom of God, then the thoughts vanish just as the stars are hidden when the sun rises (454).

Apart from watchfulness and stillness of the nous, another way to prevent the nous from being irritated is to avoid the causes which evoke thoughts. St. Maximus gives an example to show how we must struggle to maintain purity of heart. As we know, the demons of passion either stimulate the soul's desiring power or disturb its incensive power and its intelligence. Therefore a monk should watch his thoughts and seek out and eliminate their causes. "The soul's power of desire is stimulated by impassioned thoughts of women. Such thoughts are caused by intemperance in eating and drinking and by frequent and senseless talk with the women in question; and they are cut off by hunger, thirst, vigils and withdrawal from society. The incensive power is disturbed by impassioned thoughts about those who have offended us. This is caused by self-indulgence, self-esteem and love of material things. It is on account of such vices that the passion-dominated person feels resentment, being frustrated or otherwise failing to attain what he wants. These thoughts are cut off when the vices provoking them are rejected and nullified through the love of God" (455).

Furthermore, in order to be rid of thoughts one should struggle against passions, since it is from these that the demons find occasion to implant convenient thoughts. With regard to the passion of unchastity St. Maximus advises: "fast and keep vigils, labour and avoid meeting people". With regard to anger and resentment: "be indifferent to fame, dishonour and material things". With regard to rancour: "pray for him who has offended you and you will be delivered" (456).

Another struggle is to reduce the pleasure-loving of the heart (457), because thoughts try to kindle pleasure and attract the nous. Along with the pleasure-loving of the heart, it is necessary to tackle the pleasure-loving of the body as well. Everything which evokes bodily pleasure and bodily comfort must be driven away by the athlete of the inner struggle. For if a person gives in to bodily pleasure, "he will necessarily, even if he does not wish it, be led off by force to the Assyrians, to serve Nebuchadnezzar"(458). If a person does not take a very firm stand towards himself on the subject of pleasure, he will not be able to maintain or acquire his inner freedom.

As we pointed out a little earlier, we must avoid things and people that evoke evil thoughts in us. One ascetic, answering the question of a brother who said that he was struggling with memories of women and the desires of the past, said: "Do not fear the dead, but flee from the living, and before all things persist in prayer" (459). We surely are not asked to avoid all people. This is possible for a few who are seeking perfect purity in order to give themselves wholly to God, but we must avoid those people who are a temptation to us, not so much because they are bad, but because we ourselves are inwardly weak and susceptible to sickness. When a person makes it a principle to watch his nous and pay attention to matters and objects and people, he can learn for which of them he has a passion (460).

The fear of God helps to liberate us from warfare with thoughts. The fear of God is God's gift to man. He who receives this gift struggles all day not to do anything displeasing to God, or rather he does not simply struggle, but the fire of the fear of God melts every oncoming thought. But even if there is not this charismatic fear, let us at least of ourselves struggle to create the sense of the presence of God and of the judgement to come. "As wax melts before fire, so does an impure thought melt before the fear of God" (461). The fear of God is the shepherd that leads the sheep, that is, thoughts. Without the shepherding fear, thoughts will be in confusion (462).

Parallel with these things, toil and the ascetic life are a method of therapy. Fasting, vigils and prayer help the nous to avoid capture by the oncoming thoughts. "Waste your body with fasting and vigils, and you will repulse the lethal thoughts of pleasure" (463). "Keep your body under control, and pray constantly; in this way you will soon be free from the thoughts that arise from your prepossessions" (464). St. Mark the Ascetic teaches that if we do not want to be moved by evil thoughts, we must accept humiliation of soul and affliction of the flesh. And this must not be just on particular occasions, but "always, everywhere and in all things" (465).

These things which have been mentioned can be used by a person to prevent sickness due to thoughts, but also if he is sick they are needed as a method of curing from thoughts. But let us look more analytically at how we can cure the soul which has been affected by thoughts.

In the first place one must not be at all agitated. The demons' effort is to create agitation in a person and then in the confusion to interfere more actively in the soul and take it captive. Therefore St. Maximus teaches: "Stand up courageously against the thoughts that surge over you, especially those of irritation and listlessness" (466). Facing thoughts with courage is a second martyrdom. The advice of all the Fathers is not to be agitated when we are attacked by satanic thoughts. St. Barsanuphios says: "If the thought comes, do not be alarmed but understand what it wants to do and counteract it without agitation, calling on the Lord." The bad thing is not that a thief enters the house, but that he takes what he finds in the house (467).

Some people allow the thought to enter their nous and heart in order to hold a dialogue with it and overcome it by the power of Christ. This is done by a few who are abundantly blessed with the grace of Christ and who want to enter into face-to-face combat with the devil in order to destroy him. However, this is not possible for most Christians, who are powerless to take up this strenuous and dangerous combat. So most of us have to scorn intrusive thoughts.

It must be said that the less experienced in spiritual matters a man is, the slower he is to perceive the entrance of the thought. Usually those who are practised spiritual athletes perceive the thought before it has entered their intelligence and even when it is preparing to wage war on the athlete. Some perceive the thought only when there is coupling or when there has already been assent, or on the very threshold of action or even after sin has been committed. "The spiritually inexperienced man generally encounters sinful thoughts only after they have progressed, unnoticed, through the first stages of development - that is, after they have acquired a measure of strength - when the danger approaches of actually sinning" (468). In any case, wherever he meets it he must immediately fight against it. And the more practised he is in this holy game, the more he perceives the thought in the first stages of its development.

A better way than dialogue is to scorn the thoughts and cut them off. Archimandrite Sophrony presents the teaching of St. Silouan about the best method of fighting thoughts: "The Gerontas was saying that the experience of the Holy Fathers shows various ways of combating intrusive thoughts but it is best of all not to argue with them.

"The nous that debates with such a thought will be faced with its steady development, and, bemused by the exchange, will be distracted from remembrance of God, which is exactly what the demons are after - having diverted the nous from God, confuse it, and it will not emerge `clean'.

"Stephen the Hermit (out of whose hands a leopard fed) as he lay dying (Ladder, Step 7), disputed with intrusive thoughts, as was his wont, and so found himself struggling against devils.

"St. Mark of Thrace for having tried to comfort his soul before departing from this life by enumerating his efforts was kept swinging in the air `for an hour' - which suggests that it could have been for all time.

"Other Fathers were more discriminating in their spiritual struggle" (469).

So it is not safe, especially in the beginning of the spiritual life, to let thoughts enter the heart. "But as soon as we perceive them we should counter-attack and repulse them" (470). To scorn a thought is a good way especially for beginners in this struggle.

Without entering into dialogue with the thought, we should refuse to do what it says to us and in that way also weaken the passion itself, and "fighting in this way little by little, and with the help of God, he overcomes the passion itself" (471). This is called resistance to a thought.

Someone said to Abba Poemen: "Abba, I have many thoughts and they put me in danger." The old man led him out and said to him: "Expand your chest and do not breathe in." To the man's answer that he could not do it Abba Poemen replied, "If you cannot do that, no more can you prevent thoughts from arising, but you can resist them." So we cannot prevent thoughts from coming to us.

We need to oppose them. And the opposition consists, on the one hand, in utter scorn, and on the other hand, in not doing what they say. "If we do not do anything about them, in time they are spoiled, that is to say, they disintegrate" (473). Just as when someone shuts a snake or a scorpion in a bottle, in time it will die, "so it is with evil thoughts: they are suggested by the demons; they disappear through patience" (474). When a thought led Abba Agathon to criticise, he said: `Agathon, do not do that,' and so the thought was still" (475). Likewise Abba Theodore and Abba Lucius spent fifty years mocking their temptations by saying to the thought of leaving the place of their asceticism: "After this winter we will leave here." When the summer came, they said, "After the summer we will go away from here." Thus they passed the whole time and mocked the demons (476). Postponing the time of satisfying a thought helps us to be rid of it.

Another way of healing is the struggle not to let thoughts persist. The struggle lies in not letting a simple thought stir passion and not letting a passionate thought be given assent. "Both these two forms of counter-attack prevent the thoughts themselves from persisting" (477). For a thought which persists will engender other thoughts and create many problems in the inner world and will take our nous an unwitting captive.

Likewise we should not let the simple thought become a compound or passionate thought, but also a compound thought should be turned into a simple one. A compound thought is composed of passion and a conceptual image. It will be necessary with self-control and spiritual love to separate the passion from the conceptual image, and then the thought will become simple (478).

Since an intrusive thought tries to kindle sensual pleasure, which will then take the nous captive, the nous must cut off the intended pleasure (479). St. Maximus teaches that we must become murderers not only of bodily passions but also of the soul's impassioned thoughts (480).

Apart from cutting off and scorning thoughts, it is necessary to chase them away, and this is done mainly by prayer. St. Gregory of Sinai teaches that a beginner cannot chase a thought away unless God does it. The strong can wage war with thoughts and chase them away, but again even they do it with God's help. "When thoughts come, call to our Lord Jesus, often and patiently, and they will retreat; for they cannot bear the warmth of heart produced by prayer, and they flee as if scorched by fire." In prayer the name of Jesus is pronounced, which flogs the devil, and the presence of divine grace creates warmth of heart. These things burn evil thoughts and drive them out of the nous. If anyone lacks the energy to pray, let him imitate Moses: lift his hands and eyes to heaven, and then God Himself will drive the thoughts away (481). Just as smoke is dispersed in the air, so evil thoughts are dispersed by the invocation of the Name of Christ (482).

We cannot rid ourselves of demonic thoughts by means of human thinking. We must abandon every thought, even if we are wise, and rest all our hope in God, saying "Lord, arrange the matter as you wish and as you know..."(483). This passage is significant because in time of temptation many people attempt to confront it with human intelligence. However powerful intelligence is, it cannot be more powerful than the devil's thought. For in the struggle against a thought we are fighting against the devil and not against a simple thought.

Praying with watchfulness clears the mind of all images of evil thoughts, and so our mind is made conscious of both the devices of our enemies and the great benefit of prayer and watchfulness (484). Through prayer the athlete of the spiritual life is clearly aware of the whole thought, makes a sober study of it, and in this way without having put the thought into action, is aware of its consequences. Therefore the ascetics who have practice in this spiritual contest, who do not allow the thought to enter them, usually know very well the life of the sin and the sinner without having their own personal experience.

If the enemy's seed is fire, hope in God through prayer is the water which puts out the fire (485). Abba John the Dwarf said: "I sit in my cell and I am aware of evil thoughts coming against me, and when I have no more strength against them, I take refuge in God by prayer and I am saved from the enemy" (486).

An effective method of getting rid of thoughts is to confess them to an experienced spiritual father. St. John Cassian says that "just as a snake which is brought from its dark hole into the light makes every effort to escape and hide itself, so the malicious thoughts that a person brings out into the open by sincere confession seek to depart from him" (487). Nothing so harms a monk and brings such joy to the demons as hiding his thoughts from his spiritual father (488). In this way his whole spiritual life is twisted and he becomes a plaything in the hands of the devil, who can do what he likes with him. Therefore St. John Cassian teaches that nothing leads so surely to salvation as confessing our private thoughts to the most discriminating of the fathers and being guided by them rather than by our own thoughts and judgement (489). "He who conceals his thoughts remains unhealed" (490). Therefore we must confess the persistent thought, bring it to our spiritual father who has responsibility for our salvation. "Any thought that tarries in you and engages you in warfare, reveal to your Abba, and he, with God's help, will heal you" (491). When we speak of a persistent thought we mean one that does not go away in spite of our objection, scorn, and prayer, but continues to wage war against us, like the impassioned thought which is united with the passion.

St. John of the Ladder cites the case of a monk whom he met in a coenobium. He had a small book hanging in his belt and said that he wrote his thoughts in it each day and showed them all to his shepherd (492).

The discriminating shepherd can be illiterate according to the world, not knowing the wisdom of the world, but knowing God's wisdom. Abba Arsenios had the habit of going to ask about his thoughts to a discriminating father who nevertheless was crude, illiterate and uneducated. Another brother asked him: "How is it, Abba Arsenios, that you, with such a good Latin and Greek education, ask this peasant about your thoughts?" He replied: "I have indeed been taught Latin and Greek, but I do not know even the alphabet of this peasant" (493).

When a person has learnt to open himself to God through his spiritual father and to expose all his wounds created by thoughts, and the thoughts themselves, and at the same time listens to his advice, he is released from each one, he is inwardly at peace, and he knows what the peace of Christ means.

As we confess to our spiritual father we also ask for his prayer and blessing. St. John Chrysostom, referring to Christ's words to his Apostles when they were entering a house to give peace, says that often without anyone disturbing us we are at war in thought and are agitated, and cunning desires rise up in arms. This battle sends down the word of the saints, that is the saints' blessing, and this brings much calm within us. "At that utterance, every diabolical desire and unseemly thought slipped away from our soul" (494).

As we have emphasised in another place as well, we can rid ourselves of thoughts by cultivating the various virtues. Self-control and love rid us of impassioned thoughts (495). By controlling anger and desire we quickly do away with evil thoughts (496). Vigils also contribute a great deal: "The vigilant monk is a fisher of thoughts, and in the quiet of the night he can easily observe and catch them" (497).

The reading of God's law and the lives of the saints cut off thoughts. Therefore the words of the Apostles and Fathers as well as their lives have much power and give peace to the soul.

Another way is to create good thoughts. Indeed we have previously observed that we must cut off and cast away every thought, even if it is a good one, especially at the time of prayer. But at other times, particularly when we are at the beginning of the spiritual life, we can cultivate good thoughts. But again we need to be watchful not to cultivate fantasy through them, because in that way we would develop a demonic type of spirituality. "Cultivate good thoughts with care so that you find them again hereafter" (498). Let us receive everything with a good thought. Even if everything is ugly, let us receive it with equanimity and then God will right the anomalies of things. "Accept with equanimity the intermingling of good and evil, and then God will resolve all inequality" (499). Or yet let us transform the evil thoughts into good ones.

One of the best ways of curing and disposing of thoughts is to keep our nous in hell burning with the flames of the inferno. St. Silouan taught: "St. Makarios the Great, flying through space, never ceased humbling himself, and when devils, outdistanced, cried to him from afar that he had escaped them, he replied that he had not yet evaded them. He answered after this fashion because he was accustomed to stay his mind in hell, and thereby really did elude the devils.

"St. Poemen the Great, schooled by long experience of battle against devils, knowing that far the most dangerous and powerful enemy is pride, fought all his life to acquire humility, and so said to his disciples: `Be assured, children, that where Satan is, there am I also'. But at the bottom of his heart, knowing how good and merciful is the Lord, he trusted that He would save him. To humble oneself in this wise is the best means of keeping one's mind pure from every passionate thought" (500).

For a person to keep his mind in hell and for all his thoughts to be burnt by the flames of hell is a state which is imbued with repentance and especially with the great and ardent repentance which is a gift of the grace of Christ. If this is not present, at least a person should hold in remembrance the thought of impending death and his judgement in hell. This thought is enough to purify the nous and release the person from the tyranny of thoughts.

When a person is freed by this whole ascetic method from the tyranny of thoughts and both nous and heart are pure, then he is filled with the energy of the Holy Spirit and experiences the healing of his soul. The soul is freed from all its wounds and becomes a temple of the Holy Trinity. The person becomes a true priest of the grace of God and has a foretaste of the good things of the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the true, natural man, the man made divine by grace.

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