Часть I. Общая схема и стратегия борьбы со страстями

1. What is sin and what is passion What is sin? A sinful deed is a transgression of the commanding or prohibiting commandment of God, or, as the Apostle says: sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4). Two especially features are immediately reflected in sin from words: crime and commandment. There it is an abuse of freedom, here it is contempt for the law. (2, vol. 1, p. 145) 1 . It cannot be said that sin consists in the shortcomings and imperfections of our strengths; it is an inevitable consequence of our limitations. He is not omniscient and not omnipotent, therefore he cannot be a saint. True, our strength is limited; but the obligations that lie upon us are not infinite, but correspond exactly to our nature... It is equally untrue that sin is a consequence of short-sightedness of mind, imprudence: I set the wrong goal, I took the wrong means. All this happens in sin, but sin actually lies in the corruption of the will, by which we know what we should do, but we don’t do it because we don’t want to. For he who leads to do good, and for him who does not do it, it is sin for him (James 4:17). (2, vol. 1, p. 147) At the foundation and very depth of everything lies the heart of evil: dishonesty, inner deception before oneself and God, Which, however, he does not reject. (2, vol. 1, p. 149) Sin is always an unauthorized deviation from God and His holy law to please oneself. (2, vol. 1, p. 150) Mortal sin is the one that robs a person of his morally Christian life... Therefore, every sin that extinguishes jealousy, takes away strength and weakens, distances one from God and deprives Him of grace, so that a person after it cannot look at God, but feels cut off from Him; every such sin is a mortal sin. (2, vol. 1, p. 164) Sinful disposition, otherwise sinful inclination, passion - is a constant desire to sin in a certain way, or love for some sinful deeds or objects. So, for example, absent-mindedness is a constant desire for entertainment or love for it (2, vol. 1, p. 167) Any passion is a grave and mortal sin, for it alienates one from God and extinguishes zeal for a life pleasing to God. However, passion is the more evil and criminal, the more evil and immoral its object, the more essential duties it violates, and the older it is. (2, vol. 1, p. 169) In sin, says St. Abba Dorotheos, there are two sides: one is sinful deeds, and the other is sinful passion. Passion serves as the source and cause of sinful deeds, and deeds are the product and expression of passion. (8, p. 60) 2. Where passions come from and why they are invisible Where does passion come from? No person is born with a certain passion. Each of us comes into this light only with the seed of all passions - pride... The main branches of pride are pride, covetousness, and voluptuousness. All other passions are repelled from these; but among them not all are equally important. The most remarkable essence: fornication, gluttony, envy, laziness, rancor. In their strength they are equal to the first ones, with which together they constitute the seven primary passions, for they are the causative agents of sin and the parents of every other sinful inclination and passion... One should not think that passions are formed naturally, by themselves. Every passion is our business. The urge to do this or that sinful thing comes from the corruption of our nature: but it is our will to satisfy it, especially repeatedly, to the point of habit. (2.vol.1, pp. 169–170) This is how evil grows in us from a small, almost imperceptible seed. At the bottom of the heart, as we have noticed, lies the seed of evil - self-love; from it come three branches of evil, full of its power - three of its modifications: self-exaltation, self-interest, sensuality, and these three already give rise to countless passions and vicious inclinations; how in a tree the main trunks send out many branches and shoots, how a whole tree of evil is formed in us, which, taking root in the heart, then spreads throughout our entire being, goes out and covers everything that surrounds us. A similar tree, one might say, exists in everyone whose heart loves sin to some extent, with the only difference being that for one, one side is more fully revealed, and for the other, the other side of it.... The naked tree of sin now stands before the intelligent gaze of the sinner in all its ugly nakedness and is no longer according to its kind - it fertiles self-condemnation, covers with shame, burns with judgment and remorse. (19, pp. 187,191) Tree of sin covered with leaves What is the reason that for the most part we do not notice it in ourselves? Sin does not allow us to do this: it is very cunning and prudent. The uncovered tree of evil, depicted by us, could appear before the mind's eye from the first time and push everyone away; therefore he hastens to clothe it with leaves, to cover its ugliness, and covers it so that not only the roots and trunks, even the branches cannot be discerned by the soul in which this tree grows. These leafy coverings are the essence of absent-mindedness and over-concern. (10, p. 187) The tree of sin under an impenetrable veil But sin is not content with this leafy cover alone: ​​you can somehow penetrate through it, you can push its leaves apart with the wind of sorrows and internal shocks of conscience and reveal the ugliness of sin hiding underneath it: therefore, sin of itself creates some kind of impenetrable cover, like stagnant muddy water, into which it immerses its tree and its leaves. This cover is made up of ignorance, insensibility and carelessness. We don’t know our danger, that’s why we don’t feel it; We don’t feel it, and that’s why we indulge in carelessness. (10, p. 188) 3. Where are the passions in us, and what 1) In the body: their source is carnal pleasure, or the rest of the flesh, with which the surge of bodily life and sensual pleasure are directly connected. Where they exist, there is lust, gluttony, voluptuousness, laziness, effeminacy, wandering of the senses, talkativeness, absent-mindedness, restlessness, freedom in everything, laughter, idle talk, drowsiness, dozing of the eyes, thirst for pleasant things and all kinds of creations to please the flesh in lust. 2) In the soul: a) In the mental part - self-witness, faith in one’s own mind, dissent, rebellion against the mind of God, doubt, arrogance and arrogance, inquisitiveness, plundering of the mind, wandering of thoughts. b) In the desirable part - self-will, disobedience, lust for power, cruelty, enterprise, arrogance, self-appropriation, ingratitude, covetousness, covetousness. c) In the feeling part - passions that shake the peace and peace of the heart, or various kinds of pleasures and troubles: anger, envy, hatred, malice, revenge, condemnation, contempt, love of glory, vanity, pride, melancholy, sadness, sorrow, despondency, joy, gaiety, fears, hopes, expectations... All this is in the soul and body, but the spirit, revived or, better yet, revived, is not free from attacks... Since the main thing in the spirit is consciousness, based on being inside, then when it falls, vital activity also falls. From this, instead of the fear of God and the feeling of dependence on him, fearlessness arises, instead of choosing and valuing the spiritual - indifference to it, instead of renunciation from everything - self-rest (why force yourself!), instead of repentant feelings - insensibility, petrification of the heart, instead of faith in the Lord - self-justification, instead of jealousy - cooling, lethargy, lack of excitement, and instead of devotion to God - self-doing. (1, pp. 269–271) Basic passions and their connection with trichotomy (1, pp. 269–270) There is some kind of chaotic, seething area in us, in which thoughts, desires and feelings are disorderly, like dust thrown up by passions. I place this area between the soul and the body, meaning that passions do not belong to nature, but are alien. But they do not remain here in between, but pass into both the soul and the body, taking the spirit itself - consciousness and freedom - into their power and thus dominate the whole person. Just as they are in a strike with demons, then through them the demons dominate over a person who dreams, however, that he is his own master. (3, p. 190) 4. How passions develop The main form in which the hostile appears in us is thought. (1, p. 274) The way in which sin is formed from thought into deed is defined with precision by the Holy Fathers, and the guilt of everyone in this course of action is also defined with precision. The whole course of the matter is depicted as follows: first there is a preposition, then attention, then pleasure, followed by desire, then determination, and finally action (see Philotheus of Sinai. Philokalia. Vol. 3, Ch. 34 and further). The further a moment is from the outcome and the closer to the end, the more significant, depraved and sinful it is. The height of guilt is in the deed, and there is almost no evidence of it. A preposition is a simple representation of a thing, whether from the action of the senses or from the action of memory and imagination, presented to our consciousness. There is no sin here when the birth of images is not in our power... Patristic scheme for the development of passions Attention is the establishment of consciousness or the eye of the mind on the born image in order to examine it, as if to talk with it. This is slowness in a single or polysyllabic thought. This action is more in the power of man, for an image born against the will can be immediately expelled. That's why it's more guilty... Delight is an application to an object following the mind and heart. It comes when, as a result of attention to an object, we begin to like it, and we find pleasure in looking at it intelligently, doing it in thought. Delight in sinful objects is already downright sin... From pleasure there is one step to desire. The difference between them is that the delighting soul remains within itself, on the contrary, the desiring soul inclines towards the object, has a desire for it, and begins to look for it. It cannot in any way be innocent, for it is accomplished by consent or is born contemporaneously with it, as if from under it; consent is always in our will. Determination is distinguished from desire by another feature, namely in that the composition or condition of its birth includes confidence in possibility and a vision of means. The one who wants to express his consent to the matter, but has not yet come up with anything and has not taken any steps to achieve his goal; for the one who has decided, everything has already been examined and decided; all that remains is to set in motion the members of the body or other forces to carry out affairs accordingly. When finally this is accomplished, then all the work of sin ends and the work appears - the fruit of corruption, conceived within and giving birth to lawlessness without. (2, vol. 1, pp. 156–159) Scheme of the development of passions according to Theophan the Recluse (2, vol. 1, pp. 156–161) 5. Why is it necessary to fight passions? Consciousness in a passionate enemy does not require much puzzling work. It is enough to restore the conviction that God does not favor everything passionate; Therefore, he does not favor everyone who accepts and does passionate things in themselves. Therefore, passionate God rebels against us and drives us away from Him. And this is our ultimate ruin. (3, p. 201) Here you have a covenant with God for all eternity. The essence of the union is this: your friends are my friends, your enemies are my enemies. And what are passions for God? Enemies. In all the word of God, God’s complete displeasure towards them is declared. God opposes the proud; love of money - idolatry, people-pleasing bones scattered by God, etc., etc. That is why the Apostle prescribed to Christians about the passions: below let it be called in you (Eph. 5:3). (3, p. 200) Every sin, whether done for the sake of passion or against conscience, is a deadly blow to our spirit. Blow after blow - and final death, i.e. such a state when good excitement no longer rises from the heart (19, p. 391) In a sinner given over to sin, sensual inclinations and spiritual passions increasingly take precedence over the highest spiritual demands and suppress them to the point that the light of spiritual life finally goes out. At the same time, bodily life also withers due to the violation of the integrity of human life and the suppression of its proper relationship to the supreme source of being and life. Hence illness, suffering and early death. Thus, sin kills not only spiritually, but also physically—and not just an individual, but often an entire race, as long as it diligently works against sin. (Hence the suppression of childbirth) (20, p. 131) Whoever torments the body, self-indulgently indulging in carnal passions, it will repay him in old age with illnesses, mainly in those parts with which he worked for sin. (5, p. 26) Passions are not some kind of light thoughts or desires that appear and then disappear without leaving a trace; they are strong aspirations, the inner moods of a vicious heart. They enter deeply into the nature of the soul and, through their long reign over us and their habitual satisfaction, become akin to it to such an extent that they finally constitute, as it were, its nature. You cannot throw them away as easily as you easily throw away rubbish or sweep away dust. But since they are not natural to the soul, but enter into it out of our love of sin, then, because of this very unnaturalness, they will torment and burn the soul. This is all the same as if someone took poison. This poison burns and torments the body because it is contrary to its structure; or, as if someone put a snake inside himself, and it, remaining alive, gnawed at his insides. Likewise, passions, like poison and a snake, taken inside, will gnaw and torment her. And she would be glad to throw them out of herself, but she cannot, because they have become close to her, and then there will be no saving means of healing offered here by the Holy Church in repentance and confession. Well, suffer and be tormented by them incessantly and unbearably, carrying inside you the fire of hell, eternally scorching and never extinguishing. (9, pp. 460–461) In a word, if there were no passions in us, we would all live holy and immaculate, in peace and love, in mutual assistance and assistance to each other. Therefore, passions are our main enemies, we especially need to beat them, and against them we must direct all our warlike spiritual strength, or all our spiritual armor. (9, p. 133) Wrong movements would not be so fierce if they were not assisted by their neighboring parents - the world and demons. The world is a realized world of passions, or walking passions in persons, customs, and deeds. Touching it with any part, one cannot help but disturb the corresponding wound or passion within oneself, due to their similarity and similar mood... And demons, as the sources of all evil, surrounding people everywhere in their hordes, teach them every sin, acting through the flesh, especially the feelings and that element in which the soul and the demons themselves are. That is why every passion and every sinful rebellion can be attributed to them as a cause. But there is something in the circle of sin that demons alone can inspire, which, despite all the corruption, nature seems incapable of: thus, blasphemous thoughts - doubts, unbelief, extraordinary aversion, darkness, various kinds of charms and, in general, passionate, lingering temptations, for example - indomitable lustful passion, death-defying and persistent hatred, etc. In addition to these invisible struggles from demons, there are attacks from them that are visible, tangible through the body: these are various kinds of ghosts, even extending to their power over the body. To recognize all the cunning of demons, it is useful to read the lives of Nifont, Spiridon and others. (1. pp. 272–273) The enemy seems to have a law - not to suddenly start with passion, but with thought and repeat it often. Driven away by anger the first time, one can be more leniently accepted the second, the third, then desire and passion are born, and from here it is one step to agreement and action. Prolonged thoughts are heavy and murderous; They are predominantly called tempters. What you need to know about them is that they are not from nature, although they are characteristic of it in their own way, but always from the enemy; that the Lord allows them with a special intention regarding our purification, in order to test and strengthen our fidelity, faith, constancy and ability to build the inner man - therefore we must graciously endure them, even if they were too offensive for the new, gracious hearts, such as: blasphemy, despair, unbelief. The main thing is not to lean on them at all times, not to internalize them and keep your heart free from them, separating them from yourself and your freedom by thought and faith. (1, pp. 286–287) “Daily circle” of the enemy’s machinations 2 (7, pp. 394–396, 440–453) No one is free from enemy attacks, embarrassment and defeat of the heart. This is how our life works. But this is not to our detriment, but to our salvation. All kinds of evil lie within us - as a result of attack. The heart must be cleansed from this evil. But to cleanse it, you need to see it; in order to see, it is necessary for it to come out of its secrecy... When it comes out, it is necessary to cut it off - with resistance, prayer and hatred. And this is every time evil comes out of hiding. This is what temptations do - from the flesh, the world and the devil. They bring out the evil hidden in us. Our job is to cut it off as soon as we see it come out of our hearts. And this is good for us. Just as thinness comes out like a rash, so the evil hidden in us comes out through bad thoughts, feelings, urges, and impulses... Just as a rash is not driven inside, but cleaned off; when the bad, revealed in thoughts, feelings and urges, is not hidden inside, but cut off, then spiritual purity is established within. (14, p. 101) 7. Why we need grace-filled help Without grace, a sinner will not rise from the sleep of sin Sin hides the bonds in which it holds the soul, and it, blinded, gets used to its slavery and begins to love it. The sinner, not suspecting any danger to himself, sleeps in the sleep of death. He will not rise and rise again unless grace arouses and revives him. That is why the Savior stands at the door of the heart and pushes. The minute, the method, the circumstances of this excitement are completely hidden in the wise disposition of God's grace. It does not come with discretion, it pulls the sinner out of the stream of sin and places him outside of it without any assistance from man, although always taking into account the moral acceptability of the person. For someone excited by grace, everything in him and around him is instantly illuminated, like the flash of lightning. (10, p. 197) The excited person is brought by grace into a state intermediate between sin and virtue. She removes him from the bonds of sin, depriving him of this power to determine him to act, as if against his will, but does not transfer him to the side of good, but only makes him feel its superiority and joy with a sense of obligation to be on his side. Man now stands exactly between two crossroads, and he is faced with a decisive choice. (1, p. 133) Without grace there is only external correction It happens that someone on his own, without grace, will begin to direct himself to goodness, cutting off vices by himself; but he continues this work for a while and leaves it again, or if he doesn’t leave it, then he manages to form himself into a person who is pure only in appearance: this correction is natural; there is no inner spirit of life in him. The main thing here is a gracious awakening: it testifies to divine election and promises special protection. Therefore, first of all, you need to pray for him, and pray with all the strength of faith, with all the strength of hope. (10, p. 208) Consciousness of sins only with the mind is fruitless There is amazing hidden power in the sacrament of repentance. Consciousness of sins only with the mind, without confession and resolution, is unsatisfactory for the penitent and almost always remains fruitless for life. Here, for sure, the sealing of a Christian takes place - a gracious seal... You cannot take anything willfully from the Lord. (10, pp. 209–210) 8. Basic patterns of abuse Passion cannot be overcome without fasting and deeds The basis of passions is in the flesh, when the flesh is exhausted, then it is as if a tunnel has been laid under the passions and their fortress is crumbling. Without fasting, overcoming passions would be a miracle, similar to being on fire and not getting burned. (4, p. 97) Bodily feats are needed because the body serves as a seat of passions. If you do not humble your flesh, you will not have success in overcoming passions. Therefore, it is necessary to overwork the flesh with deprivations of food, sleep, rest and all pleasures of the senses. (7, p. 242) Not only carnal sin, but every indulgence of the flesh in food, drink, sleep, rest, position either suppresses spiritual movements or diminishes the strength of their tension. (7, p. 439) Beat your passions both from the inside and from the outside, and nurture your good sides, giving them space and exercise. The main thing here is prayer. It is followed by the work of doing good... And along with this should come soul-saving readings and conversations, and the performance of church rites, and feats of self-mortification - deny yourself, when necessary, little by little food, sleep, amusements and all kinds of pleasures of self-indulgence and keep yourself in constant self-resistance and self-compulsion. (3, pp. 226–227) The essence of internal warfare So, this is where all the ascetic’s attention should be directed, inside himself: to thoughts, wishes, passions, inclinations - mainly, however, to thoughts, for the heart and will are not as mobile as thought, and passions and desires rarely arise separately, but for the most part are born from thoughts. Hence the rule: cut off a thought and you will cut off everything. The question is - how? - is solved as follows: pay attention to your heart, stand there before the Lord and do not allow anything sinful there. This is the whole point of internal warfare. (13, p. 120) Thoughts must be driven away, not retained arbitrarily. Sympathy, or sweetness, as soon as it appears, must be suppressed with all your might... This is the main point of internal warfare. (13, pp. 119–120) So make it a law for yourself to act in relation to passions: no matter how small the form they appear, hasten to drive them out, and so ruthlessly that not a trace of them remains. (3, p. 199) Whichever thought comes out more often means that passion is stronger; start acting harder against that one. But don’t rely at all on yourself and don’t hope to do anything with your own efforts. The Lord sends healing medicines and remedies. Surrender yourself to Him - and this for every hour. Work - work; but expect all good things from the Lord alone. (14, p. 179) Make it a law for yourself - every time trouble happens, i.e. an enemy attack in the form of a bad thought or feeling, do not be content with reflection and disagreement alone, but add prayer to this until opposing feelings and thoughts form in the soul. And always end your battle with sin with this. (14, pp. 77–78) I will also add that one of the laws of Divine Providence for us is to arrange everyone’s life and the flow of accidents in it so that, using them wisely, he can cleanse himself of passions in the fastest and most convenient way. (3, p. 226) 9. Rules before the fight starts Whoever, remaining in the same order, wants to be cleansed of passions, flatters himself with hope in vain. Why did Mary of Egypt not return to Egypt to settle in the deserts there, but went to the Trans-Jordan desert? Because before she reached the Egyptian desert, she would have to meet with previous objects and would hardly have resisted the incitements of sin that resulted from that... Everyone must do the same. Having made a good intention to improve, you need to discard everything that was before and assign yourself new orders and rules. In this way, vicious inclinations and passions will be constrained or placed, as it were, under oppression. (6, p. 100) The prudent warrior must now block this enemy's external supply. And for this he needs: a) Rebuild all his external behavior, give everything in it a new look, new motives, new time, etc. in the spirit of new life. b) Distribute your time so that not a single hour remains without proper occupation. The intervals free from necessary activities should be filled not with anything, but with activities that contribute to the mortification of sin and strengthening of the spirit... c) Connect your senses, especially your eyes, ears and tongue, the easiest conductors of sin from the heart to the outside and from the outside to the heart. d) In general, everything that needs to be encountered, things, persons, cases, should be given a spiritual sign and, especially, the place of permanent residence should be filled with things most striking for the soul, so that, thus, living in the external, a person would live, as it were, in some kind of Divine school. (1, p. 277) Set two watchful guards - sobriety and consideration It is precisely two watchful guards that a warrior of Christ must constantly have: sobriety and good consideration. The law for the first: after every thought has been expelled from the soul by the memory of God’s presence, stand at the door of the heart and carefully watch over everything that enters and leaves it, especially do not let feelings and desires prevent actions, for from here all evil. The law for the second: from the beginning of each day, sit down and calculate all possible meetings and cases, all possible feelings and movements that may occur in connection with them, and first prepare in yourself the necessary stronghold against it, so as not to be embarrassed and not fall in case of an unexpected attack. (1, p. 278) All these actions mean one thing: watch out for the enemy to sneak up. To be vigilant and awake means not to sleep, not to indulge in negligence, but to keep both soul and body in tension. To be sober means not to attach your heart to anything other than God. This clinging makes the soul drunk, and it begins to do who knows what. To watch means to strictly watch so that nothing evil appears in the heart. When you, keeping your strength in tension and not putting your heart into anything, keep a watchful eye on everything that is happening inside, then you will be a real example of fulfilling the above Lord and Apostolic instructions - you will stand on guard. (3, p. 194) But there is one technique that, if you adhere to with all attention, then rarely anything passionate will slip through unnoticed, namely: discuss your thoughts and feelings, what they are tending towards - whether to please God or to self-pleasure. This is not at all difficult to determine. Just pay attention to yourself. Know that as long as you do something contrary to self-indulgence, then there is no mistake. One elder told his disciple: be careful not to keep a traitor with you. Who is a traitor? - asked the student. “Self-indulgence,” answered the elder. And exactly. It is the fault of all troubles. (3, p. 198) 10. Rules during fighting Where to start fighting: with bad deeds or with thoughts The fight begins. At first, this struggle is waged with deeds, and when a person becomes weaned from bad deeds, the struggle begins with bad thoughts and feelings. (9, p. 202) Before we begin the battle, we must first know when to act offensively, when to act defensively and when to retreat. Besides the fact that the use of one or another method of warfare corresponds to the degrees of spiritual growth, at first it is best to retreat, that is, to take refuge under the shelter of the Lord without resisting. Further, when we have already experienced the enemies and studied their attacks, without wasting time, we can repel them; but one should not deliberately give freedom to passions to be aroused in oneself or to place oneself in such circumstances where they must act in full force in order to have a chance for battle and victory. (1, p. 279) Divide yourself into yourself and the enemy Hurry to separate yourself from the enemy and oppose yourself to him and him to yourself... We think that the passionate movement that worries us is us, our nature, and we hasten to satisfy it, while it is not our nature and not us, but our enemy. This delusion is the source of all our sins and wrong deeds. If at first we managed to separate passion from ourselves, we would strive not to satisfy, but to resist it. Having separated from yourself the passion that worries us and recognizing it as your enemy, begin to fight against it, fight it, turning over one weapon after another until it runs away or hides from you. (9, p. 135) It is a great mistake, and a universal mistake, to consider everything that arises in us as blood property, which we must stand for as ourselves. Everything sinful has come to us; therefore, we must always separate him from ourselves, otherwise we will have a traitor within ourselves. Whoever wants to fight with himself must divide himself into himself and the enemy hidden within him. Having separated from yourself a certain vicious movement and recognized it as an enemy, then convey this consciousness and feeling, revive hostility towards it in your heart. This is the most salutary means of driving away sin. Every sinful movement is retained in the soul through a feeling of some pleasantness from it; therefore, when hostility towards him is aroused, it, deprived of all support, disappears by itself. (1, pp. 280–281) And so we need to split into two. Put yourself on one side, and push a passionate person to the other - put him against you and start fighting and war with him. (8, p. 20) Recover counter-beliefs and counter-feelings The battle has begun - guard your heart first: do not let the emerging movements reach your feelings, meet them at the very entrance to the soul and try to hit them here. And for this purpose, hasten to restore in your soul convictions opposite to those on which the disturbing thought rests. Such counter-beliefs are not only a shield in mental warfare, but also arrows - they protect your heart and strike the enemy to the very heart. From then on, the battle will consist of the fact that the sin that has arisen will be constantly reflected by thoughts and ideas defending it, and the one who fights will, for his part, destroy these strongholds with thoughts and ideas that are contrary. (1, p. 281) The basis of anger is always the thought that the other is deliberately annoying us; the basis of vanity is that everyone is busy with us; pride - that we are better than everyone else, and so on. Such convictions lie deep in the heart and constitute its innermost feelings. As long as they are in the heart, until then one cannot be free from passions and inclinations, one cannot defeat them: one must bind them, block their exit from the heart, completely eradicate them. And this cannot be achieved otherwise than by counter-beliefs and counter-feelings. So, in order to tame anger and insults, it is necessary to revive the conviction: you yourself are guilty of everything, you are worth all contempt and reproach; against vanity: no one is looking at you; against pride: there is no creature more despicable than you, etc. Such beliefs and feelings are truly the strongest shield, which you only have to oppose to the emerging passion, and it will subside, because it will lose support in the heart. (10, pp. 217–218) Scheme of mental warfare according to Theophan the Recluse (1, pp. 143–147) Call upon the Lord in prayer If even after this, however conscientious, action in defense of oneself, the enemy still stands in the soul like a ghost and does not want to give up his place, then this is a clear sign that he is supported by an outside force; therefore, you should turn to outside help, earthly or heavenly - open up to your mentor and in fervent prayer call upon the Lord, all the saints, and especially the Guardian Angel. (1, p. 282) One must turn to the Lord by focusing the attention of the mind on the heart and calling on Him there. If we strictly followed this little rule: having firmly established our minds in our hearts, stand before the Lord with fear, reverence and devotion, then not only passionate wishes and feelings, but also naked thoughts would never arise in us. (3, p. 212) Beat the enemy in the name of the Lord One of the fathers likens the heart to a hole full of snakes. These snakes are passions. When something passionate comes from the heart, it is also like a snake poking its head out of its hole. Hit her on the head in the name of the Lord and she will hide. Another one will appear, hit her too. And hit everyone. A dozen times you will have to strike such a snake - passion, it will forget to stick out, or even die completely. Anyway, if you fill up a hole or don’t give food to snakes, they will die. Likewise, passions will die away if you do not feed them with sympathy for their suggestions, but, on the contrary, tear them off with anger as soon as they appear. (3, p. 221) Mental abuse is supplemented with active Mental warfare alone drives passion out of consciousness; but she still remains alive, but has only disappeared. On the contrary, the opposite thing strikes this serpent at the head... Mental warfare in connection with the active, striking passion from the outside and from the inside, destroys it as quickly as the enemy dies when it is bypassed and beaten both from behind and in front. (1, p. 290) Find your main passion and fight it mentally and actively Try to find your main passion and direct not only a mental, but also an active struggle against it. (3, p. 225) Program of mental-active warfare according to Theophan the Recluse (1, pp. 274–294) The main passion will appear during conversion, during the knowledge of one’s sinfulness and repentance. When a vow is made not to sin, it is this passion that is most kept in mind. Therefore, even after this, it should be the closest object of counteraction to the sin living in us. It obscures all passions, as well as binds them around itself, or gives it a fulcrum. Other passions can open up only after this one has been weakened and overcome, and together with it they can be dissolved... And one cannot move on to the conquest of the initial passions without subduing it. In the third respect, the order of doing good is evident by itself. It is precisely at first that things will go against the ruling passion, then against the original passions, and then, when both of them subside, the good deed remains free to finish off the remnants of the hostile horde at its own discretion, and more so according to internal instructions. Whatever passion comes to life and manifests itself, cases are to be assigned against it. (1, p. 291) The enemy must be pursued until no trace of him remains, otherwise even a simple thought left in the heart, like an evil seed, will bear fruit in an inconspicuous inclination of the soul. (1, p. 282) The final stage of the struggle Finally, the final, as it were, cleansing of our entire composition, its purification, as if in fire, is accomplished by the Lord himself. Namely: from without - with sorrows, from within - with tears... Those who have passed this stage, as if ascending to heaven, are no longer earthly, but heavenly, are lifted up by the Divine Spirit and rushed by it, like the wheels in the vision of Ezekiel. God is in them and act. Their condition is incomprehensible to thought. He is recognized only by experience, which is why those who have passed through him do not speak about him; it is not useful, and may not even be harmless. (1, pp. 294–295) The fighting will never stop. But everything will become easier and easier... or it will become more and more convenient to overcome it. And experience will increase; so it won’t be difficult to notice and reflect. (14, p. 98) The enemy has been driven away, the passion has been extinguished, the soul has calmed down, but this does not mean that this or that passion has been struck to death, no, it has only hidden itself, withdrawn for a while, although not with the same strength... This means that a Christian should never lay down all his armor; he is a permanent warrior who must always be ready for battle. It is in this sense that it is said, but he who endures to the end will be saved (Matthew 10:22)... When is the end? It is impossible to determine this, we can only say that the more vigorously someone fights, not succumbing to any passionate attraction, the sooner his passions begin to weaken, and as such unyielding warfare continues, peace and silence begin to settle in the soul. As time goes on, it comes to a quiet and peaceful state, in which, as in midnight silence, deep silence will begin to reign - a sign that the enemies have been driven far away or put in place. (9, pp. 136–138) General scheme of warfare with passions It is not advisable to believe that passion is extinguished, as if it no longer exists or has died. At any time it is better to compare it with a pretended snake, which is ready to bite at any opportunity. (2, vol. 1, p. 171) The fight is over. Thank the Lord for deliverance from defeat, but do not indulge too much in the joy of salvation, do not allow carelessness, do not weaken jealousy - the enemy often only pretends to be defeated, so that when you indulge in a sense of security, it is all the easier to hit you with an unexpected attack. Therefore, do not take off your swearing weapons and do not forget the safety rules. Always be a cheerful and vigilant warrior. Better sit down and count the spoils; examine the entire course of the battle - its beginning, its continuation and, finally, what gave rise to it, what especially intensified it and what put an end to it... Do not tell anyone about the victory - this will greatly irritate the enemy and weaken you. Vanity, which cannot be avoided, will open the doors of spiritual strengthening, and after defeating one enemy you will have to fight with a whole crowd of them. If you are struck, lament, but do not run from God, do not persist; hasten to soften your heart and bring it to repentance. (1, p. 283) Now I will point out two or three small precautions. First. Never think that you have already succeeded in anything. Such is our weakness that as soon as something good appears inside, we immediately shout: here it is, we’ve achieved it! Banish such thoughts. For good things are never given suddenly, but the enemy inspires them. Just give in to this suggestion, the energy will immediately weaken, and then the disorder will soon disappear. In order not to fall into this bad thought, every day, when you get up, set yourself up as if you were starting to work on this path for the first time. Second. Do not allow yourself benefits under any circumstances. A day or two will pass in the labors of self-observation and self-compulsion, the enemy will come up and begin buzzing in your ears: well, it will be; you worked hard, now give yourself a little break. This is such a flattering suggestion that you won’t even suddenly think that you need to resist it, and yet it is so villainous that just give in to it a little, and everything inside will be agitated. Easing yourself is also like a small hole in a dam. Once this hole appears, you won’t be able to hold the dam, the water will certainly blow it apart. Relaxation does the same thing inside us: everything will be marked out, so that the restoration of oneself will have to begin again all over again. Fear this as the most evil, albeit sweet-talking, enemy. (3, pp. 161–162) 12. Answers to puzzling questions I don’t have enough strength to start scolding - what to do? The first step is difficult, the first self-conquest, the first determination to fight; and then, no matter the battle in battle, it gets easier and easier. – And jealousy will flare up, and the ability to overcome will increase, and the enemy will weaken. Here it is the same as in ordinary abuse. “Warriors are scared just to start,” and then they don’t look at anything, “everything is somehow handy and easy.” And in spiritual warfare, just begin; further the scolding will heat itself up and make it easier. And then - the more zealous and lively the fight, the sooner the end of the battle and the closer the peace. – Don’t have enough strength to start? - pray. The Lord will send. Surround yourself with thoughts about the danger of remaining in passions, and you will drive yourself out of their darkness towards the light of Christ. – Revive the feelings of the torment of passions, and you will become annoyed with them and want to get rid of them. Then, having confessed your weakness to the Lord, stand and push at the door of His mercy, crying out for help. - Help will come. The Lord will look upon you. - The Light of His Eye will burn in you self-pity and kindle jealousy - and then, if the Lord is with us, who will be against us! (8, p. 444) How and why are passions connected with the torments of hell? Let's use another comparison. Among the tortures were the following: they would feed me something salty, and they would lock me up and not allow me to drink. What painful torment such an unfortunate man experienced! But who burns and torments him? Nobody from outside. He carries within himself a painful burning sensation. There is nothing to quench his thirst - thirst consumes him. So are passions: these are the internal thirsts, kindlings, lusts of a sin-loving soul: if you satisfy them, they will remain silent for a while, and then again with even greater force they demand satisfaction for themselves and do not give rest until they receive it. In the same world there will be nothing to satisfy them, because all objects of passion are earthly objects. They themselves will remain in the soul and will demand satisfaction for themselves, and since there is nothing to satisfy them, the thirst will become stronger and more tormenting. and the longer the soul lives, the more it will languish and be tormented by unsatisfied passions; this incessant torment will continue to grow and grow, and there will be no end to this growth and intensification. This is hell! Envy is a worm, anger and rage are fire, hatred is gnashing of teeth, lust is pitch darkness. This hell begins here, for which of the passionate people enjoys peace? only passions do not reveal all their torment here over the soul: the body and community deflect their blows, but this will not happen there. They will then attack the soul with all their fury. “Finally, in this body,” says Abba Dorotheos, “the soul receives relief from its passions and some consolation: a person eats, drinks, sleeps, talks, walks with his dear friends, and when the soul leaves the body, it will remain alone with its passions and therefore is always tormented by them. Just as someone suffering from a fever suffers from an internal fire, so a passionate soul will always be tormented, poor thing, by its evil habit. That’s why,” the monk concludes, “I always tell you: try to cultivate good dispositions in yourself in order to find them there, for what a person has here comes with him from here, and he will also have it there.” (9, pp. 462–464) How to relate to involuntary sins, especially in thoughts and feelings? Thoughts are sinful when you arbitrarily give them a place in the soul. But when thoughts creep in on their own, but the soul does not want them and resists them, there is no sin, but the struggle is good. A feeling is sinful when one deigns to it, holds back and inflames it; and when it involuntarily bursts into the soul, the soul does not want it and strains to force it out, there is no sin here, but a good struggle. It happens that along with the feeling, sympathy suddenly arises; the soul, as soon as it notices it, arms itself against it, there is no sin here. Sympathy is sinful when it is allowed to reign in the soul, knowing that it is bad. A sinful deed goes like this: thought, feeling and sympathy, permission, decision or election - and the deed. Whoever drives away the thought... remains clean. Sinfulness begins with feeling and sympathy as permissible. Where there is no permission, there is no sin. In my words there is cooling - is it clear what is there? – It happens involuntarily... but it also happens from arbitrary actions... from external entertainment, disordered conversations, satiety, excessive sleep... and much more... There is guilt here. Bad movements in the body, as long as there is no accompaniment and permission, are sinless. Compassion and connivance make them sinners. – There is a penalty against passions, of course, when you don’t fight them off, but allow them to enter the heart and create a riot there. By these signs, condemn or blame your own - anger, malice, conceit, harsh angry speeches, condemnation of others, exaltation, carelessness about God and indifference to the spiritual - selfishness - all these are great sinful acts, but one becomes sinful from the permission of them. – Stand at the door of the heart, and as soon as you notice something bad breaking through or approaching, drive mercilessly... and you will be delivered from sin. – The way to do this is to pay attention to yourself, while paying attention to God. If you behave this way, you will get rid of the sins of thought and feeling. (16, pp. 85–87) That passionate thoughts, feelings and desires arise - this usually happens to everyone. This means that the soul is unclean; but there is no sin here yet. Sin begins when someone arbitrarily retains these movements within himself and agrees with them. But whoever, as soon as he notices an unkind thought or feeling, immediately drives them away with anger, retains his innocence. And even the reflection of enemy temptations deserves praise for this, like a warrior who drove away and repelled the enemy as soon as he saw him. (14, p. 77) If one of those who strictly watch themselves, living with a cheerful heart and a sober thought, reluctantly, without knowing how, falls into some sin in thought, word or deed and then, noticing it, immediately rejects it with heartfelt hatred, and sanctifies himself with a repentant prayer: cleanse me from my secrets (Ps. 18:13); Moreover, the offense is innocent: it is a matter of weakness, but not malicious intent, for example, an attack of condemnation, envy, etc. Only the main thing: having noticed it, you must reject it with your heart, for whoever accepts it later and enjoys it, will later choose what he has not seen before and what he has done without knowing or choosing. (2, vol. 1, pp. 153–154) Are moderate passions acceptable? Passions are always wrong, and to demand only moderation in passions is also to legitimize, to a certain extent, untruth. How dangerous it is to start something like this is known from experience. Just let passion arise, and then, even without special help, it will quickly begin to grow and strengthen on its own. Before you know it, she will mature so much that you can no longer cope with her. (5, p. 73) No matter how small and weak the passionate may appear, it must be treated as the largest and strongest... So make it a law for yourself to act in relation to passions: no matter how small the form they appear, hurry to drive them out, and so ruthlessly that not a trace of them remains. (3, p. 199) “A haughty spirit goes before a fall” (malicious thoughts) (Prov. 16:18). Therefore, do not allow evil thoughts, and there will be no falls. Meanwhile, what is most neglected? About thoughts. They are allowed to seethe as much and as they please, and there is no thought of ever taming them or directing them to reasonable pursuits. Meanwhile, in this inner turmoil, the enemy approaches, puts evil in the heart, deceives him and inclines him to this evil. And a person, without noticing it, is ready for evil. All that remains for him is either to fulfill the evil bound by his heart or to fight. But our grief is that almost no one takes up the latter, and everyone, as if bound, is led to evil. (4, p. 51) The beginning of all evil is thought. Do not allow evil thoughts and you will forever close the door of your soul to Satan. And if unkind thoughts come to you, what should you do? Without them there is no one in the world, and there is no sin here. Drive them away and it's all over; They will come again, drive them away again - and so on for the rest of your life. When you accept thoughts and begin to engage with them, it is not surprising that sympathy for them will appear; then they will become even more persistent. Sympathy will be followed by bad intentions, now for one or another bad deed. Vague intentions will then be determined by disposition towards one; choice, agreement and determination begin - that’s the sin inside! The door of the heart is wide open. As soon as agreement is formed, Satan jumps in and begins to tyrannize. Then the poor soul, like a slave or like a beast of burden, is driven and exhausted in doing indecent things. If she had not allowed bad thoughts, nothing like this would have happened. (4, p. 175) Do irresistible passions exist, and how to deal with them? They say to someone who has recovered: “Don’t eat this, don’t drink that, don’t go there.” He won’t listen and the disease will irritate him again. So it is in spiritual life. We must be sober, watchful, and pray: the disease is sinful and will not return. If you don’t listen to yourself, you allow yourself to see, hear, speak, and act everything indiscriminately, how can you not be irritated by sin and take power again? The Lord ordered the leper to fulfill everything according to the law. This is this: after confession you must take penance and fulfill it faithfully; it contains great protective power. But why does someone else say: a sinful habit has overcome me, I can’t control myself. Because either repentance and confession were incomplete, or after precautions he holds on weakly, or he lets himself into a whim. He wants to do everything without effort and self-coercion, and sometimes we dare from the enemy. Decide to stand until death and show it in action: you will see what strength there is in this. It is true that in every irresistible passion, the enemy takes possession of the soul, but this is not an excuse; for he will immediately run away as soon as you make, with God’s help, a turn inside. (4, p. 137) How to feel about self-improvement? While the soul is in sin, it is possessed by its own evil spirit, although it does not always clearly show this. He is stronger than the soul, therefore he is not afraid of rebellion on its part, he dominates and tyrannizes over it without resistance. But when the Lord comes into the soul, attracted by faith and repentance, then he breaks all satanic bonds, casts out the demon and deprives him of all power over such a soul. And while that soul works for the Lord, demons cannot prevail over it, for it is strong in the Lord, stronger than them. When the soul makes a mistake and recoils from the Lord, the demon will attack again and overcome, and it, poor thing, will be worse than before. This is the universal invisible order of phenomena in the spiritual world. (4, p. 152) What is I, and how to deal with it? Your question is: what to do with me? very natural in a soul that has embarked on the path to self-knowledge. What should I do? Rub it and grind it into powder... Take a stone... the one that, having been torn away from the mountain, ground the idols into powder. The whole life is assigned to this... The method for this is simple: do not listen to me - and go against him. His deeds: to trust his mind, to follow his will, to sympathize with his feelings. The most tangible manifestation of his life is self-pity... Renunciation of all manifestations of self and doing in defiance of it is its erasure... We heard the commandment about this from the lips of the Lord Himself: let him deny himself. Start observing yourself... and notice the manifestation of your self... and then - go against... in everything, both big and small. (16, p. 66) External sins are the fruit of internal sinfulness. Internal sinfulness is all rooted in selfishness and its offspring. Consequently, humanists must also take into account the rules by which egoism is suppressed, and egoism is most strongly suppressed by not giving oneself will. Don’t give yourself free rein and you will soon overcome selfishness. On the contrary, whatever means you want to use against egoism, you will not be able to do anything with it if you give free will. It follows that where they look for wills in everything, they look for the expansion of egoism and the drying up of love, they look for greater evil. Meanwhile, this is the spirit of the current times - and evil is growing. (4, p. 124) When egoism takes root in the heart, a whole horde of passions breeds in it. He himself strikes at truth and love, which require self-sacrifice, and the passions generated by him drive out all other virtues. And a person, according to the structure of his heart, becomes unfit for anything truly good. He can still give “a tithe of mint, rue and all sorts of vegetables,” but he cannot find the courage to do anything more substantial. This does not mean that his external behavior was ugly. No, it is in every possible way brightened up with integrity, only in himself he is “a hidden coffin, over which people walk and do not know it.” (4, p. 155) Isn't internal division dangerous? How does it happen, and should it be stopped? You ask: “What should you do when there is a split inside?” – First of all, know that this is not a bad thing, but a normal turn of spiritual life. When our spirit awakens through the action of grace, then it rushes to God, and rushes there into everything. Even after this, the egoistic disposition still remains and asserts its rights, dragging both feeling and will towards itself according to the old custom. That is why everyone feels like the Apostle: I want to do good, because evil is present upon me (Rom. 7:21). - Here is the split. - What can we do here? Always take the side of the spirit, and drive away and suppress the demands of the egoistic carnal man. This is spiritual warfare. It is short... As soon as you notice a movement inside that is contrary to the spirit,... reject it in your heart, strike this movement with some kind of hostility - and immediately turn to the Lord in prayer, and He will help. Sincere rejection of evil and sincere prayer to the Lord always win; and internal division is stopped. (16, pp. 58–59) You ask, how is the division itself accomplished? I answer: it is accomplished by the power and action of repentance. For what is repentance? That's it! – A person begins to hate everything unclean, passionate and sinful, and wanting to get rid of and cleanse himself from it, he sets the firm intention of devoting his life to the Lord and fulfilling His Holy Commandments. Without indulging passions in any way and no longer succumbing to their attractions. This is what repentance is! (8, pp. 20–21) How to deal with doubts in faith? Consider yourself to be such a person as one who experiences a suggestion for some sinful deed or evil lust. And learn to also act in relation to doubts, as he acts in relation to lusts. – The first method for one experiencing evil inclinations is not to consider the suggestion as one’s own, but as the all-born, to put a separation between oneself and this all-born and, recognizing it as alien, to treat it not as one’s own creation, but as an enemy’s creation. Hence the compulsion in the soul is not immediately weakened, but completely departs from it - to do according to the inspiration experienced. They usually believe: one’s nature demands - how can one not satisfy? But whoever immediately recognizes an alien child in the born wish, it is not this situation that comes to mind, but something completely different: he turns to the wish with questions and subjects it to analysis and criticism. This simplest technique dispels temptation: it disappears like smoke from the wind. – This is exactly what you should do whenever you have doubts. With each of its creations, do not formulate it in your mind, as if it already exists in reality, as it suggests; but stop him at the very entrance, like an uninvited guest, and subject him to inspection. As in wishes not to be with him in the heart - there is the first; So, in doubt, not to be in doubt with your mind is the first thing. – You will say that it suddenly embraces and covers the whole mind. It's nothing. And the same thing happens in desires, that they suddenly embrace the whole heart. But this does not mean that they have already won, but only means that the attacker is callous. If someone accidentally rushes at you and wraps his arms around you, you do not surrender to his power, but push him away: so it is here. Let doubt engulf your entire mind, strain to push it away so that it becomes external, and you can deal with it as with another alien person. If you begin to act this way, many doubts will immediately disappear as soon as you tear them away from your mind and demand them to be judged. If they persist, start driving them away. In relation to wishes, - according to the awareness of the enemy's approach to you in them - all saints rely on the second method: instead of fighting them personally, turn to the Lord Savior, and they disappear. I think that the same should be done in relation to doubts. Contact the Lord intelligently and pray to Him to drive away temptation and the tempter. - And it will be. The third technique is to restore the good in yourself to its usual strength. “Your mind and heart are intact.” Don't slander them. What happens, happens from the enemy. Now you have something to take on within yourself. And take it upon yourself. Whatever good thoughts and feelings you experience, you rush to restore. It seems to me that all the trouble you have is because you accept the doubts that arise as friends, and let them in and cherish them, taking their side. This means, without raising your hands, surrendering to the enemy in full power. And you hold the conviction in advance that doubts do not represent anything true, and when they are born, drive them away, straining in every possible way to remain on the side of the good and truth that you have experienced. When you restore your good state, then you can analyze doubt. Here it will be very weak, and victory will always remain yours. (18, pp. 206–208) Make it a law to never accept any doubts or bewilderments, but to drive them away from their first appearance, without talking, no matter how thorough and no matter how impressionable they may be. “This will put an end to all enemy approaches.” (18, p. 218) The difference between judgment and condemnation It is necessary, however, to distinguish between judgment and condemnation. Sin begins when contempt for someone arises in the heart, for the sake of some kind of thinness. You can convict simply, without any sentence to the convicted person. If at the same time there is regret in the heart for the person who has made a mistake, a desire for correction and a prayer for that; then there will be no sin of condemnation, but the work of love possible at such a meeting will be accomplished. The sin of condemnation is more in the heart than in the tongue. Speaking about the same thing can be a sin and not a sin, judging by the feeling with which it is spoken. The tone of speech also gives the feeling. But it is better to refrain from judgment in every possible way, so as not to fall into condemnation, i.e. do not walk near fire and soot, so as not to get burned or blackened. Rather, you need to switch to condemning and reproaching yourself. (14, pp. 218–219) How is spiritual success measured? The holy fathers say: “don’t measure yourself”... The best measure for yourself: “there is nothing”... Lord, let me make a good beginning!.. Lord, save me in the image of fate! And drive away every thought about measuring yourself, and, forgetting the back, just as it was not there, stretch into the front. The enemy forces you to measure yourself in order to arouse your conceit and ruin the whole thing. Always tell yourself: “there is nothing, there is nothing to measure.” (12, p. 93) Measure yourself not by exploits, but by the fading of passions. Anything that freezes is a step forward. And when everyone is gone; then say: thank God! got out into the clearing; Now I’ll walk more calmly, otherwise I’m all torn up, walking among the thorns along the thorns. (14, pp. 214–215) Why is it easier to overcome passions in monasticism? It is the duty of all Christians to conquer and eradicate passions. They are like Christ, the flesh has been crucified with passions and lusts (Gal.5:24), says the Apostle. – But many, seeing how difficult it is to fight and overcome passions, being in everyday and civil concerns and connections, break these connections: they leave family and society and enter the monastery for such a life and such orders that are directly adapted to the eradication of passions. – Thus, monasticism is a life that is counter to passions, passion-destroying, heart-cleansing... When one enters monasticism, this does not mean that the passions have already been destroyed. – No, – passions remain; but only a person enters into such an order in which there is no food or support for the passions, which constitutes the adaptability of monasticism to the fight against passions and overcoming them. In monasticism one is more able to overcome passions. - Passions are silent; when there are no objects that excite them. Moving away from the world, the monk moves away from these objects, and passions, not finding food for themselves, become weaker and weaker until they completely freeze. Conduct yourself, monk, so that the eye does not see, the ear does not hear, and other senses do not feel anything bad and unclean, and you will be as if in a safe haven, from the excitement of passions, which, not finding support for themselves, will remain silent... In the monastery there is no food for the passions, no objects - only thoughts about these objects remain. – But thoughts alone can inflame passions, replacing their objects. “To prevent this from happening, Abba Pimen says: don’t give your thoughts a hand, don’t greet them as you greet friends, giving them a hand, but fight them off, reject them, drive them away.” “Sit in the monastery and fight your thoughts, and you will get rid of passions.” By staying in the monastery, you move away from passionate objects, and by struggling with thoughts, you won’t even have thoughts about them. From which passions, not finding food for themselves not only from objects that satisfy them, but also from thoughts about them, will freeze: just arm yourself with patience and maintain this order constantly. – If a chest with a dress, says Abba Pimen... is left without care, then the dress will decay over time: so, too, thoughts, if you do not actually fulfill them, will disappear over time, or, as it were, decay... This is why monasticism is a direct path to purity of heart. An upright monk soon achieves dispassion. And that this goal is not achieved by others is because they do not look after their thoughts - and - or without deeds they become defiled by them alone if they sit in their cells - or they do not even sit still, but move on from thoughts to passionate deeds. (8, pp. 401–403) Let me also remind you that there are cool techniques for this active struggle with passions. Our usual one is a world-denying life in its detached form, when, having decisively abandoned everything and placed all trust in the Lord, they enter the monastery to live in uncomplaining obedience, in strict fasting, in hard-working prayer and vigilant sobriety. Here, lack of anything, cutting off one’s own will and self-pity soon grind out everything passionate from the soul. Then a peaceful dispensation of the heart and purity of the heart are established - the final goal of a world-denying life. (3, p. 226) Source and page number (see Bibliography at the end of the book). It should be read from the center to the periphery.