Внимание

The works of God - this is obvious - must be studied and considered with the greatest reverence and attention, otherwise a person cannot examine or know them. The great work of God - the creation of man and then, after the fall, his renewal, redemption - should be known in detail to every Christian; without this knowledge he cannot know and fulfill the duties of a Christian. Knowledge of the great work of God cannot be acquired through absent-mindedness! The commandments of Christ are given not only to the outer man, but to the most inner man: they embrace all the thoughts and feelings of a person, all his subtlest movements. It is impossible to keep these commandments without constant vigilance and deep attention. Vigilance and attention are impossible in a distracted life. Those who want to learn attention should prohibit themselves from all empty activities. Fulfilling private and public duties is not part of absent-mindedness: absent-mindedness is always combined with idleness or with such empty activities that can unmistakably be classified as idleness. A useful occupation, especially a service occupation associated with responsibility, does not interfere with maintaining attention to oneself - it guides one to such attention. All the more important are monastic obediences when they are performed properly. Activity is a necessary path to vigilance over oneself, and this path is prescribed by the Holy Fathers for everyone who wants to learn to pay attention to themselves. Attention to oneself in deep solitude brings precious spiritual fruits, but only men of mature spiritual age who have succeeded in the feat of piety and have first learned to pay attention to active life are capable of it. During an active life, people help a person gain attention by reminding him of attention disorders. Subordination is the best way to get accustomed to attention: no one can teach a person to pay attention to himself as much as his strict and prudent boss. During your official activities among people, do not allow yourself to kill time in idle talk and stupid jokes; Forbid yourself from daydreaming during office studies. Your conscience will soon sharpen and begin to point out to you any deviation into absent-mindedness as a violation of the Gospel Law, even as a violation of prudence. The soul of all exercises about the Lord is attention. Without attention, all these exercises are fruitless, dead. Anyone who wants to be saved must arrange himself in such a way that he can maintain attention to himself not only in solitude, but also in the midst of absent-mindedness, into which he is sometimes drawn by circumstances against his will. Let the fear of God overcome all other sensations on the scales of the heart, then it will be convenient to maintain attention to yourself both in the silence of your cell and among the noise surrounding you on all sides. Prudent moderation in food, reducing the heat of the blood, greatly promotes attention to oneself, and the heating of the blood, such as from excessive consumption of food, from increased body movement, from inflammation with anger, from the intoxication of vanity and from other reasons, gives rise to many thoughts and dreams, otherwise - absent-mindedness. You might be interested in: