If you ardently long to attain the wondrous divine illumination of our Savior Jesus Christ; to experience in your heart the supracelestial fire and to be consciously reconciled with God; to dispossess yourself of worldly things in order to find and possess the treasure hidden in the field of your heart (cf. Matt. 13:44); to enkindle here and now your soul's flame and to renounce all that is only here and now; and spiritually to know and experience the kingdom of heaven within you (cf. Luke 17:21): then I will impart to you the science of eternal or heavenly life or, rather, a method that will lead you, if you apply it, painlessly and without toil to the harbor of dispassion, without the danger of being deceived or terrified by the demons. Terror of this kind we experience only when through disobedience we estrange ourselves from the life I am about to describe. This was the fate of Adam when he violated God's commandments: associating with the serpent and trusting him, he was sated by him with the fruits of deceit (cf. Gen.3:1-6), and thus wretchedly plunged himself and all those who came after him into the pit of death, darkness and corruption.
You should, then, return; or - to put it more truly - let us return, brethren, to ourselves, rejecting once and for all with disgust the serpent's counsel and our deflection to what is base. For we cannot be reconciled with God and assimilated to Him unless we first return or, rather, enter into ourselves, in so far as this lies within our power. For the miracle consists in tearing ourselves away from the distraction and vain concerns of the world and in this way relentlessly seizing hold of the kingdom of heaven within us.
That is why the monastic life has been called the art of arts and the science of sciences. For this holy discipline does not procure us what is corruptible, so that we divert our intellect from higher to lower things and completely stifle it. On the contrary it offers us strange, indescribable blessings, that 'the eye has not seen, and the ear has not heard, and man's heart has not grasped' (1 Cor. 2:9). Henceforward 'we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world' (Eph. 6:12). If, then, this present age is one of darkness, let us flee from it. Let us flee from it in our thoughts so that we may have nothing in common with the enemy of God. For if you choose to be a friend of this present age you are an enemy of God (cf.Jas. 4:4). And who can help an enemy of God?
Let us therefore imitate our fathers and like them let us seek the treasure within our hearts. And when we have found it let us hold fast to it with all our might, both cultivating and guarding it (cf. Gen. 2:15); for this is what we were commanded to do from the beginning. And if another Nikodimos should appear and begin to argue, saying, 'How can anyone enter into his own heart and work or dwell in it?' - as the original Nikodimos, doubting the Savior, said, 'How can someone who is old enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born?' (John 3:4) - let him in his turn hear the words, 'The Spirit blows where He wants to' (John 3:8). If we are full of disbelief and doubt about the practice of the ascetic life, how shall we enjoy the fruits of contemplation? For it is practice that initiates us into contemplation...
Some of the saints have called attentiveness the guarding of the intellect others have called it custody of the heart,or watchfulness, or noetic stillness, and others something else. All these expressions indicate one and the same thing, just as 'bread' and 'a round' or 'a slice' do; and you should read them in this sense. As to what attentiveness itself is and what its characteristics are, this you can now learn in more detail.
Attentiveness is the sign of true repentance. It is the soul's restoration, hatred of the world, and return to God. It is rejection of sin and recovery of virtue. It is the unreserved assurance that our sins are forgiven. It is the beginning of contemplation or, rather, its presupposition, for through it God, descrying its presence in us reveals Himself to the intellect. It is serenity of intellect or, rather, the repose bestowed on the soul through God's mercy. It is the subjection of our thoughts, the palace of the mindfulness of God, the stronghold that enables us patiently to accept all that befalls. It is the ground of faith, hope and love. For if you do not have faith you cannot endure the outward afflictions that assail you; and if you do not bear them gladly you cannot say to the Lord, 'Thou art my helper and my refuge' (Ps 91:2). And if the Most High is not your refuge you will not lay up His love in your heart.
Most if not all of those who attain this greatest of gifts do so chiefly through being taught. To be sure, a few
without being taught receive it directly from God through the ardor of their endeavor and the fervor of their faith; but what is rare does not constitute the norm. That is why we should search for an unerring guide, so that under his instruction we may learn how to deal with the shortcomings and exaggerations suggested to us by the devil whenever we deviate left or right from the axis of attentiveness. Since such a guide will himself have been tested through what he has suffered, he will be able to make these things clear to us and will unambiguously disclose the spiritual path to us so that we can follow it easily. If you have no such guide you must diligently search for one. If, however, no guide is to be found, you must renounce worldly attachments, call on God with a contrite spirit and with tears, and do what I tell you.
You know that what we breathe is air. When we exhale it, it is for the heart's sake, for the heart is the source of life and warmth for the body. The heart draws towards itself the air inhaled when breathing, so that by discharging some of its heat when the air is exhaled it may maintain an even temperature. The cause of this process or, rather, its agent, are the lungs. The Creator has made these capable of expanding and contracting, like bellows, so that they can easily draw in and expel their contents. Thus, by taking in coolness and expelling heat through breathing, the heart performs unobstructed the function for which it was created, that of maintaining life. Seat yourself, then, concentrate your intellect, and lead it into the respiratory passage through which your breath passes into your heart. Put pressure on your intellect and compel it to descend with your inhaled breath into your heart. Once it has entered there, what follows will be neither dismal nor glum. Just as a man, after being far away from home, on his return is overjoyed at being with his wife and children again, so the intellect, once it is united with the soul, is filled with indescribable delight.
Therefore, brother, train your intellect not to leave your heart quickly, for at first it is strongly disinclined to
remain constrained and circumscribed in this way. But once it becomes accustomed to remaining there, it can no longer bear to be outside the heart. For the kingdom of heaven is within us (cf. Luke 17:21); and when the intellect concentrates its attention in the heart and through pure prayer searches there for the kingdom of heaven, all external things become abominable and hateful to it. If, then, after your first attempts you enter through your intellect into the abode of the heart in the way that I have explained, give thanks and glory to God, and exult in Him. Continually persevere in this practice and it will teach you what you do not know.
Moreover, when your intellect is firmly established in your heart, it must not remain there silent and idle; it should constantly repeat and meditate on the prayer, 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me', and should never stop doing this. For this prayer protects the intellect from distraction, renders it impregnable to diabolic attacks, and every day increases its love and desire for God.
If, however, in spite of all your efforts you are not able to enter the realms of the heart in the way I have enjoined, do what I now tell you and with God's help you will find what you seek. You know that everyone's discursive faculty is centered in his breast; for when our lips are silent we speak and deliberate and formulate prayers, psalms and other things in our breast. Banish, then, all thoughts from this faculty - and you can do this if you want to - and in their place put the prayer, 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me', and compel it to repeat this prayer ceaselessly. If you continue to do this for some time, it will assuredly open for you the entrance to your heart in the way we have explained, and as we ourselves know from experience.
Then, along with the attentiveness you have so wished for, the whole choir of the virtues - love, joy, peace and the others (cf. Gal. 5:22) - will come to you. Through the virtues all your petitions will be answered in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, power, honor and worship now and always and throughout the ages. Amen.
Philokalia
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