“Intrusive Thoughts”, Part 1, Silouan the Athonite (Fuller Treatment), Episode 14, Prof. C. Veniamin

Episode 14: “Intrusive Thoughts”, Part 1, St. Silouan the Athonite (Fuller Treatment)
Unit 16: “Sts. Silouan and Sophrony the Athonites: Principles of the Christian Life”, by Prof. Christopher Veniamin
Series: “Mystical Theology"

Based on the reading of St. Sophrony’s masterful introduction to Saint Silouan the Athonite, “Intrusive Thoughts”, Part 1, offers a fuller treatment of one of the most important subjects in the Orthodox spiritual life, and one which is especially helpful for spiritual fathers and leaders of the Church. Some of the themes covered in this podcast are listed in the Timestamps below. Presented by Prof. Christopher Veniamin, a spiritual child of St. Sophrony.

It is hoped that these presentations will help the enquirer discern the interwoven character of Orthodox theology and the Orthodox Christian life, and to identify the ascetic and pastoral significance of the Orthodox ethos.

Q&As related to Episode 14 available in The Professor’s Blog.

Recommended background reading: Saint Silouan the Athonite, by St. Sophrony the Athonite; and The Enlargement of the Heart, by Archimandrite Zacharias

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Transcript

Thoughts - Introduction

Speaker 1 0:00

thoughts . We've mentioned them so many times and of course it comes up again and again . The question of Lord is me , and Not that I'm an expert on this by any means , but you know , we are encouraged by the world that exists around us . On the one hand , there's a lot of noise , a lot of voices , and we're filled with many , many , many , many thoughts , and it's very difficult to stop the mind . The brain itself is . You can imagine that wheel that the hamster runs on is running continuously . It's so difficult to stop ourselves from thinking , and there are philosophies which teach us that this is the reason why we suffer . Why we have pain and suffering in the world is because boils down to the fact that we keep thinking , and their solution is Stop thinking , empty yourself of all thoughts , and Once you can do that and you can do it for a sustained period of time and by a sustained period of time I mean it's a matter of minutes . If you can manage to do that for six minutes , they say , you can reach a state of nirvana , and it's interesting the etymology of nirvana that I'll let you look that up yourselves .

Speaker 1 1:38

The point is that in the Orthodox spiritual life , yes , there is an aspect of divesting oneself of All thoughts , because when we pray , when we seek to live a life of prayer , we first Try to empty ourselves of thoughts and we don't accept any thoughts that come . You said that there are three sources of thoughts . We learn to just Don't accept any thoughts . It's what the novice is taught to do , but it's not in order to stay there , it's not in order to remain at that point of divesting . As we're doing that , what are we doing ? We're calling upon the name of the Lord because that's Remember , it's the prayer of a single thought , the Jesus prayer , the prayer of the heart . No etic prayer is the prayer of a single thought . So , while it's true that we do not accept thoughts and that we have a divesting that takes place , that's barely half of the story . The object of the exercise is to fill ourselves with one thought , and that one thought is the name of Jesus , the Savior , who is the first and the last , the Alpha and the Omega , the only true God . And you know that focus on one thought is the pattern of the Christian life . For us , orthodox , in fact , we repent with one thought , we pray with one thought , we repent with a single thought . You know , let me tell you and this is from the writings of the Fathers If you have two thoughts you can't repent .

Speaker 1 3:54

And depression . We suffer so much for depression today . Right , depression is the result of a combination of thoughts , many thoughts confusing us , pulling us in several directions at the same time . The unity that man is supposed to be is pulled apart by all these thoughts , all these energies going in different directions that we have somehow allowed to enter our spiritual space . But we pray we say we pray with a single thought , we repent with a single thought , we confess with a single thought .

Speaker 1 4:44

When we go to confession , what do we confess ? Those of you who have already read Fathers Zechariahs , you may already know this , but we're taught by the life of the church to confess one thing . We confess with a single thought . We confess what is the thing that pains us the most , what is that one thing that embarrasses us the most , what is that one thing that shames us the most and which we would rather not confess ? That's the thing we need to confess and we accept the shame . And when we do , we accept the shame because we are denying ourselves in order to follow Christ's way , the way of the cross , and in that pain there is a noble element of voluntarily following the way of Christ , because Christ's way is the shame of the cross . And so when we have a little bit of that shame , that willingness to follow Christ's way , we attract the grace of God . Christ becomes our fellow traveler and we're able to change , we're able to grow and to become more like Him , so that our love and our prayer and our life acquires that humble , christ-like

St. Paisios the Athonite: "When we pray for others…"

Speaker 1 6:28

humility . It acquires . Our love acquires a self-sacrificial character , because there's a little bit of that pain , and God likes that , because it resembles Him , his love , which is self-sacrificial .

Speaker 1 6:49

You know , st Paisios once said to one of his spiritual children who came to him and said you know , so-and-so friend of ours is dying of cancer . He's been diagnosed with cancer . Please pray for him , elder , so that he will be healed . And St Paisios said to him OK , are you willing to go 50-50 ? He said , well , what do you mean ? He said , well , I'll take half , you take the other half . And he realized he was talking about the cancer . He said well , I don't know . He said , well , I'll take 99% . St Paisios said and you take the 1% . And he said OK , he still was wondering about that he said look , you have to be honorable with God . You have to show that your love for the person that you're praying for is a little bit like his love , just as he was willing to sacrifice himself for our sake .

Speaker 1 7:59

When you pray to God and you say that you're willing to take a little bit of the pain and the suffering of the person that you're praying for , then you begin to resemble the Lord in your prayer . He said sometimes the Lord will accept your prayer and he won't give you that suffering because he knows that you can't bear it , but sometimes he might give it to you if he sees that you can bear it . We have to be careful when we're dealing with God . We're not playing games . So that self-sacrificial element is very , very important and it's manifested to some degree , in some way , by this willingness to bear shame . And that is revealed , among other ways , in the way that we confess , the way that we pray

“Development of Intrusive Thoughts”: “logismos” (sing.), “logismoi” (pl.)

Speaker 1 9:04

praying with a single thought , repenting with a single thought , confessing with a single thought and indeed , giving glory with a single thought . Yes , it's the way of the cross , but it's the only way to , as we know , the resurrection . So I thought that it might be helpful for us to take a brief look at the development of intrusive thoughts before we switch over to the ladder of divine ascent , and I think when we do that you will see why . So I won't waste any time , I'll get straight down to it .

Speaker 1 9:45

Page 133 in Saint Siloane , on the development of intrusive thoughts . At the bottom of the page , father Sophrony begins with the very striking sentence sin becomes sin after completing specific stages in its inner development . Sin becomes sin after completing specific stages in its inner development . First stage is when some spiritual influence approaches from without , which may to begin with be quite vague and shapeless . The initial stage in formation is the appearance , in the field of man's inner vision , of an image , and as this does not depend on one's will , it is not regarded as a sin . Look , something comes to you . It's from without , so it's not the product of your will and as such it is not regarded as a sin .

Speaker 1 11:03

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 , so as visible images also generate some thought or other aesthetics , label all images intrusive thoughts . Log is me . We've spoken before about the importance of a thought and how our life must focus on one thought , an intrusive thought . A log is moss is understood

Initial stage characterized by an “eikon”, image

Speaker 1 11:47

in this context to be a tending thought , an intrusive thought . Intrusive is a good translation , because it is precisely a thought that seeks to enter into your spiritual world , and the initial stage , we said , is characterized by an icon . Egon is icon , it's an image , it has the character of vision and it has the character , often , of a thought . Images in some cases appear to take on visible form , while others are mostly products of the mind . What is a product of the mind ? More often , it is a combination of the two . So there's a visible image , there is also what we would call a concept

“o kyriarchos nous”, the mind that is in control of one’s being

Speaker 1 12:54

or an idea product of the mind , and often it's a combination of the two , as visible images also generate some thought or other aesthetics . Label all images . Log is me intrusive thoughts .

Speaker 1 13:14

The man who is not enthralled to the passions and this is an attempt to unpack the meaning of Ogyriarchos the Nus that is , ogyriarchos that is dominant , that rules over one's being , in other words , the Nus that is in control of one's being , not the Nus of an inexperienced person , but the Nus that rules over oneself . See , when we are subject to the passions , our Nus is easily distracted . One second we're thinking about the trees outside , and now a minute we're looking at what's on the paper here , what's in our book , and then we think of our family back home , and then we think you all have to make a telephone call and we are all over the place typically . But the Nus that is in control of one's being , is focused , doesn't suffer these distractions , it's not at the mercy of these distractions . And so Robin Rosemary Edmonds says , the man who is not enthralled to the passions enthralled , that's even stronger than subject to the passions can recognize the force of an intrusive thought and yet remain completely free from its power . Okay , but if there is some place in one the patristic term for that is if there is a doblos , a place , there is a place in us for the thought to take hold .

Speaker 1 15:19

Some suitable soil , says Father Saphoni

“aisthema hedones”, a sense of pleasure; “protasis”, proposal

Speaker 1 15:23

, for the development of the intrusive thought . The thought will strive to take possession of one's psychic being , of the heart , the soul . This is what he means by psychic being . It achieves this because it prompts a feeling of the delight to be afforded by one or another passion . This is an estima idonis , a sense estima idonis , of pleasure . Of course it wouldn't be a temptation if the thought didn't suggest some kind of pleasure , a feeling of delight to be afforded by one or another passion .

Speaker 1 16:18

The delight figures temptation , piresmos , the question I asked Saint Baesius . Piresmos means temptation . Loyismos is a tempting thought or intrusive thought . So piresmos is temptation . So you're tempted at the point that the loyismos suggests some form of pleasure . This is attractive . The delight , this feeling of delight , the estima idonis . This signifies temptation .

Speaker 1 17:04

But even the fleeting pleasure , though it testifies to man's imperfection , even at this point where you are being tempted , to be tempted , at this point Father Saphoni says it means we're not yet perfect . If we were perfect in Christ , this would not tempt us . But even when that is the case , we are not perfect and we are tempted , it doesn't yet mean that we have sinned . Though it testifies to man's imperfection

Further development of an intrusive thought

Speaker 1 17:47

is not yet to be reckoned as sin . It is only a proposal for sin . What is the patrician term for proposal ? Protesis ? So it's suggesting that you succumb .

Speaker 1 18:07

The further development of a sinful , intrusive thought can be portrayed roughly as follows the mind is attracted by the delectation to be afforded by the passion . Again , the sweetness of the passion attracts the mind , and this is an extremely important and crucial moment , because the fusion of mind with tempting ideas provides fertile soil for passion . If the mind does not , by an exercise of the will , tear itself away from the suggested delights but continues to dwell on them , it will find itself pleasantly attracted , then involved and finally positively acquiescent . So , by means of an inner volitional act , that is , of the will , we need to

“Sympathy”, “synomelia”, “syndiasmos”, “synkatathesis”, “aichmalosia”, “hexis”

Speaker 1 19:25

stop thinking , cease to focus on this thought that suggests pleasure or delight . And he says we must tear ourselves away from the suggested delights . It's a struggle , huh , and if we continue to dwell on them we will find ourselves pleasantly attracted .

Speaker 1 19:55

The fristic term is simbathia . Look at how accurate these words are . Simbathia , you have sympathy with the passion , with the suggested delight . The delight is inviting you to join the passion , to be united with the passion , simbathia , and it will find itself pleasantly attracted . That is simbathia .

Speaker 1 20:27

Then you begin to intercourse with the passion , you begin to have what they call synomilia , to enter into a dialogue , to converse with the passion . And synomilia and simdiasmos , that's a coupling . So you enter into this intimate relationship with the intrusive thought and that will lead to synodathesis , positively acquiescent . That's a good translation . You give in , you surrender , you go along with , and after that explains Father Sifroni the ever-increasing delight in the passion may take possession of mind and will , to reach the stage of syncopathesis . You are running the risk of what is known as echmalosia , captivity . And once you are held captive , then of course the danger is that the thought can enslave you .

Speaker 1 21:53

Lastly , the whole strength of the one enslaved by passion is directed to a more or less determined actualization of sin , if there are no outside impediments , or , where there are two , seeking ways of getting around them , because we are determined from that point to actualize the sin , to put the sin into practice . But that's not the end of the story , because Father Sophrony speaks of exis . Exis is a having being in possession of possession . Now , such captivity Vaso-Sophrony continues may happen once only and never recur , if it had come about because of the inexperience of someone engaged in the ascetic struggle . So when it's the result of inexperience , it's relatively easily forgiven because the person in question did not know any better . But if the enchantment repeats itself , passion becomes second nature , and then all man's natural forces are at its service . This is when it becomes an exis , a habit , and so it becomes more deep rooted and more difficult to uproot .

Speaker 1 23:35

The initial appearance of the delights offered by passion should start off a struggle which must continue through every stage in the development of a sinful thought . That is , from the point of the proposal , that crucial point . There must be a struggle which must continue through every stage in the development of a sinful thought , and at each of these stages the wrong thought can be mastered and so not transformed into deep . Nevertheless ,

Wavering of the Will: Two Wills in Christ, Divine and Human

Speaker 1 24:19

the instant the will wavers , an element of sin enters which must be repented of lest we forfeit grace . So , of course , the result of accepting intrusive thoughts is that we lose the grace of God , but the instant the will wavers , an element of sin enters which must be repented of .

Speaker 1 24:50

Let's take a look at this Christologically , because when we look at the God-man , christ in his human nature is a model , is the pattern of what we must become , of God's purpose in his creation of man . So we see in the Gospel that Christ , who has two wills the divine will , which is the will of the Father , is his will . That same will is the will of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost . One will in God , one divine will when the Lord assumed our human nature , our human flesh and everything that goes with it . He assumed a human will . That human will , as Saint John Damascene says , always willed what the divine will willed it to will . So , in other words , the human will of Christ was always in harmony , always in agreement with his divine will . There's no conflict in Christ , there's only harmony .

Speaker 1 26:33

Sometimes I don't know if you have seen the movie the Passion of the Christ produced by Mel Gibson . The Passion of the Christ opens . First scene begins with Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane and it shows Christ suffering an inner turmoil , in conflict with himself , sweating and struggling . God wants me to do this , but I want to do that . God , the Father wants me to be crucified for the salvation of the world and as a human being , I don't want to die . And it shows , it implies , that there is this conflict within Christ himself , because it assumes that there are two subjects in Christ , just as we find in the Christology of Theodore of Mopsuestea and Nestorius Two subjects in Christ and not one , as Saint Cyril of Alexandria taught . So Christ is presented in this movie as two subjects clashing with each other . Eventually , the human element gives in to the divine element , but there is this clash , there is this conflict , there is this disharmony . This is unacceptable from an Orthodox perspective , because when Christ said , not my will but thy will be done , it means not my human will but thy will , the will of the Father , which is also his divine , will be done . There's no conflict .

Speaker 1 28:38

What Saint John of Velades says is that although Christ feared death , he sweated drops of blood . Although he feared death , he was not terrified by it . What does that mean ? In simple terms , it means that death was unnatural to the God-man . Death had no place in Christ . For Christ to die , it had to be a voluntary and violent death , because death had no place in him . He is the source of life , he is God . So his death is innocent , it's voluntary and it is , of course , in keeping with the will of God , the Father , which is his will and his human will , as Saint John Damascene says , always willed . What the divine will called it to will , because , from the moment of his conception in his mother's womb , christ is the God-man , the single person of the Son and Word of God . The assumed human flesh of Christ is deified , is perfected . It is not only at the level that Adam had before the fall , but it has realized the purpose for which Adam was created , which is the likeness of Christ , and in Christ the human flesh of Christ is perfected .

Speaker 1 30:46

So what do we see here from an ascetic point of view ? The instant the will wavers . What do we see in that opening scene of that film ? We see a wavering , we see indecision , we see a conflict . Is he going to do it ? Isn't he going to do it ? He's struggling to accept the Father's will , but he doesn't want to . Yes , he's going to . No , he doesn't want to .

Speaker 1 31:17

In Christ there is no wavering , there is no deliberation . The will of God is always straight and true and always hits the mark , always wills the best , and there is no equivocation . And the human will of Christ , which is hypostatically personally united to the divine will , is the same . So what does that mean for us ? As long as we have wavering , as long as we equivocate , as long as we are deliberating , we are not yet perfect . We are not yet established firmly in Christ the perfect .

Speaker 1 32:13

The great saints have the same characteristics as Christ . Saint Maximus the Confessor asserts God and those worthy of God , says Saint Maximus , have one and the same energy . They have one and the same energy . How does God

32:58 Example of St. Paisios the Athonite: the Saints acquire (are given) the same characteristics as God

Speaker 1 32:38

reveal his will ? He reveals his will by what he does , by what he operates His energy , his life reveals to us his will . And those who are like God , those worthy of God , the saints , become like him . You know , we mentioned many times some of the things about the contemporary saints , how they could know what they knew .

Speaker 1 33:08

People came to take , for example , saint Bacius . When the boat to Athos would come , half of the people in the boat were coming to see Bacius . Every day they would go to see him . Some of them were farmers , some of them were professors , some of them were professionals , others were laborers from all kinds of backgrounds , all walks of life . Some of them were generals in the army , others were high-ranking politicians , others were simple folk , poor , and when he received them , he satisfied each and every one of them . When they would speak with him , he would give them a word and they all went away edified , whether it was a patriarch or a simple pauper .

Speaker 1 34:13

How could a man , how could a man do that ? How could he satisfy every need ? His own background was very simple . He had a very basic education . He was a very bright man , just by nature . He was blessed by God to be bright and he had a wonderful humor and tremendous wit . And many of the examples he would give to the people . He could give them in very simple , simple language , with analogies taken from simple life .

Speaker 1 34:55

But you know , he satisfied everyone

Saints are collaborators with God

Speaker 1 34:59

and you could not help but think of how it must have been when people the multitude would approach Christ and he healed them of every manner of infirmity and set them away edified . You see the people of God , the saints . They become like God , they share the life of God , the grace of God is in them and it enlightens them and guides them and they are able to do for the world what God does for the world , because it's God's good will to save His people and amazingly , amazingly , it is His good pleasure that man be a collaborator with Him

Royal priesthood: mediator and microtheos

Speaker 1 36:02

in the salvation of the world . Otherwise we wouldn't need the priesthood , we wouldn't need the church , because God wants us to work with Him , to be collaborators with Him , to be priests over the creation . Don't forget that each one of us has been blessed with the royal priesthood , the royal priesthood which survives the functional priesthood , even though many wonderful things are said about the liturgical priesthood , and it's true .

Speaker 1 36:43

But the liturgical priesthood comes to an end . There's only one priest Christ is the priest , but the royal priesthood , which means that in us , in our hypothesis , our unique and unrepeatable hypothesis of each one of us , there is a mediatory role that we play in uniting heaven and earth , the created with the uncreated , so that it's God's good pleasure for man to be like Him and to bring together and to unite in His person the whole cosmos , because each one of us in His image is a microtheos . Each one of us is not only a microcosm but a microtheos , reuniting , reconciling the created with the uncreated , and it is mysteriously God's good pleasure that we do that . He wants us to share His life , for reasons which only the Lord knows . He wants to give us everything , everything that is His by nature . He wants us to share in that , to give it to us by grace . Astounding the majesty of God's vision of His creation .

Speaker 1 38:30

And how inspiring is it for us to be able to convey that to other people

Thanksgiving: the Divine Liturgy

Speaker 1 38:39

so that they begin to understand the uniqueness of the Christian faith , that there is no other faith that can compare with the vision that God has of His creature .

Speaker 1 39:00

And that is why the only proper response is to give thanks to God , and that is what we do in the divine liturgy .

Speaker 1 39:12

We call to remembrance all the great things that God has done for us and we give thanks for all these things .

Speaker 1 39:24

We give thanks and , of course , for the gifts which symbolize what he has given to us and what we return to Him with our thanks , with our gratitude . So you see that Christ is the measure of all things , both divine and human , and our first thought , when we engage in the spiritual struggle , as we live our life on this earth , our first thought is of Him , because the clearer our vision of Christ , the clearer our understanding of what we must do , how we should follow Him , how we should react to any and every situation that we find ourselves , good or bad . This is the way of the Christian . It is the way of the cross , because it involves the surrendering of one's will entirely to God , but that cross is life giving because it is the only way to the resurrection . Click on the support the show button in the description box and become a supporter of the Mount Table Academy podcasts , which aim to introduce the theology and spiritual life of the Orthodox Church to the wider community . Thank you .