“The internal and natural enemy of the lower back

distorts everything spiritual”

Venerable Gregory of Sinai

Content

Introduction

For those who, striving in intelligent action, have learned the turning of the heart and the grace-filled prayer in the heart, there comes a period of sorrowful quarreling with the evil one, which prepares the one who prays for spiritual contemplation. If earlier the one praying struggled with evil thoughts tempting the desired and irritating forces of the soul, then after the preliminary purification of the heart, grace is diminished and the one praying is brought out to fight with a stronger opponent – the prince of the air, who acts through the ability through spiritual influence. time of prayer:

“The prince of the air is amazed at those who occupy their minds with contemplation, presenting them with the fantastic while approaching with the cunning spirits of the air the intellectual and mental parts of the soul”1.

The prince of the air is a conventional name by which St. Gregory of Sinai designated the chief of the spirits of evil in the underworld , who wages slander against ascetics of the contemplative way of life. This slander is waged with the intellectual power of the soul, but those who lose this battle in the realm of the mind are not only deprived of true contemplation in the Soul, but also succumb to a lustful struggle on the bodily level. And if earlier ascetics of intellectual activity were subjected to a bodily struggle with nature at the stage of purification of the heart in the struggle with pleasure desired by the power of the soul, now they fall into the abyss of debauchery in the struggle with intellectual beauty. The Apostle Paul explains the peculiarity of this slander, which is waged not against the physical nature, but against the temptations of the mind by the spirits of evil:

“Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).

St. Macarius the Great speaks of this slander in his “Epistle to His Children”2 as a battle at the tenth stage of humility after the diminishment of passions and before the ascetic’s “eyes are opened” to the contemplation of heaven. If at this stage the mind accepts the temptation of the cunning substitutions of the states of grace and falls into the beauty of the imagination, then the cunning one takes possession of the mind and elevates the insane prayer-giver either to the “heavens” of vanity and pride, or throws him into the abyss of prodigal slander. The praying person “turns out to be like a ship without a rudder, which is dashed against the rocks here and there” 3. And his arrogance is shattered on the rocks of prodigal lust, to which he submits, despite the previously acquired purity of heart and the experience of grace-filled prayer in his heart. In this struggle, the one who prays recognizes his weakness in confronting the prince of the air and his strength in his loins, which he proves unable to resist if the gracious help is industrially diminished.

The word “hips” in Russian translations of the Bible corresponds to the Greek word ὀσφύς, which denotes the strength of men and which is literally translated as the loins, the lumbar part of the body, the thighs. Promiscuous swearing in the hips depends on swearing with thoughts in the mind. Therefore, the Apostle Peter, emphasizing that the mind is the source of promiscuous swearing in the hips, calls for “girding up the loins of your mind” (1Pet. 1:13.), and St. Gregory of Sinai calls the prince of the air also the enemy of the loins (loins):

“The internal and natural enemy of the loins” (ὀσφύος) distorts everything spiritual, by means of fantasy substituting one thing for another, and instead of warmth causes an abnormal burning, so that the soul becomes numb and burdened in this error. Instead of bliss it causes unreasonable beauty, pride and vanity. But time, experience and feelings reveal its cunning and cunning” 4

And also this enemy of the lower back is called the serpent and the prince of the abyss, whose power is in the thighs and navel (Ὀμφαλός – navel of the belly):

“The serpent, the prince of the abyss , makes war against those who are attentive to the heart, like one who has [the basis] of his power in the passionate thighs (see: Job 40:11) and navel”5

St. Gregory Palamas speaks of the power of the imaginary beast in the navel of the belly:

“the power of the mental beast is in the umbilical cord of the belly, because here the law of sin has its power and nourishes the beast”6

St. Nicodemus the Holy Mountain also wrote about the prince of the air, who acts through imagination:

“And finally, despite the strength of our soul, it is precisely the imagination that the devil has a special affinity for, using it to tempt man.”7

The confrontation with the prince of the air in the realm of imagination and the fornication of the serpent of the loins in the loins are two sides of the same fornication with the crafty spirit of the devil, which is allowed to perfect workers of heartfelt prayer for the sake of humility before the rapture of the mind to contemplation. In this article we have focused on the name “serpent of the loins” because it indicates the serpentine and fornicating nature of the prince of the air, who, like a harlot, seduces the supplicant with the external attractiveness of imaginary images and instead of contemplation.

1. A bird that has not yet fledged

The devil, by his cunning cunning, corrupted Adam and Eve, who had pure hearts. And this same serpent is allowed to tempt those who pray, who have purified their hearts and have known the heavenly delight and grace of spontaneous prayer. This is allowed by the Lord because the mind of the one who prays is not yet ready for contemplation, like a wingless chick whose wings have not yet grown.

” A wingless chick is that mind which, through repentance, has recently escaped the bonds of passions and during prayer strives to rise above earthly things, but cannot, and, on the contrary, still walks on the face of the earth, lacking the strength to fly.”8

In the experience of spiritual wrestling with the serpent, the ascetic of rational action tastes the fruits of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 9 Without such an experience, which cleanses arrogance, which prays from the original sin, which dreamed of becoming a god without God, the mind is not given the guidance of contemplation of the angelic world, because the Lord does not want the death of the sinner like Adam, but “that he may be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:2).

A feature of the temptations from the lumbar serpent is the substitution of blessed spiritual states for false images. In this, it acts in the sphere of physical or mental states in the form of sensory sensations, imagination, and fantasies. Those who pray in anticipation of grace at the stage of intelligent prayer and, having no experience of blessed states, can joyfully accept any unusual change in prayer as the action of grace can be tempted by cunning substitutions. But those who have already tasted the grace of continuous prayer in their hearts and, after its diminution, want to return the feelings of grace with their own strength and enjoy bliss again are also easily caught in these networks. For the unceasing Jesus prayer, granted after the turning away of the heart, is initially performed by the grace of the Holy Spirit strongly and fervently like a flame in the heart, bringing a person indescribable joy and a feeling of communion with the Lord Jesus Christ. At the same time, prayer is performed day and night, regardless of the attention of the mind, so a person can engage in any business and at the same time clearly understand verbal prayer in the heart. The period of continuity can last several months, depending on the individual characteristics of the person, his humility and the preservation of this gift. At this time, a person finds a reliable conduct of the bliss of life with grace in the heart and finds unshakable faith in Christ and His promise of the Kingdom of Heaven. But at the same time, arrogance also appears in the ascetic, that this has been granted to him forever for his special diligence in intelligent action and that he has already gained salvation. But gradually the prayer weakens and becomes quieter, so that the person begins to worry whether he has lost it. Then he listens to his heart and when he begins to listen to prayer, it again begins to act strongly and fervently. Prayer may cease altogether if a person sins in word, deed, or thought, but after destruction and penitential confession, prayer returns. Thus, through the strengthening and weakening of prayer, grace gradually humbles the ascetic’s arrogance and prepares him for the stage of learning to spiritually distinguish true knowledge from evil substitutions. This training in spiritual prudence is carried out through indulgence in spiritual struggle with the spirits of evil. Temptations are allowed both from external circumstances and from internal prayer states, thoughts, and visions from the evil one. These temptations are individual. One may be tempted by demons of fear, who appear in a terrible form, roar, shake the cell, etc., driving the ascetic from his place of solitude in prayer. To Elder Joseph the Hesychast, a serpent appeared in the form of a lion. Another is given over to demons of vanity, which tempt him to prematurely instruct his brothers on how to be saved and to pray, as if he had already learned the secrets of rational action and the measures of a spiritual elder. And another is allowed various bodily sensations and visual temptations during prayer, which replace the blessings and revelations. All ascetics of rational action go through the period of spiritual abuse with the lumbar serpent, but in different ways. Spiritual abuse can be very cruel and last for years, especially for those whowho prays arbitrarily and arbitrarily. Those who work in intelligent action, being in obedience to the elder who humbles the arrogance of a fledgling, may be allowed fewer temptations. It is impossible to describe all possible situations and tricks of the evil one, because this is the measure of teaching grace, but let us consider some of what has been given to us to know from our own sorrowful experience of encountering the beauty of arrogance and find an explanation from the fathers of intelligent action.

2. False substitutions

When the mind reaches a high degree of concentration on the meanings of the words of prayer and courageously cuts off all thoughts, the one who prays feels the presence of grace in the heart area, like warmth that warms the heart. At this time, the lumbar serpent, in order to divert attention from prayer, can disturb the bodily sensation of warmth. It is difficult to explain in words the qualitative difference between spiritual warmth and physical warmth. But still, some external differences can be pointed out. Spiritual warmth is not felt by bodily senses. It is felt in the experience of self-moving prayer performed by the Holy Spirit. Spiritual warmth is born in the area of ​​the spiritual heart and spreads in the chest area. Physical warmth is born from the lumbar serpent in the lumbar area and rises upwards. If the one who prays takes it for grace-filled warmth, then the serpent can cover the whole body with heat, so that real sweat appears on the forehead. Such physical phenomena have nothing to do with the blessed spiritual sensations during prayer and, of course, they should be rejected.

The feeling of spiritual warmth can also be replaced by a feeling under the skin of light tingling-burning, which, when concentrating, envelop the thigh muscles below the waist and slowly rise upwards. These bodily sensations are unusual and if they are taken for grace, they can intensify, so the whole body becomes numb. Similar sensual sensations can be combined with prodigal sensations. But not always warmth and burning arise due to the action of the evil one. They can also have natural causes:

“A burning sensation or warmth sometimes comes from the thighs to the heart naturally, as such, without promiscuous thoughts. And this is not from beauty, but from nature,” said the holy Patriarch Callistus. If anyone takes this to be an action of grace, and not of nature, then this is truly beauty”10

If the heat or burning sensation arose from natural causes, then they simply weaken when you ignore them and focus on the Jesus Prayer. If the sensations still intensify, then you can resort to the sign of the cross, which is made with faith in the power of the Cross of Christ, directed against the evil one. Then the heat and burning sensation that arose from the evil one immediately weaken and disappear. If they arise again, then you can resort to the prayer “The Honorable Cross of the Lord” together with the sign of the cross. Usually it is enough to pronounce the first lines of the prayer to feel the release from some heaviness in the body and the smelly fog in the mind, with which the enemy imperceptibly envelops the one who prays. And then the heat disappears, and the burning sensation dissipates, the body becomes light, the mind is enlightened and the prayer acquires purity.

The sensations in the liver caused by the lumbar serpent are similar to the grace-filled sensations that sometimes arise during heartfelt prayer at moments of Divine revelations. It happens that during prayer, the one who prays sincerely addresses a request or thanks to Jesus Christ, the Most Holy Theotokos or to beloved saints and in response unexpectedly receives a response, indicating that his request has been heard, in the form of a certain flow of spiritual energy. This flow can be very strong, like an electric current, penetrating from the back of the head to the ground, but it can also be weak, barely noticeable, and spreading along the shoulders. At the same time, for a moment there is a feeling similar to goosebumps on the skin, which arises from the cold. The body seems to be immersed in frost, but it is not cold, but joyful and grace-filled. When making the sign of the cross, these feelings can be repeated and even intensify, but they are given for a moment or for a short time, as a sign of a grace-filled response. Graceful frostbite is similar to the subcutaneous burning sensations that come from the lumbar serpent, and therefore confusion and surprise arise. But later comes experience and the ability to distinguish evil burning sensations from grace-filled frostbite. In particular, it can be said that the moment of their occurrence, the strength and speed of the course, and even the reaction to the influence of the sign of the cross differ. Serpentine burning sensations occur when the one who prays struggles with thoughts for the purity of prayer. These burning sensations usually creep slowly from below the hips and up the body. They seem to suggest paying attention to them and accepting them as grace, intensify when paying attention to them and disappear when making the sign of the cross. But sometimes, especially when recalling the experience of demonic influences, there may be moments of a strong feeling of fear, accompanied by the sudden appearance of burning sensations on the back of the head and shoulders. Then fear indicates the source of these burning sensations. And, on the contrary, a grace-filled frost arises when the one who prays is already in a state of pure active prayer11. And when a grace-filled frost arises in this state, it arises by itself without demand or consent, flows instantly from top to bottom and disappears by itself. It does not cause fear, does not violate the purity of prayer and when making the sign of the cross it can be repeated with even greater force, but it does not last long and quickly ceases. Doubts about the grace of the source of the frost arise not at the time of its occurrence, but when the lumbar serpent begins to confuse the one who prays with its cunning burnings, similar to grace-filled frost. And here it is appropriate to recall the advice of St. Isaac the Syrian: “What is from God comes by itself, … if the place is clean” 12 , and what is from the evil one can be rejected.

3. Imaginary images

When the one who prays successfully overcomes the crafty substitutions of grace that distract from prayer and approaches the realm of spiritual contemplation, the lumbar serpent is allowed to tempt those who pray with contemplative images through the imagination of the mind in the head:

“There is nothing spiritual, whatever [demons] have secretly transformed in the imagination. In contrast to the inner [human] state, in proportion to moral height they arm themselves and place in souls what is inflicted, that is, beauty instead of truth, fantastic images instead of contemplation”13.

Visual and auditory hallucinations may occur, imitating the blessed states of silence and revelation from God. At first, faint rays of light or some radiance may appear, which are suggested to be taken as the beginning of a vision of the Divine light. An ascetic inexperienced in contemplation has no idea what true spiritual contemplation is, but from books he knows that the holy fathers saw light through contemplation, and therefore any vision of light arouses in him genuine interest and a desire to perceive it.

It should be noted that the Divine light, about which the hesychast fathers write, is the light with which the mind is illuminated when the soul is taken up into the angelic heaven, where the mind ceases to feel its body and the whole person becomes light and sees only infinite and unchanging light, which has no visual differences, no forms, rays, or blue color, as in icons, but all one, simple and transparent light of boundless eternity. The mind sees the Divine light not with bodily eyes, because there is nothing bodily there, but sees with a rational sense arising from grace. The fathers call the vision of the light of angelic contemplation natural contemplation of the first kind. And when, by the grace of the Lord, the soul is deified and ascended to the third heaven in the Kingdom of Heaven, the mind supernaturally sees the uncreated Divine light, which is distinguished by an extraordinary power of brightness, which the fathers compare with the brightness of the sun or lightning in comparison with the natural light of angelic contemplation, which is similar to the weak light of angelic contemplation. With the rapture of the soul to the angelic heaven, true spiritual contemplation begins, and before that the ascetic is in the bodily form of being and can be illuminated by the Divine light through various visions, which the fathers relate to natural contemplation of the second kind. In these visions, which arise during prayer, the mind can see with the rational sense visual images that have spatial forms and variability in time. These may be images similar to those seen by the Old Testament Fathers with fiery chariots, angels, animals, etc., or images of the Mother of God, beloved saints known from icons, or a reposed elder, and even an image of Christ Himself, with whom the ascetic can talk, ask questions, and receive answers. And this will not be a vision of Christ as He is, but a true appearance of Christ and communion with Him in an image that is accessible to human perception. As an example, we can cite the memory of the elder Joseph the Hesychast, who for a long time was in a spiritual struggle with demons, but sometimes was comforted by gracious contemplations and once was granted a miraculous vision of the Mother of God with the Infant Christ14. In this second kind of contemplation there were many beautiful images, angelic singing of birds, blissful fragrances, a road white as snow, heavenly golden flowers, dazzling light, the Mother of God, the Infant Jesus, a thousand-flowered bird and many other things that Francis saw not with bodily eyes, but not with bodily eyes. But similar images can arise in the mind from the evil one. Ex. Silouan of Athos also once heard beautiful singing and saw the open sky, but it was from the evil one:

“I myself was mistaken twice. Once the enemy showed me light, and thought told me: accept it, this is grace. Another time I accepted a vision and suffered a lot for it. Once at the end of the vigil, when they sang “every breath praises the Lord,” I heard King David in heaven singing praises to God. I stood in the choir, and it seemed to me that there was no roof, no dome, and that I saw the open sky. I spoke about this to four spiritual men, but no one told me that the enemy laughed at me, and I myself thought that demons cannot praise God, and that, therefore, this vision was not from the enemy. But the beauty of vanity overcame me, and I began to see demons again.”15

The Holy Fathers warn that the enemy can appear even in the images of Christ and the Mother of God:

“To those who have succeeded in contemplation, he is a bright Angel, taking on the images of the saints and of Christ the Savior Himself, depending on the state in which the man of God is.”16

Such false contemplations of the second kind cannot be distinguished from grace-filled contemplations by appearance or content, and even more so by verbal description. The four spiritual men to whom St. Silouan turned for advice could not say from whom his vision came. Only grace itself can answer this question, for along with grace-filled contemplations comes a feeling of Divine love and the indisputable truthfulness of the vision:

“There is no doubt in the blessed moment of the arrival of grace that it is truly Divine grace, for it does not arouse in the one who receives it any fear or distrust.”17

However, the evil one is cunning and replaces the feeling of grace with the feeling of bodily sweetness, the spiritual fragrance with the smell of incense, the feeling of paradise with colorful visions, etc., but he cannot imitate the feeling of Divine love and truth, the tasting of which is given to the ascetic of rational action when he rejects prayer, not turning prayer away from the faith of the skill. And in addition, one sure sign of distinction can be noted – the evil one cannot immediately introduce the mind into a state of frenzy, in which the mind is protected from the world of bodily sensations, and take possession of the person’s will. Evil visions arise as external phenomena, to which a person can join at his own will, but he can also not look at them, turn away and, focusing on prayer, drive them away by the power of the name of Christ and the sign of the cross. When gracious visions arise, a person immediately finds himself in another spiritual world and cannot leave it until grace returns him to earth.

As for the contemplation of the first kind and the supernatural contemplation of uncreated light, the lumbar serpent cannot imitate the eternal immutability, formlessness and limitlessness of the Divine light, because its hallucinations arise in the mind when it is in the head, and not in a state of rapture of the soul to the angelic heaven. But the evil one can tempt an ascetic inexperienced in contemplation with the attraction of light images of the second kind. And he can imitate in the mind the blinding brightness of light, from which the eyes hurt. But this will not be the blindness that the deified mind sees in the Kingdom of Heaven and from which nothing hurts or blinds, because spiritual contemplation takes place in the spiritual heart without the participation of the head. Therefore, if the light that arises is localized, has a form and color, moves, changes, intensifies or weakens, emanates from some visual image and at the same time such a phenomenon can be rejected, then such light and images are a temptation from the evil one.

If the one who prays out of vanity takes the light, auditory, olfactory, or other sensual fantasies of the lumbar serpent for gracious phenomena, and begins to expect their repetition, then he will gradually fall under its power, and then the serpent “disposes of him as if he were a machine that does not belong to him, as if a machine that does not belong to him does not obey him even by a hair” 18 . Having taken possession of the mind of the one who prays, the lumbar serpent throws him into the abyss of prodigal slander with demons, which is allowed by the Lord until the one who prays comes to his senses and understands that the cause of this slander is not the substance in his loins, but his vanity and arrogance, which he has earned for his prayer work.

4. Wandering entity

The cunning of the lumbar serpent lies in the fact that it is in no hurry to reveal its prodigal nature and hatred for Christ and man. Its main goal is to prevent the mind from contemplating the Divine light, to distract the mind from the Jesus Prayer, and through supposedly gracious phenomena, simply to gain trust. Therefore, at first it can stop all attacks with thoughts and appear as some unusual, weak sensation, a small light spot, or some slightly noticeable blue glow in the air. These phenomena can arise in silence from thoughts for a short time and then go away. And a person will have curiosity and reflection that maybe it was from grace, but he, due to his distrust or arrogance, did not allow it to come closer. Then these phenomena will arise again and disappear, gradually intensifying, but increasingly attracting the person’s mind like a courtesan. In these temptations, the one who prays will not feel the taste of grace, as it was before in the experience of states of grace, but the evil one will throw in the idea that this is not necessary and that silence and the absence of any perception, including the feeling of Christ’s love, is the state of hesychia and contemplation of the divine at the highest level. And if the one who prays agrees to forget the taste of grace and begins, instead of repentant prayer, to direct his mind to absolute insensibility and to acquire by his own efforts, without the help of grace, supposedly pure contemplative prayer of the Holy Spirit, then his spirit merges with the satanic spirit. After this, temptations and substitutions cease and the one who prays finds himself in the power of the lumbar serpent. And then Satan can use a person for his own purposes. He can poison his spiritual blood and make him his secret servant, who believes that he prays and serves Christ, or he can begin to mock him and lead him to prodigal falls. But the promiscuous nature of the lumbar serpent sooner or later begins to manifest itself when combined with its drying. There may be a slight desire for sensual pleasure, tasting sweet or various types of pleasures. But there may also be the strongest sexual lust in the absence of an object of desire, which is no longer possible to resist. When combined with seemingly innocent thoughts, the lumbar serpent can take over the body and bring it into a frenzied state in which the spine, legs, arms and head shake. All these temptations are individual and temptations are allowed to varying degrees depending on the desires of the secret arrogance of the one who prays, which becomes apparent through the fall:

“For the enemy knows that a person’s victory, and his defeat, and his treasure, and his protection, and everything in an ascetic lies in his thought and happens in a short moment, so that the thought may move from its place, and from that height descend to the ground, and by liberation for a moment show its consent, as it did.

Temptations and falls happen not only to beginners, but also to those experienced in prayer who are in unceasing heartfelt prayer and have known the bliss of Christ’s love and gracious revelations with the vision of Christ or the Mother of God. St. Silouan of Athos fought with demons for 15 years after he saw the open heaven in the church and “heard King David in heaven singing praises to God” and thought that this could not be from the enemy. Elder Joseph the Hesychast, having gracious unceasing prayer and a true vision of the Mother of God, nevertheless, was subjected to a fierce fornication struggle for 8 years.

Temptations by the lumbar serpent for experienced prayerful people are allowed by the Lord before rapture to true spiritual contemplation as a means of humility and purification from the secret passions of vanity and pride, as well as training spiritual prudence in distinguishing between states of grace and evil substitutions. Contrition and repentance in confession return prayers to the grace of the Jesus Prayer. But if the fall does not sober up and does not lead to repentance, then the lumbar serpent takes possession of the will of the deceased in his hips and gradually makes of him either a prodigal demon, blaspheming Christ, or exhausts his vital forces with frantic desires and bodily pains, or makes him a mortal story, or leads him to a fatal outcome, salvation and deification in the spirit of mystical meditations of yoga, Buddhism or “New Age”.

5. The Power of the Holy Cross of the Lord

The slander of one who prays with a lumbar serpent is conducted at the level of thoughts, reflections, visual images and imaginations, sensory and mental sensations. These adverbs of the evil one roll onto the mind and body of the one who prays in the form of seductive or frightening waves. The one who prays must not pay attention to them and walk above the waves with his gaze turned only to the Lord, as Peter walked through the waters towards Christ and did not sink until he paid attention to the waves. The slander is conducted by the mind until the mind is scattered and does not listen to the examples of the evil one. Then, by paying attention to prayer, the mind is protected from adverbs, as with a shield, and by the power of the name of Christ, the evil one is struck, as with a fiery sword. To help the one who prays, the power of the Holy Cross is also given, which strengthens the spirit of the one who prays and turns the evil one to flight, “For as soon as this image is depicted … immediately it is clothed with divine power” 20. Two powers – the power of the Name of Christ and the power of the Cross of Christ eyes. and transparent.

But when the mind loses attention and repentance in prayer and begins to pay attention to the attachments and states that arise, then the evil one entangles the mind with a viscous fog and takes possession of the body of the one who prays. Then the abuse stops and the mockery of the nature of the one who prays, over his flesh and blood, begins, as the Apostle Paul says: “Our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spirits of wickedness in the heavenly places.” 2) And when the abuse at the level of the mind is lost, the abuse at the level of the flesh and blood begins.

However, not all thoughts and visions come from the evil one. Sometimes during prayer the mind is illuminated by a gracious insight into the spiritual meanings of Scripture or is captivated by the vision of Divine revelation, which has form, color, and changeability, which guides the ascetic on the path of truth. And it is sometimes impossible to distinguish the gracious from the evil one by the content or appearance of the phenomenon. An example is the above-mentioned case of St. Silouan, who after a vision turned for advice to “four spiritual men, but no one told me that the enemy laughed at me, and I myself thought that demons cannot glorify God.” Only a person himself can reliably distinguish one from another through the spiritual feeling of grace. What comes from grace arises powerfully, so that the mind is immediately captivated and remains in the comprehension of the Divine thought, which shines through with knowledge that does not cause doubt. And what comes from the evil one can be accepted or not accepted, rejected or started to listen. Good revelations arise as an internal notification of the mind by the knowledge of the truth or as a reliable announcement of the previously unknown21 , while evil temptations sow doubt and cloud the mind. The encounter with grace is accompanied by a feeling of joy, the bliss of Christ’s love, the reliability of the truth, humility and the desire not to part with prayer. At the same time, tears of emotion may begin to flow involuntarily. And evil temptations give rise to a feeling of coldness, distract the mind from prayer and attract it to empty contemplation, which does not lead to a clear understanding of the truth, but gives rise to arrogance.

But the lumbar serpent is a master of substitutions. The finer the spiritual level of the one praying, the finer the cunning substitutions:

“The enemy can imitate many signs of contemplation and grace, falsely presenting this imitation as truth.”22

And for someone who prays without a mentor, it can be difficult to understand the source of thoughts and maintain attention and repentance in prayer. But faith in the power of the Precious Cross of the Lord cuts through false substitutions, which melt like “wax before the fire,” not withstanding the test of the Cross. If thoughts have a good source, then prayer after them becomes pure and strengthens together with the Cross. Sobriety during prayer is not maintained by the reasoning of the mind and its skill, but by humility and faith in the power and protection of the Cross of the Lord:

“But what can we say about this? Even Satan himself with all his power fears the image of the Cross that we draw against him.”23

6. Expectation of blessed states

It is dangerous to expect gifts and gracious transformations of prayer or a repetition of a previous gracious experience during prayer. Expectation itself testifies to the spirit of pride. Expectation arises from the thought of the one who prays that he is worthy of what is expected and forgets that the Lord gives him the prayer that is useful to him, and that its diminution and temptations come in place of the approach of grace. When grace approaches and prayer is transformed, joy fills the heart. But if the one who prays begins to look for reasons for approaching in the circumstances of his labors, to repeat them in anticipation of the repetition of grace, forgetting about humility and gratitude, then instead of grace he receives either prodigal abuse, or abuse with cunning substitutions of gracious prayer states, which also lead to a prodigal battle. Through approach and diminution, grace teaches the one who prays. And when grace is diminished, then in humility the lessons of abandoning grace are learned. And those who wait for grace, the evil one traps by substituting states of grace:

“For it is written that the kingdom of God does not come with observation (Luke 17:20). And those who have such an intention have acquired pride and a fall. But we will bring the region of the heart into order by works of repentance and a life pleasing to God; the Lord’s will come of itself, if the place in the heart is pure and undefiled.”24

Should we strive for contemplation?

If we do not strive for contemplation, we will never know God. After all, contemplation is a gift of God that does not come by itself. Aspiration is not the expectation of gifts, but the spirit of the one who prays. The aspiration for contemplation is the spirit of love for God. And if we kill the dream of God in advance, prayer will lose its meaning and turn into an empty exercise for the mind. The thought “where do I get pure prayer and high contemplation? Few are worthy of it, one in a thousand, from generation to generation” seems correct and is in agreement with the sayings of the Fathers. But the cunning of the serpent in the loins lies in the fact that it prematurely captivates the mind with thoughts about contemplation and inflames the desire faster than it does. As a result, the person praying either forgets about the need to purify his heart, or feels the impurity of his heart and comes to the conclusion that contemplation is impossible for him. Such a conclusion is disbelief in Jesus, who wants to lead any sinner to the knowledge of the Kingdom of Heaven. “Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible’” (Matthew 19:26).

Contemplation should be treated in the same way as the opening of the heart. It should not be expected today or tomorrow, but should be believed that in 10–20 years it will come by itself by the grace of the Lord. If we are so disposed, the experience of contemplation can be unexpected both today and tomorrow. The door of contemplation is opened by Christ in the same way as the door of the heart. “ I am the door: whoever enters by me will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9). First, the entrance to the heart is opened, and then the exit from the heart into the sphere of contemplation and the search for the Kingdom of Heaven is opened. Both doors are opened by Jesus Christ, but only when the one who prays follows Christ in the hope of seeing Him not from behind, but “face to face.”

7. The Abyss of Nothingness

When pure contemplative prayer is given by grace and the mind is carried away into the sphere of heavenly contemplation, then the quarrel with the lumbar serpent ceases, all thoughts disappear, both one’s own and from the evil one. The Fathers call this state the “world of thoughts”, because all kinds of thoughts that flow in time disappear, and bodily feelings and the attachments associated with them fall silent. Instead of movements in multiple discursive thinking, the mind finds the ability to instantly understand the monotonous understanding of the angelic guidance it has embraced. The sphere of spiritual contemplation is inaccessible to the lumbar serpent, because it has been expelled from the heavenly sphere of angels. Therefore, it cannot influence the mind in a state of angelic contemplation. But he can prevent the rapture to heaven, taking the mind either into sleep, or into discursive reflections, or creating the illusion of a gracious rapture to the “world of thoughts” by means of the unexpected cessation of all thoughts, except one: “It is grace that has protected you from thoughts and unmistakably the mind.” leads to the fact that the one who prays ceases to feel his body and is supposedly lifted to heaven. Such a state of “thoughtlessness” without a single contemplation appears to the cunning, as a gift from God. And if the praying person prays in anticipation of gracious changes, he can easily trust in the substitution and give his will to the cunning serpent. The seduced mind, in anticipation of contemplation, will cease any desire for the repentant movements of the mind in prayer, and instead of contemplation will receive a state of “thoughtlessness” and “insensibility” similar to a deep dreamless sleep. After emerging from such a state, it is difficult for the person praying to understand what it was – whether he simply fell asleep or was in some mystical subtle dream of incomprehensible origin. After being in the false contemplation of thoughtlessness, the seduced “contemplator” accepts the cunning idea that he has achieved a divine gift and rejoices in this, but his mind remains empty and has acquired nothing new, except memories of the dissolution of consciousness in the vacuum emptiness of thoughtlessness.

A completely different feeling arises during true contemplation. The one who prays feels the rapture of the fullness of life in the angelic image of being, in which the eternity and limitlessness of the movements of the mind in the contemplation of divine truth and goodness is realized. After true contemplation, an undeniable feeling of knowing the true being around God arises. The mind of the one who prays returns overflowing with new knowledge, which is difficult to express in words, but which he clearly comprehends as an authentic truth. And his heart triumphs from the joy of encountering Divine love, the taste of which he knew when his heart first opened and was filled with the boundless love of Christ. An incomparably stronger perception of the fullness of life in truth and goodness arises when one is elevated to the supernatural contemplation of the light of the Holy Trinity. After such an experience of being a god by grace, the praying person finds an unquestionable way of leading the way of life of the coming century in the fullness of Truth and Goodness and comes to know the Divine providence of Love for the creation of existence in the present century.

However, let us return to false contemplation. If the one who prays perceives it as a divine gift and trusts the lumbar serpent as the Holy Spirit, then the mind of such a deceived “contemplator” can fall into the power of the lumbar serpent and be thrown further into the abyss of nothingness, in which not only thoughts but also the consciousness of the feeling of life disappear. In this state, a person does not think or feel anything and returns from it with a feeling of tasting death. But the evil one inspires the deceived mind that he has achieved unity with God and beckons him to return to work.

The substitution of the true state of union with God becomes possible due to the fact that with false union, the one who prays ceases to feel his body and the soul rests from the burden of earthly life, being in absolute thoughtlessness and soullessness like the insensibility of a dead body. And only the subsequent suggestion of the evil one can lead to the idea that this is the same peace in God that the Fathers write about. However, a completely different peace occurs during deification and union with God – the soul does not die and does not dissolve like a drop in the sea, but is transformed and supernaturally feels the fullness of life in Divine peace. In both cases, after the soul returns to natural created being, the mind cannot remember anything that could be expressed in words. But after the experience of peace in God, the mind realizes that a supernatural sense of being has been given, which incomprehensibly surpasses reason and is the source of the life of all that exists. And after false peace, the soul feels the fear of death. The mind is darkened and the question arises – what was it and from whom, from God or from the evil one? True union with God illuminates the mind with knowledge and it becomes different, as if illuminated from within by an invisible Light, which illuminates the clear vision and understanding of the Divine logos of the created world. This is also manifested when seeing the sensual things of the earthly world and during subsequent raptures of angelic contemplation. And in the mind there is no doubt about the source of the spiritual prudence that has arisen. At the same time, the Jesus prayer is strengthened and created spontaneously by the grace of the Holy Spirit. And after returning from non-existence, the prayer ceases, the mind is in doubt and remembers nothing, except the darkness of the black abyss in absolute insensibility, thoughtlessness and unconsciousness. This darkness hangs like a huge black spot in the inner failure of memory, like a black spot on the retina that appears after looking at the bright sun or a flash of blinding light. But this black spot is associated not with the knowledge of light, but with the knowledge of its opposite – something like the object known in astronomy called a “black hole”, which appears after the extinction of stars and pulls in everything that falls into its field of gravity. So after the knowledge of nothingness, the mind is in fear for its life, but feels some attractive force on itself that pulls it back into the abyss of the black hole. The source of this force is from the lumbar serpent, which whispers that this was only the beginning of the knowledge of divine life and that one only needs to continue praying in the same spirit to know God. An inexperienced prayer-reader can take the experience of nothingness for a divine gift and, trusting the cunning serpent, head for a repetition of the mortal experience. But those who have tasted the love of Christ in their hearts are surprised by its absence in the black abyss. And another, feeling the mortal danger of never returning from non-existence, may be afraid of reasonable action and stop praying. However, humility and faith in the Providence of Jesus Christ, who gave the way to salvation and knowledge of the true God through the Jesus Prayer, returns the one whoWhoever prays the penitential prayer rejects non-existence in darkness and destroys all the cunning substitutions of the lumbar serpent.

If the one who prays trusts the evil one and loves to be in the abyss of nothingness, then the encounter with the abyss does not pass without a trace. The one who prays is saturated with the spirit of vanity and high opinion of himself. And after returning from the abyss, the soul begins to feel a strong desire for bodily sensations, which can be directed by the evil one to lust in the hips. The black abyss is like the black hole of an extinguished star, and in essence it is the abyss of Satan, into which the Daystar will be thrown. The abyss of nothingness sucks in the proud and returns the prodigal servants of Satan.

8. Between Heaven and Earth

The spirits of evil are cast out of Heaven and dwell between heaven and earth. The mind of the one who prays, ascending to Heaven, passes on its way the subcelestial sphere of evil spirits and enters into battle with them. An inexperienced mind is easily caught in the net of the cunning serpent, like Adam. By the power of grace, an inexperienced praying person can be protected from the curse by the fervor of faith and be taken up to Heaven in order to acquire the initial knowledge of angelic and Divine existence and the experience of distinguishing the taste of grace from evil substitutions. But then the path to Heaven is blocked and the mind cannot ascend to Heaven of its own free will without grace and without the experience of fighting the substitutions of the evil one. The curse is given so that the one praying, when grace is removed, will recognize his weakness and, as the Apostle Paul was told, in weakness he will gain strength with the approach of grace. Thus is found the spiritual reasoning that distinguishes the right spirit from the spirits of evil, or, as St. Macarius says, the eyes of the heart are opened at the 12th degree of spiritual blasphemy. And then the mind, armed with spiritual eyes “with the eagle of youth,” like a bird that has taken flight, spreads its wings, soars high into the sky, and looks straight at the sun, “ blessing the Lord and His holy name. ” 25

Between the level of heartfelt prayer on Earth and the level of contemplation in Heaven lie the fields and ravines of spiritual battle with a horde of thoughts and birth attendants. And if during prayer thoughts and visual attachments arise, then the mind has entered the battlefield. If the one who prays courageously and patiently fights for prayer, falling, but getting up again for battle, then he is given the Holy Power to ascend to the level of heavenly contemplation. If the one who prays begins to fall into arrogance and ascribe victories over the enemy to himself or to believe that no thoughts are scary to him anymore and his purity is unshakable, then he unites his spirit with the spirit of anger. The grace of the Holy Spirit cannot be with an unrighteous spirit and is withdrawn, and the one who prays is expelled from the heavenly sphere and “again insults and confusion invade the heart, and bodily passions, excited by [internal] agitations sown in it by enemies, bring it into confusion. acquires great humility in heart and body so that in any matter he does not estimate himself [highly]” 26 .

The lumbar serpent continues to tempt even those who have already learned true contemplation and are not tempted by false substitutions.

“However, he does not stop attacking and has achieved success, as soon as he notices the ascetic’s carelessness and his tendency to any passion” 27

The quarrel with the serpent does not cease until the end of life, “ For humility and sorrow are born in the heart from the labors of those who labor in [spiritual] quarrels.” 28 Elder Joseph the Hesychast was told during that miraculous vision of the Divine Mother with the Infant: “that for the sake of enjoying such joy he must labor, suffering until the end of his life.” And those who have embarked on the path of intelligent action await not only bliss and the knowledge of the truth, but also the sorrows of a cruel quarrel with the serpent, as St. Isaac the Syrian says, either a quarrel or help from grace.

“Changes,” he says, “occur in everyone, as in the air.” Understand this word: in everyone ; because the essence [in all] is one, and lest you think that he said this about the lower and worse, the perfect are free from change and stand steadfastly on one standard without passionate thoughts, as the Euchytes assert,29 therefore he said: in everyone …Sometimes the soul is troubled, and cruel waves rise against it, and again a change occurs, because grace visits and fills the heart of man with joy and peace from God, with chaste and peaceful thoughts.”30

Whoever thinks that once having been granted the grace of silence, or having acquired the grace of self-moved prayer in the heart, which is performed unceasingly by the Holy Spirit, or having a vision of the Mother of God or Christ, he will no longer be tempted by the serpent of the loins, is mistaken like the Euchytes.

Conclusion

Spiritual abuse with a serpent is an abuse with temptations from the evil one, which is a necessary stage of a reasonable act, after opening the heart and acquiring the grace of unceasing heartfelt prayer. This abuse is not an accident that can be avoided by one’s foresight, for it is an industrial indulgence of God for the sake of humility and purification of the praying ascetic from the secret passion of arrogance and the training of the mind in spiritual prudence. All ascetics of the silence of the Hesychast were subject to temptations, but to varying degrees and in different ways depending on the Providence of God and the humility of the ascetic:

“And know that all this has been brought upon us by the Providence of God, who provides for each of us and arranges what is beneficial for each. And if you exalt yourself with His gifts, He will abandon you, and you will completely fall into that in which you will be tempted by thoughts alone. Therefore, know that to stand is not yours and not your virtue, but grace, which carries you in the palms of its hand, will do this, so that you will not come to fear” (ibid., p. 245).

Literature

Vasyl Polyanomerulsky 2009 – Vasyl Polyanomerulsky, lecturer. Prefaces // Prudence. Collection of works of Russian ascetics of piety on the foundations of spiritual life and the Jesus Prayer, in two volumes. Novo-Tikhvin Convent, Yekaterinburg. ed. Palomnyk, M. 2009. Volume I. Prefaces, pp. 310–375

Gregory Palamas 1996 – Gregory Palamas, St. Triads in Defense of the Sacred-Language / Translation, afterword and comments by V. Veniaminov. – M.: Kanon »1996.

Gregory of Sinai 1964 – Venerable Gregory of Sinai, Creation. Moscow Novospassky Monastery, 1999

Ephraim of Philotheus 2012 – Elder Ephraim of Philotheus. My Life with Elder Joseph / Translated from the Greek and notes by Archimandrite Simeon (Gagatyk). – Moscow, Okhtyrka: Okhtyrka Holy Trinity Monastery, 2012

John the Listvychnik 2013 – Venerable John the Listvychnik. The List, which leads to heaven. – 8th ed. – M.: Publishing House of the Stretensky Monastery, 2013.

Joseph the Hesychast 2000 – Monk Joseph. Elder Joseph the Hesychast. Ten-voice wind-moving trumpet of Elder Joseph. Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra. Savior-Transfiguration Valaam Monastery. Sergiev Posad, 2000.

Isaac the Syrian 2006 – On divine mysteries and on spiritual life: Newly discovered texts / Rev. Isaac the Syrian; Translated from Syriac, note, Preface and conclusion by Bishop Hilarion (Alfeyev). – Ed. 2nd ed. and add. – St. Petersburg: Oleg Abyshko Publishing House, 2006.

Isaac the Syrian 2008 – Venerable Isaac the Syrian. Ascetic Words. Holy Trinity Lavra, 2008

Macarius of Egypt 2012 – Works of the Ancient Fathers-Ascetics /2nd ed. M.: Siberian Bell Tower, 2012 / Epistle to His Children, pp. 216–221

Nicodemus the Holy Mountaineer 2013 – Venerable Nicodemus the Holy Mountaineer – Pochaiv Lavra Publishing House. 2013

Pozov A.S. 1996 – Pozov A.S. Logos-meditation of the Ancient Church. (Reasonable action) [Treasure of the mind and heart. Prayer-ascetic experience of the ancient church] Reprint ed. Munich, 1964 Voronezh: Publishing house of NGO “MODEK”, 1996. // El. resource. http://www.logoslovo.ru/media/all_1_2_1/type_4_1_2_1/item_47403/

Sophrony Sakharov 2006 – Sophrony (Sakharov), Archimandrite. Seeing God as He is. 3rd ed., revised. – St. John the Baptist Monastery, Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, 2006.

Sophrony Sakharov 2011 – Sophrony (Sakharov), Schema Archimandrite. Venerable Silouan of Athos, 3rd edition – Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra – 2011

Victor Neovitos

05.11.2018

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Notes

Gregory of Sinai 1964. Chapter 122, p.62

Macarius of Egypt 2012

Macarius of Egypt 2012. 10, p.219

St. Gregory of Sinai. 15 chapters on silence and prayer. Ch.10. On beauty. // Pozov A.S. 1996. Types of concentration. // There is also a translation by Bishop Benjamin: “the enemy within the natural thighs dreamily modifies the spiritual.” Gregory of Sinai 1964, p.106

Gregory of Sinai 1964. Chapter 122, p.62

Gregory Palamas 1996. Part 2 of TRIAD I. Answer two, 8.

Nikodim Svyatogorets 2013. On the preservation of feelings. Chapter “On the preservation of imagination”

Isaac Sirin 2008. Word 58, p.379

Saint Gregory the Theologian compares contemplation to the paradise tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which is dangerous to approach prematurely: “for this tree, in my opinion, was contemplation, which only those who have been experienced and perfected can safely approach.” Gregory the Theologian 2007. Word 38.12, p.446

Vasyl Polyanomerulsky 2009 , p.320

This refers to the first state of pure prayer, characteristic of people of an active lifestyle. This is a state that “occurs in the soul from the fear of God and good hope; … when the mind is collected from all worldly thoughts, performing prayers without distraction and confusion, and as if God Himself were to be with him, as is truly his due.” Venerable Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on Love. 2.6

Isaac Sirin 2008. Word 2, p.34

Gregory of Sinai 1964. 137 chapters with acrostics. Chapter 123, p.65

Ephraim Filofeisky 2012. P.268–269

Sophrony Sakharov 2011 . Part 2. Chapter XVI – On Spiritual Warfare, p.455

Joseph the Hesychast 2015. The Seventh Sound of the Trumpet. On Beauty

Joseph the Hesychast 2000 .. The Fourth Sound of the Trumpet.

Elder Joseph 2000. The Seventh Sound of the Trumpet.

Isaac Sirin 2008. Word 60, p.395

Isaac Sirin 2016. Conversation 11,12, pp.140-141

Ioan Listvychnyk 2013. Word 27,42, p.404

Joseph the Hesychast 2000. The Seventh Sound of the Trumpet. On Beauty.

Isaac Sirin 2006. Conversation 11.8.

Isaac Sirin 2008. Word 55, pp. 311–312

Ps. 102:5: “ He fulfills your desire in good things: your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

“The renewal of the eagle bird occurs annually, and again it grows old; although it is a royal bird, and is considered the king of birds, and reaches the greatest height in its flight, and is the only one of all animals capable of looking at the radiance of sunlight without closing its eyes. Therefore, the prophet rightly compares with the nature of the eagle the renewal of the soul, its flight from earth to heaven and the future life in the highest light (Chrysostom, Maximus the Greek).” PSALTER in the patristic explanation.

Macarius of Egypt 2012. Steps 15–17

Joseph the Hesychast 2000. The first trumpet call.

Macarius of Egypt 2012. 12.

“Euchites (Greek), or Messalians (Hebrew), translated as “praying,” were the name given to heretics of the 4th century who denied the trinity of the Face in the Godhead and considered their prayer to be the only means of salvation. This heresy arose in some monastic communities in Syria and Asia Minor. The Euchyte monks claimed that, having obtained the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in them through prayer, they were forever freed from passions and inclinations to evil and needed neither feats to tame the body, nor the reading of the Holy Scriptures, nor any law at all. They spent their time in idleness, avoiding all kinds of work as degrading to the spiritual life and feeding only on alms; at the same time, feeling the imaginary presence of the Holy Spirit within them, they resorted to contemplation and, in the heat of a saddened imagination, dreamed that they were contemplating the Godhead with their bodily eyes.” Isaac Sirin 2008 , p.242

Isaac Sirin 2008. Word 55, pp. 241–242