HOW TO BEAT PASSIONS

Short introduction
This was compiled from a series of translations the translator found useful in the fight
against passions. They are sorted in the order the translator saw fit. All the texts are
from the book “Brojanice Starca Pajsija” (Prayer rope of Elder Paisios) and should be
read with outmost carefulness so as to harness the wisdom of this Holy Athonite.
With hope, it will be of use in your battle against the world I hope you find the much-
needed answers here and once for all beat those pesky passions.The grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.
-D.O.
1. PASSIONS DISTURB OUR COMMUNION WITH GOD
2. PASSIONS CANNOT BE CUT OFF ALL AT ONCE
3. BOLDLY OVERCOME ONE PASSION AT A TIME, STARTING WITH THE MAIN ONE
4. THROUGH HARDSHIPS AND SORROWS, WE CLEANSE OURSELVES FROM
PASSIONS
5. HOW TO GET RID OF BAD HABITS
6. STRICTNESS TOWARDS ONESELF, GENTLENESS TOWARDS OTHERS
7. RISE EVERY TIME YOU FALL - RULE OF SPIRITUAL STRUGGLE
8. REPEATING THE SAME SIN LEADS TO THE HARDENING OF THE HEART
9. YOU'VE ERRED - CONFESS AND COURAGEOUSLY MOVE FORWARD
10. REPENTANCE AND CONFESSION TRANSFORM THE WHOLE PERSON
11. RENOUNCE YOURSELF SO THAT CHRIST MAY DWELL WITHIN YOU
12. SIMPLICITY, ASCETICISM, DEVOTION, AND HOPE
13. OUR SACRIFICIAL LOVE POWERFULLY MOVES GOD
14. FIGHT AGAINST PASSIONS AND HOPE IN GOD
15. CHRIST HELPS US WHEN WE STRUGGLE AGAINST PASSIONS
16. GOD HELPS THOSE WHO STRIVE
17. GOD HELPS THOSE WHO STRIVE FOR THEIR SALVATION
18. PRAY THE JESUS PRAYER AS MUCH AS YOU CAN DURING THE DAY
19. THE JESUS PRAYER IS A CURE FOR MENTAL DISTRACTION
20. BY PRAYING THE JESUS PRAYER, A PERSON COMMUNES WITH GOD

PASSIONS DISTURB OUR COMMUNION WITH GOD

The heart cannot pray when the soul is afflicted by passions. Take a rusty wire and connect two
telephones with it. Will you be able to establish a connection? The connection will break, and from
the receiver, you'll hear crackling. When a person becomes 'rusted' spiritually due to passions
acting within them, their spiritual life is, because of their fault, full of short circuits. It is therefore
necessary to guard oneself against pride, selfishness, self-will, and fearfulness. When passions
dominate a person, God's grace can no longer approach them, and they are no longer capable of
praying. It's necessary for a person to cleanse their 'conductors' from spiritual rustiness
(sinfulness) to conduct energy well and communicate with God. The more a person cleanses
(sinfulness) to conduct energy well and communicate with God. The more a person cleanses
themselves from passions, the more they progress in prayer.

Passions are the 'interferences on the line' that disrupt our communion with God. If these
'interferences' are not removed (through repentance and asceticism), a person won't be able to
commune with God.

On the radio, when a radio operator heard disturbances, they would say, 'I can't hear, the signal is
null; check the connection and try again!' To establish the connection, the radio operator had to
adjust the transmitter and receiver of their station to the wavelength of the radio center.

To align ourselves with God's wavelength, it's necessary to adjust the transmitter of our soul to the
wavelength of love and the receiver to the wavelength of humility, so that God can hear us, and
we can hear God, because His wavelength is love-humility. A person should strive, as much as
they can, to tune into God's wavelength. As soon as they do, they will enter communion with God
and abide in Him.

PASSIONS CANNOT BE CUT OFF ALL AT ONCE

The struggle against passions isn't just about thanking God for everything; it's necessary to have
a good intention, acknowledge one's own sinfulness, and make a diligent effort.

Also, remembering death is very helpful. If we remember death, combined with hope in God, it will
help us realize the vanity of this world and gain spiritual strength from God. Therefore, it's
essential to guide our minds to contemplate God's Judgment and never forget that we'll have to
answer for our unrepented sins: 'What am I doing? Why am I living so negligently? If I were to die
now, what would happen to me?' If I reflect on the fact that God can call me to Himself at any
moment, I'll sin less.

For passions to die within us, we need to contemplate death and the future Judgment and
diligently strive towards Christ, Who suffered greatly to redeem us. The struggle against passions
is a continual, sweet martyrdom of fulfilling God's commandments out of love for Christ. It's better
to heroically die in that struggle than to be defeated by passions and make Christ sad.

Fighting against passions is challenging, but it's also tough to remove a thorn from a finger. Yet,
pulling out passions from the soul is infinitely harder. When someone tries to cut off any passion,
the devil sets many obstacles in the form of temptations, and the person then suffers a lot...
because in those moments, they are essentially fighting against the devil himself. Passions
cannot be cut off all at once. Purging oneself of passions won't happen automatically; it requires
our great and persistent effort.

BOLDLY OVERCOME ONE PASSION AT A TIME, STARTING WITH THE MAIN ONE

When facing your own passions – fear not and do not lose hope! Boldly conquer one passion at a
time, starting with the main one. Initially, it is beneficial not to tackle all passions at once, but to
time, starting with the main one. Initially, it is beneficial not to tackle all passions at once, but to
choose and eliminate the most severe and noticeable ones first. Once the thick roots of the main
passions begin to dry out, the root fibers of the other, weaker passions will start to wither.
Therefore, by uprooting a major passion, you will also eradicate the others, the lesser passions.

Hence, one should never begin battling against all passions within oneself simultaneously.
Passions, like virtues, form a singular chain. One passion is linked to another, much like one
virtue is connected to another, like the carriages in a train composition. By conquering one
passion, you will be freed from other passions linked to it, and virtues opposing those passions
will start to develop within you. For instance, if you envy, by combating envy and cultivating love
and kindness within yourself, you will simultaneously liberate yourself from anger, condemnation,
malice, and sadness, having conquered envy.

It's better, if possible, to sever passions and bad habits immediately rather than gradually, as
otherwise, they will strengthen within us. One should not hesitate in this regard. When crossing a
stream, especially in winter, strive to move from one bank to the other as quickly as possible to
avoid freezing. Swiftly crossing prevents freezing. Similarly, when horses are fitted with reins, they
can quickly toss them off with a precise movement of their heads. Likewise, when faced with
temptation, use a determined act of will to instantly cast off the reins of sin.

THROUGH TROUBLES AND HARDSHIPS, WE CLEANSE OURSELVES FROM PASSIONS

A strong wind breaks thin trees, but it also helps the trees with deep roots to grow their roots even
deeper into the ground.

However, it displeases God whenever there's harsh and insensitive treatment towards others,
causing some to be 'uprooted' and others to be 'broken.' God finds mercy pleasing because He is
merciful Himself. God finds it pleasing when we help our neighbors, love them, and sympathize
with them because people are not trees but God's icons.

Of course, no one can harm a person except themselves.

Through the trials that God allows, every person is tested and becomes aware of their spiritual
state, is compelled to humble themselves, and then receives forgiveness for sins if they humbly
and joyfully accept these trials as remedies for their soul and patiently glorify and thank God.

It's fortunate for us that God permits these trials, as otherwise, on Judgment Day, we would have
hidden passions and excessive expectations. If God 'turned a blind eye' to all of that and admitted
us to Paradise in such a spiritually poor condition, we would still reveal our flaws in Paradise.

Therefore, God allows us to encounter temptations in this earthly life to cleanse us of all
impurities, to purify us with the help of hardships and tears, so that we may turn to Him in the
quest for salvation

HOW TO GET RID OF BAD HABITS

In order to rid oneself of a bad habit, a person must first understand the exact spiritual damage
that habit causes. Once understood, one should make a firm decision and start a spiritual struggle
aimed at freeing oneself from the bad habit. However, to cut off a bad habit at once requires great
aimed at freeing oneself from the bad habit. However, to cut off a bad habit at once requires great
strength of will.

Every habit gradually takes root in the heart, making it very difficult to eradicate later on.
Therefore, we must be very careful not to acquire bad habits because later it will require great
humility and strong willpower to free ourselves from them. As Elder Tikhon said, 'My son, a good
habit is a virtue, a bad habit is a passion.'

If a person endeavors but continues to spiritually stumble and doesn't change for the better, they
should know that the reason lies in their selfishness, egotism, and self-centeredness.

Such a person lacks humility and love, and that is why Divine grace cannot approach them. In this
way, the person himself does not allow God to help them.

For example, if God helps such a person to overcome a passion, they will attribute it to
themselves and become proud, thinking that they conquered their passion without God's help.

STRICTNESS TOWARDS ONESELF, GENTLENESS TOWARDS OTHERS

You find no excuses for others, yet you find them for yourself. However, soon Christ won't find any
excuses for you either. If a person acts maliciously, their heart can instantly become calloused.
But if they act with love, their heart can instantly become tender. Acquire a maternal heart!
Behave as a mother does: she forgives everything (her children), and sometimes pretends not to
see (their mischiefs).

The one who diligently works on themselves spiritually finds mitigating circumstances for
everyone's fault, justifies everyone, while at the same time, never justifies themselves, even when
they are not guilty. They always consider themselves guilty, aware that they are not making proper
use of the opportunities given to them. For example, if such a person sees someone stealing, they
contemplate that they themselves would steal even more if they were to deviate from the right
path. 'God helped me,' says such a person,’And I have attributing His gifts to myself’. And their
theft is greater than the one committed by their neighbor: the only difference is that their
neighbor's theft is public, while theirs remains hidden.

Thus, a person should strictly judge themselves and be lenient in judging others. Such a person,
seeing any great or small flaw in their neighbor, finds justification for them, even including kind
thoughts in their labor. They begin to think that they too have flaws noticed by others. Because if
we just dig a little deeper within ourselves, we'll find plenty of flaws! And then it will be very easy
for us to justify our neighbor, in the words of the Psalmist: 'Remember not the sins of my youth or
my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness,
O Lord!' (Psalm 25:7).

RISE EVERY TIME YOU FALL - RULE OF SPIRITUAL STRUGGLE

Fight if you fall in your spiritual struggle. The struggle here is a fight. And know that you will incur
many wounds in this battle. These wounds are healed through confession. And just as soldiers,
when wounded in battle, go to the hospital to heal, in the hospital, wounds are dressed for the
soldiers, and once they recover, they fervently return to the battle. Among other things, soldiers
soldiers, and once they recover, they fervently return to the battle. Among other things, soldiers
gain combat experience through injury, so when they return to the front, they guard themselves
much more against enemy bullets and shrapnel than before being wounded. The same applies to
us, Christians. If we are wounded in our spiritual struggle, we shouldn't be afraid, but rather rush
to the spiritual doctor, show him our wound, spiritually heal, and resume our good efforts (1
Timothy 6:12), i.e., spiritual struggle.

It is wrong to think that a person should not go to confession because they are aware they will
soon repeat the same sin. That would be the same as a soldier wounded in battle saying, 'Hasn't
the war ended? Why should I go back to battle and be wounded again? Why should my wounds
be dressed now?' But if the wound of the wounded is not dressed, they will lose a lot of blood and
die.

Perhaps there are some who, out of piety, do not frequently go to confession, but ultimately, they
will put themselves in a difficult spiritual situation. You see how the devil, in order to deceive a
person, uses the gifts with which God endows them! If, by falling and struggling in the mud of sin,
we do not cleanse our soul through confession, justifying that we will soon fall again and get dirty
in the mud of the same sin, then new sins will stick over the old and hardened layers of sin, which
will be very difficult to clean later on.”

REPEATING THE SAME SIN LEADS TO THE HARDENING OF THE HEART

Great spiritual attention is needed from us. When a person commits a sin for the first time, they
feel inner turmoil (from the conscience), disturbance. When that same sin is repeated, they feel
much less disturbance, and if they are spiritually careless and continue to sin, their conscience
will gradually harden over time. For example, when someone is confronted about their
wrongdoing, in order to avoid reproach of conscience and disturbance, they change the subject of
conversation, which is similar to what Hindus do when they immerse themselves in Nirvana. A
young man in the Himalayas killed five Italian climbers and, after burying their bodies,
surrendered himself to meditation. He sat on the ground and for hours repeated: 'Tree, tree,
tree...' to enter a 'spiritual vacuum', to forget what he had done and not be troubled by thoughts
about it!

Let's mention another example. Let's assume that one of the nuns from our monastery is rebuked
for some voluntary action. If that sister doesn't engage in proper spiritual work and doesn't make
an effort to correct herself, she might reply to my reproach: 'But today, the evening bells will ring
earlier...' to change the subject of conversation. Then, the devil will insert the following thoughts
into her mind: 'Don't be troubled! You said that so the Elder wouldn't be troubled!' The devil will
find that justification for her, and instead of admitting, 'I did it to silence my conscience,' she starts
to justify herself: 'I did it so the Elder wouldn't be troubled!' See what the devil does! What a
cunning tactic! He switches to a different 'frequency' so that a person wouldn't realize the
wrongness of their actions

YOU'VE ERRED - CONFESS AND COURAGEOUSLY MOVE FORWARD

One sign that we haven't genuinely regretted the sin we've committed is falling back into the same
sin. Additionally, while spiritually guarding ourselves, let's not limit ourselves to spiritual
sin. Additionally, while spiritually guarding ourselves, let's not limit ourselves to spiritual
diagnostics alone. We've become accustomed to engaging in endless spiritual 'microbiological'
investigations. We find a spiritual microbe in our soul and then begin to examine it, saying, 'This
microbe needs to be eradicated!' But we take no steps towards treatment. As soon as we become
aware that we've contracted some spiritual illness, we should immediately contemplate how to
cure ourselves of that illness. What's the use of constantly engaging in self-analysis without
making any effort to correct ourselves? You say: 'I have this or that passion.' However, you make
no effort to cut off that passion and remain in the same weakened state. In this way, you squander
your spiritual strength in vain and cause damage to your mind and heart. From such internal
disarray, you become spiritually sicker and, in the end, reach a state where you can no longer do
anything. I'm not saying we shouldn't self-examine. We must never be blind to our transgressions!
But a person must not be sick with anxiety because of their sins! We shouldn't be indifferent to our
sins, but we mustn't nurture feelings of inconsolable despair within ourselves either. Have you
erred? Ponder over it. Have you recognized your mistake, become aware of it? Confess and
continue forward on the path to salvation, don't dwell on that mistake. Keep it in your memory only
so that the next time you're tempted to repeat it, you'll be more spiritually cautious. If we don't
make an effort to correct our mistakes, then all our anxiety about them is useless.

REPENTANCE AND CONFESSION TRANSFORM THE WHOLE PERSON

After sincere confession, a person should no longer feel the weight on their soul. They then
receive a new "credit" from God. Divine grace arrives, and the person undergoes a complete
transformation. Feelings of confusion, bitterness, inner turmoil disappear, replaced by inner peace
and tranquility.

This change is so noticeable that I advise some people to take before-and-after confession photos
to see for themselves the significant change in their appearance! A person's inner state is always
reflected on their face.

The Holy Mysteries of the Church work miracles. Approaching the God-man Jesus Christ, a
person becomes divinized (by the grace of God), becomes godlike through grace, radiating divine
light, and the divine grace of such a person reveals itself to others (as one who is blessed).

One doesn't have to feel spiritual joy immediately after confession every time, but over time, this
joy gradually develops within.

After confession, one who sincerely repented should be aware that God has shown them great
mercy. They should feel like someone who has been forgiven a great debt and experience sincere
gratitude and obligation toward their benefactor. They should earnestly thank God but
simultaneously live the words of the Psalms: "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did
my mother conceive me" (Psalm 51:5), to avoid succumbing to their sinful tendencies and falling
back into the same sins.

RENOUNCE YOURSELF SO THAT CHRIST MAY DWELL WITHIN YOU

To love God, begin with sacrifice (for others). When a person is not preoccupied with themselves
To love God, begin with sacrifice (for others). When a person is not preoccupied with themselves
but offers themselves as a sacrifice, then everything falls into place: they love their neighbor and
love God. As for those who claim to love God but don't sacrifice for others, they loved God with
their mouths and flattered Him with their tongues (Psalm 78:36).

Let your mind be constantly focused on God, meditate on God. Pray, converse with God. When a
person engages in such acts, they may initially feel God's love weakly, but over time, it grows
stronger. Then their mind consistently resides in God, no longer concerned with anything earthly
or vain. Love for God grows in their heart, filling it, and they no longer desire to think about
anything other than God. They are undisturbed by worldly affairs as they constantly contemplate
the Heavenly Father. Just as scholars are engrossed only in their studies, aren't we, Christians,
focused solely on Christ and nothing else?

We possess within us everything needed to fervently desire Christ. We are reasonable beings.
The hindrance to this is ourselves, our "self." If we don't renounce ourselves, how can Christ enter
us? If we renounce ourselves and evict the bad tenant, our "old self," from our abode, the free
space in our hearts will be occupied by the "new self," a person of the New Covenant. The temple
of our being will be filled with love, for Christ, who is Love, will dwell within us. Then a person's
heart becomes a bell that proclaims so loudly that the walls - the chest and ribs - tremble from its
ringing... And if you find yourself in a desert where there's no temple, God's temple will be your
body, and the bell - your heart

SIMPLICITY, ASCETICISM, DEVOTION, AND HOPE

When a person learns to rejoice in the spiritual successes of others, Christ will grant them
success in everything others have succeeded in, and their joy will be as great as the combined joy
of everyone else, and then their spiritual achievements and joy will be immense.

Be humble, act with pure zeal and diligence, in piety.

Cultivate spiritual openness (toward others).

The one who yields first gains spiritual benefit because they have made a sacrifice, which brings
them joy and peace.

Simplicity, combined with the asceticism of devotion and trust in God, brings inner peace and joy,
and the soul is filled with hope in God and divine comfort.

Accept everything (that happens to you) as a great gift from God because God does not wish
harm to anyone.

Humble and inconspicuous soldiers of Christ are wiser than all in this world because they
preserve spiritual wealth in the treasury of God. Therefore, we should rejoice if we live
inconspicuously because we will see the Face of God in the future life, and in this life, we will
constantly feel His presence.

The foundation of everything (in spiritual life) is the mind. When the mind is focused on the
meaning of life, then a person undergoes spiritual change, their heart burns within them, and they
receive (from God) spiritual enlightenment with spiritual joy. But if a person's mind is not where it
should be, then there is neither enlightenment nor joy within the person.
 OUR SACRIFICIAL LOVE POWERFULLY MOVES GOD

The father of a young girl suffering from a severe illness of cancer came to me on Mount Athos
and asked me to pray for his daughter. He brought some of the girl's belongings with him for me to
bless.

I told the distraught man, 'I will pray for your daughter, but as a father, you must also offer some
sacrifice for her healing, because our sacrificial love powerfully moves God.'

The unfortunate girl's father then asked me, 'Father, what should I sacrifice?'

'Sacrifice any of your passions,' I replied.

He, apparently having a weak understanding of spiritual life, said to me, 'I don't have any
passions.'

So I asked him, 'Tell me, do you smoke?'

'Yes,' he replied.

'Give up smoking, and God will heal her,' I told him.

He immediately stopped smoking, and the girl's condition began to gradually improve. Eventually,
she completely recovered, as confirmed by medical reports.

However, after some time, the girl's father forgot his vow to God and started smoking again. After
a while, the cancer returned to his daughter, and she quickly deteriorated. He came to me again,
pleading for prayers for his daughter. I then, with a heavy heart, said to him, 'If, as a father, you
lack enough love and are unwilling to sacrifice your smoking habit, which is poisoning your body
anyway, for the life of your child, I can no longer help you in any way.

FIGHT AGAINST PASSIONS AND HOPE IN GOD

If we desire to engage in the spiritual cultivation of our soul, let us examine our strongest passions
and the sins committed during the previous day. With humility, we ask for God's mercy to free us
from them, saying, 'Lord Jesus Christ...'. This way, we will uproot passions and, simultaneously,
strengthen the good (penitent) habit of prayer within us, avoiding an external approach to prayer,
which breeds false self-assessment and delusion.

The more a person knows oneself, the more they feel their great sinfulness on one side and the
immense benevolence of God on the other. Their heart becomes contrite, no matter how
hardened it may be due to sinfulness, and genuine tears flow from their eyes. At this point, a
person no longer forces themselves to pray; their tears multiply, and the hand of God continually
caresses the diligent child who tirelessly strives.

When you battle against your sinfulness and engage in the spiritual cultivation of your soul, above
all, have hope in God, and guard it firmly so as never to lose it. For sins that are not physical
(lustful), you can consider them in detail to compel yourself to humility. However, do not delve
(lustful), you can consider them in detail to compel yourself to humility. However, do not delve
deeply into physical sins; instead, consider yourself as filthy mud, filled with every impurity. Also,
do not dare to pray for people who sin with physical sins, not only because it is audacious until
you reconcile yourself with God in that regard but also because afterward, the devil will
contaminate you with impure thoughts during the day and show you indecent 'films' at night in
your dreams.

CHRIST HELPS US WHEN WE STRUGGLE AGAINST PASSIONS

It's good to be aware that passions live within you. A person humbles themselves when aware
they suffer from passions. And where there is humility, there comes the grace of God.

Don't lament that you constantly err, as it humbles you and is healing for your pride. Say this: 'My
God, see what I am like! Help me! Without Your aid, I am unable to change!' Do not despair. When
we err, our true inner self is revealed; we then recognize ourselves and strive to rectify. This points
us towards the right path, freeing us from illusions about ourselves.

I rejoice when any weakness of mine shows, when some of my shortcomings come to light. If
hidden passions had not manifested in this way, I would still believe I had attained a high degree
of spiritual life, while in reality, the seeds of passions secretly operate within my heart.

It's natural to be disturbed when we get angry or fall into condemnation, but it should also be a
cause for joy - our weakness has been revealed, meaning we will be rid of it if we fight against it.
If a passion lives within us, it will manifest itself at some point. If you know you have a passion, be
vigilant. Just as if you knew a snake lived near your cell, every time you step out, you'd take care
to avoid it so it wouldn't bite you. What's scary is not knowing there's a snake nearby and walking
carelessly, and suddenly it jumps on you and bites. Spiritually, it's dangerous when one doesn't
watch over themselves and doesn't know their passions. But when they know their torments and
fight against them, then Christ helps them to eradicate those passions.

GOD HELPS THOSE WHO STRIVE

In order to cease falling into the same sin, a person should make an effort to avoid everything that
provokes them toward that sin. For example, if an alcoholic wishes to stop drinking, they shouldn't
even pass close to a bar.

Our little diligence and a good disposition of the soul are necessary, and then the good God will
help us overcome the difficulties that torment us. For instance, a person suffers from a particular
passion. They acknowledge their struggle with that passion, strive to cut it off, repent, and humble
themselves. They have the disposition to sever that passion, and that disposition attracts God's
grace, and God helps them.

But how can God bestow His grace upon a person if that person, on their part, makes no effort to
change their life and continues to sin? God's grace doesn't come to a person who is in an
improper spiritual state because God's grace cannot help such a person. For if God's grace
helped in such cases, then God would also bestow it upon the devil. A person who has fallen into
sin but doesn't persist in it, meaning they don't linger in their sinful desires and thoughts but rather
repent for their fall and strive not to repeat that mistake again, will receive God's grace and God's
help.
However, if a person lacks repentance within themselves and considers sin as something normal,
then their condition can be called demonized.

GOD HELPS THOSE WHO STRIVE FOR THEIR SALVATION

If you want to correct yourself for the better, always place God first and say, 'By God's strength, I
will strive to improve!' and God will help you. Your desire to improve means that God is already
helping you. Pray for God's assistance, and He will look upon you. Do what little you can, and you
will progress. Who, upon seeing a child trying to move a large stone with their hands, wouldn't
rush to help? In the same way, God will hasten to aid you, seeing even your smallest effort.

There are some who make no effort to correct themselves and say, 'My Christ, I suffer from these
and those passions. Only You can deliver me from them! Free me from them!' How can God help
such a person? For God to help a person, that person must first make an effort. There are things
that a person must do themselves for God to send His help. If a person doesn't wish to help
themselves, neither will God be able to help them.

Sometimes, we try to obtain God's grace and gifts through magical means. We believe it's
possible to acquire a virtue without spiritual struggle. However, for God to grant anything to a
person, the person must put in a lot of effort. How can God grant us anything without a shred of
our effort? The troparion says, 'You cultivated the barren desert.' God sends rain, moistens the
earth, but we are obligated to cultivate the field of our soul. The land is ready, but the field must be
plowed and sown with seeds. What we sow, we shall reap. If we don't plow, how can we sow?
And if we don't sow, how can we reap? Therefore, instead of asking, 'What can God do for us?'
ask yourself, 'What can I do for myself?

PRAY THE JESUS PRAYER AS MUCH AS YOU CAN DURING THE DAY

When we cease to pray the Jesus Prayer and to fulfill our spiritual duties, the enemy (devil), with
the help of our body and thoughts, initiates spiritual warfare against us. The devil thus undermines
all our strengths, both spiritual and physical, in order to sever our communion with God and to
bring our soul into the bondage of passions.

Pray incessantly on the prayer rope until your spiritual mechanism is set in motion, when your
heart will spontaneously begin to pray. God grants His help to a person in the measure in which
that person sacrifices and prays.

The trust in God that nothing happens without God's will is a mysterious continuous prayer that
yields real spiritual fruits.

Prayer greatly aids us in receiving Christ's grace. Here is how Christ acts then: He takes a
'screwdriver' and tightens where it needs tightening, loosens where it needs loosening, and
everything falls into place.

When a person is concerned about unnecessary things, their mind becomes distracted and drifts
away from God. How can one experience Divine joy if their mind is not in God? The heart easily
grows cold. If I take in people the whole day, although it is a spiritual activity, my heart will, in the
night, when I start to pray, be in a completely different state from what it would be if I had prayed
all day. The mind engages with many things heard from people, and it is not easy to free oneself
all day. The mind engages with many things heard from people, and it is not easy to free oneself
from all of that.

As much as you can, during the day, pray the Jesus Prayer and quietly sing church hymns.

THE JESUS PRAYER IS A CURE FOR MENTAL DISTRACTION

A person who strives to attain spiritual purity and maintains it, thus preserves Divine grace. Such
an individual sees everything as pure and even makes use of what is impure by transforming it
into something clean and good within their inner spiritual workshop, similar to a factory where
paper waste is turned into clean napkins, paper, and notebooks; or like a factory where from
bronze scraps, candlesticks and vessels are produced, and from broken gold, golden ornaments.

However, a person who entertains deceitful thoughts and ponders deceptively, even turns what is
good into evil, like a military factory where steel and lead are forged into (deadly) weapons and
ammunition.

Therefore, never entertain evil thoughts but constantly endeavor to do good if you wish the bad
workshop of our (sinful) heart to transform into a good one (virtue).

When we are spiritually unaware, our mind begins to wander (as the deceitful one takes control),
and we remain mere bodies without minds. When later we manage to collect our thoughts, it is
thoroughly polluted by the garbage with which the deceitful one has stained it. With the help of
this spiritual garbage, the deceitful one ignites our body to ridicule us.

To prevent our minds from wandering, it is essential to teach it to continually repeat within itself
the sweetest Name of Jesus. This way, we will spiritually progress. A person whose mind wanders
is like a house without a master, and such a house quickly falls into disarray.

BY PRAYING THE JESUS PRAYER, A PERSON COMMUNES WITH GOD

The best way to recite the Jesus Prayer is in its entirety: 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have
mercy on me!', as this Prayer encompasses the entire truth of faith. If it's challenging to say it in its
complete form, then say: 'Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me!'

This 'have mercy on me' includes everything: 'save me,' 'enlighten me'; it addresses both physical
needs and liberation from passions... However, if at any moment you feel the need to say: 'Lord
Jesus Christ, enlighten me!' or 'Lord Jesus Christ, forgive me!', you can pray in this manner too.

Praying to the Mother of God and the Saints is one thing, but the Prayer of Jesus is something
altogether different. The Prayer of Jesus has a different meaning: through this Prayer, a person
unites with Christ; their mind merges with God. The mind is destined to dwell in prayer—that's the
mystery of the Jesus Prayer.

While praying on prayer beads to various Saints is spiritually beneficial, it doesn't lead to acquiring
continual prayer.
continual prayer.

Develop the habit of reciting the Jesus Prayer, so your mind, each time, focuses anew on the
words 'Lord Jesus Christ': this way, you will naturally engage in unceasing prayer, which we
typically formulate (in an abbreviated form): 'Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me!' This prayer
should be recited with all your heart, soul, and mind