In remaining with my original intent to have a place to write, store, and share ideas that interest me, I beg your indulgence. I often read Father Steven Freeman’s blog www.fatherstephan.wordpress.com called Glory to God for All Things. Recently, he wrote a post that touched me. I responded to the article with a question. A portion of the article and the question and answers are posted below for my benefit. If you would like to read the entire article (titled Scattered Thoughts) and the rest of the comments, Father Stephan’s link is in the blogroll. -Dominica
According to the teaching of the Gospel and the Scriptures, the mind works naturally only when it is united with the heart. Mind and heart are naturally joined together when the fire of contrition is in the heart.
Archimandrite Zacharias in The Enlargement of the Heart.
I’m certain that my experience of prayer is similar to that of most of my readers - a struggle to pray with a scattered mind. To read of the return of the mind to the heart is to know how far my prayers are from where they should be. It is also a realization that to “love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind,” is virtually impossible in such a scattered state. We lack the wholeness to make such an offering.
The desire of my heart is to not forget that there is such a thing as a mind united to the heart. My desire is to settle for nothing less. There is an emptiness in theology when it remains only a recitation of ideas and a fantasy of the imagination.
Thus, when I speak of a fullness (as I often do in my writings), I speak of something that belongs to God and can only come to man as a gift. There is a fullness in the sacraments of the Church, though in our scattered state we approach that fullness only with faith - with a hope for what we do not yet see. There is a need for steadfastness in that hope - a steadfastness that refuses to turn aside for something less.
We have been promised heaven - indeed I believe the union of mind and heart is a place where that promise begins to be fulfilled. Thus I will not turn aside for something else - whether argument or curiosity. For the fantasies of our scattered thoughts are not the stuff of reality - only the stuff of delusion.
There are moments of clarity - even for those whose most common experience is a scattered state. These moments come as flashes - sometimes in the Liturgy - sometimes in prayer - sometimes in very unexpected places. The flashes themselves are gifts - small insights that call us to remain steadfast and not to turn aside from hope.
Robert Says:
June 30, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Fr. Stephen I am not sure if I fully understand the concept of a scattered mind. Perhaps you can explain a bit more? By scattered you mean distracted? Or “carnal”? In what sense is the scattered mind wrong, or useless? Wherein lies the distinction between the heart and the mind? “Return the mind to the heart” - does this not presume the heart needs to be in a good place? Is there such a thing as a distinctively Orthodox understanding of the mind and heart?
fatherstephen Says:
June 30, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Robert,
Yes, there is a distinctive Orthodox use of these words, which was once a common vocabulary, East and West, but became largely lost and forgotten over the centuries in the West for a variety of reasons.
The term “mind” I am using here for the “rational” part of who we are, that which processes sense data, etc. Heart I am using for the Greek “nous” which is more our Spiritual Perception that more or less intuitively knows God, right and wrong, etc. In the Orthodox understanding there is something of a fracture between these two as a result of the fall. In addition the “nous” or heart, is clouded and does not perceive as it should.
Generally the classic path in Orthodoxy, which was modeled on the original pattern of preparation for Baptism is: purification, illumination, deification (which is synonymous with the whole of salvation itself). If our hearts were pure, not clouded, we would “see God” as Christ taught in the Beatitudes.
Repentance and humility, as a way of life, are generally descriptive of the path a Christian should follow as we make our way forward. All of that coupled with the constant remembrance of God, thanksgiving in all things, and the life set forth in the Church and her sacraments.
That’s a very short description for something that should take volumes to describe. But I hope it’s helpful or clarifying.
To a certain degree, much of modern Protestant thought has tended to “externalize” the entire question of salvation in a misunderstanding of justification. Perhaps two of the best Protestant books ever written on the inner life are the classics Holy Living and Holy Dying by Jeremy Taylor (Anglican). Though his Holy Living has a bit of a moralistic tendency than you would find in classic Eastern works on the inner life - it is still a valuable read. They were translated into Russian at some point and enjoyed some success there.
July 1, 2008 at 10:35 pm Father Stephan,
I have heard the words fullness and uniting the heart, mind, and soul several times before from various readings, but it never meant anything to me before reading your post. Now I’m at a loss as to where to begin. How does one begin to work on uniting the heart with the mind? How do you even begin to know your own heart? I know I am probably not asking an easy question or perhaps I’m asking the wrong one. I’d appreciate any insights. -Dominica
July 2, 2008 at 9:18 am Several places. Repentance (with confession as well from time to time) but allowing our heart to be “contrite.” Prayer, particularly the giving of thanks and calling on the name of God. And as much as possible, remembering God at all times.
Generally, the mind in the heart is a gift of grace, not a technique we can master. The more we are repentant before God, and give Him thanks in all things, and seek to remember Him always, we dispose ourselves to the kind of wholeness that comes with heart and mind united.
And be patient. If you have a good priest with some knowledge of this, he can be of help, or if there is a monastery he would recommend near you - help or direction can often be found there.
There are also some books worth reading. I’ll try to do a post on several of them.
July 2, 2008 at 9:43 am Dominica,
I’ll add a couple of more thoughts. When you pray, seek to pray with attention, that is putting yourself into the words. This is hard at first sometimes because our minds are scattered. But when it wanders, just gently bring it back.
Archimandrite Zacharias, a wise elder, says that when prayer becomes “easy” it is a good indication that we are making progress. We should say our prayers with attention. It is also quite alright to pray extemporaneously (without a book). Oftentimes there are things in our heart that must be said that the book will not say. But again, keep your mind with your words.
As much as possible in the liturgy - keep your mind with the words of the liturgy. Read them at home occasionally. This will help as well.
But the union of heart and mind is a gift from God. When He gives it, it is something wonderful.