The Matrix Of Self-Love.
Concerning the first display in thought (my soul) that leads to temptation: temptation in your mind of the heart begins as a thought-image transmitted from and through your senses onto the screen of your mind. If you are quiet for very long, your mind will wander and display such thought-images either from something around you or from your memory. Sometimes they can be intrusive when you want or need sleep. They have been known to especially play havoc when you set yourself aside for a time of prayer. Most of the time they just seem to be an automatic experience and you have given very little notice to them.
A true Christian practice based on belief and self-denial directs you to confront them. The thought-images pouring onto the screen of your mind held from the items of your senses or memory can each be analyzed according to how they relate to the eight types of ill-passions. Sometimes the ill-passions are experienced as negative emotions. You can tell which of the eight ill-passions and/or negative emotions are involved by the nature of the thought-image. And furthermore from that you can have insight into the type of family of demons that approached you to tempt you.[1]. Some mature, advanced, and experienced saints can perceive the approach of demons and make use of the proper reflex to neutralize or dismantle them.
You (my soul) must keep the commandments of Jesus in thought for it is the evidence of your love for Him. Your desire is to get to the place where you can reject temptation in your thoughts in order to nip disobedience and every specific sin derived from it in the bud. This will help to establish you as a committed spiritual athlete - a Christ-like person, not only as an ideal but in thought, word, and deed. The knowledge of the matrix of the eight ill-passions will give you a inward structure to help you to perfect your self-denial which moves you through purification permeated with grace (the uncreated energy and operation of the Spirit). This blessed state of purity in heart is essential, for it is in purity that you will see God (Mathew 5:8).[2].
The matrix of the ill-passions is really the matrix of self-love according to the statements of Evagrius (a fourth century Christian steeped in this practice of the Christian culture). Self-love is behind all the other ill-passions because it is the opposite of self-denial. Some of those with the right reason for self-denial set forth three of the ill-passions (sometimes experienced by three corresponding negative emotions) as the producers or heads of the rest (yet still aspects of self-love). The three heavy-weights to watch for, identify, and overcome are gluttony, greed, and vainglory.[3].
You (my soul) typically have energies or operations contrary to your original nature that must be healed. Your ill-passionate part is made up of these vices which are often expressed in bad and ungodly habits. Also typically you experience these as corresponding negative emotions. Under the weight of these ill-passions, negative emotions, and vices respectively, you have a tendency - and at times are almost compelled - to act immorally and in a way contrary to your original nature. You have already fallen if you accept instead of deny the pleasure of these thought-images for you have become complicit in them by consent.
Your ill-passionate parts are two: extensive desire and expansive temper. Two of the eight ill-passions belong to extensive desire, which are gluttony and fornication. Six of the eight ill-passions belong to expansive temper, which are greed, ungodly sorrow, anger, apathetic boredom, vainglory, and pride.[4].
The temptations that you will be challenged with are of the same divisions as the ill-passions respectively. You must reject the ill-passions - negative emotions - temptations - and the corresponding type of demon that draws near to tempt you in thought. Remember, these are not a list of sins that you can dismiss as not having a problem with, these are a list of your ill-passions that will be provoked. Every tempting thought will target one or the other of your ill-passions - either through your desire side or your temper side.
Applied from the following text and author - timiosprodromos3.blogspot.com
Words inside of brackets { } are added for personal clarity.
[1]. "The temptation in thought, the temptation in the mind (nous) {mind of the heart}, begins as an image of an object of sense {of the senses}. We have all had such images when in a state of quietness; we probably have not paid much attention to them. However, the Orthodox {true Christian} tradition {practice based on belief} of mental ascesis {self-denial} teaches us that these spontaneous images of objects of sense {of the senses} are each one of them related to one of the eight moral passions {ill-passions} of the {negative} emotions that we have just listed, and that, moreover, we can tell which of the eight passions {ill-passions} is implicated by the content of the image."
[2]. "When the tonsured {committed} monastic {spiritual athlete}, or even the ordinary Christian {Christ-like person}, reaches the stage of rejecting temptation in his thoughts in order to keep the commandments of God in his thoughts, he continues to use this schema of the eight passions {ill-passions} in order to give a structure to his mental ascesis {self-denial}."
[3]. "In some Orthodox {right reason, true Christian} ascetical {self-denying} analysis, three of the passions {ill-passions} or {negative} emotional tendencies contrary to {original} nature are singled out as basic and generative {producers} of the others: gluttony, avarice and vainglory. Finally, in an isolated remark, Evagrius states that behind all the passions {ill-passions} is self-love."
[4]. "The operations contrary to {original} nature, the vices {bad and ungodly habits}, of the passionate {ill-passionate} part of the soul, the {negative} emotions, can be categorized into eight passions {ill-passions} or tendencies of the person to act morally {choose right or wrong} in ways that are contrary to {original} nature. These eight passions {ill-passions} are: gluttony, fornication (these two relate to the desire), avarice, sorrow {ungodly}, anger, accidie {boredom, sloth, apathy}, vainglory and pride (these six relate to the temper). The temptations that must be rejected in order to bring the {negative} emotions to their operation according to {original} nature can be categorized in the same way {and the type of demon that has drawn near}."
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Author: bimonics
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hello, my name is grant. my user name is bimonics which is short for bible mnemonics. i am blessed with a wonderful loving wife; a gifted, mature, christian lady. between us we have 8 children and at present 27 grandchildren, and 2 great grandchildren. i was born in 1952, to...
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