As with all ascetical exercises, it is important to understand their true meaning. The asceticism of thoughts is about putting an end to our great dissipation, no longer permitting our thoughts to rule over us, to become masters of our thinking under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Since our thinking desires to be subject to the Will of God out of Love, the fruit of a successful ascetical exercise will be the increase in the Love of God, which also makes us more capable to love our fellow men.


Benedict, the father of monks, explains that evil thoughts need to be shattered upon the Rock of Christ, and Holy Scripture states that "evil thoughts separate from God".

A vigilant "disciple of the Lamb" will neither abandon himself to evil thoughts, nor just to any or all thoughts that come to him, but discern, which thoughts will get his attention and which not, which thoughts he is thinking consciously and further developing, and which are not worthwhile. He will also learn to discern the proper point in time, when to give room to which thoughts. The more he is able to put the school of the asceticism of thoughts into practice, the more he will perceive that even useless thoughts damage the resilience of the soul.

From the spiritual perspective, thoughts are especially good and fruitful, if they cause greater and more intimate union with God, i.e. deepen the Love for God and men. Spiritual thinking is therefore the concrete realization of the First Commandment: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."

The "disciple of the Lamb" will, if he proceeds on the way of the asceticism of thoughts, discern quickly, how many wrong, damaging, illusory, self-centered and vain thoughts want to rule over him, affect his daily thinking and contribute to his disintegration. He will perceive, how many useless interior discussions and talks he is conducting, and how many "phantasms" are found within himself (1). Frequently, the flood of thoughts is not merely voluntary, but occupies man also involuntarily, thereby disturbing especially prayer and interior recollection, and possibly weakening the general state of the soul (2).

As I avoid every evil deed in imitation of Christ, possibly having to do violence to myself, so as not to consent to a temptation, in the same way I have to deal with my thoughts. These normally precede an evil deed and prepare the way for its execution and realization. Therefore my spirit is called to keep an inner vigilance over my thoughts and each time reject the evil thought by calling upon the Name of Jesus or the Holy Spirit, or by making use of similar spiritual means to disperse these thoughts. By this, I refuse to give my willful consent to evil thoughts, and this is essential (4). It needs to be discerned, if, for example, fierce evil thoughts are attacking me unexpectedly, wanting to establish something like a dictatorial rule over me, or, if they arise within me somewhat more slowly and are present in the form of a temptation or disturbance. The first case constitutes frequently direct attacks by satanic powers, in the second case, it is mostly thoughts that emerge from my heart, whereby a link between the two moments is also a possibility (5).

In the first case, one needs to arm oneself immediately with the Word of God, call upon the Name of the Lord, and potentially also speak a suitable exorcism prayer against the powers of evil. With such a determined approach and readiness for battle, calm usually returns after some time and the soul finds peace again. God permits such attacks to teach us great vigilance, and firm trust in His Strength and Presence is growing.
In the second case, the fight normally lasts longer, because now it is not merely about a short-term resistance against these evil thoughts, but about a permanent inner attention towards God. The persistent calling upon His Name weakens the power of evil thoughts, and, at the same time, an opening to the Holy Spirit is taking place in our interior. God uses this circumstance to purify our heart and to make it more capable of loving.

Both kinds of ascetical struggle can only be successful, if, in my heart, I do not consent to the evil thoughts, neither discuss or even "negotiate" with them, nor expose myself to their possible lure, or think that they are justified. Only then will I be able to master and overcome these thoughts, with their destructive force, in the Lord. Otherwise, I am weakened from the inside, because of a possible secret consent, which, in turn, renders it impossible for me to distance myself decisively enough and make use of the respective spiritual means (6).

Here, the decision to achieve "purity of heart" goes even further. While evil and destructive thoughts can be identified with relative ease in the light of the Gospel, as well as the need for their avoidance, a profound decision for the way of perfection is necessary for the dissociation of unnecessary thoughts. A more subtle perception of the Holy Spirit in the depth of the soul and the perception of the state of the soul itself is associated with this. A word of Saint Paul is showing the way for this more subtle form of the asceticism of thoughts: "Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial." One needs to recall that the asceticism of thoughts does not only consist of primarily fighting against the merely sinful thoughts, but it is calling man to cut down permissible thoughts as well, so that the inner attention will grow towards God and the soul will attain greater freedom. In this case as well, a clear inner decision is of great importance. It can lead us into a crisis at first, because we are used to abandon ourselves to harmless mental distractions without being aware of the spiritual consequences. "Persuasions" can come up easily after having taken a decision to walk on the way of greater perfection, like for example, that one could loose the natural enjoyment of life or a certain "easiness of being" because of such a broad decision (7). This is a deception maneuver. The objective of such a way lies not in an obstinate and forced cutting off of oneself, but in a deeper opening for the Love of God. The relationship with God intensifies, so that an inner standard will grow in time, becoming a guidepost and not permitting that we simply abandon ourselves to mental distractions. The abandonment of known behavior patterns can however mean an interior desert of sorts at first, where familiar thoughts desire to claim us. Naturally, the necessary cutting back on the flood of information that reaches us every day, is indispensable for such a way!

The asceticism of thoughts is greatly supported by the practice of the prayer of the heart. This form of prayer, which endeavors to become a "continuous prayer", permits the continuation of inner prayer even while performing different tasks, which do not require our full attention, thereby accustoming the heart as well as the mind to prayer. One fruit thereof is, that the taste for inner prayer is growing, and the spirit itself effects that we do not abandon ourselves unnecessarily to mental distractions, so as not to loose the inner taste of our recollection in God.