The Meditation according to the Hesychast Teaching

Translated by yoga teacher Gregorian Bivolaru After Jean-Yves Leloup, “Notes on Hesychasm” Father Seraphim’s young disciple stayed a couple of months more on Mount Athos. Jesus’ simple prayer often impelled him in endless and bottomless abysses, bringing him on the verge of a real ecstatic elation: “I am not the one living now,…
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Translated by yoga teacher Gregorian Bivolaru After Jean-Yves Leloup, “Notes on Hesychasm” Father Seraphim came to give advice to his young student less and less often. He telepathically felt the progresses the latter made in both arts of meditating and praying. He even saw his disciple with his face in tears a couple of time,…
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Translated by yoga teacher Gregorian Bivolaru After Jean-Yves Leloup, “Notes on Hesychasm” Father Seraphim’s teaching was natural and therapeutic. As Filon from Alexandria said, ancient monks were actually “therapists” (“healers”). Before leading someone to true illumination, their role was, first of all, to cure human nature…
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Translated by yoga teacher Gregorian Bivolaru After Jean-Yves Leloup, “Notes on Hesychasm” Father Seraphim said one day to the young philosopher: “The stable position, the consequent orientation towards God’s light and profound respiration, naturally rhythmic as the ocean do not form hesychast meditation, yet. You must learn to…
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Translated by yoga teacher Gregorian Bivolaru After Jean-Yves Leloup, “Notes on Hesychasm” The young man came near the sea. Retrospectively thinking, he realised he had a more stable posture and a straighter spine. What was missing, then? What could he learn from the waves’ tornado? Soon, he noticed the wind was getting…
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Translated by yoga teacher Gregorian Bivolaru After Jean-Yves Leloup, “Notes on Hesychasm” Thus, from that day, the young man began to learn how to bloom...Meditation means, first of all, a stable position and this is what the mountain had taught him. But it also means “orientation” and this is what he was to learn from the poppy:…
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Translated by yoga teacher Gregorian Bivolaru After Jean-Yves Leloup, “Notes on Hesychasm” And thus, an authentic initiation in hesychast inner listening began for the young philosopher. It was pretty obvious to him the first indication referred to a greater stability. The advice was not spiritual, but physical: how to sit more…
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Translated by yoga teacher Gregorian BivolaruAfter Jean-Yves Leloup, “Notes on Hesychasm” When a young philosopher reached Mount Athos, he had already read several treaties upon orthodox spirituality and he knew very well “The Heart Prayer’s Small Filocalie (selection of Christian-orthodox saint parents’ writings – translator’s note)”…
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