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Nepsis: Orthodox Watchfulness and the Door of the Heart
The video explains that the Orthodox Church has taught mindfulness for centuries under the name nepsis, or watchfulness. The fathers recognized that thoughts cannot be stopped, not even by saints, but there is a small moment between a thought appearing and the choice to follow it. Saint Hesychios compared watchfulness to standing guard at the door of the heart, seeing the thought before letting it in.
Most people fail by either fighting the thought or following it, but the moment you notice a thought you are no longer inside it; you are at the door watching it. In neuro-linguistic programming this is called stepping out of the experience, and when you step out the thought loses its grip. The practical method is to name the thought, for example, "there is the thought that I am going to fail," instead of saying "I am going to fail."
When you think "I am going to fail" you are inside the thought; when you say "there is the thought that I am going to fail" you are at the door watching it. Christ told his disciples to watch and pray; he did not say to have no thoughts.
Key moments
- The church was teaching mindfulness centuries ago under the term Nepsis, meaning watchfulness.
- No one can stop a thought from coming, not even saints, but there is a small moment between the thought appearing and following it.
- Saint Hesychios described watchfulness as standing guard at the door of the heart, seeing the thought before letting it in.
- Most people fail by either fighting the thought or following it, but the moment you notice a thought you are no longer inside it.
- In NLP this is called stepping out of the experience, and when you step out the thought loses its grip.
- The practice is to name the thought, for example, "there is the thought that I am going to fail", instead of saying "I am going to fail."
- When you think "I am going to fail" you are inside the thought; when you say "there is the thought that I am going to fail" you are at the door watching it.
- Christ told his disciples to watch and pray; he did not say to have no thoughts.