The Mystic Way by Jay Forrest

What is Hesychasm?

Hesychasm is the practice of the Jesus Prayer in an effort to attain union with God(theosis) through stillness (Greek hēsychia). It was primarily a movement within Eastern Orthodox Monasticism, although it can be found elsewhere.

A hesychast is someone who practices the Jesus Prayer with stillness and union with God as the goal. Unlike the word mystic, it does not have the connotation of attaining union with God. It remains humble and just claims the practice.

St. John Climacus, an early leader in the Hesychast tradition, wrote, “Let the remembrance of Jesus be present with each breath, and then you will know the value of stillness (hēsychia).”

Hesychasm is the oldest meditation practice in Christianity, dating back to the early desert fathers and mothers. Traces can even be found in the New Testament, like when Paul to “all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:2).

For those who may not know, the short version of the Jesus Prayer is, “Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me.” And Jesus promised, “If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it” (John 14:14).

Lutherans, Anglicans, and Reformed

I asked Microsoft’s Artificial Intelligence chat, “What do Lutherans, Anglicans, and Reformed have in common?” It gave me a good but brief answer:

Lutherans, Anglicans, and Reformed (Presbyterians) share several theological and historical similarities:
Protestant Heritage – All three traditions emerged from the Protestant Reformation, rejecting certain aspects of Roman Catholic doctrine while maintaining core Christian beliefs.
Scripture as Authority – They emphasize the Bible as the ultimate authority in matters of faith and practice.
Trinitarian Belief – They affirm the doctrine of the Trinity, believing in one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Sacraments – They practice baptism and communion, though their views on the nature of these sacraments differ.
Liturgical Worship – While varying in style, all three traditions maintain structured worship services with elements of historical Christian liturgy.
Justification by Faith – They uphold the belief that salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ, not by works.

Reference

Microsoft Copilot, conversation with author, June 9, 2025.

The Three C’s

Our destiny is to live out what we think, because unless we live what we know, we do not even know it. – Thomas Merton

I have already spoken of how important our thoughts are, and that we should choose our voluntary thoughts carefully. But Thomas Merton brings up another aspect.

What does he mean by saying that “unless we live what we know, we do not even know it”? In order to explain my interpretation, I must explain the three C’s.

There are three criteria we can use to determine if a claim is true. They are the three C’s: correspondence, coherence, and consequences. Correspondence refers to the evidence that a claim matches reality. Coherence refers to the quality of the claim being logical and consistent with other reliable claims. And consequences refer to the result or effect of putting the claim into action.

Thomas Merton is, in my view, talking about the third C, which is consequences. So “unless we live what we know, we do not even know it.” That is, we only really understand a claim is true if we put it into action and see the results.

Genocide by Israel

The following is just the facts. I have written nothing but this introduction. Everything else is from the dictionary and news sources. When does the victim become the villain? When does the persecuted become the persecutor?

Genocide is “the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group.” (Oxford English Dictionary).

Holocaust is “a mass slaughter of people especially : genocide.” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).

A recent report from the UN Special Committee states that Israel’s military actions in Gaza, characterized by mass civilian casualties and the intentional deprivation of essential resources, align with the definition of genocide. The report highlights the systematic destruction of infrastructure and the obstruction of humanitarian aid, which have led to severe humanitarian crises, including starvation and lack of medical care.

Amnesty International has published findings asserting that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The report details actions such as killings, inflicting serious bodily harm, and creating living conditions aimed at the physical destruction of the Palestinian people. It emphasizes the need for immediate international action to prevent further atrocities.

For first time, two leading Israeli human rights groups accuse Israel of genocide in Gaza. B’Tselem said in a major report released on Monday that it came to that “unequivocal conclusion” after an “examination of Israel’s policy in the Gaza Strip and its horrific outcomes, together with statements by senior Israeli politicians and military commanders about the goals of the attack.”

A second Israeli group, Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI), announced it was joining B’Tselem in calling Israel’s actions in Gaza genocide. It published a separate legal and medical analysis documenting what it called “deliberate and systematic extermination of the health system in Gaza.”

Sources

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/11/un-special-committee-finds-israels-warfare-methods-gaza-consistent-genocide
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/12/amnesty-international-concludes-israel-is-committing-genocide-against-palestinians-in-gaza/
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/28/middleeast/israeli-human-rights-group-accuses-israel-genocide-gaza-intl

Christian Meditation

John Michael Talbot has pointed out that “the word ‘meditation’ means somewhat different things to different traditions.” He then points out that what a Hindu or Buddhist means by the word meditation is different from what Christians traditionally meant by the word.

Traditionally, in Christianity, meditation has referred to discursive meditation. That means meditation has always referred to thinking about or pondering on something, whether a scripture or an attribute or work of God.

The mosern meaning of meditation is quite different. Wikipedia says it well, “Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, “discursive thinking”, achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state.”

This detachment from discursive thinking has been referred to as recollection. St. Teresa calls this the prayer of recollection. And when one is recollected, they enter into the prayer of quiet. In Hesychasm this is called stillness, and the Jesus Prayer is used to achieve this.

But as much as we may complain, the Buddhist definition of meditation is the one that is usually best known today. This is because mindfulness meditation has been incorporated into psychotherapy.

At first, I thought I would buck the convention and go with the traditional meaning of meditation. But my second thought has been to go ahead and follow the modern understanding of meditation.

All that to say that from this point on, unless indicated otherwise, by meditation, I’ll be meaning a practice which trains attention and awareness to detach from reflexive, discursive thinking. In this, I’ll be following Benedictine Monk, John Main, who says that “meditation is in essence the art of concentration.”