Confession and Self-Examination: Evagrius on Naming the Thoughts

Evagrius Ponticus (d. 399) taught a precise practice of identifying and naming disordered thoughts as they arise. He catalogued eight categories of tempting thoughts (logismoi) and taught his students to observe their mental life with clinical clarity. "When you sit in your cell, pay attention to your thoughts. Observe them. Note which one comes first, which comes second, and after what interval they return."

Evagrius taught that naming a thought accurately reduces its power. An unnamed fear operates in darkness; a named fear can be brought to God in prayer. "When you can say, 'This is anger,' you are already more free than when anger controlled you without your knowledge." This practice anticipates modern cognitive therapy by sixteen centuries.

Practical application: Keep a "thought journal" for three days. At the end of each day, write down the recurring thoughts that occupied your mind. Label them using Evagrius's categories: Is this thought rooted in appetite, anger, sadness, restlessness, vanity, or pride? Simply naming the patterns is the first step toward freedom from them.