1) When this saving ray shines and begins to shine in the temple of the heart, then the enlightened will see how great darkness he was, how blind and mad he was, although he seemed wise to himself; how far he has departed from the true path, although he thought that he walked rightly. In such a way the word of the Lord will be fulfilled: "When thou returnest and sigh, then shalt thou be saved, and thou shalt understand where thou wast" (Isaiah 30:15). That is, the one who is converted and enlightened will know in what a poor, deplorable and pernicious state he was, until the ray of God's grace touched his heart.

Then he feels like a man who at night did not walk the road he was supposed to take, although he thought that he was going the right way; and when the dawn shone and enlightened all things, he knew that he had strayed from the proper path and was wandering; and so, seeing his error, and the time wasted in vain, and his useless labor, he greatly regrets and scolds himself. Thus, the sinner, as long as he is satisfied with his natural reason and his imaginary wisdom, thinks that he is doing well and is following the right path; but when the dawn of God's grace shines upon him, he recognizes his deception and error, regrets, repents, and laments that he has wasted time in vain, all his labor was useless, and weeps with the prophet: My days have vanished like smoke; my days have deviated like a shadow" (Psalm 101:4, 12).

Wine is truly worthy of weeping! Truly, the time that is lived on vanity is perishing! Truly useless is the work that is undertaken for the sake of the honor, glory and wealth of this world! Those days that are spent in voluptuousness, in luxury, in carnal pleasure, and in the amusements of this world are truly disappearing! What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? or what ransom shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matt. 16:26) We have brought nothing into the world; it is evident that we can take nothing out of it (1 Tim. 6:7). Naked we come out of our mother's womb, naked and depart from this world (Job 1:21). Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich, or when the glory of his house increases; for in death he shall take nothing, and his glory shall not go with him (Psalm 48:17-18).

Where are the glorious and rich who used to be, who insatiably desired and sought treasures in this world? They are in their places and await the general judgment and in matters of retribution. There also go the present-day lovers of glory, and other lovers of peace. It is worthy of weeping, when a man has spent his days in vanity: he who lays up treasures for himself, and not in God becomes rich, must weep (Luke 12:21). How much more should he weep and lament who has spent his days in sins and iniquities, for time is shortening, days are passing, life is ending, death is invisibly approaching and rapturing, righteous judgment is coming, where people will be judged for words, deeds and thoughts. Let us weep, sinner, let us weep here, so that it is useless not to weep there, and the rest of the time we will live in repentance and piety. Therefore, the enlightened one, knowing that everything that is in this world is like vanishing smoke, which passes away with days and time, and, remembering his former life, lived in vanity, error and sins, regrets, repents, sighs and weeps, as stated above, and desires to return it; but what has already been done and passed cannot be otherwise. The past time does not return, and the deed done and the word spoken cannot be otherwise as it was.

2) He who is enlightened by the light of God must earnestly thank God for His mercy shown to him, that he endured his wretchedness, that in such a mistake he did not rapture him, and that He gave him enlightenment and the understanding of salvation.

3) Leading his wretchedness and weakness, that he, as a man, is easily inclined to fall, error and all evil, such a person prays fervently to God that He would give him His help and not leave him alone without His grace; and he himself acts cautiously and takes care not to fall into his former error.

4) He guards against all sin and fights against all sin. And just as it was easy for him to sin before, so in this state it is difficult for him to sin in small things, and to irritate God, and to trouble his conscience. For He knows that by every sin God is angry, and he who sins is deprived of His mercy.

5) Such a person does not want to offend anyone either in deed or in word. But more than that, he tries to love everyone without hypocrisy, and both for himself and for everyone he wishes and wants everyone, like him, to be saved, for which he prays.

6) With every person not flatteringly, not deceitfully, but simply treated. What he declares in words, he has in his heart, and therefore he does not want to lie or deceive anyone.

7) The honor, glory, wealth, voluptuousness, and everything that in this world is considered to be the beautiful, dear, and pleasant sons of this world, it despises and despises, knowing that all this comes and departs from us as soon as a dream.

8) Eternal bliss alone is considered true bliss, which, once found, will never be lost, and once lost, will never be found. Therefore he thinks about it and tries not to lose it; thither he lifts up his thoughts and sighs, and prays to God for this, that by His grace He may vouchsafe him to receive them.

9) Since the enlightened one does not recognize anything valuable in this world, he considers all things in this world to be equal. For him, silver, gold, and other precious metals, in the opinion of man, are the same metals as copper, iron, tin, lead, and so on. He considers the precious stones that people keep in their chests and treasuries to be the same stones as those that lie on the roads and are trampled underfoot. He is equally nourished by both abundant and poor food, as long as it is healthy. He is covered with silk and cloth, both colored and dark clothes, and is warmed with both fox and sheepskin skins. He does not care where to live, whether in stone or wooden chambers, in rich chambers, or in a squalid hut, and so on. For he uses everything that is in this world only for the sake of need, and does not set his heart to anything, but only to his Creator.

10) He has this life as a path by which he goes to the desired eternity, and as a pilgrimage that must be completed soon, saying: "I am a stranger with Thee, O God, and a stranger, like all my fathers" (Psalm 38:13). Therefore, as a traveler and stranger, he does not burden himself with worldly things, but is content with what he has, remembering the Apostle's word: We have brought nothing into the world; it is obvious that we cannot take anything out of it. Having food and clothing, let us be content with these things (1 Tim. 6:7-8).

11) The more enlightened he is, the more he corrects his actions, corrects his deeds, words and thoughts, sees vices and small ones, and guards himself. And just as the more a man is enlightened by the natural and sensual light, the more clearly he sees everything: the road, the ditch, the things lying on the road and around it, and so on, for we see more clearly when the sun is shining than when it is just beginning to rise, and more clearly in the daytime than at dawn, so he begins to see everything more clearly, and sees the smallest vices, and avoids them, who is more and more enlightened by the supernatural light of God's grace. And to utter an idle word is not harmless to one who was formerly easy to blaspheme, scold, slander, swear, lie, flatter, deceive, steal, steal, and commit other grave sins.