The invitation comes from the Spirit for the energetic mind, the impulses of whose visionary powers are wearied, to enter, to gaze, to behold the One who is in all and in whom is everything. (D13) 

     Here begins the entering into the treasury, the place of glorious visions (var. revelations), the place of joy and exultation, the place without shadow, the place of light where no mention of darkness is made, the place of life (var. repose) and delight, the place of peace, whose inhabitants are illuminated by the sight of the beauty of the King. (D13) 

     When the divine power adheres to a person he is completely filled with a shining flame, tranquil pleasure, and ignorance and forgetfulness with regard to the things of this life with supernatural amazement; and mental and spiritual faculties are perfectly stilled and thenceforth; as if he is no longer in life, he knows that he is in the supernatural life. (D12) 

     Better is exercising with vile thoughts in the constant tranquillity within the cell than a pure oblation outside of it and collected thoughts; for the latter involves coldness of impulses and deadness of soul, but to the former belongs fiery fervour and gladness of heart, as long as it is not your wish, my brother, to come out of your hermitage to mingle with others along the way or in any affairs. Beware of familiarity and intimacy, and also of pleasure and wandering thoughts, even though they be virtuous and holy. (D10) 

   Sometimes the demons direct the mind and cause it to wander from town to town and from house to house and they remind it of family, faces, words, and things, and they show them to the intellect. Yet he will not be harmed thus if he quietly endures and does not wander about in the body; he will be brought back to himself by Grace and the angels, and his service remains pure. (D10) 

     O Good One who has never been angry, who by thy kindness bears with all our faults in tranquility without vexation, fill our heart with thy tranquillity and love without distinction, and the Evil One will be unable to disturb it. (D10)  

     Lord Jesus Christ, grant wisdom to thy servants in their trials with insolent demons; and give them knowledge of thy wisdom of thy majesty; and endue them with thy holy power that thereby they may humiliate the demons' arrogance and prevail in all their combats with them. Amen. 

… “Apophatic”- important and insightful into early Orthodox thought.

… “Tentatively saying anything about the God who transcends all thought and perception is a style of theology known as apophatic, or "turning away from talking." It stands in contrast to the typical Western style of medieval scholastic theology, which advanced in terms of syllogisms and deductions. Orthodox thought does not say that nothing can be said of God; it merely points out that all human speech about the divine is tentative, since God's essence is entirely unknown, though he has revealed himself in creation and through history by means of his energies present in the world and by direct revelation, culminating in the Incarnation of the Christ.”

     My brother, keep your intellect motionless and marvel at God’s love for us! (L24) 

     (cont) By what signs (var. in what places) the mind acquires perception and knowledge in its passage through them; how it is absorbed in profound ecstasy in the vision of light, and its perception and free will are cut off and it forgets itself. (D6) 

     I will now show you, my brother, whence and how the Grace of the Spirit commences the purification of your soul through the holy angels, if you will heed it and persevere in solitude as well as wrestling in labours and combats; how it is purified and polished, how it is sanctified and how it shines, for the reception of gifts and revelations as well as the perception of divine mysteries. (D6) 

     O Christ the Logos, the garment of the Father, by whom the sight of the logical beings is refreshed in all their labours, for the fulfillment of the sight of thy Father concealed in thee, make thy light shine forth in the mind of those that seek thee, that thereby they may see thy mysteries that are hidden in the depths of thy wisdom, those that are not set down in texts. (D6) 

     (cont) It was captivated in its glorious ecstasy devoid of impulses and thoughts, and this world was like a stranger to me and as if it had never seen me. Men who were far away, whenever I remembered them I saw them spiritually in everything to do with them. But he forgave me when I made supplication to him unceasingly that he would take it; he did not consent, to make me ashamed of my earlier disobedience, then after a while he took it away. Now when it  was removed from me the accursed demons assaulted me until life, present and future, almost perished in me. For a time I was chastened for disobedience, but then the mercy of Christ my God accepted me, shining forth upon me as pleases him. (D5) 

     That brother said: I persisted in one thought uninterruptedly, constraining the will of God to give me the knowledge and vision of the New World as a pledge in the same way as the Fathers had seen. He returned answer to me that it was not for my station to attain this, but I acted disobediently and asked insistently. Whereupon, because he is unable to withold his mercy from those who ask, he caused the glorious lights of his knowledge to shine in my soul, so that my mind could not stand before its intense power and the delight it brought. From its intoxication I became as one in a frenzy and I was no longer able to speak concerning God before anyone, nor to see the service, nor to hear the lesson, nor even to give heed to God in anyone's presence. Whenever I was speaking about God, or seeing the service, or hearing the lesson, or giving heed to God, the glorious light of Christ's majesty shone upon me and my mind was captivated, so that I fell to the ground and became a shameful sight to the onlookers. And so I was in continual fear of doing any of these things in anyone's presence. As the power of the gift was too strong for my weak mind to bear, I acknowledged my weakness and was sorry. I returned to ask Christ to take it and moderate it in proportion to the weakness of my mind, so that it might be able to endure its gift. (D5)

     He instructed me to make this request of him at all times, that he would manage my life according to his will. This is for the beloved who trust in their Lord, who cares for all their affairs. (D5) 

     He was so illuminating my mind for many days with his holy light that nothing was visible to me except the brilliance of his light. Therefore I was standing in fear of walking lest I should strike a rock or a stone or a piece of wood and fall and be injured, since through the splendour of the living light the serene sphere was in my view and I could see nothing of the things of here below. (D5) 

     Thus Christ the merciful transforms my experience in every way, for after my transformation I do not know whether I am the person I was before or not, in that my Lord has altered my thoughts, my knowledge, and my bodily constitution, and made me into a different person in place of the one I had been; likewise I have been altered in the eyes of my soul. (D5) 

     Happy the man who can remember his passage through you, O World. (D3)

     ... And that God shone forth in their hearts that they might be illuminated in his knowledge, to see hidden things and to know things to come. And he (Paul) relates to us freely his visions and revelations from our Lord and the great acts of power and the visitations of the Spirit. (D intro)

     Rejoicing in God makes one to exult to proclaim openly the secrets and gifts of Grace, as you learn plainly from St Paul, who declares concerning himself that he searched the deep things of God through the Spirit and knew hidden things, he and his like, possessing the mind of Christ through Christ, beholding the glory of God with unveiled face and being transformed into his likeness by the Lord the Spirit. (D Intro) 

     Do not grieve because of me: that light of my eyes, which sometimes is not there because of my sins, has begun to show the beauty of its rays. (L22) 

      In the place which has been purified, the glory of the Pure One is seen. This is the Kingdom of which He said “It is hidden within you.” All who have exchanged their world for the desire of Him and have abandoned their corrupted life have found as world for themselves, the Creator of worlds. (L19) 

     Heaven and earth do not limit God, and He dwells and shows Himself in the intellect which keeps itself pure. The Cherubim and Seraphim look modestly at the glory of His Greatness, but the pure soul sees this glory within itself without a veil. (L19) 

      Because there is no movement or knowledge there since, in the experienced one, knowledge has forgotten itself and even how to know. When He allowed me movement, He left me immobile and hid Himself while I remembered only these things and nothing of mine was found in me. (L16) 

       From that time I was existing without mind as non-existing, without perception, without vision, and without hearing, but in amazement and great stillness. (L16) 

     With his love He kindled my heart and from the flame of desire it began to soar from its place. My soul from then on was remaining as if in annihilation but without passing away. Friends were blotted out of my heart, unloved as enemies of old. When I became weak, for a time He left me like this, amazed at Him and at what is his. (L16) 

     By this love all which is within you will radiantly shine forth, and all which is before you will give great light. (L15) 

     This love makes you yourself like a vision of his majesty and on all sides you will see clearly. By this love you will tread upon the depths, and in His light you will behold the highest heavens. This love will utter in you the mysteries of the Spirit, and will reveal to you the uncreated light and show you how to walk in it. (L15) 

                                                        St. John of Dalyatha

     Blessed is he who gazes within himself and sees the glorious unspeakable light of the Holy Trinity and rejoices in it with infinite joy; further, all this is taken away from his sight and he is there alone with God, not knowing himself or the place where he is standing. (Discourses) 

     Forgive me brother; when I conceived the idea of commencing this book shame held sway over me on account of the contemptibility of my poor self and I shrank back. Yet when the Comforter saw that my powers were too feeble for this he came and settled in the midst and by his fiery influences elevated the heart of the hearer, saying " Begin freely and confidently and do not be afraid. I shall write for you and through you what is pleasing to me, and be your help until the end." (Discourses)