You must remember, dear reader, that God first created the invisible world and then the visible, „in order to reveal a greater wisdom and the manifold purpose of nature,” as St. Gregory the Theologian noted. God also created last of all man with an invisible soul and a visible body. He, therefore, has created man to be a cosmos, a world unto himself, but not a microcosmos within the greater one, as the philosopher Democritos declared and as other philosophers have upheld. Such philosophers considered man to be a microcosmos, minimizing and restricting his value and perfection within this visible world. God, on the contrary, has placed man to be a sort of macrocosmos - a „greater world” within the small one. He is indeed a greater world by virtue of the multitude of powers that he possesses, especially the powers of reason, of spirit, and of will, which this great and visible world does not have. This is why St. Gregory the Theologian again stated that „God has placed this second cosmos (i.e. man) to be upon the earth as a great world within the small one. Even when man is compared with the invisible world of the angels, again he is and is called a ”great world,„ while the invisible world is by comparison small. Man includes in his world both the visible and the invisible, while the angelic world does not include the elements of the visible world. St. Gregory Palamas has noted that this cosmos (i.e., man) adorns both of these worlds, the visible and the invisible. Nemesios has also concluded that man as cosmos draws the two ends of the upper and the lower world together and thus reveals that the Creator of both is one.

In order to have greater understanding of this matter, let me use the following example: The body is likened to a royal palace built by the superb architectural skill of an omniscient Creator. This palace includes the ”upper room„ which is the head, the innermost chamber which is the heart; the messengers which are the thoughts; the passageways which are the tubelike nerves; and the doors of this palace are the five senses. The soul (or rather the mind, for a soul that is purified becomes all mind, according to St. Kallistos), must be understood as a sort of king who is upheld by the three more general powers, that of the spirit, of the mind, and of the will. This ”king„ is found in all the parts of the body as fire is found in the whole of a red-hot iron. He wrote that ”the whole soul is joined to the whole body and not a part to a part; nor is the soul contained by the body, but rather it contains the body as fire contains iron.„ Now, in an extraordinary manner, this king has the brain as the organ of his mental activity; his power to reason and to will and in fact his very essence is found in the heart, as we shall see in the chapters ahead. This king also possesses a map, the compass of his imagination, to write down all that enters his mind from outside through the portals of the senses.

Have you envisioned these matters with your imagination? Notice now, as some have said, how this king, that is the mind, is simple, pure, integral, and rational light according to its nature, just as soon as it is poured into the body with its perfect organization. Before Holy Baptism, the mind, being covered by the darkness of original sin, does not see clearly. But after Holy Baptism the mind becomes all light, reflecting the supernatural light of divine grace. As St. John Chrysostom said, the mind shines brighter than the rays of the sun, as long as it remains above the darkness of willful sinfulness. For this is how that good and eloquent tongue has interpreted that apostolic word: ”And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory„ (2 Cor. 3:18). Interpreting this passage, St. Chrysostom wrote:

”What is the reflection of the Lord's glory and the transformation into his likeness? This was more clearly indicated whenever He revealed the grace of the miracles. And yet this is no more difficult to see now for one who has eyes of faith. For no sooner are we baptized than the soul shines brighter than the sun, being purified by the Holy Spirit. And not only do we see the glory of God but we also receive from it a certain splendor just as a clear piece of silver in the rays of the sun reflects those very rays it receives. But what a pity! It is only right to sigh here bitterly! For this glory which is ineffable and awesome remains within us only one or two days. For we extinguish it, being led astray by the winter of worldly cares, the dense clouds of which block out its rays. For the cares pertaining to living are indeed a heavy winter and even more sullen that winter.„

The natural and essential attribute of the mind, because it is mind, is to be always preoccupied with the spiritual matters related to it; because it is immaterial with the immaterial; because it is immortal with the immortal. In one word, the mind is to be preoccupied with what is truly good and to have only these good things for nourishment, growth, and pleasure. By contrast, the natural attribute of the body, because it is body, is to be inclined to what is only pseudo-good and has these things for nourishment, growth, life, and pleasure. This is why St. Gregory of Nyssa said: ”In human nature pleasure has a dual character. In the soul it is activated by dispassion and in the body by passion. The one which our free will chooses will dominate over the other.„ Even though the body, inasmuch as it is a body, is naturally inclined to the pleasure derived from physical things, it is nevertheless led, governed, and controlled by the mind (soul) when reason is whole and complete. For according to St. John Damascene, the difference between a rational and irrational soul is this: The irrational soul is led and ruled by the body and the senses, while the rational soul leads and rules the body and the senses. It has been thus determined by God for the rational to rule over the irrational, and the better to rule over the worse, and to subdue the latter's instinctive moves. This is why when the body has a desire, it does not directly rush into action to satisfy the desire, but is obstructed by the hegemonious mind. These are the words of St. John Damascene: ”The irrational creatures are not autonomous; they do not lead but rather are led by nature. This is why they do not object to physical desire, but rush to action just as soon as they feel desirous. Man however being rational leads nature rather than being led by it. Thus when he would desire something, he has the authority either to overrule that desire or to follow it.„

+ St. Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain +”