Sit in your cell
as in paradise. Put the whole world behind you and forget it. Watch your
thoughts like a good fisherman watching for fish. The path you must follow is
in the Psalms—never leave it.
If you have just
come to the monastery, and in spite of your good will you cannot accomplish
what you want, take every opportunity you can to sing the Psalms in your heart
and to understand them with your mind.
And if your mind
wanders as you read, do not give up; hurry back and apply your mind to the
words once more.
Realize above all
that you are in God’s presence, and stand there with the attitude of one who
stands before the emperor.
Empty
yourself completely and sit waiting, content with the grace of God,
like the chick who tastes nothing and eats nothing but what his mother
brings him.