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→Prelest and Jesus prayer
St. Ambrose of Optina several times wrote in his letters that for a beginner, especially without an experienced mentor, it is much safer to start with audible verbal prayer rather with purely noetic (silent) one because many people who prayed with noetic prayer, were mentally deranged, while St. Ambrose does not know any examples of people falling into prelest with verbal prayer.<ref name="ioann"/>
During practice of the Jesus prayer, the person always encounters an opposition from the demons through the thoughts. They attempt either to make the person abandon the prayer or to make the prayer unpleasing to God, i.e. to drive the person into pride and prelest. Because There is even such wrong opinion that one can fall into prelest because of that, it the Jesus prayer. This opinion is very important to confess frequentlydenied by Valaam elder John (Alexeev): "One falls into prelest not because of the prayer but because of pride, including self-conceit and following own will".<ref>{{Ru icon}}[http://valaam.ru/ru/letters_john/2651/ Letters of schema-hegumen John. On Jesus prayer.]</ref> This following own will includes neglecting Confession and advice of the confession of thoughtsspiritual father, as elder Joseph the Hesychast notes: "It is not just a matter of saying the prayer, but it is also a matter of being attentive. You must be vigilant with your thoughts, masterfully controlling them. Otherwise, they will take control of you and in the end you will become the laughing-stock of the demons. I have never seen a soul make progress in the prayer without frankly confessing secret thoughts".<ref>[http://oprelesti.ru/index.php/concealment-of-sins-in-confession/309-noetic-prayer-is-incompatible-with-concealment-of-thoughts Elder Joseph the Hesychast, Monastic Wisdom, From letter 55.]</ref>
===False unceasing (self-moving) Jesus prayer===
