https://vidjambov.blogspot.com/2023/01/book-inventory-vladimir-djambov-talmach.html

Before you read on let me be absolved for this my poor effort – not being a monk, not having any special blessing, simply hoping that Orthodox people better than me shall read and understand this... /// Vladimir Djambov ///

The fruit of prayer is to enlighten the mind and tenderness of the heart, to revitalize the soul with the life of the Spirit; thorns and thistles - this is the deadness of the soul, the pharisaic conceit, vegetating from heart hardening, content and exalted with the number of prayers and the time used to pronounce these prayers. ///

The attention that fully observes prayer from entertainment or from extraneous thoughts and dreams is a gift of God's grace. We prove our sincere desire to receive a blessed gift, the soul-saving gift of attention by forcing ourselves to pay attention at every prayer of ours. ///

Nature, renewed by the Holy Spirit, is governed by completely different laws than nature, fallen and stagnant in its fall. ///

Woeful self-delusion! Mental blinding. Self-delusion is based here on conceit, and conceit is damage to the mental eye, born from wrong activities and giving rise to even more wrong activities. Beloved brother, the calmness by which you assure yourself of the fidelity of your path is nothing more than an conscienceless and lack of feeling of your sinfulness, which came and proceeds from a negligent life, and the joy that at times is born in you because of external success and human praise is by no means spiritual and holy joy: it is the fruit of conceit, self-righteousness and vanity

A comment from the US:

This Book "The Arena" by Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov was originally called "An Offering to Contemporary Monasticism" & was published in 1867. ...

Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov was born as Dimitri Alexandrovich Brianchaninov in 1807 & studied at the Pioneer Military School of St. Petersburg. After he passed his examinations he fell sick & was discharge from the army. When he recovered he became a novice under the Starets Leonid of Optina Monastery. In 1831 he took his vows as a monk, later became the Abbott of St. Sergius Monastery, & in 1857 became a Bishop. After 4 years as Bishop he retired in seclusion & died in 1867.

... This is not a book for the beginner Christian Mystic & may be a tough read for most American Evangelical Christians. This is NOT a book about JUST reading your Bible & turning your life over to Jesus Christ. Yes, this book contains these primary & necessary concepts of Salvation but moves on to how to carry your cross, obey Spiritual Elders, develop Silence, to guard one's thought, the Jesus Prayer, Divine Mediation, how to battle Spiritual Evil, Virtues & Vices, Repentance & Mourning, the topics are rather vast...

The book comes in two parts. Part 2 is called [Advice on Monastic Soul Work] "Councils For The Spiritual Life Of Monks" & part 1 is called [Rules for External Conduct for Neophyte Monks] "Rules Of Outward Conduct For Novices". As you can see part 2 (One) with 247 pages will have more to do with understanding spiritual reality & how to live a Holy Life while part 1 (Two) with 43 rules in 14 pages is strictly for Monks living in a Monastery.

Get Ready for a Paradigm shift by reading this book. Keep your general life in focus because the book was written for monks & you will have to make adaptions because you live in the world. What I learned mostly is "What you don't Repent of, your going to Take with you." which is rather a scary thought.