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The Prayer of Examen
BACKGROUND
The Examen is an ancient reflective exercise originally developed
by St. Ignatius of Loyola, who is considered something of the godfather
of discernment practices. Many variations on the examen have been
adapted over the centuries in different traditions, but they all
share a very common base. Those of you of faith will likely want
to practice this as a prayer, asking God to accompany you in the
process and to be the one who illumines what you are looking for.
The intention of the Examen is to by practice in simple daily living
come more to recognize and align with the presence of God (as you
understand God) in your life and in so doing to develop your related
faculties of discernment.
One classic recommendation for those in the midst of a difficult
decision is to practice the Examen faithfully for 30 days, looking
only at daily experience (not the big question). Then after reflecting
on the fruit of the Examen, to then again look at the big question
which at that point will (hopefully) appear much clearer.
This "works" by means of the 30 days of practice getting
the eyes and ears of one's heart "in shape" with the daily
aerobic exercise of Examen. With that "aerobic base" laid
down - then the heavy lifting can be done much more easily. The
athletic analogy is quite intentional (alternates would be art or
music) as discernment faculties are developed more through "training"
and "exercise" than through "learning" or "thinking."
SUGGESTION
I am suggesting you perform the Examen for one week minimum - 7
days. Do it daily as instructed below, jotting down a brief journal
entry (could even be an email to yourself) each day. At the end
of the 7 days, look over your weeklong collective experience and
reflect on the whole experience. If you are finding it nourishing,
or even intriguing, try continuing for a full 30 days
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