What is Ignatian Examen?

2022

Finding: In this early, exploratory study, people who practised the Ignatian Examen reported more self-transcendent positive emotions in the moment, feelings like awe, gratitude, and a sense of connection beyond oneself, and they came to value those emotions more highly. The same study found no change in eudaimonic motivation, the drive to live a meaningful and virtuous life, so the benefit showed up in felt emotion rather than in what people were motivated to pursue. This was a small, preliminary study rather than a large clinical trial, so the results are best read as an encouraging first look; if you try the practice, you might notice moments of gratitude or connection, but the wider evidence base is still thin.

2023

Finding: This paper describes the Ignatian Examen as a short daily reflection, about 10 to 15 minutes, that moves through five steps: settling into awareness, gratefully reviewing the day, noticing the feelings that came up, praying or reflecting from one of those feelings, and looking ahead to tomorrow. Though St. Ignatius of Loyola introduced it roughly five centuries ago within the Jesuit tradition, the authors note it can be secularized for wider use, for example by swapping religious language for more inclusive words like "love," so you can practise it spiritually or simply as a structured end-of-day check-in. For someone considering it, that means a low-cost, repeatable routine you can shape to your own outlook, though it is worth knowing that formal research on the Examen is still early and rests on small, preliminary studies rather than a large evidence base.

2020

Finding: This psychology research points to positive emotions as a key link between spiritual practice and well-being, finding that self-transcendent feelings like awe, gratitude, love, and peace help explain why religious and spiritual practices tend to leave people feeling better. That matters for the Examen because it is built around noticing and giving thanks for the good in a day, so the same emotional pathway offers a plausible reason it might support well-being. This study looked at spiritual practices broadly rather than the Examen itself, so treat it as a reasonable explanation of how the practice may work, not proof that it does.

2023

Finding: In this trial with United Methodist clergy in North Carolina, a Daily Examen prayer practice lowered how stressed people felt compared with a waitlist group, but the improvement showed up only at the six-month mark rather than at the twelve-week check-in, so this is a practice that seems to pay off gradually rather than quickly. Notably, the Examen shifted self-reported stress but did not change heart-rate variability, a physical marker of nervous-system flexibility; only the mindfulness-based practice in the same study moved that measure. If you are drawn to the Examen, the takeaway is that it may help you feel calmer over several months of steady practice, though the evidence here comes from one occupational group and does not show a measurable change in the body's stress physiology.

2020

Finding: After 14 people completed a one-week intensive retreat based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, brain scans picked up measurable shifts in how different regions communicate, including areas tied to self-reflection and attention, and these came alongside reported psychological and spiritual changes. For someone drawn to this tradition, it hints that deep, sustained contemplative work can leave a physical fingerprint on the brain, not just a change in mood. That said, this was a very small early study with no comparison group, and it looked at a full immersive retreat rather than the brief daily Examen, so it can't tell us what a few minutes of daily practice does.

2013

Finding: Across two experiments, researchers sparked uplifting, self-transcendent emotions like being moved by goodness or awed by excellence, and found that these feelings in turn stirred a sense of spirituality in participants. That flips the usual assumption that spirituality only grows out of hardship, and points to a gentler route: noticing beauty and goodness can open the door to spiritual experience, which is much of what a gratitude- and reflection-based practice like the Examen invites you to do daily. This was lab-based research on emotions rather than a study of the Examen itself, so it offers a plausible pathway rather than proof that the practice works this way for you.

2014

Finding: This psychology study looked at why religious and spiritual practices seem to boost well-being, and found that positive emotions do much of the work, especially self-transcendent ones like awe, gratitude, love, and peace that carry us beyond ourselves. For a reflection- and gratitude-based practice like the Examen, that points to a believable route by which daily practice might lift how you feel: by regularly stirring up these warmer, expansive emotions. Keep in mind this research was not conducted on the Examen itself, so it maps out a plausible pathway rather than proving the practice delivers these benefits.

2017

Finding: In this early brain-imaging study, 14 people who completed a week-long intensive retreat based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius showed measurable shifts in how different brain regions coordinate with one another, including areas tied to attention, self-reflection, and inner focus, alongside reported psychological and spiritual changes. For someone drawn to the practice, this hints that deep, sustained periods of prayer and reflection may leave a real mark on how the brain works, not just on how you feel in the moment. Keep in mind the scope, though: this was a small first look with no comparison group, and it studied an immersive week-long retreat rather than the brief daily Examen, so it can't tell us what the short daily practice does on its own.

2003

Finding: In this experiment, people were randomly asked to spend a few minutes each week or each day writing down either things they were grateful for, daily hassles, or ordinary events, and those who focused on what they were thankful for reported a clearer lift in positive mood and a more hopeful outlook on their lives than the other groups. For anyone drawn to the Examen, this points to why its daily gratitude review may feel worthwhile: deliberately noticing the good in your day tends to strengthen positive feelings most of all. Keep in mind this research studied simple gratitude journaling, not the Examen itself, so it offers a supporting rationale rather than direct proof that the full practice produces these effects.