The examen is a form of prayer first developed by Saint Ignatius of Loyola in Spain in the 16th century.
When prayed regularly at the end of each day,
It becomes a means of examining your consciousness in the presence,
Warmth,
And love of God.
Saint Ignatius made it a regular part of the formation of the members of the Society of Jesus,
Or the Jesuits as they are more commonly called,
In order to deepen their awareness of the eternal presence and love of God in all things.
In recent years,
It has become an increasingly popular and well-known form of prayer for Christians of all kinds all over the world.
Indeed,
It can be practiced by anyone seeking to awaken to God the Divine Presence,
Or a higher power whose spirit pervades all things.
Its popularity is due both to its simplicity and practicality,
And it can be a wonderful complement to other forms of prayer,
Meditation,
And contemplation.
It's important to note that the examen is first and foremost a spiritual practice.
It is not an examination of conscience,
Which is a moral exercise that many of us associate with guilt,
Shame,
Or a judging God.
Rather,
It is an examen of consciousness,
Which is a spiritual exercise intended to bring us closer to a loving and forgiving God.
Through the examen,
We become more skilled in attuning to our own interior experience.
As we do so,
We begin to discern the ways in which God is working and speaking to us.
In the rhythm of our daily lives,
We begin to hear and respond to the quiet,
Still voice of God calling to us from within.
The prayer itself includes five moments of reflection.
First,
We become aware of God's presence.
Second,
We review our day with gratitude.
Third,
We begin to pay attention to our emotions.
Fourth,
We choose one feature of our day and pray from it.
And fifth,
We look forward to tomorrow with hope.
If you care to practice a guided examen,
I invite you to make yourself comfortable.
If you are doing this practice right before going to sleep,
It's perfectly acceptable and normal to lay down in your own bed.
Or you may sit in a comfortable chair,
On a meditation cushion,
Or lay down in another place where you will be comfortable.
First,
Become aware of God's presence.
You may do this by simply allowing the regular stream of thoughts from your day begin to fade away,
Focusing on the rise and the fall of the breath,
Perhaps using a sacred word or a mantra that you find helpful for opening your heart to God's presence.
There's no need to conjure up any particular images or ideas about God.
Rather,
In a manner that feels genuine for you,
Simply open to the present moment and invite the God of your understanding into this moment with you.
Second,
Review your day with gratitude.
Think back to how your day began.
Recall the people and the experiences that you encountered as you moved into your morning and routine.
Note who you were with,
Where you went,
What you did.
Recall that the purpose of this review is not to analyze your experiences,
Nor is it to judge them as good or bad,
Better or worse,
But simply to note them with gratitude.
Continue your review of your day throughout your morning,
Your midday,
The afternoon,
The evening,
Whatever you were doing right before you began this practice,
Thanking God for the whole range of your experience,
For the miracle of simply being alive and having this experience of human conscious awareness.
With some practice in cultivating gratitude,
We begin to awaken to the fundamental truth that everything we have,
Everything we are,
Everything in existence,
Seen or unseen,
Is a gift from our Creator.
Our only task as humans is to accept God's gifts and to give thanks.
Third,
Pay attention to your emotions.
As you review your day with gratitude,
What is your emotional experience throughout the day?
Just as before,
The goal is not to judge or analyze your emotions,
But simply to note them and accept them,
Neither attaching to pleasurable experiences nor attempting to avoid painful experiences.
This awareness of emotions introduces us to what St.
Ignatius calls the practice of discernment.
After some regular practice,
You might begin to recognize that experiences which are accompanied by a deep and abiding sense of peace are the moments where you are most closely aligned with your own soul and attuned to God's will and presence in your life.
Ignatius calls this experience consolation.
Similarly,
Those experiences that are accompanied by a sense of deep-seated restlessness,
Anxiety,
Or dis-ease may be bringing your attention to aspects of your life where you are not attuned to your own authentic interior spirit or to the presence of God.
Ignatius calls this experience desolation.
These may be areas where you are being called to conversion,
That is to let go of self-will that leads to suffering and to open the door to other,
More creative,
More compassionate possibilities.
If you begin to judge yourself harshly,
Simply note this with a non-judgmental awareness and recall that the goal is to review the full range of your experience in the presence of a God who loves you unconditionally and is always calling and inviting you into deeper relationship as you are right now.
Spend a few moments now paying attention to your emotions.
Fourth,
Choose one feature of your day and pray from it.
After reviewing your day and discerning your emotions,
You may notice that one experience captures your attention.
It need not be the most exciting or emotionally charged moment of your day.
Indeed,
It may seem at first to be entirely boring or mundane,
But you may find yourself for unknown reasons drawn to that particular experience.
The invitation then is simply to pray from that experience.
There is no right or wrong way to pray from your experience.
However,
You are moved to pray from this feature of your day.
You are offering up this part of your day and of yourself to the healing presence of God.
Spend a few moments now praying from one feature of your day.
As you conclude your prayer,
Begin to turn your awareness to the rest that lies before you tonight and to the next day.
Having reviewed your day with gratitude,
You now look toward tomorrow with hope.
You may wish to ask for God's help or guidance for a particular situation or relationship,
Or simply ask for a restful night's sleep accompanied by the consolation of God's presence,
All for God to be with you and the ones you love into tonight and tomorrow.
For these last few moments,
Simply allow yourself to continue to let go,
To move toward rest and sleep,
And to release your mind,
Your body,
Your entire being into the infinite healing ocean of God.
