Today I’ll recommend a practice called the Examination of Consciousness. While it has connections to the more penitential version, often called the Examination of Conscience, the Examination of Consciousness is a light, readily repeatable practice based on raising one’s awareness of the spiritual life.
Here’s the basic pattern:
1) Take a ten minute break. During this break calm yourself and let go of the business of the day.
2) Ask yourself two basic questions:
- “How have I been close to or responsive to God today?”
- “How have I been distant from or unresponsive to God today?”
3) Or you can more simply ask: “Where is God in this?”
4) Notice your responses and jot them down in a journal. To stay within a ten minute time frame, don’t attempt to write paragraphs, just phrases or sentences. (You can make the practice longer, but that sometimes makes it less repeatable.) In this practice you are mainly attempting to develop awareness and the ability to contemplate the answers to the two basic questions.
When a person lives in greater awareness of God’s presence he or she will experience more vitality, energy, gratitude and compassion. If we cultivate our ability to recognize God’s life in ours we can be greatly aided in discernment and faithful living—and simply enjoy ourselves more!
The Examination of Consciousness is designed to be less about your sin and more about awareness of God’s presence or seeming absence in our daily lives. Most of the time the experience should feel hopeful and aid in a closer, more companioned walk with God.
See what happens when you try it for a week. My guess is that you will be glad to continue the practice.
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