Spiritual Life_Relationship with Self; Practice – Self-examination
1/21/2014
Spiritual Life_Relationship with Self; Practice – Self-examination
[Nouwen, Ch.1-3]
The danger of final solution
“Friendship and love cannot develop in the form of an anxious clinging to each other.”
“The desire for ‘final solutions’ often forms the basis for the destructive….
The solitude of heart
“to live a spiritual life we must first find the courage to enter into the desert of our loneliness and to change it by gentle and persistent efforts into a garden of solitude.”
“a man or woman who has developed this solitude of heart is no longer pulled apart by the most divergent stimuli of the surrounding world but is….
A creative response
- not reaction but response
- Positive understanding of unexpected interruptions
- Compassion
- Healing
- Solitude _ compassionate solidarity
Who am I?
- A false sense of self; self-rejecting
- Vacillating between false self and true self
- Self-identity should not be based on what one accomplishes or on what others thing.
- True self; self-acceptance as a beloved son or daughter of God
Examen(Examination)
Matthew 7:1-5
1. "Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
2. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3. "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
4. How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?
5. You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
Calvin, Institutes of Christian Religion
- Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of G and of ourselves.
- -Without knowledge of self there is no knowledge of G.
- - Without ….
Practice: The Awareness Examen
-The Awareness Examen helps us look for the traces of G’s actions in our daily life. It is usually done in the evening looking back over the day, but you may also use it to pray about meaningful period of time (such as a week or a year), or discrete event ()such as a meeting or a class). Allow between five and 15M for this ….
- Give thanks for all G’s gifts and benefits
- Ask for light
- Review the day: thoughts, words, deeds, desires, consolations, desolations
When did I listen to your voice today?
When did I resist listening to you today?
- Express gratitude, sorrow, and purpose of amendment
- Ask for the graces you desire for tomorrow
Labels:
practice,
relationship,
self,
self-examination,
spiritual life
