Many people have walked the roads of the spiritual life before us and many walk alongside us today. Some of these people have scribbled a word of wisdom to help those who follow in their path. Outlined below are a few of these wise words to fellow-travellers.
Place
It is a great help to have a special place where you do your review. It doesn't need to be a big space, but it helps if you can most often use the same space. As well it can add a great deal to your experience of prayer if you can do some things to make the space a sacred space. It doesn't need to become a holy of holies, but it is good if there are some reminders of your experience of the sacred in your life. For some this is achieved through photos, for others a piece of stone, a plant, a candle. As with the review itself, each of us will approach it in a unique way, so it is with what for us echoes the sacred.
The reason such things help is two-fold.
Firstly, we never get to pray without our bodies. It is something we have neglected a great deal in western traditions of spirituality. When it comes to spirituality, we often forget that we are embodied spirits - the only way for our spirit to be expressed is through our bodies. So it is important to consider what will help our body to pray.
Our bodies have their own sense of memory. If we consistently go to a certain place and take a certain posture, over time, our bodies learn and remember a certain style of presence and will switch into that style automatically. Having a special space, with a sacred atmosphere can help our bodies to be centred. Because of this it is important not to do other activities in your sacred space. So if for example you made a corner of your bedroom your sacred space, it would be important that you didn't prepare work, write letters, or sleep in the same space.
Multiple activities in the same space has a confusing effect on our bodies.
Secondly, symbols are crucial to the way we human beings carry meaning. That we take time to establish a sacred space, placing our sacred symbols in the space, is a act of deep respect and reverence for our deepest meanings. When we then enter into the sacred space, our body, mind and spirit is effected by the symbols and responds by focussing towards the meanings the sacred space carries for us.
Jounalling
Journalling is another way or involving our whole self in the process or reflection and prayer. It helps to stop us become 'praying heads''. ignoring our emotional and physical experience of God. A journal is simply a book in which I can write my thoughts. It is a book just for me, can draw, doodle. scribble, write poetry - it's up to me.
I can use a journal in cooperation with 'in the way of Mary'. When it comes to the stage of recalling my day(s) - events. people. thoughts. feelings - I can do this in my journal. Then when I try to appreciate where God is present in all of this. it is all there for me to look at in the one place. As well, I have the previous days, weeks, months recorded as well and I can look back for the ongoing invitation God is offering me.
One thing that some people find helpful when they are trying to get in touch with what has been happening in their lives is to recall things in a certain order. First begin by trying to recall events, people, things that you saw or heard. Just write them down as facts that any observer might have witnessed. Next , write down your feelings about what has been going on. Try not to judge any feelings as better or nicer than others. Remember too, that humans find it easy to have many contradicting feelings about the same event at the same time. Put down all the feelings. Lastly, ask yourself what meaning can you see in all that you have written. Some people find it helpful to think in terms of trying to give this day(s) a book or film title.
Now that you have gathered a sense of your life and God's presence with you - how would you like to respond?
Whatever you choose, write it down in your journal.
It is good if you keep a journal to look back over the last month or two. We all tend to travel pretty slowly on the spiritual road and so changes or as Ignatius would say 'the fruits' only show out over a good length of time.
Consistency
It can be very difficult to be consistent in our practices these days. Life has become very complex and often we have been encouraged to make our decisions by whether we 'feel like it or not'. Trouble with this is that our feelings can be very fickle. This is why the mystics warn us about becoming too hooked on feelings - good or bad - in our prayer. It is very easy to mistake a feeling of piece for the presence of God. Or a sense of barrenness for the absence of God.
As was mentioned above. our bodies respond best when there is a level or' consistency in our experience. When we are in familiar places. doing familiar things. our whole self knows how to best cooperate to be fully present.
Sometimes the day we least feel like taking the time Lo review our day using 'in the way of Mary' will be the most important day to do so. At such a time we might be able to see something about ourselves or God that we are blinding ourselves to at other times.Choosing the time and place when we can do a review of our day is not an easy task. It has to be in harmony with all the other ways that God is active in our lives - ministry, community, personal intimacy, relaxation. There is one message that comes down through the centuries loud and clear in this respect: Whatever we do, it is best if it is regular. Better to do it regularly once a week, than to try to do it every day but only get there every now and then. Inconsistency will undermine all your efforts more quickly than any other factor.
Time for Recollection
This is another old tradition we need to rediscover and give a new expression.Our lives can be over full. Rather than having too little experience, for many of us it is a case of overload. We're not starving, rather we have eaten too much. We need time to digest our lives.
This is the role of the time of recollection.
In the biological case, if we don't digest our food we can't get the goodness from the food, we can't be nurtured, we haven't got what we need to grow. 1n the spiritual case it is just the same. Our food is the stuff of our lives. We take it all in, but we may not be digesting it. It's just passing through us.
This is where recollection comes.in. It is good to take some time and go aside every now and then and recollect your life and allow it to nurture you. Many find about every four to six weeks is useful. If you can take a whole day, if not a morning will be good.Go to one of your favourite places, a place where you know you can stop and slow down, a place where you get in touch with your deeper self. For some it is a beautiful part of creation - a lake, a mountain, the sea, for others an art gallery, for some the city streets. Remember your body is a big part of 'you' so it plays a big part in choosing the best place to be.
When you get to your favourite place take some time to rest. This is really important. Those of us who like to be about doing, or who have very functional jobs will want to rush through this part, but for you it is even more important. Before we can go into a deeper self we have to take the time to let go of our surface self. When you feel you have slowed down and centred more on your deeper self, use the process 'in the way of Mary' to recollect the last month or so. If it suits you, journalling might help. Reflect on the integration or harmony in your life. Try to taste deeply of all that you have lived in this recent part of your life.
Towards the end of your recollection take some time to celebrate your vocation and to recommit yourself to being God's brother or sister to the world.
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