Examen

 "How do you tend to recognize God's presence in your day?"

Also known as the Examination of Consciousness, the Examen is a practice of questions which leads to seeing God in the details of our lives. Most people know of the Examen from the Catholic Jesuit tradition, popularized by Ignatius of Loyola. There are many different formats or ways of using an examen practice to deepen our spiritual lives. The focus in each one stays on the details of our daily lives and how and what affects our spiritual lives.

In most examen practices, a time is set apart at the end of the day to reflect on where God was in the daily activities. By going through the different activities and looking at our bodily responses or where we saw God or writing down the words which exemplify the activities, we start to see patterns emerge which show us where God is at work. For many, questions of gratitude about our daily lives can be very helpful in long term spiritual growth.

Many people think the examen practice needs to be rigorous and difficult. However, the examen can even be fun. One way of doing an examen practice for yourself, or perhaps your children, is to play a game of I Spy: the I Spy God edition. Where have you spied God in your life today? What points to God's presence?