Uncomplicating the Ignatian Examen & Reflecting w/ God as a Child
If we are anxious or avoidantly attached, often as we move toward prayer, we sift and sort our stories ourselves, wondering which ones to tell God.
We weigh our story and wonder if it is worthy.
Will it hold his attention? Does it matter? Is it angsty or whiny?
Am I showing enough faith or worship?
If we grew up with an experience of impatience from our caregiver, we begin to believe that our story will not be treasured, that it's better not to try.
That it needs to be weighty or witty or already metabolized before it is worth their time. So we begin to minimize the mess, believing we need to clean ourselves up before we come into His presence. Or maybe we think our story has to be maximized, over-spiritualized to be worthy of notice.
Jesus reminds us to "come as a child" and that He has "all the time in the world" to hold our story. He may be omniscient, but, as a perfect caregiver, He still desires to hear every angle of our joy or pain through our perspective sifting and sorting it with us.
Show Notes:
Transcript and notes on Summer's new Substack here
Beginner's Guide to the Examen
Nightly Guide to the Examen: 7 ½ minute recording
Creative Right-brained Examen with Sarah Herring
Free Daily examen workbook page
Andrew Huberman's podcast: Making and Breaking Habits
