The Daily Examen

A Spiritual Practice of Attentiveness

In college I worked as a resident assistant. Every week I would have a night on duty, sitting at the front desk of the dorm for the evening, doing rounds through the halls every hour to make sure things weren’t getting out of hand. At 11pm we were relieved by a person called “the night star.” The night star would take over from 11pm to 6am, sitting at the desk, doing rounds, and calling the RA if there were any issues. One night I asked the night star if he had trouble staying awake all night. He said, “Actually, one time I was walking down the hall on rounds and fell asleep while walking. I woke up when I walked straight into a concrete wall. It didn’t feel good.”

Falling asleep while walking is dangerous, but so is falling asleep while walking through life. It is easy to get caught up in the busyness of life and lose our sense of calling and direction. Going through life on autopilot can take us to places we never wanted to go.

The Unexamined Life

As a pastor I got a behind-the-scenes look into my congregants’ lives. I witnessed first-hand their faithfulness and transformation, but I also learned about things they had done that made me want to say, “What the heck were you thinking?!” Often these poor decisions came down to a lack of self-awareness paired with an unwillingness to seek help.

Socrates famously said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Do you have any regular practices for self-reflection? The Daily Examen is an ancient spiritual practice introduced by St. Ignatius of Loyolla (1491-1556) that leads you through a prayerful reflection of the day. It includes five movements:

1.     Becoming aware of God’s presence.

2.     Thanking God for blessings big and small.

3.     Reviewing significant moments from the day.

4.     Facing your shortcomings.

5.     Looking towards tomorrow.

By taking a few minutes of prayerful self-reflection every day, we are training ourselves to be more attentive to our everyday decisions. Becoming more attentive to ourselves will help us become more attentive to others.  

Let’s Try It!

Find a quiet and comfortable place to encounter God. Take your time going through the following prompts.

1.     Psalm 139 says, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” Close your eyes and increase your awareness of God’s presence all around you. Invite the Holy Spirit to be a part of this time of reflection.

2.     Give thanks to God for a blessing you received today. Perhaps it was something small or perhaps it was something big.

3.     Go through the events of your day in your mind. Spend extra time on moments of significance. What moments did you sense God was close? Where did you do something that felt right?

4.     In what moments of your day did you fall short of who God calls you to be? Ask for forgiveness for these. Remember that in Christ you are forgiven.

5.     Shift your attention towards tomorrow. Ask God for direction for the next day. Ask God what you can do differently.

6.     Close your time by thanking God for these few minutes of communion together. Conclude with the Lord’s prayer if you’d like.

Incorporating the Daily Examen into your routine can be a transformative practice. If you’re interested in learning more check out the app Reimagining the Examen. It’s available on iTunes or on Google Play and you can learn more about it here.