Rhythm is naturally a part of who we are. We have rhythm within us biologically. We have seasonal rhythms we live in environmentally. We have rhythms of life we fluctuate through based on life changes, voluntarily and involuntarily.

This year I'm leaning into following the Church calendar more closely. Over the last two years I've experienced glimpses of it through Advent and Lent and I found those rhythms enriched my faith and closeness to Jesus. To be clear, this is not something you will read about in the Bible. Simply put, it is an ancient Christian practice to embody the story of Jesus throughout each calendar year. So far, it has been a rhythm of awareness and gratitude that is keeping me on a path of purposefulness and meaning.

Today I want to share a prayer (meditation) practice that has been a foundational blueprint for my growth and evolvement in my own identity, and relationships with God and others. I learned this prayer practice when I went through the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius in 2023. Every day, twice a day, over the course of 9 months I practiced the examen noon and night. Now, I practice the examen mostly once at night. I have found this is the most practical for me and it helps bring me to a place of ground after a long day.

I know many of you will benefit from learning this practice.

Why?

Because you use the events of your day to help bring awareness to your habits (good and bad) and patterns. It helps you notice God in your everyday life. It is a prayerful, mindful way to learn your ways, see yourself as God sees you, and make changes to meet the goals you set out for yourself (if that's your thing) and step into your purpose.

It's really hard to create change without awareness. It's an invitation to examen your daily rhythms and grow and evolve with what is revealed. It's a beautiful unfolding.

Below is an image I created to help you incorporate this into your life. Know that there are many versions of this. This is how my spiritual director taught it to me as a beginner. To help not get too "brainy" I find it helpful to ground in my body first and drop into an experience of seeing God see my day. This helps me to not judge or critique my prayer time.

For example:

Step 1: Find a comfortable shape seated or lying down.

Step 2: Make yourself 5-10% more comfortable.

Step 3: Take at minute or so to just breathe and notice.

Step 4: Visualize or feel God looking at your day as you review.

Step 5: Begin the prayer. When did I feel God's nearness, when did I not feel God's nearness. What was I doing in that moment to feel or not feel God?

Overtime, you will start to notice patterns. Times of your day when you feel drawn in, inspired, connected and other time when you feel broken apart, scattered, depleted. Once this becomes a daily rhythm for you, it's a simple way to stay in conversation with God. He is our Divine Therapist :)