Assiduous reader, Michelle, in responding to my blog-alogue (#6) about the Examen came up with an image that delights me:
…I have a tendency to have a seat next to God on the couch and listen to His commentary as it flows past. That sense of seeing my day through God’s eyes, and the sure knowledge of His willingness to watch, help and guide that that brings, keeps me coming back. I might wince at my attitude some days, God never.
What I most love about this idea is that it puts God right beside us, in the midst of our daily life with its joys and struggles, and makes the Examen a “cooperative venture” between our loving God and our – sometimes not so loving – selves.
Thank you, Michelle. Guess who I’m going to invite to sit beside me at lunchtime today?
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Eric 06.02.09 at 11:49 am
I love Michelle’s perspective of listening to God’s view of her day. And she does two things I have always found helpful. She uses her imagination to put herself in the presence of God. And she listens. I have been told many times that “God doesn’t talk to me”. If I were to be limited to one subject in teaching classes on spirituality, it would be on the myriad of ways to listen to God.
Paul 06.02.09 at 12:24 pm
Eric,
Your point about listening is so good that it should be the point of my next blog posting.
Paul
Michele 06.02.09 at 2:40 pm
I too like the ’sitting on the couch’ image. I have used the mirror as a examen conversation starter–the mirror on my day and on my image of myself. My initial picture is the old lady me who shows up with the blessings and ravages of the day. Then I imagine God looking back with eyes that are brimming with love. I try to breath that image in allowing it to transform. Some days it works better than other days.
Michele 06.02.09 at 3:03 pm
This might sound odd but for me today’s reading from Tobit has him reviewing his life which was going along swimmingly until the birds pooped. He describes how he became dependent on others, but I wonder if he noticed that he had changed from the generous faithful man he had been. His wife noticed: “Where are your charitable deeds now? Where are your virtuous acts? See! Your true character is finally showing itself!” I think that sometimes we need the outside ‘voice’ to call us to review with more honesty/truth.
LW 06.02.09 at 8:28 pm
Michele your view of Tobit is great. He could be generous and kind and giving, but he was unable to receive the kindness of a stranger. I can do that we a complement from another even today. It is easier to give than to receive.
Michelle 06.02.09 at 8:29 pm
Eric, for me, it’s definitely about listening — the pat definition of prayer as “talking to God” always strikes me as off-balance: what about hearing God?! I toured a mosque in the Middle East last fall, on one of the walls were all the names of God, your class leads to wonder how a wall with all the ways there are to listen to God might read.
Paul, the graphic you chose is wonderful. I can imagine God’s angels moving the sofa in for the nightly review – I can almost see the wings tucked under these guys’ shirts! It feels more inviting to imagine God setting the stage — we come to the Examen by choice, but God also draws us there, and tries to make us comfortable (so we’ll come back, of course).
Michelle
Paul 06.03.09 at 1:00 pm
Compadres,
How good it is when you start talking to one another! It’s as if the party is in full swing and I, as host, simply have to smile benignly and sip my wine…
Paul
Michelle 06.03.09 at 2:05 pm
Paul, clearly a good conversation is all about having comfortable seating!
LW and Michele, as we gathered for Lauds this morning we were talking about that Tobit reading, in particular how often we say when someone thanks us for doing something for them “it was nothing”? Why diminish a gift? Does that mean you only care about the person a little bit, you’d only go a little way? Generally not! (Full disclosure – I have in no way erased that phrase from my vocabulary!)
Eric 06.04.09 at 11:21 am
Michelle,
May I suggest a substitue. “I am very pleased to do it for you.”
Eric
Paul 06.04.09 at 2:07 pm
Michelle,
Talking about seating, you give me more credit for the image selection than I deserve. I typed the word “sofa” into the image database and then simply selected the least ghastly of the images!
Paul
Marg 06.04.09 at 5:11 pm
I am a novice at Examen. I am working on a change for myself and though I find the process I am going through difficult, I hope to make Examen part of my daily prayer life.
Just a funny aside. I didn’t know how much I struggle with things until I attended a seated meditation session. All I could think of was how badly my foot and leg hurt. Sitting on the couch, Michelle, is much better.
Thanks to all here for your inspiration to me.
M.
Michelle 06.04.09 at 7:17 pm
Eric,
Ah…that’s a good idea; now for my re-training! Thanks….
Paul 06.05.09 at 7:13 am
Marg,
A Zen Buddhist friend of mine who goes for retreats where they sit on their heels for up to 14 hours a day tells me that he’s learned to distinguish between pain and suffering. Pain, he says, is tolerable. Suffering is much worse than pain.
Paul