toast for tea

My writing idol. Loved this.

This week I had to prepare a reflection on an aspect of spirituality to deliver to a gathering of folk at my local church community. I chose to speak on the examen. Even if you’re an atheist, doing the examen is a really handy way to get in touch with your feelings and to help you figure out what’s going on in your subconscious. It goes hand-in-hand with dream interpretation. I based my talk on a little book called Sleeping with Bread: Holding what gives you life by Dennis Linn, Sheila Fabricant Linn and Matthew Linn. Thought my blog readers might be interested, too. Stop for a moment and think about two questions: For what are you most grateful? And for what are you least grateful? They’re simple questions, but they are two of the most profound questions you can ask yourself. And two of the most helpful. Here’s why. These questions constitute what is called the examen: a technique that Ignatius of Loyola used in his Spiritual Exercises 500 or so years ago. Jesuits were required to do