The Youth Ministry & Spirituality Project

Awareness Examen

The Awareness Examen emerges out of the Ignatian tradition. It invites us to review and examine the day's thoughts, feelings, and actions in terms of how God seemed to be present and how we responded to that presence. It may also be used to review and examine a particular event or experience such as a meeting or gathering to notice more intentionally how God's Spirit was present and active.

In order to practice the awareness examen, select a time and place (usually at the end of the day) that is peaceful and in which you may be alert and prayerfully attentive. Take a few miniutes to dispose yourself for this prayer in whatever way is natural for you. This may be a spoken prayer to God to open you more fully to the Spirit's leading, a gentle relaxation process that focuses on breathing, singing or chanting, or simply a few minutes of silence to empty yourself of thoughts, images, and emotions.
In quiet prayer, we begin to simply look over our day from the beginning to the present moment. We begin by attending to the moments where we were most grateful and then to those moments where we were least grateful.
There are many other ways to ask the same questions:
- At what moments did I give and receive the most love today? At what moments did I give and receive the least love today?
- At what moments did I feel most alive today? At what moments did I feel least alive today?
- What were today's high points? What were today's low points?
At the end of your prayer, take time to thank God for the gift of this day and God's presence in all that was given.