The Examen is a simple form for “checking in” daily with God. It’s a review of your day, by which you observe how you felt, what you did or didn’t do, and how grace was present and active. The Examen is just one way of training yourself to notice God’s presence in daily life. And, actually, it’s quite effective, because you develop the habit of looking at your life and expecting to find God there.
I’ve said more than once to a group of people at a talk or retreat: “If God isn’t here, then God isn’t anywhere.” If God is not present in your day-to-day work and struggle and fun, in your emotions and discoveries, and even in the incidental things that happen—then why should you invest so much time and energy trying to get to whatever place God inhabits?
This isn’t a form of pantheism—of believing that God is in everything all the time. The idea of finding God in all things points to the love and grace of God that find us no matter what we’re going through and no matter what shape we’re in.
I challenge you to look at the details of your life this week and ask the questions, “Where is God in this situation? Where is the grace? In what way do I encounter Divine love?”
This post is a part of An Ignatian Prayer Adventure, Week 2.
While certainly not pantheism, will that be a panentheism, then? In panentheism, God is in all things but all things are not God, i.e. God is much more than all creations.