Deep Thought

Cre8Tiva is in deep discernment this beautiful Monday morning. Many things are swirling in my mind because today's decisions will have a big impact on my life in the next year and beyond. This is when Muse Sensible Sandra comes. She is deep, very deep. She thinks long and studies every possibility thoroughly. And then she prays and waits for an answer.

What type of decision maker are you? Impetuous - you act quickly without regard to consequences? Controller - you are a studied and rational person? Procrastinator - you delay the decision making process so long that the universe makes a decision for you? Rational - you are capable of reflecting correct and valid reasoning, sensible. Or are you a combination of these?

Today's aMUSEment - Let's look at a process for discernment I learned from The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola Get paper and pencil and write across the top of the page a decision you are trying make. Draw 4 lines from top to bottom of page. 1st column label For Doing It. 2nd column label Against Doing it. 3rd column label For Not Doing It. 4th Against Not Doing It. This gives you a lot to think about.

Example: Should I eat an apple?
1st - tastes good, healthy, keeps doctor away
2nd - not really hungry, may be grainy
3rd - don't need it, will save calories
4th - it might go to waste

The 3rd and 4th columns are always difficult for me, but they usually bring the most clarity to the issue. You get better at it the more you do it.

For a major life decision I take this a step further. I visualize myself as an old woman sitting on my front porch in a rocker. I really try to get into the place and feel the sensations - the smells, the sights, the noises, etc. from that porch. When I am ready and really present, from this vantage point of aged wisdom, I ask myself how I feel about this decision. I usually get the answer I need.
I hope this helps you as much as it does me.

There are many resources for The Spiritual Exercises on the Internet. Some of my favorite are:
An audio retreat consucted by Fr. Larry Gillick, SJ at Creighton University
The Spiritual Exercises in Pictures for visual people
Spiritual Exercises for the Days of the Week simple miditations to live in a more spiritually-conscious way

U Be Creative Today!