Meditation and Prayer Reflection

Walk through a guided meditation and prayer experienced based on an Ignatian tradition with Pam Thomas, Vice President of Mission Integration and Advocacy at Saint Alphonsus Health System. She reminds us that mindfulness, meditation and prayer all come from a long and similar tradition.​

It is interesting that mindfulness has become the new buzzword and we get a lot of pushback sometimes that somehow this concept is New Age gobbly gook. In fact, one practice of meditation - slowing oneself down to be present in the moment - has been a part of every major religious tradition for centuries. 
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There is a particular model that can be an easy way to enter into a Christian practice of contemplative prayer and can also be useful for folks who want to try a mindfulness practice. It's not necessary to consider it prayer, though it can be helpful for people of faith to do so. This particular practice is called the “review of consciousness” and it comes from the Ignatian spiritual practice.  It is an opportunity to allow your mind to wander back over the last 24 hours and remember those things for which might be grateful and to acknowledge and let go of anything that just wasn't so hot that day.

The practice does a couple of things for you: first it raises your own awareness of how you moved through your day and gives you the opportunity without judgement for yourself to see the interactions again. It helps you recognize where you might have been holding on to something, maybe without even knowing it, that is not helping your resilience and well-being and might even be a barrier. You are able to acknowledge that and let it go, which is a form of self-forgiveness.
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Another thing it does for you is that as you allow your mind to wander back, you tend to notice things that you otherwise would have forgotten. That give you a chance to re-experience the smile, the joy, the laughter, the gratitude that you had initially and those are moments that we often would forget without this practice.
Here is the general outline of this practice but watching the video model will give you a better sense of the pace of this meditation.

Begin by just allowing yourself to get in a comfortable posture where your breathing is able to be deep and even and taking several deep breaths. 

Let’s assume for the sake of this activity that this is at the end of our day so begin by letting our mind drift back over the evening and remembering what we did, who we saw, who we talked to, maybe we watched a movie or our favorite program on TV. 

What was that like for you? 
What do you remember from that experience?
Were you with anyone?
Did you have conversation?
See the faces of the people that you are with.
Remember those conversations. Remember the experience.
Hold on to anything that brings a smile or for which you are grateful.
Acknowledge and let go of anything else.

Now think about your dinner time. 
What did you have for dinner?
What did it taste like?
Were you by yourself?
Were you with others?
Did you sit around a table?
Were you eating busily while you were doing other things?
Can you taste what you had for dinner? Can you remember that flavor? 
Can you see the people that you were with?
Hear those conversations again. 
Hold on to anything that brings a smile or for which you are grateful.
Acknowledge and let go of anything else.

Now see yourself in the afternoon. Maybe you were coming home from work or from your activities.
What was it like as you left whatever you came from and entered your house?
Who did you see when you opened that door? Maybe a spouse or kids or a pet. Maybe you just saw your face in the mirror.
What did those faces look like?
Did you have any conversation as you entered?
How did you feel? Remember that feeling again as you think back. 
Hold on to anything that brings a smile or for which you are grateful.
Acknowledge and let go of anything else.

Now let your mind wander back over your afternoon. 
What did you do?
Who did you see? 
Did you have any interesting or maybe challenging conversations with patients or coworkers?
See the faces of the people you encountered.
Hold on to anything that brings a smile or for which you are grateful.
Acknowledge and let go of anything else.

Now let your mind wander back over your lunch time. 
Did you get to have lunch to take a moment of pause or were you rushing from place to place? Maybe you didn’t even get a chance to eat.
If you did eat, what was it that you ate? 
What did it taste like?
Can you remember where you were or with anyone having a conversation.
See the faces of the people you were with. Remember those conversations.
Hold on to anything that brings a smile or for which you are grateful.
Acknowledge and let go of anything else.

Now let your mind wander back over the morning as you began your day
What was your morning like? 
Do you have any particularly memorable patients or conversations with coworkers?
See the faces of the people that you were with.
What were those experiences like for you?
Hold on to anything that brings a smile or for which you are grateful.
Acknowledge and let go of anything else.

Now see yourself on your way as you’re leaving your house.
Maybe going into the clinic or to take your kids to school or to your first set of errands. Whatever you did first in the morning, what was that like for you?
Was anyone with you on the drive?
Did you listen to the radio or to the news?
What do you remember about what you saw and what you heard?
Hold on to anything that brings a smile or for which you are grateful.
Acknowledge and let go of anything else.

Now let your mind wander back over your last night's sleep.
What was your sleep like?
Was it a night where you slept like a log?
Or maybe you tossed and turned.
Do you remember anything that you dreamt?
Feel your body in your bed again. Are you relaxed?
Hold on to anything that brings a smile or for which you are grateful.
Acknowledge and let go of anything else.

Now take just another few deep and even breaths as you bring your awareness and your attention back to this moment. When you're ready, go ahead and open your eyes.

This simple practice touches on a couple of different aspects of our well-being and resilience. It can be an opportunity, as the mantra suggests, to let go of things that maybe we didn't even know we were hanging on to that get in the way of our resilience and well-being. It is also an opportunity for self-awareness of things that we maybe didn't even remember, reactions that we had. It is an opportunity just to check in with ourselves.

​Usually what I find is that as people reflect on the experience for the first time, there's a great deal of gratitude that comes from things you would otherwise have forgotten. Upon reflection, it gives you a moment of gratefulness and gratitude. Often, when I remember to do this practice, I can think about the way the sunrise looked as I drove into work or the quality of the light as it hit the foothills. It provides so lots of opportunity for reflection with this simple practice.