http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-examen
If any of you have tried to follow the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, you know it is somewhat intimidating. It is definitely not a commitment I feel able to undertake at this time in my life. In fact, I have always found doing any type of examination/ examen/ meditation somewhat difficult. I can’t seem to quiet my soul long enough, I know, that’s probably an issue! It could also be the fact that I have four children under 11 (excuse).
The Daily Examen as presented in this app is so easy to implement into my daily life though, and the simple way it lead me through each day was so effective. What does this app have to do with gratefulness you might ask? Well, one of the examinations focuses on gratitude, I found it to be very effective. Let me explain how it is set up.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1537367598595{margin-top: 20px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-top-width: 1px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 1px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 20px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;border-left-color: #dbdbdb !important;border-left-style: solid !important;border-right-color: #dbdbdb !important;border-right-style: solid !important;border-top-color: #dbdbdb !important;border-top-style: solid !important;border-bottom-color: #dbdbdb !important;border-bottom-style: solid !important;}”][ultimate_heading main_heading=”Beautifully Simple” main_heading_style=”font-weight:bold;”][/ultimate_heading][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]There is nothing complicated about this app. It is free which is great. It took about 20 minutes to fully install, on my old iPod. It opens right up to a Daily Examen page and it’s ready to go.
There are 34 Daily Examen in total, each with a pretty background picture and a different focus for the Examen exercise. You can let the app choose the topic of the day, or you can use the menu at the left hand corner to choose your topic of choice. There is the option to have sound, I found it somewhat distracting and each topic had a different sound associated with it.
I found that annoying, I wanted to keep a specific sound in the background, but everyday it would change it on me! I personally didn’t find the sound of birds chirping or a campfire burning very conducive to prayer, but that might just be me – again its hard enough to quiet my soul![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1537367598595{margin-top: 20px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-top-width: 1px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 1px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 20px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;border-left-color: #dbdbdb !important;border-left-style: solid !important;border-right-color: #dbdbdb !important;border-right-style: solid !important;border-top-color: #dbdbdb !important;border-top-style: solid !important;border-bottom-color: #dbdbdb !important;border-bottom-style: solid !important;}”][ultimate_heading main_heading=”34 Different Examen” main_heading_style=”font-weight:bold;”][/ultimate_heading][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The list begins with the traditional format of the Daily Examen, which doesn’t have a particular topic, but leads you through an Examen of your whole day. This was a great way for me to easily get through an Examen without feeling the anxiety of trying to get through the process just in my head. I loved the simple way this was laid out and the simple language that was used.
The settings screen for the Examen app has lots of options.
The app leads you through the process of the Examen with a series of slides which have a meditation, teaching, guided reflection, etc. on it. I found the topics they chose to be so meaningful and relevant to the challenges I face on a daily basis. The gentle way the app leads you through the Examen was so effective in drawing me into prayer.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1537367598595{margin-top: 20px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-top-width: 1px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 1px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 20px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;border-left-color: #dbdbdb !important;border-left-style: solid !important;border-right-color: #dbdbdb !important;border-right-style: solid !important;border-top-color: #dbdbdb !important;border-top-style: solid !important;border-bottom-color: #dbdbdb !important;border-bottom-style: solid !important;}”][ultimate_heading main_heading=”Minor Annoyances” main_heading_style=”font-weight:bold;”][/ultimate_heading][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]As I mentioned earlier I wished I could set the background noise permanently. Also when the sound was on, on top of the background sound, there was an additional sound every time I swept to the next slide. I found that to be disruptive to the meditative mood I was drawn into by the material.
The other annoyance was that the swipe for the slides didn’t always respond right away. I can’t figure out if that was a purposeful thing, to get me to stay on the slide longer and reflect more or if it was being glitchy :). I’m pretty sure it’s the latter! If it isn’t that’s a bit annoying that the app would determine how long I should stay on the slide, but now I’m showing my control freak side.
Overall, I LOVED this app for the content and beautifully simple design. Most importantly I LOVED how this app lead me through prayer and reflection drawing me closer to God – it doesn’t get much more useful than that. Just this app alone at the end of the day would be enough to deepen your faith and prayer. But I think that as I got into the rhythm of this self-guided examen, I would find myself getting more and more in touch with God and with His love.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
