Self-Examination

Books

Teachings

LENT AND THE EXAMEN

The Practice | Father Michael Sparough

On Sunday (03.08.15) night, Fr Michael Sparough SJ gave one of the most insightful, winsome, and compelling messages I’ve heard in a long time.  The way he talked about Lent both stretched and deepened how I engage this holy season.  And, of course, his invitation into The Examen was brilliant.

May his words invite us deep into active practice.  And may the practice invite us deep into the heart of God, for the sake of the world.

DESIRING DEEPLY: DISORDERED ATTACHMENT

The Practice | Jason Feffer

Continuing our series “Desiring Deeply: Freedom and Detachment,” Jason Feffer helps us explore what happens when our desires run amuck. What can we do when we struggle to live in the freedom of detachment? Then, Jason leads us through an examination of conscience practice.

Podcasts

DISCOVERING YOUR IDENTITY AND CALLING

Practicing the Way Archives | John Mark Comer

WHO ARE YOU?

One of the key tasks of our apprenticeship to Jesus is discovering our identity and calling. Knowing who you are and who God made you to become is a profound realization for every follower of Jesus. Listen to the teachings and work through the practice with your community as you learn to become the person God designed you to be.

The following teachings are included in this series.

Click on the link below to learn more about the Discovering Your Identity and Calling series and to find related practices.

Additional Resources

WAGNER ENNEAGRAM PERSONALITY STYLES SCALES | WEPSS

The Enneagram is one of the most useful tools for understanding personality styles at work, in relationships, and for self-awareness. The WEPSS is a standardized, reliable, and valid Enneagram inventory, the only one published by a major psychological test company and reviewed in Buros's Mental Measurements Yearbook, a respected authority in the testing field.

The Wagner Enneagram Personality Style Scales (WEPSS) measures both the positive and negative dimensions of the nine styles. Test takers can see which styles they most identify with and which ones they least identify with. This gives a picture of what resources are available to the person and which strategies might be less accessible. Low scores can be as informative as high scores. The WEPSS acts like a scale with nine plates, weighing how much the individual identifies with each style. The results show which players on our inner team might be used the most and which ones might be left off the roster.

The arrangement of the styles around the circle is not arbitrary. We are likely to share some of the characteristics of the styles on either side of our preferred style - our wings or neighboring styles. The WEPSS shows which auxiliary style we identify with the most and whether we employ the resourceful/adaptive or less-resourceful/maladaptive features of that style.

The Enneagram and the WEPSS provide individuals with insights into what shifts might occur in them when they are feeling relaxed and comfortable and are in a flow state; and what shifts occur when they are under internal or external pressure and stress. In both conditions, we can rise to our higher selves and states or descend into our less-resourceful selves and states. The WEPSS maps what these shifts look like.

Cost: $15

A NEW LITURGY NO. 6: THE EXAMEN

A New Liturgy | Aaron Niequist

A 28-minute journey to help us find God’s fingerprints in our actual life.

On a Sunday night in May, Father Michael Sparough, SJ, guided The Practice community through the historic Christian practice of The Examen. The night was powerful and so unexplainably holy that we wanted to invite more people into the experience. So we've turned the live recording of Fr Michael into a full New Liturgy—fleshing it out with an evocative musical score and three original songs. We hope it helps you connect with God in a deep and daily way.

Click on the link below to listen to a sample of A New Liturgy No. 6: The Examen and to watch a trailer video.