The first step when you start the Jesuit Spiritual Exercises is to recognize the ‘Principle and Foundation’ of your life. Daniel Fleming reinterprets Ignatius’s words on this first principle as recognizing that “all the things in this world are created because of God’s love and they become a context of gifts, presented to us so that we can know God more easily and make a return of love more readily.“ As we understand this notion of gifts, and the core of what it means to live our lives, transforming ourselves into an instrument through which we return the love given to us becomes an essential part of the meditations.
If the foundation of our life is love, and the goal of our life is returning the love, everyone and everything else around us offers new opportunities to deepen that expression of love. This is not easy, of course, and, at times, it seems difficult to understand loss, bitterness or anger in the context of open love.
Ignatius used the concept of ‘indifference,’ which is described by the Dictionary of the Uses of the Spanish Language as “no determinado por si a una cosa mas que a otra” or an attitude toward life in which you are “not attached to choose one way or another.” By practicing engaged non-attachment we can fully face the challenges present in our life, find clarity, and act in the context of love, gratitude and generosity.
Try this:
-As you start your practice of mindfulness, see if you can identify, your view of the world, how you understand your experiences and your journey.
-Where does it come from? What are you grasping and holding right now? Notice if you see the world through the lens of fear or the lens of love.
-keep your mind open and clear. Without forcing anything simply witness the foundation from which you live the journey of your life.
-When you are done, return to your daily activities. After some “practice,” your awareness of “your foundation” will permeate every moment, your choices in the here and now, and your ability to help this world.
Peace,
Juan