The Distractions and Dryness
Recently, a directee shared with me her distress about experiencing dryness during her prayer time. She stated she having distractions and felt she was not receiving insights from some or most of the daily readings. Additionally, she shared that she had a busier than normal summer with out-of-state family members staying with her and that she had just sent her last child off to college.
In accompanying her through the 19 Annotation of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, I was familiar with her journey and those desolations and concerns from not doing something ‘right’.
Where to begin in offering advice?
The Inquiry: Case History
I asked her to describe the distractions and when they were occurring, and how she was entering into prayer. After dressing for the day, the first step was to collect a cup of coffee and sit down in her prayer space. Even before she began to pray, distractions of all that had to be done throughout the day raced around in her mind. She tried to push them away and pushed through the reading of the day to read commentary such as in the Magnificat, yet still did not have any take aways. God was silent.
After reflecting upon her current circumstances and experiences during and after prayer, I offered this Prescriptive suggestion.
Step One: Take Care of the Body/Brain
First, to drink water; yes, drink water; we have a body to take Care of in order to be optimally attentive. The fact is upon awakening, we are somewhat dehydrated. Most of us do not drink enough water to begin with anyway. Ideally a ½ liter – 16oz. Wait 30 minutes to drink coffee or a caffeinated drink, since caffeine can dehydrate. Best not no more than 8 oz. or ½ of the water. Our brains do not function well when dehydrated. It is simply physiology.
Step Two: Taking Care of the Mind
Mental Exercise: Write them all down - the distractions.
As for all the tasks that need to be done that day, kept swirling around, it is difficult to stop the mind from wandering in anticipatory angst to put it all to the side. Forcing or pushing thoughts down or trying to ignore them does not help.
Since these are daily Mass readings and not a meditation of one of the Spiritual Exercises, preparing the night before was not necessary. Yet the importance of the Preparatory time, which consists of Offering and Petitionary prayers, still holds.
Step Three: Taking Care of the Mind/Soul
Preparatory Prayer Exercises
Offertory Prayer - From the list of tasks and chores, add them as specifics to one's general offering.
Petitionary Prayer - Take anything that still stands out and bring them as specific needs for the day, as well as your desires related to this prayer period. Now, one is ready to begin, for nothing was pushed aside or left out.
Step Four: Taking Care of the Soul
Lectio Divina
Since many are new to mental prayer and Lectio, they initially learn these five steps: Read, Reflect, Respond, Resolve, and Rest. All in that order. A step-by-step method (Scholastic model). Yet the brain/mind does not work that way. God created our brains to be self-organizing, working within a networked system.
We can easily travel in our minds – intentionally using our imagination or even unintentionally - from the present to the past, leaping forward to the future and looping around back to the past from the present.
I shared with her - and with many others - the Monastic model, where we begin at reading but can travel immediately to respond, to rest, back to reading to pick up something else to reflect, and to receive insight into what needs to be resolved in order to rest. Each 'step' is interconnected.
See graph here.
Step Five: Reflection
The 3 Simply Questions
What is God saying here?
What is God saying to me?
What do I need, to do His will?
There is always a takeaway. Even if we think we have no new thoughts or have an insight (from God), we have been given grace.
The Finale with Grace: Putting on the Mind of Christ
Note: The key is our disposition when reading the word is to RECEIVE. Let the words enter into our eyes for they are washing over into our brains and up through our minds – storing and changing our neuro structure…. here we are putting on the mind of Christ while letting grace fill our soul. Something at some time in the future will spring up from within, ready to be used when needed.
Traditional Model of Lectio Divina
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