9. Spiritual disciplines can help me develop reflective capacity.

(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.)

DO YOU REGULARLY PRACTICE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES THAT HELP YOU LEARN TO THINK AND REFLECT ON YOUR LIFE, THOUGHTS, DESIRES, AND ON GOD?

IF YOU KNEW THAT BY USING SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES YOU COULD DEVELOP A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF YOURSELF AND HAVE A DEEPER RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, WOULD YOU WANT TO?

WHAT WOULD YOU NEED TO HELP YOU REGULARLY TAKE UP SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES TO HELP DEVELOP YOUR REFLECTIVE CAPACITY?

While self-awareness is what we need to see our real self, reflective capacity is what we need to see our inner self and to connect with God. Practices like mindfulness exercises, yoga, meditation, inviting feedback from friends, keeping journals can help us develop self-awareness. However, if approached only from a secular position, these practices do not lead to the God awareness that spiritually centered reflection does.

In our faith journey, there are practices that can help us develop the reflective capacity that does include our spiritual life. Another term for these God-focused practices is spiritual disciplines. Meditating on Scripture is one example of this kind of spiritual discipline. As we slowly read Scripture, allowing it to speak to us, read us, and let the Spirit reveal to us how it addresses our inner life, we increase our reflective capacity. Spending time in silence, typically in solitude, is another spiritual discipline that helps us notice our inner self and also helps us notice God.

One of the great obstacles to both self-awareness and reflective capacity is busyness and distractions. When we remove ourselves from these we are more likely to notice our inner life. The discipline of “examen” invites us to look back at events in our past day, week, or year and invite the Spirit to speak to us about those events, to help us notice how those situations impacted us and made us feel, and to notice where God was in the moment.

Lectio Divina is another ancient practice that is similar to meditation; it also invites us to meditate on Scripture, but it adds our response to God in prayer, asking God for insight. Contemplation is similar to meditation but instead of reflecting on Scripture, we simply rest in God, notice what He brings to us, and reflect prayerfully back to God.

Spiritual communities are another aid in developing reflective capacity. Finally, we have the ancient command that God gave to His people to practice Sabbath. This special day invites an intentional resting from activity, reflecting on the past week and what we have experienced, and engaging in fellowship with family and friends. It is another spiritual discipline that can help us develop reflective capacity.

Our reflective capacity is like a muscle: the more we use it the stronger is becomes. The word capacity is intended to denote this potential for growth. We increase our capacity by being reflective and intentionally engaging in reflective practices. Self-awareness, exploring the parts of ourselves that we aren’t aware of, and reflective capacity, developing our ability to reflect on our inner life and on God, are both important to a healthy life. Both can be developed, if we desire, and both require disciplines to realize this desire.