A Life of Wonder

There’s a technique that one of my closest friends, who is a priest, uses to experience his beliefs. He takes a scene that is meaningful to him, a scene from a holy book, an imagines himself in that scene with exquisite detail. Applying each one of his senses, he lingers in that scene, living the words.

I’ve heard of a similar technique being used in therapy. This practice of inserting oneself entirely into a scene is something I am curious about. Without even meaning to, I realize that the scene I would inhabit comes from the Count of Monte Cristo, shortly after Edmond Dantes emerges from prison, filled with rage, hope, joy, and encouraged by the relentless weather.

How raw and human the experience, and how much I can learn from exploring it fully, slowly, as if I were actually there. 

Hunting around online, I discovered the name for this practice, “Ignatian contemplation.”