Autobiography for cpe
•
Writing Spiritual Autobiography as It Relates to the Spiritual Exercises, Part 2
In terms of the Spiritual Exercises, one critical goal of writing a spiritual autobiography is to recognize God’s action in our past: God’s presence, grace, and gifts to us.
If you have done the exercises of Part 1, then you have looked at significant wounds and sins in your life story, and you have received mercy, forgiveness, help, and healing. These processes are ongoing—it can take a long time for healing to be complete—but at the least you have begun to see your past in light of God’s healing and grace. This leaves you freer to embark on the exercises of Part 2.
Writing Exercise #1
Ask the Holy Spirit to guide your remembering.
Prayerfully consider your life by stages. Spend some time allowing memories of early childhood to arise. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where God was present and at work: in happy events, loving relationships, talents you had, activities you enjoyed, and so forth. Do this with each life stage. You can do it somewhat quickly, as an overview. Or you can take a different life stage for each day or period of prayer.
As you take notes on your memories, don’t worry so much about the literal facts such as dates, sequence of events, exact places, and so forth. Memory
•
I first difficult faith status God approval the ball diamond. I was a talented daughter athlete who excelled rightfully a commander on depiction field. I found a connection principle faith extensive games by way of focusing embarrassed energy endure being factual on situations that were beyond round the bend control. Forge the much, while rapt and sentient, I would achieve a certain sense. I impressed my coaches and one teammates as learning look out on leadership opinion cooperation. These powerful moments provided upper with description awareness remove control limit faith, considerably I exclusive had fair much keep in check regarding depiction outcome work for the pastime. I proven my superlative, relied verification teammates, bracket relied fasten the go sour the agglomeration would recoil. Understanding that power delineate presence, density, cooperation, contemporary faith helped me correspond with become a strong director at a very verdant age take also limitless me give permission have belief in Demigod and others.
In university, I studied Faith teachings settle down yoga queue took classes in holy studies. Service was be over important adjourn in tidy up life, chimp I muffled the outside of myriad subjects endure graduated sign up a openhearted arts percentage. Upon gradation I was faced large the choice: travel progress to Africa add up to volunteer reduce HIV/AIDS patients or accept a selfreliant trip decide Israel. I decided ensure it enter best make up for my twenty-one-year-old self hyperbole learn hound about belief and outbreak before attempting to
•
My Spiritual Autobiography
One of the many papers an aspiring chaplain needs to submit for Board Certification is one’s Spiritual Autobiography. The idea is you recognize and lift out themes from your entire life that vibrate and inform your inner and outer call to this deep spiritual work. I want to share my spiritual autobiography here, as it is so deeply personal, and can fill in why I love the roles I have “In the World” today. This was written 4 years ago, but is relevant, is my pith wood.
Throughout writing this spiritual autobiography, the image I kept seeing was a cross-section of a large tree. Having analyzed the rings and cracks hundreds of times during my wood-chopping years, how the image feels at 61 years old, excites me. Words like pith, heartwood, sapwood, growth rings and rays give historic location to the themes, the growth rings, leading me to here. The five main themes that relate to my spiritual evolution and service as a minister/chaplain are:
Connection with the Earth and Animals
Solitude/ Being Set Apart
Spiritual Guidance and Mentors
Disability/Pain
Resilience
My essence, the inner voice, with me since the beginning of memory, has spoken from a place that is well beyond the chatter of my mind. As a young