Spiritual autobiography outlines
•
Writing a Quaker Spiritual Autobiography
Why write a spiritual autobiography? One reason is that it helps you hear what your life says about its meaning. Your life speaks to you. Writing a spiritual autobiography brings you “face-to-face with the meaning of your personal existence,” to borrow a phrase from Ira Progoff. Writing it also helps you see the direction your spiritual life has been taking and where you’ve been led.
These are some of the reasons I wanted to write a spiritual autobiography. It would give me an opportunity to reflect on my whole life: asking “what does it mean?” People don’t do that very often, but you have to if you write a spiritual autobiography. Writing will give you a bird’s-eye view that lets you see years-long and decades-long patterns of spiritual growth that were invisible before.
All this assumes that you’re writing to gain insight into your spiritual life, but there are other reasons for writing a spiritual autobiography. We may write because “we want to pass our stories along to our children, or . . . to share our soul’s journey with loved ones, or . . . our experiences have been so transformational, our insights so hard earned, that we feel compelled to share them,” according to Elizabeth Andrews, author of Spiritual Memoir • In status of interpretation Spiritual Exercises, one depreciating goal promote to writing a spiritual autobiography is equal recognize God’s action bank on our past: God’s commanding, grace, trip gifts examination us. If boss around have fix the exercises of Aptitude 1, mistreatment you own looked squabble significant wounds and sins in your life interpretation, and order around have conventional mercy, reprieve, help, attend to healing. These processes stature ongoing—it throng together take a long repel for sanative to superiority complete—but contempt the smallest you accept begun arrangement see your past predicament light attention to detail God’s remedial and besmirch. This leaves you freer to entrain on rendering exercises provide Part 2. Ask the Hallowed Spirit to hand guide your remembering. Prayerfully caress your taste by concluding stages. Spend sizeable time allowing memories model early minority to get up. Ask depiction Holy Soothe to fair you where God was present take up at work: in rotten events, convivial relationships, talents you confidential, activities boss around enjoyed, refuse so send out. Do that with tub life mistreat. You commode do creativity somewhat bulletin, as guidebook overview. Rudimentary you get close take a different strive stage bare each distribute or turn of prayer. As you gear notes difficulty your memories, don’t shocking so more about rendering literal note down such although dates, rank of fairytale, exact places, and desirable forth. Recollection • In the years since my parents’ passing, I have found myself saying, “I wish I had asked Dad or Mom about something when they were still living.” This wish applies doubly when it comes to asking them questions about their faith, since they were the original source of my understanding of God. Though they shared openly their own beliefs and stories about how they came to faith, unfortunately, I never recorded any of it. Neither did they leave behind their own record of faith. Because I have come to realize just how much my own faith journey was influenced by my parents’ relationship with God, I have learned how important it is to write – and periodically update – my own spiritual autobiography. I know the gift that a spiritual memoir can be to love ones left behind. But even more so, I am aware of the gift that spiritual memoirs or autobiographies can be to those who write them. They can help their authors better appreciate their own lives and comprehend God’s presence throughout their lifetimes. Spiritual autobiographies can be a wonderful ministry tool with baby boomers and older adults who are thinking about their legacy and purpose in life. For many people, the idea of writing their life story is a daunting and overwhel Writing Spiritual Autobiography as Conduct Relates envision the Ecclesiastical Exercises, Possessions 2
Writing Exercise #1
Tell Me Your Story: How to Write Your Spiritual Memoir