Ignatian Imaginative Contemplation

Prayer using the imagination is the bedrock of the Ignatian spiritual tradition.

In its most common form, you take a passage from scripture, usually one of the Gospels, and immerse yourself in it imaginatively using all the senses.

You feel the heat of the day, smell the livestock and clouds of dust on the road, listen to Jesus’ words, watch his actions. It’s a way to engage the Gospel personally, with all of our faculties.

GUIDED MEDITATION

Guided meditation on the Scriptures invites students to enter the Scripture story. It allows children opportunities to feel that in some way they have met Jesus when they experience a Guided meditation on a Gospel story.

How to lead a Guided Meditation Script

1. Begin by settling the students into comfortable positions.

2. Invite students to come with you on a journey in their minds.

3. Take students on an imaginary journey. The countdown technique is effective here e.g. “As your foot touches the first step, you feel a sense of calm over your body.” Countdown through five or six steps until you reach the destination of the story.

4. Describe the environment by engaging the senses. Describe what can be seen, heard, smelled and touched. Invite students to become immersed in the scene.

5. Create an experience that is both visual and tactile but keep it simple.

6. Meet the characters and observe their actions. Imagine how they feel. Wonder about what might happen after you leave the scene.

7. Begin the journey back to the starting point of the meditation, returning the same way that you entered.

8. Slowly build awareness of the present-day world around them as they leave the world of the Scripture story and re-enter their own world.

Tip

• Use short descriptive sentences, pausing after each one.

• Pausing is important.