Dwight H. Judy is Professor of Spiritual Formation at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. This is a Spiritual Directors International Book which has been designed for individuals in discernment of a major life decision and those who assist them.
We go through many transitions in our lives and some of them compel us to ponder the meaning of who we are and what we are doing. In a chapter on "Laying the Foundations for Discernment," Judy suggests that clients attend to their commitments, limitations, and hopes. They also should prepare the way for listening with prayerfulness.
In a successive chapters, the author covers various arenas of discernment including calling, community, life stages, passionate commitment, suffering and pain, seeking forgiveness, and being embodied. Along the way, Judy presents meditations and exercises to further explore the discerner's faith, story-making patterns, old habits, and high hopes. Here is an exercise on letting go:
"What is 'dead' wood?
What is no longer growing? What activities are no longer life-giving to us but have become merely habits? What attitudes have become hindrances? Usually there are encrusted attitudes that need to be addressed. We have grown 'hard' of heart in one or more ways. This part of the exercise can address attitudes and habits of mind or activity that have outlived their usefulness. You are not alone. We all go through such times of difficulty in letting go. This is the arena in particular to practice 'creative relinquishment.' What activities and attitudes need to be tossed into the bonfire for release? Making a bonfire of things it is time to release can be quite a profound exercise for us."
