Some of you reading about the Values & Visions Circles at SpiritualityandPractice.com may not be members of a group and may not want to form one. We hope that the ideas here will still stimulate your thinking and encourage you to take a soulmaking approach to contemporary resources.

It is not always possible to have a community experience with a film, book, or audiotape but we can all make our time with these resources both meditative and reflective. Of course, we are never truly alone with a story. There is a whole group of people on and beyond that screen, on and behind those pages. They all call you into conversation.

You can also converse with yourself about these stories in relation to your own story. In a journal, write answers to some of the questions in a Values & Visions Guide, particularly the "you" questions under each theme. Write a description of a turning point moment in the story and a similar one in your life. Engage in dialogue with one of the characters you really like or intensely dislike. Imagine yourself inside the story. Which part would you play? What would you do the same? What would you do differently? How does this story speak toyou? What do you need to say back?

Use films, books, and tapes to practice paying attention. Consider them little exercises in mindfulness. Watch for the times when a seemingly ordinary event or thing is sacramental, reealing God's movement in the world. Pay attention to the responses of your heart.