Sleeping with Bread: Holding What Gives You Life

I was introduced to this little book by the facilitator who led a practicum I attended at the seminary where I am a student. The process of the daily examen as it is explained and expressed in this gentle volume makes Ignatius' practice clear and accessible to anyone who wants to establish this practice of reflection and prayer as part of daily living.It looks like a children's book. It is not. The authors tell the story of children orphaned by the bombing raids of WWII. The ones who were fortunate enough to land in refugee camps had lost so much, and had experienced starvation. They were so fearful that they couldn't sleep. Someone had the idea of sending each child to bed with a piece of bread to hold. Bread, real food to hold. And they could finally sleep because they knew that they would wake up and have something to eat in the morning.And this is what this book can become. Food for the soul held in our hands as we review the day before we sleep. Food that can sustain us. Food that we can literally hold in our hands before we sleep, and have by our bedsides when we wake, so that we can be always certain that we will be fed, body and soul, by the sustaining grace of this practice of prayer.This book will certainly be of value for adult seekers. It will also be a way to introduce teens to a powerful spiritual practice, and, approached sensitively, can even be a way to introduce younger children to the practice of looking for unkind acts and loving acts during the course of their days, learning gratitude and forgiveness.Truly bread for the journey, doled out in small bites that we can hold in our hands when we sleep so that we can awaken with the assurance that we always have food to sustain. Bit of bread held close in sleep that is the bread that brings nourishment to the beginning of the new day.

I love this book and the practice of Examen. The spiritual exercise has changed my life. I am now giving it away. It is a spiritual practice, no doubt. However, as I am a professional in the 'helping' field. I find it helps one to get in touch with their 'current' or 'present' emotions. What does this mean:We are always telling ourselves a story. If we stay in yesterdays, we are in regret, self-doubt, and maybe grief. If we tell a story in the future we can get in to being anxious and fearful. But if we focus on today, the now, and where God is working for us, I find this practice keeps me centered. I am addicted to this new spiritual practice. I am learning and practicing how I tell myself internal stories.

I love the content of this book. I have it in regular printed format. I thought having it on my kindle would be more portable and makeit easier for me to use throughout the day as I find the examen process a good way to find balance in my daily life and daily interactions with people. Unfortunately I'm finding that the kindle version often suddenly closes when I get to specific pages. I've tried re-syncing. Opening and closing the book. Re-downloading from Cloud and the same "closing problem" occurs. I've tried to look for troubleshooting tips on Amazon and haven't found an answer to the question and yes I do have automatic updates turned on. So - books content gets a 5 star rating but the kindle version needs some work as this is the only kindle book I've purchased/downloaded in a year with this problem.

So grateful for this little book with beautiful ways to do examen and process the day in a soulful way. I was introduced to it over a decade ago and recently bought copies for gifts and myself. Every page is an invitation to grace.

This was recommended to me by a spiritual director, and it is beginning to change my life, and change how I hope to lead small Christian groups. It is worth owning, to refer to again and again. What other spiritual practice could connect people with God and with each other in SO many different settings? The book describes how it has changed (matured) lives. Share each day/week/month two questions: What are you grateful for, and what has been a challenge? That is it - in a nutshell, but the book has so much more. I appreciate it.

I love this book. Easy read. The Q&A at the end is really important. We’ve now adopted this practice as a family and it’s been really beneficial

Just some stains on the side. Overall, pages are clean

I get a lot of peace reading this book. It starts exactly where one is. It employs a super-simple method of ending each day: what were you most pleased with; and what were you least pleased with in your day? There is a minimum of technical terms thrown in: the plus-factors are called "consolation" and the negatives are "desolation". The book goes on to develop deeper levels of looking at one's own life, and choosing best paths that will lead to the greatest sense of fulfillment. Another thing I like is that it is a suitable method for any age, families, adult sharing groups and so on. Contains lots of examples from the authors.

I am the sort of person that as well as reading about something, likes to put words into actions. So I took what was written in this book and put it into practice. To my surprise I found it works! I have seen answers to situations which I have not prayed about but simply sat with God with. Amazing.

This can be covered in a quick read, if that's what you need - summary of the examen in a readable form, but loads of depth and I will be going back to it off and on to check in with its ideas.

Beautifully written and a joy to read. Now to put it into practise. Have recommended this to other people.

This is a simple but profound book helping people to discern each day from moments of consolation and desolation how to God is speaking to them and how to make good decisions. An important point that the authors make is that God wants us to be happy, to use our talents, and do more of the things that make us feel alive. I have given this book to several people with difficulties and they have found it very helpful.

A brilliant introduction to the Examen - a Christian spiritual practice that many can use with or without faith.