{"id":528,"date":"2007-10-01T10:45:19","date_gmt":"2007-10-01T10:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beyondblue\/2007\/10\/guided-meditation-a-testament.html"},"modified":"2007-10-01T10:45:19","modified_gmt":"2007-10-01T10:45:19","slug":"guided-meditation-a-testament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2007\/10\/guided-meditation-a-testament.html","title":{"rendered":"Guided Meditation: A Testament"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just as I was contemplating some big questions yesterday, I pulled out the book, “Hearts on Fire: Praying with Jesuits<\/a>,” and read this beautiful reflection by Anthony de Mello<\/a>, the late Jesuit from India who conducted countless workshops throughout the world on the subject of prayer and reflective living. This meditation is called “A Testament,” and prompts you to reflect on the kinds of questions that surface at the most inconvenient times: like on a choppy flight across the US or in a hospital room with your three-year-old daughter.<\/p>\n

I imagine that today I am to die.
\nI ask for time to be alone and write down for my friends
\na sort of testament for which the points that follow
\ncould serve as chapter titles.<\/em>
\n1.\tThese things I have loved in life: things I have tasted, looked at, smelled, heard, touched.
\n2.\tThese experiences I have cherished:
\n3.\tThese ideas have brought me liberation:<\/p>\n


\n4.\tThese beliefs I have outgrown:
\n5.\tThese convictions I have lived by:
\n6.\tThese are the things I have lived for:
\n7.\tThese insights I have gained in the school of life: insights into God, the world, human nature, Jesus Christ, love, religion, prayer.
\n8.\tThese risks I took, these dangers I have courted:
\n9.\tThese sufferings have seasoned me:
\n10.\tThese lessons life has taught me:
\n11.\tThese influences have shaped my life: persons, occupations, books, events.
\n12.\tThese Scripture texts have lit my path:
\n13.\tThese things I regret about my life:
\n14.\tThese are my life\u2019s achievements:
\n15.\tThese persons are enshrined within my heart:
\n16.\tThese are my unfulfilled desires:
\nI choose an ending for this document:
\nA poem\u2014my own or someone else\u2019s;
\nor a prayer;
\na sketch or a picture from a magazine;
\na Scripture text;
\nor anything that I judge would be an apt conclusion to my testament.<\/em>
\n–Anthony De Mello, S.J.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just as I was contemplating some big questions yesterday, I pulled out the book, “Hearts on Fire: Praying with Jesuits,” and read this beautiful reflection by Anthony de Mello, the late Jesuit from India who conducted countless workshops throughout the world on the subject of prayer and reflective living. This meditation is called “A Testament,”…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspiration-and-prayer"],"yoast_head":"\nGuided Meditation: A Testament - Beyond Blue<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2007\/10\/guided-meditation-a-testament.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Guided Meditation: A Testament - Beyond Blue\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Just as I was contemplating some big questions yesterday, I pulled out the book, “Hearts on Fire: Praying with Jesuits,” and read this beautiful reflection by Anthony de Mello, the late Jesuit from India who conducted countless workshops throughout the world on the subject of prayer and reflective living. 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