“A Rule of Life is a set of principles and practices we build into the rhythm of our daily lives, helping us to deepen our relationship with God and to serve Him more faithfully. If Creeds are what we believe and Christ is why we believe, a Rule is how we seek to live out that faith, day to day as disciples in the power of the Holy Spirit.” -Pete Greig
** The bulk of this post is an email reply I sent to a directee† a bit ago, modified for this post **
Hello [name redacted],
I love that crafting a Rule of Life has come to mind. Yes, my role as a Spiritual Director is to direct our attention and listening toward what the Spirit has been and is up to in your (daily, ordinary) life… and this sounds like something Jesus could be inviting you to!
We can explore this in a session, but also perhaps this will be an ongoing project. There are a million ways to go about writing a Rule of Life,‡ and I’ve done the process a couple different ways for myself and as suggestions to others. But as I’ve been mulling over your delightful email this week, what comes to mind is this…
If you’re interested, I think a good exercise could be for you to look at your current rhythm/rule of your life (everyone has one!). With self compassion and a spirit of gentleness of course…
- What am i already doing? List it all… the daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly/seasonal things. Not just what is ‘religious’ or traditionally a practice, but what brings you life or centeredness/grounding.
- Sit with Jesus and the document for a few minutes of silence.
- Ask him if there’s anything he wants to show you? Say to you? Journal a response or what you notice.
You might see areas you want to adjust to face toward Jesus, or increase intention/frequency. Building in a new practice or two may also be appropriate… If any of those feel overwhelming, you can start with what you’re already doing and make it 5% more intentional.
Pay attention to any resistance (…normal!), and bring it to Jesus. Those areas of resistance are often where we need to shine the light. 🕯️
If you like, we can review what you noticed (in general, or from Jesus) in a session sometime!
peace + joy,
monica
A life of prayer, fasting, and spiritual disciplines can easily be a life of empty religious effort if the goal isn’t communion with God. We don’t need self-improvement; we need to come home.
† A “directee” is an individual who seeks to grow their relationship with God by meeting regularly with a trained spiritual director. I walk alongside a handful of beautiful people in this kind of companioning. Find out more here.
‡ Other resources for crafting a Rule or Rhythm of Life…
From Renovare, based on your particular Christian Tradition.
A handout I created based on a class I took from Emily P. Freeman.
From Conversatio Dio, including how to craft one:
A Few Considerations: We offer the following suggestions concerning pitfalls to avoid:
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- Keep it Simple and Brief: You can only do what you can do, not what you can’t. A Rule must be realistic if it is to be life giving and sustainable.
- Keep it in Line with your God given individual differences: Rules vary widely depending on the person. If you are a night person, you don’t have to set your alarm for a 5:00 AM prayer session. Remember, God is up all night. If you are an extreme extrovert, ease into solitude. If you hate journaling, then don’t. As Thomas à Kempis offers, “All cannot use the same kind of spiritual exercises…[and] different devotions are also suited for the seasons [of life]…”
- A Rule of Life should include five things:
- Self-assessment: What is your current rhythm of life?
- Consultation: Dialogue with key friends and mentors as you develop your rule.
- A written plan: How will you implement your chosen spiritual practices – on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis?
- Accountability: Who will ask, “how is it going?”
- Fun: Be playful with yourself and exercise child-like trust as you step into the playground of your life with God.