Finding Balance and Peace In Today’s Climate: 3 Tips From a Jesuit Priest

In my opinion, one of the stepping stones to truly trusting yourself is learning to accept the many facets of human nature. 

Once we accept that we are all capable of good and bad, we can find a sense of inner peace, work to better ourselves, and develop stronger empathy for others. In last week’s podcast, I was able to explore the topic of human nature with Father Romero, an author and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary.

I met Father Romero when he was the spiritual leader of a silent Ignatius Retreat. I found peace in his approach to life, managing relationships and accepting shortcomings. I’d like to share with you 3 highlights from our conversation that you may find beneficial to apply in your life, especially in today’s climate. 

Practicing Silence.

St Ignatius of Loyola was the founder of the Jesuit order. He was a counter-reformation figure, who pioneered certain schools of thought on human nature and spiritual enlightenment. One of Ignatius’ more challenging exercises towards spiritual enlightenment is called deep silence.

“One of the challenges for being quiet is suddenly we start to listen,” Father Romero said, speaking on the natural fear we all possess when facing our thoughts and feelings in deep silence. “Our ultimate goal is to really be silent so that we're able to…know the deeper parts of us.”

Did you know brain scans show that many people’s brains are overactive and hardly ever at rest these days (Piedmont Healthcare)? If the brain is hardly ever at rest, it cannot restore and regenerate, by practicing deep silence we allow ourselves restorative time to have clarity and make intentional choices that can improve our life.

Is there something weighing on your mind right now? Perhaps you have to make a choice about something that is giving you anxiety. I believe practicing deep silence can help with what you are facing. 

This week, whether through prayer or meditation, why not make some time each day to practice deep silence? Start small, just 5-minutes. If you enjoy it as I did, slowly extend the time each week or set goals for what you want to listen for and how you’ll apply your newly found clarity moving forward. 

Making Choices.

As a pragmatic person, one of the teachings of Ignatius I most appreciate is the framework he provides for good decision making. 

“His (Ignatius) approach is one that tries to give us the most freedom that we can have as we make a choice,” Father Romero explained. In his framework, St. Ignatius identifies three different “times” or conditions during which decisions are made. Each condition highlights how we as humans react to change and how understanding this can actually improve our decision-making.

One of the conditions in which we make decisions is called the "tremendous revelation," it’s when we feel a deeply recognizable inner clarity about what to do. As a result, we can make a life-altering decision with absolute certainty. If we find ourselves in this situation where we feel inner clarity, we’re fortunate. Because we know what we should do and just have to go ahead and do it. If we’re not so fortunate to have this inner clarity, and we’re often not, then Ignatius gives us suggestions to help us make a good, prayerful decision when we’re feeling conflicted and uncertain.

If you’d like to hear the rest of Ignatius’ sage advice and explore the other two conditions in which we find ourselves when facing decisions, you can listen to it in the full podcast episode here! (link) I can guarantee you, it’s an incredibly valuable framework for decision making that I come back to often in my life. 

Finding Self.

America was built on a certain culture of self-reliance, hard work, the rule of law and the belief that all are created equal and have an opportunity to improve their position in life through their own effort. The greatest and most important adventure of our lives is discovering who we really are. Yet, many people are unsure about who they are or where they stand in the world. 

While finding yourself is not a simple task, Father Romero’s opinion, based on Jesuit philosophy, is one that resonates with me deeply, we can start the exploration of self with the simple question: So why am I created? 

Seeking answers here will reveal the wonderful acknowledgements that God created us equally, and this tells us who we are. There is no place within us that God cannot reach if we allow it, so consider the state of yourself before God. If the deepest intimate love exists there, then the truest Self is there too.

All in all, whether it is ‘God’, a ‘Higher Power’ or a ‘Higher Purpose’, I believe that pursuing something bigger than ourselves results in a myriad of benefits. The best of these benefits is BALANCE!

Find Your Balance!

All of us have the capacity for love, empathy, connection, and creativity. That is the beautiful side of being human. But we also have the capacity for harm, control, groupthink and fear. 

To trust our voice we need to recognize these facets of human nature and learn to find balance and confidence within them, through the practices of deep silence, informed decision making, and self clarity. Interested in learning more?

 I speak about achieving balance and self-confidence through faith in my book “Trust Your Voice: A Roadmap to Focus and Influence”, and in my biweekly “Trust Your Voice” podcast. 

Download the first chapter of my book for free and subscribe to the podcast to receive more tips, inspiration, and insights on how to reach your potential!