Channelling the Inner Fire: Ignatian Spirituality in 15 Points

Many people are good people and genuine "searchers", but often lack the practical methods and 'tools' to know how to deepen their faith. Often the idea about 'faith' that they have inherited is not helpful, and they need something real and experiential that helps with the complexity of contemporary living.

This book redefines spirituality as about "channelling the inner fire"; there is some God given desire within us that seeks expression. Our goal is to become fully alive and human, just like Jesus was, by tuning into our inner world of feelings and desires. We are called to live like Christ, tuning into God's plan for us and how we could serve the world. This book synthesizes the Ignatian system into 15 easy to understand concrete aspects.

God is at work in each of our lives right now. Our job is to uncover the subtle messages that God is communicating to us, to be in dynamic relationship with God, and engaged with the world. It is a lot more about "letting go" and abandoning ourselves to the reality of what is, rather than trying to make things happen through our efforts. This is a personal journey that everyone has to make for themselves, though having companions and support is crucial to making it possible. This book spells out the practical steps and techniques developed by St Ignatius Loyola that allow us to find God in our experience and change our lives to be active agents for change.

Ignatius was a vain and arrogant soldier who was forced by a battlefield injury into many months of recuperation. While daydreaming about romance and outdoing the saints, he noticed that the two opposing types of daydreams left him feeling different inside- one left him empty and dry, the other happy and content. The Jesuit or Ignatian system of spirituality is based on this foundational experience of noticing or reflcting on experience, and working with these different "spirits" or moods.