Our journey with Jesus draws us closer into his heart and Into his likeness. He becomes ever more real, alive, and present in all the affairs of our life.   In this exercise, you will have opportunities to use your senses to nurture the experience of Jesus being alive and deeply present to you.  You’ll need a journal and pen.

HEARING      “Give me a drink.”

1. Preparation
2. Begin by reading John 4:5-10 aloud slowly.
3. Now put yourself in the story with Jesus at the well and read the

passage again

1. How do you recognize that the man speaking to you is no ordinary man?
2. What is your first reaction — Fear? Resistance?  Curiosity? Attraction?  Something else?
3. Is there a circumstance or situation in your life where you desire to discern that the voice you hear is Jesus/God/Spirit?
4. Offer a short prayer, asking Jesus to reveal himself in your experience.
5. An Experience to Nurture Discernment – Discernment involves seeking God’s guidance and will about some aspect of your life.
6. Go to a fresh place where you can sit for a while, perhaps outdoors.
7. Name all the many ways that Jesus/God/Spirit talks to us and write them down.
8. Spend at least 5-10 minutes noticing all the noises and sounds around you.Write them down.
9. Notice if any of the sounds are unpleasant or annoy you.

Might Jesus have a message for you through that sound?

1. Notice if any of the sounds are particularly pleasant and make your heart smile.Might Jesus have a message for you?
2. Consider the sounds and noises as part of the background of your life.Now patiently wait for Jesus/God/Spirit.
3. Does one of the sounds emerge into the foreground?
4. Does the sound evoke a memory?An emotion?  Does it cause you to wait in anticipation for something more?
5. Is there something more?An interior voice? An exterior voice?  Is there a message for you to receive?

1. Reflection
2. Center yourself and ask for grace during this time of reflection.
3. Ponder your ability to hear.When is it a curse?  A blessing?
4. Look through the list of the sounds you heard in the exercise.
5. Choose one experience and describe it in words in your journal.Be open to J/G/S revealing God’s self even more as you write

TASTE

“ The water that I will give them will become In them a spring of water

gushing up to eternal life.”

1. Preparation
2. Begin by reading John 4:11-15 aloud slowly.
3. As Jesus speaks to you, how do you receive his words?Distrust?  Trust?

Too strange or good to be true?  Belief?

3. How does the passage speak to your physical thirst or your spiritual thirst?
4. Offer a prayer, asking Jesus to reveal himself more fully.
5. An Experience in Evoking Memories and Feelings
6. Gather beverages, which have distinctly different tastes:

sweet, sour, bitter, salty, complex (e.g., wine), and pure water

2. Sample the sweet beverage.Take your time to taste it on your tongue.
3. Does the flavor change as you hold it in your mouth?
4. What childhood memories does it evoke?
5. What feelings does it call up for you?Record your responses
6. How do you experience Jesus in this taste?
7. Describe your memory or feeling in your journal
8. Now do the same for the other human tastes – sour . . .
9. Bitter. . .
10. Salty. . .
11. Complex. . .
12. Pure water
13. Reflection
14. Center yourself and ask for grace as you enter this time of prayerful reflection.
15. Take time to reflect on your experience of taste.
16. Did any taste connect you with loved ones or fellow humans? How?
17. Did any taste connect you with Jesus?
18. Consider the possibility of how each taste experience can be a holy communion with Jesus.
19. Journal your reflections and insights.Be open to Jesus  revealing himself even more as you journal.

SIGHT “Sir, I see you are a prophet.”

1. Preparation
2. Begin by reading John 4:16-19a aloud slowly.
3. Putting yourself in the story with Jesus, read the passage again.
4. What is it or who is it you want to see?
5. Why is that?  What do you hope to gain from the experience?
6. Offer a short prayer of the heart , asking Jesus to reveal himself to you in your experience.
7. The Experience of Gazing- Gazing is something we do leisurely.  We don’t rush.  Gazing implies a certain reverence for the object of our gaze.  We gaze to take notice, to marvel, and to enjoy.
8. Find a location where you can be at rest to gaze at what is around you.
9. Close your eyes and draw your whole being to where you are in this place and in this moment.Rest for a moment.
10. When you open your eyes, ever so gently scan everything around you.
11. See where your attention is drawn and bring your focus there.
12. Gaze at the object of your focus.  Drink it in.  Be attentive to the details.

Deepen your gaze to take in the whole of it—the holy of it.

6. Letting your gaze rest, take a long loving look at the real.Do you connect with life and God’s goodness more deeply?  What is it like for you?
7. When you’re ready, conclude your experience by gently closing your eyes for a moment, and then relocate to a new place to gaze.(You can do this

gazing experience 1-3 times).

1. Reflection
2. Center yourself and ask for grace as you enter this time of prayerful reflection.
3. Give thanks by reflecting on your ability to gaze.Even if you don’t do it often, give thanks for your ability to look at one thing for a long time.

Ponder the reality of Jesus, who gazes upon us with humility and love.

3. Review your experience of gazing.What did you really see?  How did Jesus reveal himself to you?
4. In your mind’s eye, describe in words what you saw.What do you notice as you recount your experience?
5. You may wish to journal your reflections and insights.

SMELL “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. . . .

When [Messiah] comes, he will proclaim all things to us.”  Jesus said to her,

“I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”

1. Preparation
2. Begin by reading John 4:20-26 aloud slowly.
3. This passage is a little more challenging to identify with the sense of smell.

Remember, however, that smells and fragrances, scents and odors  are embedded deeply within us as emotional memories.

1. Put yourself in the scene with Jesus, and this time read the passage with

an intention to notice anything that extends the conversation to include

the sense of smell.

1. Was there an odor, scent, or fragrance that came into the foreground?

What was it?  Does it evoke any emotional memory?

1. Offer a short prayer, asking Jesus to reveal himselfin your experience.
2. Experience the Smells of Life
3. If possible, go to a public place where you can sit for a bit.Smell is often called our most evocative sense.  The region of the brain where smells are processed is also where emotional memories are stored.  The sense of smell is a powerful connection to our past as well as our present.
4. Now retrieve the memories of some noteworthy smells from your childhood:1)smells that made you feel safe and loved; 2) smells that made you feel carefree and alive; 3) smells that made you feel sick or repulsed you; 4) smells that made you afraid.
5. Write them down.Notice that each smell was linked to some concrete experience in your life, something that made a lasting impression.  Smells are powerful in shaping our relationships.
6. Now find a place or person where there’s a distinct odor or even stench.
7. Approach it at a pace that allows you to draw closer and closer.
8. What reactions and emotions do you have?Consider that the goodness of the Divine is present here.
9. Does this smell convey something about the human condition?
10. Allow the Spirit to move and speak through your experience. Don’t rush.
11. Allow Jesus’ presence to take you beyond your first reaction–perhaps to evoke a response of gratitude?  or compassion?
12. Reflection
13. Center yourself and ask for grace as you enter this time of prayerful reflection.
14. Take time to ponder your ability to smell.Notice times when it seems like a curse as well as a blessing.
15. Look through the list of the smells you noticed in the exercise.
16. Journal the emotions attached to each smell.Notice the concrete experience attached to each smell. Be open to Jesus revealing even more as you journal.

TOUCH          Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city.  She said to the

people, ”Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done!…”

1. Preparation
2. Begin by reading John 4:27-30 and 39-42 aloud slowly.
3. Putting yourself in the encounter with Jesus, read it a second time.

b..       How does this passage speak to your life right now?

2. Offer a prayer, asking Jesus to reveal himself more fully in your experience.
3. Experience the Ground of Being
4. Now is a good time to get in touch— with the ground of your being.  You are

Invited to go for a walk.  Feel free to choose where:  in your neighborhood; in nature; in town.

1. Begin by just walking and being aware of how your body and the

ground meet one another.  How would you describe it?

• Is it brisk and purposeful?
• Is it leisurely and relaxed?
• Is it unsure or imbalanced?
• What else?

1. Now begin to notice your breathing. How would you describe it?

• Deep or shallow?
• Barely perceptible or breathy or wheezy?
• What other words would you use to describe your breathing?
• How does your breathing seem to correlate (or not) with your body

walking on the ground?

2. Invite Jesus to join you on your walk
3. Are you able to feel Jesus’ presence?  His touch?  How would you

describe it?

1. What is the most important question or concern you would like to

share with Jesus?

1. Continue walking as you make yourself open and available to hear,

see, taste, smell, and feel all the ways available Jesus can use to

speak to your heart.

1. When you have a sense that your conversation is complete, feel free to sit and rest a while in the company of Jesus.
2. Reflection
3. Center yourself and ask for grace as you enter this time of prayerful reflection.
4. Take time to reflect on your experience with the ground of your being.How easy or challenging was it for you to include Jesus on your walk?
5. Be open to Jesus revealing him self even more as you journal your experience.
6. It is suggested you close  your time with Jesus with two prayers:
7. a) A prayer that just pours out of your heart and into your journal to describe your sensory experiences with Jesus
8. b)A prayer that Jesus writes to you in your journal.

May you know the abiding presence of Jesus as together you continue traveling the journey of your life.  Peace and grace, Phyllis Meighen