The Spiritual Exercises designed by Ignatius of Loyola in the 1500s were designed to help Christians discern God's presence in their lives and they reputedly help clarify decision-making process, by bringing people closer to God's voice. Despite the fact that these exercises were designed more than four hundred years ago, it has taken the world's writers about that amount of time before developed a written guide to the exercises that allows us to replicate them in our own homes.
Ideally these exercises are taken under the guidance of a spiritual director. Traditionally, people used to withdraw from society for a month to dedicate their lives to nothing but the exercises and listening for God's direction. Some very fortunate people still can afford the luxury of unemployment for a month and indulge in this type of direction. Some Catholic religious orders require the retreat before their members commit themselves to membership by vows. However, for most of us normal working Christians, decent spiritual direction is hard to find. I tried to do a local version of the exercises, that lasted several months, meeting with a spiritual director as a group once a week, but the spiritual directors kept canceling on the group and then changing, which made it difficult to develop rapport. If you find yourself in a similar situation, Tim Muldoon's book is the next best thing to a private retreat designed for a person who can't leave the world full-time to listen to God.
I thought the organization of the spiritual workouts was not very clear, which is why I rated the book "four" rather than "five" stars. During the Spiritual exercises, people meditate on a scriptural passage every day at the same time, for at least 30 minutes. Ignatian meditation recommends that a person imagine the scriptural passage as if the mediator was there. It is the mediator's decision what type of character s/he assumes in the meditation. If a meditation experience with a particular passage is particularly moving, Ignatian spirituality recommends spending more than one day with that passage, until the mediator feels s/he has received all the insight possible, before moving to the next passage. Muldoon very clear that progress is not determined by the number of passages covered, most weeks include more than seven passages, which left my simple mind confused as to what was best way to ration time and readings; (should I skip the ones I felt too familiar with, if I dwelled repeatedly on one passage for meditation?). Or should we go through every single meditation?
I found it most helpful to read the introductory part of each "week's workout," and then to only use one biblical passage for mediation during one sitting. His format for a daily examen and things to consider when seeking a meditative space were very helpful. I will follow these guidelines for meditating with scripture of lectio divine, long after I finish my spiritual exercises with him.