The Writing Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola
Fatality of the day: a Bostonian finds himself unexpectedly deceased, but recovers quickly.
Well, as advised by the writers at rasfc, I’ve given The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola a good skimming. I’m not quite hallucinating on demand yet. I’ve spared you the effort of reading him yourself by making excerpts - here’s some prime visualization advice:
THE
FIFTH CONTEMPLATION [of the first day of the second week]
WILL
BE TO BRING THE FIVE SENSES ON THE FIRST AND SECOND CONTEMPLATION
Prayer. After the Preparatory Prayer and the three Preludes, it is
helpful to pass the five senses of the imagination through the first and second
Contemplation, in the following way:
First Point. The first Point is to see the persons with the sight of the
imagination, meditating and contemplating in particular the details about them
and drawing some profit from the sight.
Second Point. The second, to hear with the hearing what they are, or
might be, talking about and, reflecting on oneself, to draw some profit from
it.
Third Point. The third, to smell and to taste with the smell and the
taste the infinite fragrance and sweetness of the Divinity, of the soul, and of
its virtues, and of all, according to the person who is being contemplated;
reflecting on oneself and drawing profit from it.
Fourth Point. The fourth, to touch with the touch, as for instance, to
embrace and kiss the places where such persons put their feet and sit, always
seeing to my drawing profit from it.
Most of the time, though, he isn’t quite so general, although the following advice can be extrapolated to any road, cave, garden, etc.
The second [prelude to the second contemplation for the first day of the second week is], a composition, seeing the place. It will be here to see with the sight of the imagination the road from Nazareth to Bethlehem; considering the length and the breadth, and whether such road is level or through valleys or over hills; likewise looking at the place or cave of the Nativity, how large, how small, how low, how high, and how it was prepared.
The second [prelude to contemplation of the second contemplation in the morning of the second day of the third week] is to see the place. It will be here to consider the road from Mount Sion to the Valley of Josaphat, and likewise the Garden, whether wide, whether large, whether of one kind, whether of another.
Most of the text, however, is so explicit as to be actual Spiritual Exercises rather than writing exercises - for example, this contemplation of Lucifer (second week, fourth day):
First Point. The first Point is to imagine as if the chief of all the enemy seated himself in that great field of Babylon, as in a great chair of fire and smoke, in shape horrible and terrifying.
Second Point. The second, to consider how he issues a summons to
innumerable demons and how he scatters them, some to one city and others to
another, and so through all the world, not omitting any provinces, places,
states, nor any persons in particular.
Third Point. The third, to consider the discourse which he makes them,
and how he tells them to cast out nets and chains; that they have first to
tempt with a longing for riches — as he is accustomed to do in most cases — that men may more easily come to vain honor of the world, and then to vast pride. So that the first step shall be that of riches; the second, that of honor; the third, that of pride; and from these three steps he draws on to all the other vices.
Is anyone else picturing Morgoth?