What is Visio Divina?

Vision Divina: What is it?

It’s generally defined as a type of “sacred seeing” or an encountering of the divine that occurs during prayer. It originated in ancient contemplative Christianity as a way to connect with God to visual art, a sacred image, or by meditating through looking at something.

It’s a simple, but potentially challengingly slow practice. You might choose to keep your notebook by your side so you can journal your experience, or you may decide that you’d like to journal about it as you reflect later on. It’s your choice.

This definition is part of an exhibition created and curated by Molly Ovenden, called “Contemplative Springs of Hope.”

Click here to visit the online gallery experience.

Step One:
Choose a piece of art which you would like to contemplate. Especially if this is your first time trying Visio Divina, I recommend simply choosing a piece of art or photograph you have already hanging on your wall. Perhaps you have a stained glass window. What you choose isn’t the most important aspect, so allow yourself some grace to simply decide on something.

Once you have your image (which may even be from Pinterest!), let yourself get comfortable to sit in a space where you can be quiet for a few minutes. Take a deep breath, roll your neck and shoulders, place your feet on the floor if you can, and maybe even close your eyes.

Maybe you pray to welcome the divine or something like, “Come, Holy Spirit.”

Step Two:
Open your eyes and allow yourself to take in the whole picture, painting, sculpture, window, photograph, etc. Allow yourself the gift of curiosity and begin to notice the shapes, the colors, and the way the light shows up. Begin to take note of the details in the background, the middle ground, and the front of the art, the foreground.

Once you have visually meandered across the whole piece of art, you might want to note what has drawn your attention or peaked your interest. Just like in Lectio Divina, often this noticing what stands out can be God highlighting something special for you to receive in this moment. You could write this observation in your journal.

Step Three:
You may want to take another deep breath, make sure your feet are still on the floor grounding you, and now, focus on the bit that was highlighted for you and holds your attention.

You can begin to hold any or all of these questions or similar curious imaginings.

• How might God speaking to you?
• Why do you think God brought your attention to this particular spot?
• Might there be a message that was created within the painting or artwork that relates especially to your life today?
• Where might there be an invitation?
• Are you aware of a certain calling from God?
• Is a specific long-lost or very present memory brought to mind?

Allow these thoughts and questions and wonderings move from your mind to your heart.

• What emotions are you aware of?
• What do you feel in your body as these thoughts come to heart?
• Where in your body do you feel a response?
• What words could you use to describe anything stirring as you hold and notice this feeling?

Take a moment to allow God’s words or presence to communicate with you in those deep places of your being.

Step Four:

Whether you were aware of much of an interaction with God, allow a time of gratitude to come to the surface. Often God has been speaking to us when we don’t realize. But today, as you as you took time to contemplate this artwork, it’s likely that something happened in you.

In this moment now you can take a moment to respond to the divine encounter with God. Perhaps this is when you’d like to record something in your journal. Allow your words to originate from the depths of your soul where this experience occurred.

• What is your response?
• What is your prayer?
• What yearnings or desires are you present to?
• What emotions have been whirring that you could give voice to on your page?

Step Five:

Especially at time like this of deep spiritual encounter with the Creator, words don’t quite give us what we want to say, so don’t worry if you haven’t written anything in your journal–or, that you haven’t written anything eloquent.

Invite your soul to linger in silence and solitude to simply commune and be in the presence of God. God who made you. God whose love for you is immeasureable. God who is with you and for you and will never leave you. Relax into the stillness. Allow yourself to be soothed by God’s loving presence.

…

When you are ready, come back to the present and the here. You may want to take a deep cleansing breath and invite some gentle movement in your body. Take a moment to share a prayer of gratitude for what God did in this time, and for yourself–taking the time. Jot a last few thoughts in your journal, if you’d like.

…

Yay! You’ve done it.

Visio Divina really creates a practice of preparing our hearts and souls and minds to connect in a meaningful, intimate way with the Creator God. This practice of viewing on image or piece of artwork can transfer into your life, too. You may begin to view your life through a sacred lens that reveals God’s messages for you hidden within creation, not just artwork. Eventually, all of life will feel like and become a sacred space and holy ground.