The ego is another name for the evil spirit. This is an important truth to understand if you wish to grow in the spiritual life. The evil spirit tries to protect the ego, which is just another word for the masks of self-importance and superiority we wear as individuals and groups. The good spirit, on the other hand, helps us transcend the egoic preoccupation.

A female perspective.

When we listen to the deep desires of our hearts we are in the flow of God's love and God's dream for our lives. But how do we know a desire is 'of God'?

We tend to look for God in the big emotion-filled moments and can feel disappointed when we don't notice God in the everyday. Yet Ignatius says we can find God's presence in the real stuff of everyday life.

Ignatius uses two images for our relationship with God: a friendship and a master-servant relationship. Both of these however are really about a deep intimacy and companionship.

Forgiveness is a way that God seeks to lift the burdens from us that prevent us from the freedom to love and live fully.

God's will for us is not some predetermined blueprint that negates our freedom. Let's examine how the Ignatian tradition understands discernment and purpose. Hint: There's a bigger Dream for the world. And Disney Pixar's Soul helps reminds us of this, too.

An overview of five important contributions of the Ignatian spiritual tradition.

We have put too much stock in human governments and institutions. The archetypal pattern found in scripture shows that human kingdoms always fail and God is always trying to draw us back to our original goodness.

Through his neighbourhood, Mister Rogers teaches us how to be people of love and how to truly know one another. His neighbourhood was kind of a metaphor for the kingdom of God.