A time To Retreat...A TIME TO RETREAT: 14-Day Guided Spiritual Retreat 3 Understanding is the basis...

A time To Retreat 14-Day Guided Spiritual Retreat Prepared by: Keesler Air Force Base Chapel Team You’ve got this! We’ve got you!

A TIME TO RETREAT: 14-Day Guided Spiritual Retreat 2

This Guided Spiritual Retreat was compiled and written at Keesler Air Force Base by Chaplain, Captain Richard S. Casey. Design work provided by Lindsey Wichern Consulting. ©2020

INTRODUCTION The following guided spiritual retreat is intended to help individuals who have been placed

in medical quarantine or similar circumstances.

Please consider writing in the spaces provided or using the questions as discussion points

with trusted colleagues and mentors.

Each day of the curriculum is meant to take no more than an hour, but feel free to invest

more time in the topics as needed. The more thought you put into these questions, the

more insight you will gain from them.

Remember: Now is the perfect time to take spiritual inventory and emerge from this event

more resilient than before.

The questions will often ask you to argue in favor of something in one section, and then to

argue against it in the next section. The goal here is to help guide you in discovering not

only how you perceive things to be, but how to understand how others might perceive

things differently and be at peace with that difference or tension.

Your Keesler Chapel Team can be reached by calling 228-377-4859 or [email protected] or through the Chaplain Section of the AF Connect App.


Understanding is the basis of care. What you would take care of you must first understand, whether it be a petunia or a nation. If you would care for your spiritual core – your heart or will – you must understand it.

– Dallas Willard

PHASE ONE The Journey Inward


Welcome to your guided spiritual retreat. For the first activity, we will map out

your life. This exercise will lay the foundation for everything that follows.

Step 1

In the blocks below, divide your life into four year chapters starting with your

birth. Fill in as many key moments in each chapter as you can. The more

information you write in each block, the more insight you will gain. Try to write

more than basic events like “I was born,” “I went to school,” etc. Each of us has

significant events that happen to us in the course of a year. Try to remember

them!

Age 0 – 4 Title:

DAY ONE A Spiritual Life Map

Age 5 – 8 Title:


Age 9 – 12 Title:

Age 13 – 16 Title:



Step 2 Next to each event, label each event as positive (“+”), negative (“-“), or neutral (“0”). Continue to add more events as you think of them.

Step 3 Develop a title for each chapter in your life. The way you describe each chapter of your life gives insight into what you think about that period of your life and your life in general. If it were a movie, a book, or a song, what would you call it?

Step 4 In each chapter of your life, what were some key lessons you learned at the time? What lessons can you find looking back at them now?


Step 5 What events did you recall that you haven’t thought about in a while?

Step 6 What came up that you would like to think more about or talk to a friend, mentor, or counselor about? What came up that you would not like to think more about, but that you might benefit from discussing with a friend, mentor, or counselor about? Final Thought Intentional reflection on where we have been and what we have experienced

lays a foundation for discovering who we are as individuals, what key events

have shaped us, and where we can improve in our lives. This exercise is useful to

do throughout your life, as you will view past events differently as you look at

them from different vantage points.


In today’s activity, you’ll be writing down things you like and considering them in

more detail. The more thought you put into it, the more insight you will gain.

ONE As a child, what were your favorite foods? What did you like about them? What memories do you associate with them? Be specific! For example, not just “pizza,” but “thin crust pepperoni and mushroom pizza, where the pepperonis are just a little bit crispy, rather than chewy, and the mushrooms are fresh ones, not reheated from a can.” Describe the texture, the smell, the flavors.

TWO What is currently your favorite food? Where is your favorite place to eat it? What happens when you think about it?

DAY TWO Likes


THREE As a child, what were some of your favorite songs? What did you like about them? What role does each instrument play in the song? What memories do you associate with them?

FOUR What is currently your favorite song? What do you like about it? What role does each instrument play in the song? What emotions does it evoke? What memories do you associate with it?

FIVE Where is your favorite place to visit for a few days? Can you describe it clearly? Are there other people there? If so, who? When do you like to visit this place? How does it feed or strengthen you? How do you feel when you haven’t been there for a long time?


SIX As a child, what were some of your favorite parts about your life? What gave your life meaning? What relationships were important to you?

SEVEN What do like about your life in general? What activities give your life meaning? What relationships are important to you?

EIGHT What do you like about yourself? “Yourself” includes all of you – the things you do, character traits, physical, mental, and emotional attributes. What is your favorite feature of you?


NINE What is your favorite activity? What do you like about it? When do you pursue this activity? How does it affect you positively? How does it affect you when you go a long time without participating in this activity? Again, try to avoid the surface level responses like “I like eating. Food tastes good. I eat three times a day, and when I don’t eat, I get hungry.” Dig deep!

TEN What came up that you would like to think more about or talk to a friend, mentor, or counselor about? What came up that you would not like to think more about, but which you might benefit from discussing with a friend, mentor, or counselor about?

Final Thought It’s important to understand what you like, both about yourself and the things

around you. Equally important, it’s worth seriously considering why you like

something and what life would be like without it. Answers to those questions will

reveal a lot about who you are as a person. Very often, the things we like as

children differ from what we like as adults. We are not the same person we were

as a child, and it’s important to recognize those differences.


In today’s activity, you’ll be writing down things you dislike and considering them

in more detail. Once again, the more thought you put into it,

the more insight you will gain.

ONE As a child, what foods did you dislike? What about them did you dislike? Try to pinpoint exactly what qualities about the food you dislike – textures, odors, sourness, sweetness, etc. What memories do you associate with those foods? Do you still dislike them now? If not, what changed?

TWO What foods do you dislike now? What about them do you dislike? Have you always disliked them?

DAY THREE Dislikes


THREE As a child, what music did you dislike? What about it did you dislike (for example, the lyrics, instruments, the singer, and so on)? What memories do you associate with that music? Do you still dislike it? If not, what changed?

FOUR What music do you dislike now? What about it do you dislike (for example, the lyrics, instruments, the singer, and so on)? What memories do you associate with that music? Have you always disliked it? If not, what changed?

FIVE As a child, where did you least like to be? What did you dislike about that place? What do you associate with that place? What emotions does it evoke in you? Do you still dislike similar places? If not, what changed?


SIX On a normal day (that is, not during this spiritual retreat!), where do you dislike being? What about those places makes you uncomfortable? Has it always been that way? If not, what changed?

SEVEN As a child, what were some things you had to do that you didn’t especially like doing? What did you dislike about it? How did you deal with it? Do you still dislike it? If not, what changed?

EIGHT What are some things in your normal day to day life that you don’t especially like doing? What do you dislike about it? How do you deal with it?


NINE As a child, what did you dislike about yourself? What caused that dislike? How did you deal with it? Is it still something you dislike? If you could, what would you tell your past self about it?

TEN What do you dislike about yourself right now? What causes that dislike? How do you deal with it? If you could, what would you like your future self or a colleague or mentor to tell you about it?

ELEVEN What came up that you would like to think more about or talk to a friend, mentor, or counselor about? What came up that you would not like to think more about, but which you might benefit from discussing with a friend, mentor, or counselor about?

FINAL THOUGHT It’s important to recognize what we dislike and understand why we dislike them.

You may observe that you dislike different things now than you did as a child; it’s

because you’re a dynamic, constantly evolving person, and therefore events

from your past do not have to define who you are now. Take time to process


through things you disliked earlier in your life and consider how you’ve changed

since then.

In today’s exercise, you’ll explore your core values, what motivates you, and what you have control over in your life. Deeper understanding of what makes

you tick will help tremendously in considering future goals, which is a big part of tomorrow’s exercise.

ONE What motivates you? That is, what is your “Why?” What gets you out of bed in the morning? What ideals or rewards inspire you to chase after your goals and to work hard?

TWO What about yourself gets in the way of you pursuing your goals? What about your normal day-to-day environment makes it difficult?

THREE As a child, what did you have control over in your life? Dig deep here. This question can include what you wore, what you hate, how you spent your free time, what you did during the day, where you lived, and so on. What was it like not having control in some areas of your life? What was it like to have some control over your life?

DAY FOUR What makes me tick? What do I have control over?


FOUR In your normal day to day life now, what do you have control over in your life? How important is it to you to control things in your life? Why?

FIVE What do you not have control over in your life? What happens when you cannot control things?

SIX As you compare your lists of what you do and don’t have control over in your life, what are some things you can do about the areas where you don’t have much or any control?


SEVEN How can you find peace with the areas of your life where you don’t have control? If you don’t know how, where can you go to find out?

EIGHT What came up that you would like to think more about or talk to a friend, mentor, or counselor about? What came up that you would not like to think more about, but which you might benefit from discussing with a friend, mentor, or counselor about?

Final Thought Each of us has a unique balance of motivations and incentives for pursuing our

day to day goals. Both as children and as adults, we are greatly limited in what

aspects of our lives we have control over. Part of growing in spiritual resilience

involves recognizing what areas of our lives where we do and do not have

control, learning to be at peace with the areas where we lack control, and

focusing on the areas where we do have control.


In today’s exercise, you’ll be considering the future. Draw on all the material

you’ve been working on and the insights that you’ve gained about

yourself as you considering the following material.

ONE Where do you see yourself in a year’s time? What can you do right now to help get yourself to that goal? Where can you find additional help?

TWO A year from now, what would you like to be different about yourself? How will you change it? Who can help?

THREE Where do you see yourself five years from now? What can you do right now to help get yourself to that goal? Where can you find additional help?

DAY FIVE Where do I hope to be?


FOUR Five years from now, what would you like to be different about yourself? How will you change it? Who can help?

FIVE Where do you see yourself ten years from now? What can you do right now to help get yourself to that goal? Where can you find additional help?

SIX Ten years from now, what would you like to be different about yourself? How will you change it? Who can help?

SEVEN Where do you see yourself twenty years from now? What can you do right now to help get yourself to that goal? Where can you find additional help?


EIGHT Twenty years from now, what would you like to be different about yourself? How will you change it? Who can help?

NINE When you look at yourself right now, what qualities about yourself do you hope will stay with you the rest of your life? What do those qualities mean to you? Why are they important? What will you do to ensure those qualities stick around? Who can help you?


FINAL THOUGHT As you consider your future, keep in mind that your goals will change as your

circumstances change. Where you want to be in the future at this moment

probably will not be what your five-year old self imagined you would be as an

adult. Recognize that you are changing as a person and that you are not the

same person you were as a child. What you like and what you dislike, therefore,

does not have to be dictated by what you used to like or dislike. Some of those

inputs will stick around throughout your life, but others will not. Keep weighing

and testing your assumptions, your goals, and your motivations. Be flexible – it’s

the key to air power!


PHASE TWO The Journey Outward

The real path to happiness… comes from letting yourself flow into other people’s stories and letting their stories flow into yours.

– Johann Hari

The second phase of this spiritual retreat will shift focus to your relationships throughout different phases of your life. Ideally, you will draw on what you’ve considered so far and apply it to each exercise. As before, the more thought you place into the exercises, the more insights you will gain.


In this exercise, you will consider past relationships. These include professional

relationships, romantic relationships, friends, and family. You may notice tension

between how you viewed the relationship at the time and how you view the

relationship now. That tension is normal, and it’s healthy and often productive to

examine it and consider what has changed, both in you and the other person.

ONE In your past relationships, who did you consider a mentor or role model? What did you admire about them? What life lessons did you learn from them?

TWO Consider those relationships now. Has your opinion or understanding of them changed in any way? If so, how?

DAY SIX Relationships in My Past


THREE What were some painful or adversarial relationships in your life? What was the cause of your struggle with them? How did you deal with these painful relationships? What life lessons did you learn from them at the time?

FOUR Consider those relationships now. Has your opinion or understanding of them changed in any way? If so, how? If you could, what would you tell your younger self about those relationships?

FIVE What are some house rules for relationships that informed your understanding of these relationships at the time?


SIX Which of those rules would you keep? Which of them would you change? What helps you decide now whether to keep or change them?

SEVEN What did you look for in your past relationships? Again, consider all of your relationships. Did you find what you were looking for? What helped? What got in the way?

EIGHT What did you bring to each of your relationships? What contributions were positive? What were negative? What would you do now to change those negative contributions, given the opportunity?


NINE What came up that you would like to think more about or talk to a friend, mentor, or counselor about? What came up that you would not like to think more about, but which you might benefit from discussing with a friend, mentor, or counselor about?

FINAL THOUGHT As you consider your past relationships, you may notice that you view them

differently now than you did at the time. Consider the positive and negative

aspects of those relationships. You can learn from both of them and apply them

positively to your current and future relationships.


In this exercise, you will consider two types of relationships: vertical and horizonal

relationships. Vertical relationships are often those found in your work center;

they include supervisors and subordinates. You will also find these structures in

your family, to include parents, grandparents, and children. Horizontal

relationships are your peers on the same level as you. They include

your peers inside and outside of your work center, your family,

friends, and your romantic relationships.

ONE Who has authority over you right now? In what ways do they exercise that authority well? In what areas would you like to see a change?

TWO Earlier, you considered why you are the way you are, your likes, and dislikes. Why are those in authority over you the way they are? Why do they lead the way that they lead? What experiences do you think shaped them? If you don’t know, how could you find out?

DAY SEVEN Relationships in My Present


THREE As you consider your relationships with those in authority over you, what is going well? What isn’t? What can you do to improve these relationships? What do you do now that hurts them? Who can help?

FOUR Who do you have authority over right now? Who comes to you for service or leadership? How do you exercise your authority? How do you provide service to them?

FIVE As you consider your role in leading and serving others, what shapes the way you lead? Where can you find more advice on how to serve and lead others effectively?


SIX What changes would you like to make? What is going well? What isn’t? Who can help?

SEVEN Who are some of your current horizontal relationships? When and where do you interact with them? How long have you known them?

EIGHT What is going well in these relationships? What contributions do you bring to the table? What could you be improving? Who can help?


NINE How do you form new relationships with people? What works well? What doesn’t? How do you improve at it?


FINAL THOUGHT Each of us brings unique contributions to our current relationships. While some of

our relationships might seem more positive than others, you can learn a great

deal about yourself and how to be in relationships by observing and considering

both the positive and negative relationships in your life. Don’t be afraid to ask for

advice from a variety of sources. It can prevent a lot of pain and frustration from

trial and error.


As you continue to grow personally and professionally, the nature of your

relationships will change. In this section, you will consider how to

anticipate and prepare for these new relationships.

ONE As you develop both as a leader and a servant to other people, what skills will you need in the future? How will you get them?

TWO What do you consider to be good character traits for a leader? What are negative character traits?

THREE How will you maximize your good character traits as a leader and minimize your negative character traits?

DAY EIGHT Relationships in My Future


FOUR What do you consider to be good character traits for a follower? What are negative character traits?

FIVE How will you maximize your good character traits as a follower and minimize your negative character traits?

SIX What do you consider to be good character traits for a friend? What are negative character traits?


SEVEN How will you maximize your good character traits as a friend and minimize your negative character traits?

EIGHT What do you consider to be good character traits for a family member? What are negative character traits?

NINE How will you maximize your good character traits as a family member in the future and minimize your negative character traits?


TEN How do each of these roles overlap? How do they differ? Which roles do you find yourself the most comfortable occupying? Why is that?

ELEVEN What came up that you would like to think more about or talk to a friend, mentor, or counselor about? What came up that you would not like to think more about, but which you might benefit from discussing with a friend, mentor, or counselor about?

FINAL THOUGHT When we consider our future relationships, it is worth considering how to prepare

ourselves and improve ourselves to meet the future challenges of those

relationships. We cannot change others, but we can constantly strive to improve

ourselves and our abilities to serve and to lead.


You have spent some time considering your past, present, and future

relationships. In the final section of this phase, you will consider how

to be more effective at communicating in these relationships.

ONE What are all the ways that you communicate with others? What would you say is your most effective way of communicating with other people?

TWO Which methods of communicating do you think you need to improve on? Where can you get help?

THREE When you’re discussing problems with others, what is the primary reason you’re communicating to them? For example, are you looking for solutions, or are you asking them to listen to you and support you as you reason through your problems?

DAY NINE Can you hear me now?


FOUR How can you make your reasons for communicating clearer to others?

FIVE What does good listening look like? Describe it fully – body language, words, intentions of the listener.

SIX How do you listen to other people? What could you do to be a better listener?

SEVEN When other people discuss their problems, what is your first instinct? Is it to give solutions, to support them, to argue, or something else?


EIGHT When someone says something which you know is inaccurate or a mistake, how do you respond? Does it depend on who is making the mistake? What is the intent of your decision?

NINE How can you make your intentions known more effectively? What would communicating effectively in this situation look like?

TEN When you say something which is inaccurate or a mistake, how do you hope others respond? Does it depend on who hears the mistake? What do you hope their intentions are?


ELEVEN How can you make your intentions known more effectively? What would communicating effectively in this situation look like?

TWELVE What came up that you would like to think more about or talk to a friend, mentor, or counselor about? What came up that you would not like to think more about, but which you might benefit from discussing with a friend, mentor, or counselor about?

FINAL THOUGHT

We will spend our entire lives communicating with one another. It’s vitally

important that we think through how that happens so that we can do so more

and more effectively. Consider the consequences of poor communication and

benefits of good communication and think through ways of improving your

communication skills. In the next phase, you’ll be using your communication skills

to consider many different topics.


We are more fulfilled when we are involved in something bigger than ourselves. – John Glenn

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. – Lowell L. Bennion

In the first two phases, you have considered yourself and your relationships with others. In this last phase, you’ll be considering more abstract ideas that inform your understanding of the world around you and how you make decisions. Continue to dig deeply and reap the benefits of that greater effort.

PHASE THREE The Journey Beyond


In this section, you will consider something most of us take for granted: the very

nature of reality. After considering your initial thoughts on it,

you will apply it in an exercise.

ONE How do you define the word “reality”? How do you know when something is real? How do you know when something isn’t real?

TWO What are some examples of things or ideas that are real? How do you know they are real?

THREE What are examples of things or ideas that are not real? How do you know they are real?

DAY TEN What is real?


FOUR When you were a child, what were some things you believed were real that you no longer consider to be real? What changed?

FIVE When you were a child, what were some things you believed were not real that you now accept to be real? What changed?

SIX Have you ever disagreed with someone over whether something was real or not? How did the conversation go? How can you navigate these disagreements well? How can you navigate them poorly?


SEVEN In the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, there is an exhibit called “One and Three Chairs.” (Go on, look it up on the internet.) It consists of a picture of a chair, a physical example of a chair, and the dictionary entry of the word “chair.” In the next few questions, you’ll be considering why each of these communicates most effectively what a real chair is. Imagine that you’re trying to describe to someone who has never seen a chair what a chair, is using each of the chairs in the exhibit. Try your best to argue for each position. We’ll start with the easiest of the three. Why is the physical chair the most effectively way to communicate what a real chair is? What makes it a chair? Consider things like shape, function, materials.

EIGHT Why doesn’t the physical chair in the exhibit most effectively communicate what a chair is? Consider how functional a chair in an art exhibit is, whether it could change over time or be destroyed, whether there are different types of chairs, etc. (Hint: What is more real? A thing that can be taken apart or destroyed or a thing that cannot be taken apart or destroyed?)


NINE Why does the picture of a chair communicate most effectively what a chair is? Consider how pictures work, how they can be used differently than a physical representation of an object, how they’re made, and so on.

TEN Why doesn’t the picture of a chair communicate most effectively what a chair is? Consider the limits of photographs, their function, what they’re made out of, and so on.

ELEVEN Why does the definition of a chair communicate most effectively what a chair is? Consider whether it changes, how it is communicated, how clear the definition is.


TWELVE Why doesn’t the definition of a chair communicate most effectively what a chair is? Consider things like language, function, and possible misinterpretations.

THIRTEEN What was it like arguing for a position you disagreed with? In a military setting, why is it important to be able to understand and give arguments for things you personally disagree with?

FINAL THOUGHTS Throughout your life, you will encounter people with wildly different

understandings of reality than you have. It is important to be able to understand

why they hold that view of reality, not least because it helps facilitate the

practice of more effective communication and the identification of common

ground when we differ with other people.


In this exercise, you will closely examine the nature of truth. It is important to

know the difference between facts and opinions, especially when making

complex decisions about leadership or life in general.

ONE What is truth?

TWO How do you know whether or not a statement is true?

THREE What are some examples of true statements?

FOUR What is a fact?

DAY ELEVEN What is true?


FIVE What are some examples of facts?

SIX What is an opinion?

SEVEN What are some examples of opinions?

EIGHT When you are reading an article or listening to the news, how do you know whether the it is communicating the truth? How do you know whether it is merely expressing an opinion?


NINE Are some opinions more important or trustworthy than others? How do you tell the difference?

TEN How can you more effectively balance sharing facts and sharing your opinion when communicating with others?

ELEVEN How can you ensure that you are basing your decisions primarily on facts, rather than opinions? What is the benefit of doing so?

TWELVE If you or your peers are struggling with deciding whether something is true or false, where can they get help?

FINAL THOUGHTS Whenever you engage with information, it’s important to know whether it is a

fact or someone’s opinion. Consider how you determine whether information is

true or false. If you find yourself unsure, seek out trusted mentors for to share their

(wait for it) opinion.


Throughout our lives, we will encounter people, places, or things we consider to

be beautiful. What makes them beautiful? What happens when others disagree

with us? The exercises today will help you lay a foundation for how to explore

these questions more thoroughly.

ONE How do you define the word “beautiful”?

TWO Using your definition, imagine a beautiful piece of furniture. It might even be a chair! Describe it as thoroughly as you can. What makes it beautiful?

THREE Now, come up with an argument for why this chair you’ve imagined is not beautiful.

DAY TWELVE What is beautiful?


FOUR Consider a piece of furniture from your past that you did not find to be beautiful. Why did you dislike it?

FIVE Now, come up for an argument for why it is beautiful. Dig deeply! Resist the urge to throw up your hands and say it cannot be done.

SIX Consider again your favorite song. Why is it beautiful?

SEVEN Now, give an argument for why it is not beautiful.

EIGHT Pick a song you do don’t think is beautiful. Why isn’t it?


NINE Now, come up for an argument for why it is beautiful.

TEN What do you think is the most beautiful weather?

ELEVEN Now, come up for an argument for why someone might think it is not beautiful.

TWELVE What do you think is the least beautiful weather?


THIRTEEN Now, come up for an argument for why someone might think it is beautiful.

FOURTEEN What was it like arguing for positions you disagreed with? Did your definition of beauty change at all during this exercise? If so, how?

FIFTEEN How should you react when someone finds something beautiful, and you disagree?

FINAL THOUGHT There’s a famous saying that goes, “About taste, there can be no arguing.”

While it is true that ideals of beauty are opinions, they are often strongly held. It is

fruitful to consider why someone would hold a different opinion and how we

react to those different opinions.


Throughout your life, you will be faced with ethical decisions. It is important to

consider not only how you would handle those decisions, but also why others

might choose differently. During these exercises, try to determine which

ethical system best matches your belief system.

ONE What does it mean for a decision to be moral, ethical, or just?

TWO How do you determine whether a decision is moral, ethical, or just?

THREE Suppose you could prevent the destruction of an entire city by killing one person who has not been convicted or charged with any crime. Try to argue in favor of it.

DAY THIRTEEN What is just?


FOUR Now, try to argue against it.

The ethical system under consideration here is called “consequentialism,” and loosely, it is an ethical framework where the ends justify the means.

FIVE Suppose the authorities are looking for someone whom you know to be innocent of the crime he has been charged with committing. That person is hiding in your basement. When the authorities come to your house, they ask whether you know where he is. Write an argument in favor of lying.

SIX Now, write an argument in favor of telling the truth.

The ethical framework under consideration here is called “deontology.” It focuses on the obligations people have to do their duty – that is, to follow rules. A crisis can happen when two duties, like the duty to tell the truth and the duty to protect the innocent, come into conflict.


SEVEN Suppose you have convicted an Airman for stealing food from another Airman’s room and must now come up with a suitable punishment. This last ethical framework is known as “virtue ethics.” When making ethical decisions, virtue ethics seeks to balance different virtues that may or may not be in conflict, chiefly the cardinal virtues of wisdom, temperance, courage, and justice. How do you determine what level of punishment is appropriate?

EIGHT Which of these systems seems most like how you solve ethical dilemmas? What do you like about that system?

NINE When are times where you have to make an ethical decision? How would you reason through them using your preferred framework?


TEN Where can you go for advice about ethical decision making?

FINAL THOUGHTS There are multiple frameworks for solving ethical issues. This section considered

the three most common ones. It is vital that you take time to develop your

ethical framework as you develop as a leader and follower. An inconsistent

ethical framework leads to inconsistent leadership and service, which can lead

to personal and professional difficulties.


As you finish up your spiritual retreat, consider how you find peace in a world

that is increasingly unpredictable and challenging. Use all the insights you

have gained over this retreat as you consider the exercises below.

ONE How would you define peace?

TWO What does peace in your work area look like?

THREE What does peace our country look like?

DAY FOURTEEN What is peace?


FOUR What does peace across the world look like?

FIVE What would it look like to be at peace with your past?

SIX What would it look like to be at peace with your present circumstances?

SEVEN What does inner peace look like for you?


EIGHT How do you find it in times of struggle?

NINE What does a sense of inner peace enable you to do in times of struggle?

TEN What can you do right now to increase your sense of inner peace and your ability to pursue it?


ELEVEN Where can you find help in pursuing peace in your life?

FINAL THOUGHT A sense of inner peace will strengthen your ability to weather the turbulent

periods of your life. It is important to recognize that while the world around you

may be chaotic or violent, you can still find peace in your own life. Consider

asking friends or mentors how they find peace and devote every day to

establishing it in your own life.


This spiritual retreat sought to lay a foundation for you to continue your spiritual

growth. It introduced questions you probably will not solve immediately, but encouraged you to find ways to grow from them. As you finish this retreat,

consider finding trusted mentors and friends to help you explore the questions which arose.

Remember, always:

You’ve got this. We’ve got you!

Thank you for completing this 14-Day Guided Spiritual Retreat.

If you would like to talk to someone to help you process

what you’ve been through, a member of the USAF

Chaplain Corps and other base resources are

standing by to be with you during this time.

Your Keesler Chapel Team can be reached by calling

228-377-4859 or [email protected] or through the

Chaplain Section of the

AF Connect App.

CONCLUSION

A time To Retreat...A TIME TO RETREAT: 14-Day Guided Spiritual Retreat 3 Understanding is the basis...

Documents

Transcript of A time To Retreat...A TIME TO RETREAT: 14-Day Guided Spiritual Retreat 3 Understanding is the basis...