The evening review is one of the simplest and most useful practices of the path. At the end of the day, before sleep, you look back over what has happened, without judging it. You give what was heavy to the violet flame, give thanks for what was good, and offer the night to the beings of light. It takes about ten minutes, and people who keep it say that it changes not only their nights but their days.
Why Review the Day
The teachings say that every day leaves something behind. Moments of irritation, fear or unkindness leave a residue of heavy energy. Moments of love, patience and courage leave light. Most people go to sleep carrying the whole mixture, unexamined, and wake carrying it still.
The evening review sorts it. What was heavy is released before it can settle and become a habit. What was good is noticed and given thanks for, which the teachings say adds it to the store of light in the causal body. And the mind, having been allowed to look over the day once, deliberately, is much less inclined to churn through it again at three in the morning.
The review is also, quietly, one of the most effective ways of balancing karma. A reaction noticed the same evening, and met with the violet flame, has very little chance of becoming a pattern. See Karma and the Karmic Board.
The Practice
1. Settle
Sit up in bed, or in a chair near it. Take several slow breaths, and let the body grow heavy.
2. Ask for protection
Say: Archangel Michael, surround me with your blue flame through this night.
3. Go back through the day
Starting with the present moment and moving backward, let the day pass before you like a film run in reverse: this evening, the afternoon, the morning, waking. Do not linger. A few minutes is enough for the whole day.
4. Notice the heavy moments
Where you see a moment of reaction, unkindness, fear or regret, pause briefly. Do not judge it. Simply say: I give this to the violet flame, and picture it dissolving in violet light. If someone else was involved, add: I forgive, and I ask to be forgiven.
5. Notice the good moments
Where you see a moment of kindness, courage, beauty or help, given or received, pause and give thanks. Let yourself feel glad about it.
6. Set one intention
Choose one small thing you would like to do differently tomorrow. Just one. Say it to yourself in a single sentence.
7. Offer the night
Say: I ask to be taken tonight wherever I most need to be, for whatever I am ready to receive. Then lie down, and let the review go.
What the Review Is Not
The evening review is not an examination of conscience in the sense of a search for faults, and it is certainly not an occasion for self-punishment. The teachings are clear that a heavy moment noticed and released is finished. It does not need to be revisited, analyzed or regretted further.
Nor is it a time for planning tomorrow in detail, or for solving the problems the day has raised. If such thoughts come, note them on a piece of paper by the bed and leave them there. The night is for rest and for the beings of light.
If you find that the review regularly brings up a great deal of distress, it may be that something in your life needs more care than a ten-minute practice can give. Please talk to someone you trust.
Questions for the Review
Some people find it helpful to carry a few questions into the review:
- When today did I feel most at peace?
- When did I react from fear rather than love?
- Whom did I help, and who helped me?
- What am I still carrying that I could put down?
- What is one thing I would like to do differently tomorrow?
A Short Form
On nights when you are too tired for the full practice, place a hand on your heart and say three things: I release this day. I give thanks for this day. I offer this night. Then sleep. The teachings say that even this much makes a difference.
A Prayer Before Sleep
Beloved I AM Presence,
I give to the violet flame
all that was heavy in this day.
I give thanks for all that was light.
Take me tonight where I most need to be,
and return me in the morning
a little more myself.
Questions People Ask
What if I fall asleep during the review?
That is fine. Many people do, especially at first. Sleep that begins in the middle of a practice of release and gratitude is good sleep. If it happens every night, try sitting up rather than lying down.
What if I cannot remember the day?
Remember what you can. The review is not a test of memory. Even two or three moments noticed and released are worth the time.
Should I review every day?
The teachings recommend it, because the benefit builds with regularity. But a review missed is not a failure. Simply begin again the next night.