This thread is a little bit old, but I thought I would leave a comment anyway because when I was preparing for baptism, I was searching around online for advice or just an idea of what a life confession was like...and I didn't find many answers. Which leads me to the most important bit of advice: ask your priest! No question is too "dumb" to ask...he understands that you haven't ever participated in an Orthodox confession, or maybe not
any confession depending on what your prior faith was. Anything from: what should I confess? What if I don't remember everything? How specific should I be? What is the proper format? Do I just start listing things, will you guide me?
That being said, here's what my experience was like. I was advised that since I was being baptised, a life confession wasn't
necessary, but was recommended because many times people who do not have one still struggle with feeling guilt about sins committed prior to baptism. As far as "what should I confess, what about things I've forgotten about?" I was advised to especially focus on the things which really bothered me...you know, the stuff that even years later you cringe just thinking about? And how specific should I be? First, don't name other people who were involved in the situation. Don't go into the fine details, but be specific enough that you feel as if you have confessed the particular thing. Also, many people who make regular confessions still write a list of things they want to confess, so don't hesitate to do so if you think it will help you remember all the things you want to include. There are helpful guides based on the ten commandments you can find and go through to see if they prompt you to remember anything you think you should include in your confession (such as this:
Preparation for Holy Confession - Prayer & Spiritual Life - Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America).
As far as what to do when you actually go up for confession, you can ask about the particulars beforehand or let the priest walk you through it at the time. (ie: cross yourself and venerate the cross and gospel, and he will prompt you in some way like "what would you like to confess?", etc.)
That's all I can think of for the more "technical" stuff, but I think most important is that it's pretty normal to be nervous, or scared, or embarrassed when you're making preparations for your life confession...but it is not so bad as you're building it up in your mind! For me at least, it was a great relief afterwards, like a heavy burden removed from me. Don't be afraid to ask your priest ahead of time whatever questions you have, and remember he will be praying for you throughout the whole ordeal!
