Spiritual Direction
Spiritual direction is an ongoing relationship in which a person trained in spiritual awareness and deep listening sits with one or more others for the purpose of drawing out their stories to discern the presence and touch—or the perceived absence or silence—of the Holy in their lives. It is a wellness practice that aids directees’ spiritual growth, freedom, and awareness. Spiritual direction or companionship is ancient in Christianity and common to other spiritual traditions. It is observed in biblical friendships such as Elijah and Elisha, Naomi and Ruth, Paul with Timothy, or Jesus and the disciples.
An individual session is an hour centered on material or questions you bring. I listen closely, kindly, and curiously as God holds and guides us both to discern and savor what is Holy in your life’s journey. I recognize that the Spirit is our primary Director.
Spiritual direction is not counseling or psychotherapy, which are focused on personal emotional/relational health and seek to move clients through particular points of difficulty. Though we will surely speak of mental and spiritual discomfort, our focus will be to listen to what your own life, inner voice or soul might be communicating in such times as well as what God may be sharing in “many and various ways.”
I am not trained or licensed as a counselor, therapist, or legal or financial advisor. I will refer such issues to trained professionals. Any actions or life decisions you make are your own responsibility.
Confidentiality. I hold our conversations as sacred and with strict confidence with two exceptions:
I am legally and morally obligated to report if you are in real danger of harming yourself or others;
I meet regularly with a supervisor as a part of my practice, always preserving the anonymity and privacy of my directees.
These words by Howard Thurman, a spiritual powerhouse behind the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, describe my hope for and experience of spiritual direction, “How Good it is to Center Down!”
“How good it is to center down!
To sit quietly and see one’s self pass by!
The streets of our minds seethe with endless traffic;
Our spirits resound with clashings, with noisy silences,
While something deep within hungers and thirsts for the still moment and the resting lull.
With full intensity we seek, ere the quiet passes, a fresh sense of order in our living;
A direction, a strong sure purpose that will structure our confusion and bring meaning in our chaos.
We look at ourselves in this waiting moment—the kinds of people we are.
The questions persist: what are we doing with our lives—what are the motives that order our days?
What is the end of our doings? Where are we trying to go?
Where do we put the emphasis and where are our values focused?
For what end do we make sacrifices? Where is my treasure and what do I love most in life?
What do I hate most in life and to what am I true?
Over and over the questions beat in upon the waiting moment.
As we listen, floating up through all the angling echoes of our turbulence,
there is a sound of another kind—
A deeper note which only the stillness of the heart makes clear.
It moves directly to the core of our being. Our questions are answered,
Our spirits refreshed, and we move back into the traffic of our daily round
With the peace of the Eternal in our step.
How good it is to center down!”