Spiritual Direction
What is Spiritual Direction?
Spiritual Direction is a type of contemplative prayer in the form of a confidential conversation between you, the director, and God. It is an ancient spiritual practice that helps you listen to the voice of God and notice the movement of the Spirit with the help of the director.
What is the theology behind Spiritual Direction?
Spiritual Direction falls under the theology of Revelation. Spiritual Direction presupposes that God is in the active business of revealing; God did not stop speaking at Pentecost. We know from the Scriptures that the Holy Spirit can talk to us both with the force of a gentle wind or through the miraculous might of tongues of fire.
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The Spirit makes known their movement in community. We read this in the Prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures and Paul's letters. God uses people, from fishermen, to the person behind you at church to help you make sense of God's voice.
Finally, God is revealed in our feelings and desires. This is clear in the Psalms. The Psalms are full of words that help us express our emotions and images that point to the paramount importance of our feelings. In the Psalms, God reveals His voice and comforts God's people through their feelings.
What is a Spiritual Director and what do they do?
A Spiritual Director is someone trained in spiritual direction. They take courses on the art of deep listening and spiritual practices. They are taught to respect boundaries and keep confidentiality. In a session, they listen to your story, ask questions, and invite you into different prayer practices that help you discern what God is saying. ​One way to think of a Spiritual Director is to imagine them as audio engineers since both the Director and the engineer help make sense of the sonic story presented to them. They both isolate key phrases important to the narrative and highlight them, help to get rid of distracting noises, and accomplish these goals by listening carefully.
God speaks to us in the exciting and the mundane, so we discuss both. In one session you might be talking about a birthday party you attended, and in the next session you could be processing a formative memory from your childhood. It's always a delight to witness what stories the Spirit bubbles forth in our time together. ​
What do we talk about in Spiritual Direction?
How can Spiritual Direction help me?
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It provides time and space for discernment.
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Articulating or creating a Rule of Life.
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Noticing God's movement in your life.
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Processing a pilgrimage like the Camino de Santiago.
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Checking in on your relationship with God.
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Bearing witness to joy and sadness of life.
Next Steps
If you are interested in Spiritual Direction either in person or over Zoom fill out this form for a free 30-minute intro meeting.