My supervision and training in spiritual direction is facilitated by Sustainable Faith, a collective of spiritual directors and pastors working to create a spiritually healthy culture among leaders and their communities.
Simply put, a spiritual director helps another notice God’s work in their life. It’s a relationship that concerns the depths of a whole person with particular emphasis on one’s interior life. I like to say, “we’re in the business of dusting for God’s fingerprints.”
I find it helpful to explain what spiritual direction is by explaining what it’s not. Spiritual direction is not a counseling relationship. A spiritual director is not a coach, consultant, mentor, expert, or guru. Spiritual directors are not necessarily pastors, though some pastors employ practices associated with spiritual direction.
Spiritual direction is an ancient practice of soul care with roots tracing back to the earliest days of the church. Directors come in all shapes, sizes, and genders and may be ordained clergy or passionate lay people. The practice of spiritual direction is just that—a practice. Director and directee enter the relationship as co-listeners on a long, slow trajectory growing closer to God. Spiritual direction is primarily developmental. That means our objective is to explore your present experience of God and listen for the things God might be calling you to step towards. Spiritual direction is also primarily about transformation. In direction, we set out to explore who God made us to be and trust that we’re always on a path of becoming our truest selves, formed in union with God, absorbed fully in God’s love. In essence, spiritual direction is a form of prayer. In a spiritual direction session, we seek wisdom and understanding about how to live flourishing lives in a world of ambiguity and distraction.
In spiritual direction, it’s important to remember that the Holy Spirit is the real director. We simply receive the gift of space and time to pay attention, attune our hearts, and bear witness to whatever the Spirit wishes to reveal. Below, are a few additional assumptions that inform my practice:
God is good, God is for us, and God is already at work in each of our lives.
God desires to communicate with us, and we have the ability to hear.
As we work to discern God’s invitations, we grow in our capacity to respond.
There is no awareness of God without self-awareness.
God cannot be fully known apart from surrender to God’s will.
The things that matter to you, (your loves, gifts, purpose), matter to God.
God is big enough to handle whatever we bring.
Anyone wishing to deepen their relationship with/experience of God can benefit from the companionship and deep listening offered by a spiritual director. Here are a few other qualifiers that may help determine whether or not spiritual direction could be beneficial to your growth and formation in the present season:
You’re feeling spiritually stuck.
You’re experiencing a dry prayer life.
You’re in a time of transition.
You’re enthusiastic about embarking on a more contemplative journey.
You’re in a time of decision making or discernment.
You’re struggling with a spiritual deconstruction of some kind.
While Christian spirituality is the core of my being, I welcome folks from various backgrounds and belief systems and trust that spiritual direction can be a powerful practice wherever you locate yourself on the spectrum of faith. You (and your whole story) are welcome here.
Please take some time to pray and reflect upon what you’ve just read. What resonates? What are you curious about? I suggest we meet in person for 60 minutes or so to explore together. In the meantime, as you discern, why not experiment with a contemplative practice? I like the Ignatian Daily Examen.