Spiritual Direction
Spiritual direction nurtures your relationship with your inner depths and supports you in exploring, developing, and sharing your gifts. It is an opportunity to find meaning and inspiration in your life experiences and to expand your awareness of sacred mystery.
TEN POSSIBILITIES
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You want time and space to explore your life experiences with someone who will deeply listen to you.
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You are interested in developing a spiritual practice or a rhythm of life that helps you to feel more grounded, supported, and connected.
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You feel restless or dissatisfied with your habitual ways of being, and you long for a renewed sense of meaning, purpose, and hope.
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You are experiencing a "spiritual awakening," or a profound opening to the hidden depths of existence, and you need support for understanding and living into this gift.
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You wish to rekindle your spirituality and to develop an authentic vision of faith for this season of your life.
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You seek to expand your awareness of the presence of Love in all situations and to integrate your spirituality with other aspects of your life.
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You sense that you are being spiritually called on a transformative journey, and you desire support for recognizing, receiving, and responding to your inner guidance.
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You are experiencing an important life transition or a significant change in identity, and you feel drawn to explore the spiritual dimension of this process.
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You welcome spiritual care as you grow through challenges, including grieving loss, healing trauma, and accepting change.
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You need to make a decision regarding an opportunity or a dilemma, and you would like to learn more about contemplative resources for discernment.
Soul Circle
group spiritual direction
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Enjoy spiritual community with a group of fellow seekers chosen by you.
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Engage in regular reflection on the meaningful depths of your experiences.
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Explore contemplative practices.
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Receive support and inspiration by sharing your life journey with others.
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Experience guided meditations.
POSSIBLE QUESTIONS TO EXPLORE IN SPIRITUAL DIRECTION
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When I reflect on my experiences, what awakens my curiosity? What patterns or themes do I notice?
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How am I changing? What are my growing edges?
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What are life's invitations now? What do I desire?
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What are my gifts? How might I develop and share them?
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How might I meet opportunities and challenges with presence, compassion, and discernment?
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How might I grow in virtues like kindness, generosity, and courage?
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What is my longing? What is my calling? How might they converge?
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How do I experience the divine? How might I deepen our relationship?
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What spiritual practices are life-giving for me now? How might I engage in them wholeheartedly?
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What helps me to center in prayer? How might I cultivate loving awareness?
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When do I experience meaningful connections with others? How might I nurture my communities?
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In this season of my life, what do I feel drawn to release and to embrace? What are my next steps?
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How might I need to heal? What people, places, and practices might support me?
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What have I learned about love? How might I tend my relationships?
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How might I draw on spiritual resources to address violence, injustice, and suffering?
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How might I access and act on my body's wisdom?
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How might I enhance my vitality and openness to life?
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How might I expand my capacities for wonder, play, creativity, and joy?
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How might I commune with sacred mystery in nature? How might I honor the Earth?
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How might I welcome experiences of awe? How might I slow down, pause, and savor silence and stillness?
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How might I experience and express gratitude for all the gifts of life?
FAQ
What happens during spiritual direction?
During our conversation, I will help you to center in presence, to explore your life experiences, to expand your awareness, to discern growth opportunities, and to deepen your spirituality. I will offer you compassionate listening, supportive questions, and intuitive guidance.
What does a spiritual director do?
A spiritual director is a companion on life's journey who helps you to find and to follow your own sense of direction. My role is to support your connection with your inner wisdom and to facilitate your experience of the presence of Love within you and with you in every situation. In Holy Listening, Margaret Guenther calls a spiritual director a "midwife to the soul."
Must I identify with a particular religion to participate in spiritual direction?
No. All seekers are welcome in spiritual direction, including those who do not identify as "religious." Moreover, questions, doubts, and struggles are common experiences on a spiritual journey. My personal and educational background is in contemplative Christian spirituality. I specialize in holistic spiritual practices that foster courage, curiosity, compassion, and creativity.
Are you LGBTQIA+ affirming?
Yes. Spiritual direction is soul-nurturing. I hope that you will feel safely held in caring support as you come to trust your inner knowing and to live your deepest truth.
How does spiritual direction compare with counseling?
Counselors diagnose and treat mental health challenges, seeking to address problems by changing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral patterns. Accordingly, medical health insurance may reimburse counseling expenses. In contrast, spiritual directors affirm the value of your unique life journey, encouraging you to befriend your whole self and to pursue your soul's deepest longing. I will help you to reclaim important potentials that you have forgotten or rejected, to find meaning and inspiration in your experiences, and to grow into your gifting. Spiritual direction can enhance but not replace medical, psychological, and social services. Please maintain regular appointments with your physician, psychotherapist, and other members of your care team.
Is spiritual direction confidential?
Yes. However, in keeping with mandatory reporting laws, there are required exceptions to confidentiality. For more information on the ethical commitments of spiritual directors, please read Spiritual Directors International's Guidelines for Ethical Conduct.
How often would we meet for spiritual direction?
Typically, our meetings would be monthly. However, you are welcome to schedule more frequent conversations.
"And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles, no matter how long, but only by a spiritual journey, a journey of one inch, very arduous and humbling and joyful, by which we arrive at the ground at our feet, and learn to be at home."
—Wendell Berry, The Unforeseen Wilderness, p. 43