Spiritual Direction
Spiritual direction helps you to reconnect with your inner wisdom as you explore what matters most to you. It is an opportunity to deepen your spirituality, to develop your capacities for wonder, compassion, and peace, and to discover meaning and inspiration in your unique life journey.
TEN POSSIBILITIES​
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You want time and space to explore the meaning and mystery of your life experiences, with the compassionate support of a deep listener.
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You hope to develop a spiritual practice or a rhythm of life that can help you to feel more grounded, centered, 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 purpose.
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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 felt connection with Love and to develop an authentic vision of spirituality for this season of your life.
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You seek to expand your awareness of the spiritual support available to you in all situations, and you feel drawn to develop your intuition through dreamwork, creative practices, and guided meditations.
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You sense that your soul is calling you to undergo a transformative journey, and you value skilled companionship as you move into the unknown.
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You are going through a major life transition or a significant change in identity, and you are interested in exploring 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 must make an important 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.
Discernment Support
Discernment is a prayerful process of discovering what you feel about a significant challenge/opportunity, listening to your inner guidance with curiosity and freedom as you come to your important decision, and exploring possible next steps before you take creative action. I will companion you on your discernment journey and offer you transformative practices to facilitate your growing sense of clarity and peace.
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 emerge?
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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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How might I meet opportunities and challenges with presence, compassion, and discernment?
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How do I experience the More? How might I deepen my relationship with Mystery?
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What spiritual practices are life-giving for me now? What/Who helps me to engage in them?
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How might I slow down, pause, and rest in spaciousness? How might I welcome awe?
- When I bring gentle awareness to my inner experiencing and hold space for what emerges, what do I notice?
- What is my longing? What is my calling? How might they converge?
- What insight and energy might my dreams offer me?
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What are my gifts? How might I develop and share them?
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What have I learned about love? How might I tend my relationships?
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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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What might I need to heal? What people, places, and practices might support me?
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​How might I draw on spiritual resources to address violence, injustice, and suffering?​
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​How might I enhance my vitality and openness to life?
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How might I listen to the guidance of my body's experiential wisdom?
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​How might I expand my capacities for wonder, play, and joy?
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How might I participate in beauty's creative flow?
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​​How might I commune with nature? How might I honor the Earth?
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​​​How might I express gratitude for all the gifts of life?
FAQ
What happens during spiritual direction?
During our conversation, I will invite you to slow down, to center in presence, and to reconnect with your inner wisdom. I will facilitate your exploration of your experiences, helping you to expand your awareness, to discern growth opportunities, and to deepen your spirituality. I will offer you compassionate listening, skilled support for accessing your intuitive knowing, and creative practices that can help you to live into transformation.
What does a spiritual director do?
A spiritual director is a discerning listener who helps you to hear your own truth. My role is to support your connection with your inner guidance and to facilitate your direct experience of the More. 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 deepen your relationship with Love. Among the most profound existential wounds are religious trauma and spiritual abuse. A spiritual director holds space as you discover and develop your own resources for healing and growth.
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 help you to cultivate presence, compassion, and wisdom amidst life's inevitable pain and inexhaustible joy. 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