What spiritual direction is not.

It is not counseling, therapy, pastoral counseling, coaching, or mentoring. It may, at times, seem to overlap some of what takes place in any of these other helping professions but each of them has a different focus, purpose and set of dynamics.

What is spiritual direction/accompaniment?

It’s an opportunity for you to reflect upon your life in the presence of another whose primary function is to encourage and invite you to listen more deeply to your own experience and to speak from that experience with an “eye” toward where and how you are being moved (invited, nudged, challenged) in your daily life. Some refer to the source of this movement as “God”, “Spirit”, etc. Spiritual direction presumes that the person who comes, referred to as the “directee”, is grounded in some faith and/or value system you desire to be the guiding force in your life. It may be that the “directee” is in the process of sorting out just what that “spirituality”, faith or value system is. Spiritual direction is an appropriate context in which to do this kind of sorting (discernment). Of course, it is presumed that there is an ever-evolving quality within this faith and/or value system, an unfolding process that is always leaning   toward further awakening.

The term “spiritual director” may be misleading. Another way to speak of this work can be “spiritual accompaniment” as those words better describe appropriate dynamics. The idea here is to be clear that the “director” is not there to direct you in the sense of telling you what to do or becoming an external authority for you. The conviction in this work is that you are directed, guided, nudged, lured from within by that “inner voice”, “God”, “spirit”, “guiding force”, “inner teacher”, “soul” (and so many other possible names for that reality). The “director’s” role is to invite you to listen more deeply to that inner voice or movement or nudging of the spirit as you consider the many aspects of your life that are important to you. The “director” is actually there as a witness to all that is moving within you, inviting you to notice, attend to and speak from that inner landscape. In the act of “witnessing” the director is not a passive bystander but an engaged participant, focusing on your experiences and inviting you to linger and listen ever more deeply to what is taking place. In that process it is possible to become more conscious of how one’s inner life is or is not consistent with one’s outer life in the day-to-day world. It is often in the act of speaking your experience that greater clarity emerges, a sense of direction comes, and revelation erupts. In this process you will learn to discern what are the voices of life and what are those that may lead you away from life.

Spiritual Direction is not a quick fix for life’s problems, it is accompaniment in co-operation with what is sometimes referred to as the “slow work of God”.

Examples of what might bring a person to spiritual direction

  1. You find yourself thinking, “my life is really quite fine in terms of work, relationships, etc. but I just have a sense that won’t go away that there is something more”.
  2. It may be because you desire to be more faithful to times of prayer, quiet and reflection and sense that speaking about, some say “checking in with another” will help.
  3. Sometimes you discover that everything you held sacred and true is being called into question and you want to be able to speak to someone impartial to discover what needs to be “let go” and what needs to be reclaimed or acknowledged.
  4. At other times, the need to make a significant life decision within a context of faith, spirituality, values will bring you to spiritual direction.
  5. Sometimes it is simply something like “I want to take my relationship with “God” more seriously and be more intentional about that”.
  6. Sometimes you are having “experiences” within your times of reflection, in response to a book, a movie, a conversation, or in your own quiet reflection that seems to be significant but is new and different for you and you sense it might be good to have someone to talk to about them as part of an on-going discerning, sorting through, what is taking place and its possible significance.

These are just a few examples. The actual “presenting desire” may be expressed in countless other ways. In all of this, it’s good to be aware that spiritual direction is not problem focused. It’s more about paying attention to the life movements that are pointing us toward deeper relationship with self, others, creation, the holy and responsiveness out of that.

What to Expect

You will be invited to share something of what brings you, what your hopes, concerns and expectations may be at this time. Rest assured that anything you share in this context will be held in strict confidence. Most often meetings last between 45 minutes and one hour. It is typical to meet approximately once a month although sometimes, especially in the beginning of a spiritual direction relationship, you might want to meet more often. You are welcome to ask any questions you may have about the process of spiritual direction.

Is there a “fee”?

While some have a set fee, I do not. The directee is asked to make a love offering that is within their means. This usually ranges from $50 to $100 per session.