SPIRITUAL DIRECTION
~ SOUL FRIENDSHIP ~
A person without a soul friend is like a body without a head.
— Gaelic saying often ascribed to St. Brigid
INTRODUCTORY TALK ON SPIRITUAL DIRECTION
In addition to offering spiritual direction, mentoring and supervising spiritual directors, I give introductory talks to local communities and groups on Spiritual Direction.
• SOUL FRIEND
What Is Spiritual Direction?
This talk offers a basic introduction to the ministry of spiritual direction, speaking briefly to its history, practice, and purpose, clarifying what it is and what it is not, and giving listeners a tangible idea of what happens in spiritual direction. The presentation is intended to give a short, informative explanation of spiritual guidance and to generate questions and conversation. This talk is helpful for anyone considering spiritual direction or any group of adults interested in developing a more conscious, enlivening, and responsible spiritual life.
PRESENTATIONS FOR SPIRITUAL DIRECTORS
The following are presentations on relevant topics to spiritual directors and spiritual directors-in-training. Depending on the format, our time will include some or all of the following: presentation, quiet reflection, spiritual practice, small and large group dialogue, and ritual action.
◙ BEING A SOUL FRIEND
10 Convictions that Guide My Guidance
It is important that as spiritual directors we have a theological framework or theory that informs and guides our soul care. Whether for an architect, actor, or spiritual guide, theory is no extraneous luxury. Rather, it is the vision that inspires, illuminates, guides, and sustains our practice. This presentation is grounded in both personal study and what I have discovered from my years of accompanying others as a spiritual director. The purpose of the presentation is to encourage the participants to reflect on and elucidate the core convictions that inform and shape their ministry of spiritual guidance.
◙ LIVING IN THE REALM OF OOH!
Cultivating a Spirituality with Integrity
In this presentation, we will look at essential movements in the spiritual life and begin to consider how to cultivate a spirituality with integrity, one that connects wonder and deep sympathy, and is characterized by authenticity, aliveness, and responsibility. Particular attention will be given to exploring how understanding and living the mystical and prophetic dimensions of faith help us to discover the fullness of what it means to be human and holy. We will examine how appreciation and integration of these two movements in the spiritual life will be the seeds of a spirituality that can sustain us personally, guide us communally, and heal us globally.
◙ A LISTENING HEART
Spiritual Direction as Lectio Divina
Girl Reading by Pablo Picasso
In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in the ancient practice of Lectio Divina (divine reading or holy listening). This tried and true way of praying with scripture opens us to God and moves us toward contemplation. We will consider the movements of Lectio Divina and explore how this practice can imaginatively inform and influence our understanding and practice of spiritual direction. Time will be given to silence, reflection, listening to each other, and illuminating dialogue.
◙ FALLING INTO GRACE
The Terrible Beauty of Transformation
Night Divers, Margie Sheppard www.margiesheppard.com*
At the heart of authentic, adult spirituality is the invitation to inner transformation. But the soul’s summons to transformation often comes as a “terrible beauty” instigated by life changing events and experiences that call into question our easy assumptions and prized convictions about ourselves, others, God, and how life “ought” to be. Using a fresh understanding of the purpose and function of parable, we will examine the dynamic movements of transformation in order to see the sacred possibilities within experiences of loss and limit that subvert our lives. As spiritual directors, we will consider how to accompany, support, and encourage people going through the process of transformation when it is initiated by the painful experience of loss, grief, disappointment, failure, tragedy, darkness, intense suffering, or being broken open by life?
◙ SINGING FROM THE DEPTHS
The Psalms, the Life of Faith, and Spiritual Direction
Psalm Prayer, Julie Lonneman**
There is much wisdom to be gleaned from the psalms that can inform and enhance our ministry of spiritual direction. We will use Walter Brueggemann’s organization of the psalms into song-prayers of orientation, disorientation, and new orientation as a lens through which we can look to better understand the phases and transitions in the life of faith. With the psalm as a metaphor, we will consider how to recognize the psalm directees are singing at a given time in their lives and how best to accompany, support, and guide them along the way.
◙ THE DIRECTION GIVEN TO LOVE
Spiritual Guidance and Social Justice
The Universe Speaks by Manon Doyle***
Spiritual direction is a ministry that serves to support others in living an authentic spirituality. A mature, holistic spirituality involves more than the inner life. It orients practitioners toward wholeness, holiness, and the fullness of life and its authenticity, credibility, and responsibility are tested by whether it makes us more aware of and responsive to the realities of the world. Consequently, concern for and action on behalf of justice are constitutive dimensions of an integral spiritual life and therefore necessarily the concern of spiritual direction. We will consider the essential ingredients of a holistic spirituality, the importance and meaning of social justice in the life of faith, the relationship between spiritual direction and social justice, and justice issues within the practice of spiritual direction itself.
◙ CONFIRMING WHAT IS DEEPEST
Spiritual Direction and Practicing the Presence of God
Golden Hill by Bridget Guerzon Mills www.guerzonmills.com ****
This presentation emphasizes the vision and practice of spiritual direction as a contemplative ministry of deep listening and compassionate accompaniment. At the heart of spiritual direction is the embodied expression of presence – the presence of the director to the directee, and presence of both the directee and the director to God who is Presence. In addition to considering a theology of presence and different ways to be present, we will share spiritual practices that cultivate and support contemplative presence.
*Night Divers, Margie Sheppard, www.margiesheppard.com
** Psalm Prayer, Julie Lonneman. Used with permission. https://www.trinitystores.com/store/artist/Julie-Lonneman
*** The Universe Speaks – Manon Doyle, http://sistersofthesun.com/
**** Golden Hill, Bridget Guerzon Mills, www.guerzonmills.com