People often wonder what to talk about when they come to spiritual direction.
The intention in a spiritual guidance session is to probe and explore–sometimes gently, and at other times with passion and strong inquiry–the movement of God, or grace, or spirit, energy, or flow in our lives. The result is that a dynamic, emerging experience might ensue, and bring us insights, healing, and wholeness.
During spiritual direction sessions, we weave life experiences, dreams, a broken heart, a healing heart,
cares, concerns, interactions in our family and the workplace, our vision for wholeness in our own lives
and the world, feelings, prayers, and relationships with God and people we interact with in daily living.
Ways to focus your attention in a spiritual guidance session:
- Share about a powerful experience of connection with others, yourself, or in nature.
- Reflect upon the practice of your prayer life or contemplative practice.
- First notice, then speak about, the cares and concerns in the world which grab your heart and won’t let go.
- Delve into images of the Divine, God, or the Sacred that emerge, morph, and shift in your life. Be curious about what is constant and what changes through time.
- Pay attention when something in the now is reminiscent of your past experiences and story. Ask yourself, and be willing to wonder, if there could be a new meaning or significance created.
- Be honest with areas of your life that invite discernment, a decision, or action.
- Be willing to risk difficult conversations about aspects of your life that you would prefer to keep hidden.
- Notice and celebrate where love, joy, and commitment bring peace to you and others.
There is not a prescribed roadmap that defines your time together.
Ask yourself:
“What intrigues me to explore?”
“Where am I invited to stretch and grow, or let go?”
Then be willing to go the distance into the inner journey that ultimately takes an outer form with your embodied action in time and space.
“The sacred moments, the moments of miracle,
are often the everyday moments.”
Frederick Buechner
From:
Listen: A Seeker’s Resource for Spiritual Direction (Oct 2014, Vol. 8, Issue 4, p. 3)- A Spiritual Directors International Publication