I describe Spiritual Direction as a sacred space where one witnesses and walks alongside another on their spiritual journey, as they share about their life with God.  I believe in offering a safe place where one can honestly reflect and ponder their life - in which I believe God is present and active -  so that one can be enabled to live more fully into that for which they were created.

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I hope to offer Spiritual Direction as a place of deep listening that is non-judgmental and compassionate, where you can explore and deepen your life in Christ (Col 3:3). 

This is a holy time set apart for you where we prayerfully ponder together any spiritual questions, challenges, noticing & discoveries, sorrow or joys - all while we listen for the the still small voice of God (1 Ki 19:12).

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I hope to companion you while bringing along some knowledge of the spiritual life from a Scriptural and Christian worldview.


 

A Guiding Principle for Spiritual Companions...

“Listening is the highest form of hospitality - not to change people

but to offer them space where change can take place.”

— Henri Nouwen

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A spiritual director is one who helps another to recognize and to follow the inspirations of grace in his life,

in order to arrive at the end to which God is leading him.

—Thomas Merton

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In her book Seeking God Together, Alice Fryling writes;

“Spiritual direction is a way of companioning people as they seek to look closely,

through the eyes of their hearts, at the guidance and transforming work of God in their lives.”

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What happens in Spiritual Direction?

 

Spiritual Direction is often called the practice of Holy Listening. 

It is an ancient ministry of the church inspired by Jesus and modeled by Him and how attentive and present to others He was, with great care and compassion .  He often did this by asking them questions (which he of course already knew the answer to) to help them discover, deepen, notice and get in touch with the often unseen Kingdom of God happening right in their midst.

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He (Jesus) asked them, 

"What are you discussing together

as you walk along?”

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“Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem

who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

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“What things?” he asked.

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Luke 24:17, 19

 

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Spiritual Direction is the practice of one helping another awaken to and notice the presence, voice and movement of God in their life and spirit.  And to encourage the discovery of a growing relationship thru Christ of freedom, contentment, love and purpose. 

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The Sessions have a flexible format:

• An Opening Prayer and Check-in

• Brief Silence for Quieting & Preparation for Listening

• Sharing what is on your heart/presenting by directee (that's you)

• Silence/Listening

• Reflective questions by director and responses and reflections from you

• Silence/Listening

• Closing Prayer & Summary thoughts

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How often does one receive Spiritual Direction? 

Mature Christ followers engage in spiritual direction on a regular basis their entire lives.  Most receive direction monthly.  Like going regularly to the gym or to routine doctor check ups - it is the consistent attendance to our spiritual lives that keeps them healthy.

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"The goal of spiritual direction is spiritual formation -

the ever increasing capacity to live a spiritual life from the heart."  Henri Nouwen

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"Why Work with a Spiritual Director?

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Spiritual Direction helps me give caring attention to my relationship with

God, accompanied by the prayerful presence of someone who helps me listen well to God.

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• They offer deep holy listening which helps people find and follow their own spiritual path

• They ask insightful, open-ended questions that help people connect with their authentic selves

• They allow space for stillness and silence to help people become aware of what is deep within them

• They build trust and openness by being authentic, kind and open themselves

• They do not proselytize, nor seek to influence or convince, but instead walk alongside people as they make their individual and unique spiritual journeys 

• They honor the free will and discernment of each human being, especially in spiritual matters

• They offer a mirror to those they companion so they may see themselves as whole beings if they so choose

• They help the people they accompany create a stronger relationship with self and others and God

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Spiritual direction is not counseling.

Spiritual direction is not therapy.

Spiritual direction is not financial advice."

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- from; Spiritual Directors International Website

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Sessions are usually an hour and our first brief meeting is complimentary, thereafter a fee is greatly appreciated.

To schedule an initial introductory meeting click here

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Sessions are available in person in the Palatine & Wheaton, IL areas and via Zoom

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I also have training in companioning retreatants through the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises, if you are needing a Spiritual Director while doing the retreat exercises.

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I am a member in good standing of ESDA and affirm the beliefs stated in the Doctrinal Statement found here and the tenets of their statement of faith. 

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and I'm also a member of SDI, and follow their Code of Ethics.

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How Does Spiritual Direction differ from other helping roles?

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Adapted from Jeannette Bakke’s Holy Invitations: Exploring Spiritual Direction (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2000. Pp. 28-29).

 

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What is Spiritual Direction?

"The Christian life often entails times of spiritual uncertainty—situations in which we are unsure of God’s will, confused about what God is doing in our circumstances, or generally dry in our relationship with God. Spiritual direction is a safe place to explore your questions and concerns about your life with God."

- Grafted Life/ESDA

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What Spiritual Direction can not do for you...(click here)

 

 

 

 

 

Quotes about Spiritual Direction

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“The call of the spiritual director is to be a conduit of God who assists directees in recognizing the activity of God’s holy presence. The spiritual director must be mindful that the ultimate director is the Holy Spirit.   The soul care of the director’s purpose and assignment is to draw the attention of the directee to God and away from the consuming cares and systems of the world. The goal is to lead the directee to greater intimacy with our holy, loving God.”

Soul Care - by Barbara Peacock

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“Spiritual Directors are there to help others attend to God’s presence and revelation and prepare to respond to him. In other words, they help people attune themselves to God.”

— David Benner, Sacred Companions

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"T h e  P r o c e s s  o f  D i r e c t i o n

     Spiritual direction is sometimes referred to as spiritual guidance, spiritual friendship or spiritual companionship. It is an ongoing relationship in which you (the directee) seek to be attentive to your spiritual life by meeting with another person (the director) on a regular basis (approximately once a month), specifically for the purpose of becoming more attuned to God’s Presence in all of life.

     Thus the primary focus of each meeting time is your relationship with God as it is reflected and challenged by all aspects of your life. You, the directee, assume responsibility for your life with God. This means that you are trying to be serious about some form of intentional prayer and reflection on the God-currents of everyday life and prayer. During the meeting of about one hour, both you and the director seek to enter a prayerful atmosphere where together you can be attentive to the Holy Spirit who is in fact the Real Director."

- The Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation

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"What does it mean to hold space for someone else? It means that we are willing to walk alongside another person in whatever journey they’re on without judging them, making them feel inadequate, trying to fix them, or trying to impact the outcome. When we hold space for other people, we open our hearts, offer unconditional support, and let go of judgement and control."

-Heather Plett

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Spiritual Direction (or What is it you Do?)

Maureen M. Martin 

 

Grounded in the presence of God’s abiding love,

We meet and talk about life and spirit,

God’s action and our response,

Finding God in ordinary living.

 

We breathe, We wonder, We are grateful, We pray.

 

In awe, I sit with another basking in the glow.

Working for God, I rest in compassion.

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 "The phrase 'spiritual direction' is a misnomer in a way, because it is not so much about being directed as it is about being open, receptive, aware of and responsive to the movement of the Spirit in the directee's life. It is understood that the Holy Spirit is the true Director, Advocate, or Counselor given to lead us into truth as we are able to bear it (John 15, 16). The director is present to assist the directee in paying attention to the invitations of the Holy Spirit and to support the directee in making a faithful response." - Ruth Haley Barton

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There is a tradition of using the word "director", and this probably won't be changing soon, but truly God is the Director, and the Spiritual Director simply assists the seeker (the directee) who comes  to uncover and discover the direction of God in their life. This enables the directee to see, claim, receive, own, and reverence God's voice, God's nudging, and God's acting, in such a way that it moves one into a genuine response of living from one's true self and all the plans God has for them.

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"Spiritual direction is, in reality, nothing more than a way of leading us to see and obey the real Director

— the Holy Spirit hidden in the depths of our soul."

(Thomas Merton, Trappist monk)

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Click here to watch a Video with Parker Palmer, PhD, as he discusses his own personal journey with Spiritual Direction.

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"Spiritual Direction is helping others come into recognition of their true self. Spiritual Companions(Directors) simply help put up a mirror to our directee’s so that they can see who they already are.  We are not teaching or imparting any great wisdom other than the ability to mirror what our directee’s already have within them....that longing for union with God"

Anil Singh-Molares, MTS

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     Spiritual direction is “help given by one Christian to another which enables that person to pay attention to God’s personal communication to him or her, to respond to this personally communicating God, to grow in intimacy with this God, and to live out the consequences of the relationship.”

-William A. Barry and William J. Connolly, The Practice of Spiritual Direction

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"Spiritual direction  - also called spiritual companionship - explores a deeper relationship with the spiritual aspect of being human. 

Spiritual direction has emerged in many contexts using language specific to particular cultural and spiritual traditions. Describing spiritual direction requires putting words to a process of fostering a transcendent experience that lies beyond all names and yet the experience longs to be articulated and made concrete in everyday living. It is easier to describe what spiritual direction does than what spiritual direction is. Our role is not to define spiritual direction, but to describe the experience.

Spiritual direction helps us learn how to live in peace, with compassion, promoting justice, as humble servants of that which lies beyond all names."

-Liz Budd Ellmann, MDiv, former Executive Director, Spiritual Directors International

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"Spiritual direction is the contemplative practice of helping another person or group to awaken to the mystery of God in all of life, and to respond to that discovery in a growing relationship of freedom and commitment."

-James Keegan, SJ, Roman Catholic

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Richard J. Foster writes...

"Spir­i­tu­al direc­tion is for any­one yearn­ing for God. Some­times this desire appears as a sense of long­ing for some­thing greater or a sense of dis­con­tent with the sta­tus quo. For oth­ers this pin­ing is more focused, ris­ing from a clear under­stand­ing that a sense of God’s pres­ence is miss­ing from par­tic­u­lar parts of life.

Of course, an under­ly­ing assump­tion and basis for spir­i­tu­al direc­tion is that God — Father, Son, and Holy Spir­it — is active­ly draw­ing us into the Eter­nal Pres­ence. God is the one, true ​“direc­tor,” work­ing con­stant­ly, active­ly, pow­er­ful­ly in the very midst of our ordi­nary, every­day rou­tines and life cir­cum­stances. A spir­i­tu­al direc­tion rela­tion­ship is one way to help us pay atten­tion to this Divine work. It inter­rupts our typ­i­cal rou­tine long enough to help us notice God’s woo­ing of us and become more deeply aware of God’s pres­ence with us."

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“To listen to another’s soul into a condition of disclosure and discovery may be the greatest service that any human being performs for another.”

— Douglas V. Steere

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FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SPIRITUAL DIRECTION click here.

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Interested in becoming a spiritual director?  join me at Christos!

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