What even IS Spiritual Direction?

Spiritual Direction involves listening deeply to the Sacred (God, the Spirit, or whomever God is to you) through meeting with someone trained to support that listening. The underlying premise is that God is present and active in your daily life; by seeking out Spiritual Direction, you have expressed the desire to develop a habit of noticing this, and being changed by that honed awareness.

Spiritual Direction, also known as Spiritual Guidance or Spiritual Accompaniment, is a conversation of the heart. It uses all our faculties (intuition, emotion, imagination, senses, and intellect) — mine and yours. The more self-aware you become, the more you discover of God. The more you know God, the more you know yourself and your vocational purposes. Intimacy with God naturally leads to transformation, healing, and action.

What does a Spiritual Direction appointment look like?

Currently, I’m doing all of my Direction work via Zoom. A session may last about an hour, which will usually start with a brief period of shared silence. Once we’ve used that silent pause to set aside the busyness of life and begun to find grounding, you’ll have the chance to explore the questions that life has raised in you lately. I will ask questions, offer perspective, and sometimes share prayer practices that might be useful to you.

What are the commitments of the Directee? 

As the Directee, you commit to a willingness to be open to God and to self-discovery, to regularly seek God in whatever way is most natural to you, and to share your spiritual needs and goals so that the time spent in direction can be most beneficial to you.

What are the responsibilities of the Spiritual Director?

As your Spiritual Director, it is my responsibility to be a curious, safe, and faithful companion on the journey. I will not try to analyze or “fix” you. What we do together will not be therapy, though it may occur in parallel with work with a therapist if you find that helpful. Besides being aware of your spiritual needs, I am also responsible for nurturing my own connection to Spirit through regular spiritual practices, time with my own Director, continuing education and participation in a peer community of practice with other Directors. We both commit to showing up on time for our appointments, or giving sufficient notice when life intervenes.

Is Spiritual Direction confidential?

Conversations are confidential; I will not reveal content shared during our sessions unless legally required to do so. (You, however, are free to share whatever you want.) For my professional growth, I do ask permission to occasionally reflect on aspects of our exchanges within the confidential circle of my community of practice, without using your name or identifying details. The feedback received in that context is part of my own development as a Director.

How often do we get together?

In the beginning, I suggest meeting once a month for a session that lasts up to an hour. (In my own experience, though my Director sets aside an entire hour, I find that I am often saturated in 45-50 minutes. There’s nothing magical about an hour.) After three or four months, we will evaluate how well direction is meeting your expectations and decide whether to continue. Thereafter, we will meet according to an agreed-upon schedule—usually every 4-6 weeks—and evaluate annually whether or not the relationship continues to be fruitful. Either of us are free to end our spiritual direction relationship at any point.

How much does Spiritual Direction cost?

I charge a sliding scale of $60-90 per session, based on your assessment of your ability to pay. I’m not a fan of billing, so payment should occur directly via agreed upon electronic method or check. I do not want finances to be the sole cause for someone not entering direction, so please talk with me regarding your situation if you need financial assistance.  

How can I learn more before committing and diving in?

We’ll start with a free initial conversation so we can meet each other, feel out if we are likely to be a good fit, and decide if we want to pursue Spiritual Direction in earnest. That “good fit” thing is really important in a Spiritual Direction relationship, so pausing to assess that with an opening chat just makes sense. (And again — there’s no cost to that first meeting.)