about
Holy Listening
&
Spiritual Direction
We are humbly grateful you are seeking a deeper relationship with God on your spiritual journey. In an ideal world, a Spiritual Director is someone you meet with in person. However, in these times and in many circumstances, that is not always possible. Our intention at Holy Listening, is to meet with you online and perhaps also by phone. Online Spiritual Direction can include, Skype, Zoom, FaceTime or any other kind of video conversation. The Internet has made Spiritual Direction available to anyone in the world and we are grateful.
Each Spiritual Director has a wealth of experience. Although we received our professional training from different Spiritual Formation Centers, we follow the same Code of Ethics as identified through SDI or Spiritual Director’s International.
Our personal histories and life experiences have created fertile soil for growth. In other words, we have each walked through at least some fertilizer on our own life journeys. Everything and anything you bring to spiritual direction is an opportunity for growth and the moving of the Holy.
We invite you to get to know us by linking to our personal pages here. Ideally, a Spiritual Director is someone you meet with in person. However, in these times and in many circumstances, that is not always possible. Our intention is to meet with you online and perhaps also by phone. Online Spiritual Direction can include, Skype, Zoom, FaceTime or any other kind of video chat. The Internet has made Spiritual Direction available to anyone in the world and we are grateful. We are humbly grateful you are seeking a deeper relationship with God on your spiritual journey.
Thank you for your interest in Spiritual Direction. We endeavor to become “listeners” through the seasons of your life journey. If you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to bring those to our attention. If you choose to begin your Spiritual Direction process with us, welcome to the journey! May our God and creator of seasons be with you always.
Spiritual direction explores a deeper relationship with the spiritual aspect of being human. Simply put, spiritual direction is helping people tell their sacred stories every day. 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.
Spiritual direction is] the contemplative practice of helping another person or group to awaken to the mystery called God in all of life, and to respond to that discovery in a growing relationship of freedom and commitment. – Spiritual Directors International
Spiritual direction is an ongoing relationship, with monthly sessions (or less frequent, in some cases) that enable deepening sensitivity to how the Spirit is working in your life. Ideally, these sessions take place face-to-face, but doing them via phone, Skype, Facetime or other interactive means also works well. The spiritual director listens deeply and prayerfully to your sharing, attentive to signs of the Spirit's influence and guidance, offering feedback and, occasionally, suggestions. Topics for a session can be anything you would like to process, but the general focus will always come back to your growth in the Spirit. Spiritual direction is not psychological counseling and is not meant to take the place of a healing therapy that might be helpful to you. Therapy and spiritual direction can be concurrent. Philip St. Romain, M.S., D. Min. www.Shalomplace.com
Spiritual Direction is an intimate and contemplative spiritual process between an individual an trained Spiritual Director. Together, the pair explores the spiritual aspects of being human, often within the context of major life circumstances or life changes. In spiritual direction, you reflect deeply on the experiences in your spiritual life. Gradually, as you contemplate, you may begin to recognize God’s presence and grace in your life. Spiritual direction is not about being directed. Rather, it is very much about being encouraged to draw closer to God or spirit. Spiritual direction invites you into this relationship whether you attend a church, mosque, synagogue, temple, or none of these. www.breadoflife.org