What is Spiritual Direction?
"We need someone who encourages us when we are tempted to give it all up, to forget it all, to just walk away in despair... We need someone who can suggest to us when to read and when to be silent, which words to reflect upon and what to do when silence creates much fear and little peace."
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Henri Nouwen, Spiritual Direction
"There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have. And if you cannot hear it, you will all your life spend your days on the ends of strings that someone else pulls. "
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The Rev. Dr. Howard Thurman
"... [We] all have an inner teacher whose guidance is more reliable than anything we can get from a doctrine, ideology, collective belief system, institution or leader... [We] all need other people to invite, amplify, and help us discern the inner teacher's voice."
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Parker Palmer, A Hidden Wholeness: Journey Toward an Undivided Life
Spiritual direction is the ancient spiritual practice of meeting with a spiritual director to listen to your life for your own inner wisdom - - whether you call that wisdom your "inner teacher,” the "sound of the genuine," or the voice of the Sacred. Spiritual direction is an intentional relationship, dedicated to the spiritual growth of the seekers looking for spiritual direction in their life.
Spiritual directors are trained in formal training programs to listen for that inner voice and help you to recognize it. They commit to a code of professional ethics, professional supervision, and continuing education. Spiritual directors do not lead or direct seekers. Rather, spiritual directors are coaches for your soul. They listen in a confidential, supportive, and non-judgmental way, in order to help you to recognize your own inner wisdom and develop the freedom to follow it.
