Spiritual directors have five conversational tools we use to help the person we are talking with share more deeply. These aren’t secrets and you don’t have to be a spiritual director to use them. They are especially helpful if the person you are talking with feels safe with you and wants to talk about important aspects of their life. They are “hospitality-in-action.” Silence. Listen in order to understand what the person is saying and not to develop your own witty... Read more
People sometimes wonder if Christians of the progressive, liberal, contemplative persuasion (like me) believe–really believe—in resurrection. Although I don’t usually share Christological perspectives in this blog, I’m making an exception this week. It doesn’t matter to me how Jesus of Nazareth lived on after the crucifixion. What matters to me is that new life is possible. That is at the heart of spiritual direction, whether you do it from a strictly Christian perspective or if you take a more multi-faith approach... Read more
One of the hardest aspects of life is to hold onto joy while the world around us is teeming with violence. Last Wednesday morning I was having a leisurely prayer time after which I clicked on Google News to discover that a man had gone on a shooting spree in Mesa, AZ just 20 miles east of my house at the same time I was meditating. Just a few blocks from my house is a lovely park with a duck pond, historic buildings and... Read more
We’ve all had a Seattle moment. It’s a crucial time, we have the power and the means but instead of using what we know we opt for the risky move and……game over, we lose. In spiritual discernment it is important to not just gather as many facts about the practical situation but to pay attention to them! Many voices in our culture tell us, “take risks, it’s OK to fail—that’s how we learn.” That’s good advice if we are timid... Read more
The MLK holiday is the perfect time to reflect on the spiritual practices that kept one of the most famous civil rights activists connected to God. I encountered this list of practices in seminary when we studied William O. Paulsell’s classic book Rules for Prayer. People of prayer frequently have intentional practices and attitudes that they cultivate. Based on St. Benedict’s famous “Rule” for his order, we call these “Rules for Prayer.” Rule doesn’t mean mandatory or obligatory. It’s an... Read more
The CNN headline was jarring to anyone in spiritual leadership: “The Paris terrorists were connected to an al-Qaeda spiritual mentor.” As if it could be possible for any spiritual guide from any religion to advise his or her students to commit violence. Of course anyone can claim to be a spiritual mentor. Just like anyone can claim the title of spiritual director or spiritual companion. There are lots of narcissistic people in the world who would love to have the... Read more
Perhaps one of your goals for 2015 is to explore spiritual direction. Here’s what you need to know to get started. Spiritual direction is a confidential monthly one-on-one session devoted to your relationship with the Divine. The spiritual director’s job is to accompany you as you explore life experiences–challenges, questions, blessings, insights and awareness. Your job as directee is to simply come with a willingness to share your experiences with the director. Spiritual direction is not just for clergy or... Read more
This is the final day of Advent. Tonight is Christmas Eve and tomorrow is Christmas. We conclude our Advent prayer series right where we began—Praying the Nativity. In today’s imagination prayer, we find ourselves spending time with Mary, the new mother. Mary is sometimes known as Theotokos, a Greek word meaning “God-bearer.” Each of us helps create and re-create God’s desire in the world, so we are all, in a sense, God-bearers. In this prayer, feel what it is like... Read more
There are only two stories of Jesus’ birth in the Gospels—Luke’s and Matthew’s. For this prayer, we will be using lectio divina (praying with scripture) with Matthew’s nativity story. When praying scripture, it is more important that you allow the scripture to speak to you than it is to intellectually understand it. There is a time and place for interpretation and historical context, but lectio divina is not about that. It’s about experiencing scripture as a living window to the... Read more
If you feel you are losing yourself in the busy-ness of this Advent season, this prayer can help ground you in the present. It’s really a meditation technique for people who have trouble with the usual meditation instructions (following your breath; using a mantra; concentrating on an object). This simple technique is a way of praying our direct experience. In this prayer we are not concerned with the past or the future. Just right now. The Practice Find a comfortable... Read more
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