Why I Work With a Spiritual Director

I work with a spiritual director because I cannot appreciate everything on my own.

For a long time, I stayed in the shallows of my spiritual life. I accepted what I had been taught, even when it did not fit very well with my own experiences of spiritual depth. I was motivated to find and accept the right answers, even when those answers did not satisfy my own longings for spiritual truth. I saw my self as a physical person with spiritual aspects, not a spiritual person with physical aspects.

I was asleep to myself, and needed help waking up.

I first learned about what spiritual directors do from a novel. One of the characters began working with a spiritual director to deal with a specific challenge, and their relationship continued and developed. The spiritual director asked questions and listened to the answers. With insight, respect, and humor, they worked together to recognize the deeper aspects of life struggles. The spiritual director shared their wisdom and experience without telling the other person what to do.

I have worked with several spiritual directors. Each has helped me recognize and appreciate myself in new ways. Each has introduced me to aspects of my true self that I had not appreciated before.

Working with a spiritual director is a unique experience. It is an ongoing conversation that supports my being authentic with myself about what is most deeply significant to me. I am free to talk about anything, to tell the truth about everything. It is talking with someone who listens deeply to me and whose only interest in what I say is that I am honest with myself.

I can tell them anything, and they help me tell the truth.

How could a good spiritual director help you today?

[Image by h.koppdelaney]