Finding a Spiritual Director has not always been that easy in the UK. As I discuss in my article Contemporary Trends in Spiritual Direction , historically this ancient ministry has been rather hidden away, available only to those in the know within the Church, such as priests and monastics. You can find out more about this, and contemporary changes, in my article on The History of Spiritual Direction . In recent years things have begun to open up much more. More people have b

In my earlier post on Spiritual Landscapes I describe the contemplative places where our inner and outer spiritual journeying can come together, and in my post Travelling... about the living paradox of how there both is and isn't a journey to God. It is key to hold both understandings in mind as we reflect on our spiritual life and path. If we go to the extreme of one side, we end up seeing ourselves as an improvement project and striving for our own wholeness, not living i

Spiritual abuse is a much under discussed subject that is sadly more prevalent in spiritual contexts, including mainstream religions, than is widely recognised. While physical forms of abuse are easy to condemn, much needs to be done to improve on recognising subtle emotional and psychological abuse. One definition of spiritual abuse is: 'the mistreatment of a person who is in need of help and support or increased spiritual empowerment with the result of weakening, undermini

Listening to the Holy, listening to others and listening to ourselves are all vital to the spiritual life and journey. And to be able to truly listen in all these places requires both courage and vulnerability, for deep listening can both move and change us. Br David Steindl-Rats reminds us that 'Without silence there can be no listening.' As I explore in 'Silent Mind, Holy Mind,' silence is the space in which words are heard. The Hebrew sage Solomon ibn Gabiol also says,

Today, around the world and across traditions, the ancient spiritual practice of meeting regularly with a spiritual director is growing and developing. Here, I explore 6 key contemporary trends based on my own experience, and drawing on recent comments by Liz Budd Ellmann (executive director of Spiritual Director's International)* and reflections from a recent Retreat Association conference of those across the UK involved in running training Courses in Spiritual Direction.

In our Western world many people suffer from an inability to live with paradox and contradiction. We have lost touch with paradoxical, mystical or contemplative thinking in an education system with its basis in formal laws of logic and linearity, which has an unfortunate tendency to reinforce either/ or dualistic thinking. The startling idea that truth can be multilayered, unpredictable and contradictory is generally not a part of our modern Western world. Yet many of our gre

Spiritual direction is not a modern innovation but a very ancient and simple process of one person offering another spiritual guidance and counsel. In the Christian tradition this goes back to the Old Testament with Moses giving guidance to the Israelites in the desert and Eli helping Samuel in how to answer when God called. In the New Testament, Paul wrote letters of spiritual guidance to new groups of converts across the Roman Empire. In the 3rd, 4th and 5th Centuries this

My intention is to write a series of blog articles drawing on my work in the interface of spiritual direction and psychology, and from my own experience in following a spiritual path and supporting others in theirs. My aim is to help with key issues often faced, but perhaps less often spoken about, in the spiritual life. My hope is that something here may help... may speak to you, and offer some insight and support wherever it is you find yourself. The spiritual life is at h

Are you wondering what the similarities and differences are between counselling or therapy, and spiritual direction? After all, they both use many of the same active listening skills in working with people. Both offer a safe and supportive space for the person to talk about their lives. Indeed, they both can cover very similar ground in that in spiritual direction the person can share anything from their life experience that is with them at this time, not just their prayer o

What is spiritual direction? The first thing to say about spiritual direction is that it's not about telling people what to do, but rather about helping people find and follow their spiritual direction in life. Sometimes it is called spiritual accompaniment or spiritual companioning, or even spiritual mentoring. Sometimes people refer to themselves as 'soul friends' of another - 'anam cara' in the Christian Celtic tradition. Below, I have gathered together a wide range of p