Jungian spiritual direction aims to help individuals deepen their connection with their inner selves and the divine by exploring the unconscious and embracing the wholeness of their psyche (soul).

In the Christian tradition, many people are becoming more interested again in working with their dreams, recognising some intuitive value and wisdom in them that needs to be listened to. However, most of us these days don't have a clue where to start to begin to try and work with our own dreams. They contain a language of symbolism that is alien to our modern Western mindset. On top of that, as each dream communicates information that is not consciously known by the dreamer,

In today's Western world, there can be a marked separation between spirituality and religion. Public opinion now privileges 'spirituality' above 'religion,' with the latter being regarded with a good deal of suspicion. 'Spirituality', as the term is used today, refers to the personal pursuit of the sacred. 'Religion', however, carries the unfortunate connotations of moralism, piety and hypocrisy. This has been exasperated by recent unearthed widespread sexual abuse in Christi

​Most spiritual paths teach that we come close to God when we 'walk in God's ways' - that is when we embody the divine quality of compassion. In the midrash below, from Jewish mysticism, the attributes of divine mercy revealed to Moses at Mount Sinai form the template for the practice of compassion: ''Walking in all His ways'': (Deut 11:22). What are the ways of the Holy One? ''A God compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, extending kindness to

Using imaginative prayer has been a treasured tradition in Christian prayer for centuries. It inspired Francis of Assisi in the 12th century to encourage people to create nativity scenes at Christmas to imagine the events and people. Aspects of its method can also be found in the 12th century writings of Anselm and Aelred Rievaulx, and it was a favoured method of prayer with Teresa of Avila. In the 16th century, Ignatius Loyola used imaginative prayer as the foundation of his

Art can be a wonderful way of communicating ( both listening and sharing ) with God beyond words. It is not about creating masterpieces, but about allowing patterns to emerge that can offer you new insights and be turned into prayer. Mary Daly (an American philosopher and theologian) understands that it is the creative potential itself in human beings that is the image of God. And our creativity springs not from the intellect but from the play instinct: ' Perhaps the time ha

Looking through the eyes of another can bring into fresh focus those things familiarity can too easily obscure. So, at this Christmas time I share some reflections on the birth and teachings of Jesus Christ as offered by a Tibetan teacher - Lama Yeshe (1935 - 1984) - from talks he gave in the Christmases of 1971-74 when first encountering Western students in Kathmandu.* Although disenchanted with the Christianity of their homelands, and seeking alternative answers in Buddhism

For most people following the spiritual life prayer can be a source of great strength and joy. It can, however, at other times also confront us with questions, problems, guilt, confusion and even discouragement. Certainly, in the work of spiritual direction it never ceases to be a topic of reflection for those following a spiritual path. So, in this series I seek to explore what is prayer? What is its purpose? And to look at various practical issues around prayer drawing on

Spiritual pathology describes how we can distort and undermine our spiritual path and its practices, because of our own deep unresolved inner emotional wounds and issues. I have written in ' Spiritual Life and the Shadow ' how part of our unconscious self - the Shadow - can influence us in often unrecognised ways. We can take this a step further to understand how it can also influence the way we view and distort our chosen spiritual path and its practice; the delusions we ca

I've been staying a stone's throw from Barbara Hepworth's studio and museum in St Ives. So, before the crowds arrive each morning, I slip alone into her extraordinary garden - a captivating blend of sculpture and exotic planting. Her working spaces lie undisturbed as if she has just popped out for a moment to fetch milk for morning tea, or perhaps in her case a packet of cigarettes. The early morning light in St Ives is clear and full of promise, with a hint of the as yet unk