When the Spiritual Life Becomes Unsafe
The spiritual life has never promised safety. To follow a path of truth is to risk loss, disorientation, and the gradual undoing of familiar ways of being. The Christian tradition speaks plainly of dying in order to live, of losing one’s life to find it, of descent before resurrection. Such language does not shield us from vulnerability; it names it.
The Director’s Inner Work: Why It Matters
A mandala of wholeness — a reminder that the director’s inner work shapes the space in which others are invited to unfold. Spiritual direction is often described as a ministry of listening, discernment, and accompaniment. Much attention is rightly given to the skills required for this work: attentive presence, theological grounding, prayerful awareness, and an understanding of spiritual traditions and practices. Yet beneath all of this lies something more fundamental and less
Listening to the Heart: Spiritual Direction as Contemplative Presence
How often does it occur in conversation that, when opinions differ or clash, we fail to truly listen? While the other is opening their heart, sharing intimate and often sacred thoughts, we gather just enough of what they say to prepare our response — or our rebuttal — the moment they pause, if we even wait that long. We may call this dialogue, but in truth one person speaks while the other does not listen. After the exchange, roles reverse, and both have spoken — yet neither
Jungian Psychology and Spiritual Direction
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).
Practicing G.R.A.C.E. in Spiritual Direction
G.R.A.C.E. can be an active and adaptive process not only in the spiritual accompaniment encounter but in the context of our whole lived experience, and a powerful resource for us, not just a technique. When we live it, it can become a way in which we align ourselves with our integrity, values and deep aspiration to be of service to others in our life with God.
The Spiritual Director as Anam Cara
The Celtic tradition offers us the wonderful notion of anam cara . In Gaelic the word anam means soul and cara is a word for friend. So anam cara means soul friend . This is not a simple or superficial friendship, but a special and deep one in which one person really supports and guides another. They are the person to whom you can reveal the hidden intimacies of your life - your innermost self, heart and mind, without mask or pretension. In early Celtic history, the anam c
Ethics & Good Practice in Spiritual Direction
An ethical framework for spiritual direction, accompaniment, mentoring and guidance. This framework emerged from a particular moment of discernment within the spiritual direction community in the UK, when questions of accountability, responsibility, and safeguarding were becoming increasingly pressing, yet formal structures remained underdeveloped. While the original project that commissioned this work did not continue, the questions it sought to address have only grown in re
Accreditation for Spiritual Directors?
At the moment, in England, Wales and Scotland, there is no form of accreditation for spiritual directors. Other countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Ireland do have accrediting bodies that can set standards and offer some form of public accountability. In Canada spiritual directors have a path of certification by a state regulating body. In England, however, anyone can call themselves a spiritual director, whether they have received some form of training or not. Altho
Inner & Outer Journeying: Holding the Paradox of the Spiritual Path
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 'Spiritual Journeying' I reflect on 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 can end up seeing ourselves as an improvement project and striving for our own whol
Contemporary Trends in Spiritual Direction: Reflections at a Time of Emergence
Today, around the world and across traditions, the ancient spiritual practice of meeting regularly with a spiritual director is growing and developing. What follows are six observations offered as reflections rather than predictions. These reflections were written in the early 2010s, drawing on conversations and articles published at the time in Presence, the journal of Spiritual Directors International, and in conference conversations among those involved in training spirit
