Spirituality & Our Emotions

Welcome to Reflections on the Spiritual Life

Here you will find articles on spiritual direction, psychology and spirituality, contemplative practice, and the deeper movements of the spiritual life. Drawing on decades of experience in psychospiritual work and spiritual accompaniment, these reflections explore common themes such as shadow material, prayer struggles, images of God, dreamwork, and the emotional dynamics that shape our spiritual journey.

Whether you are seeking support in your own inner life or resources for spiritual direction practice,

I hope these writings offer clarity, depth, and encouragement.

Frost-covered yellow flower close-up, with ice crystals on petals and stem. Soft green background creates a serene, cold mood depicting how we can cover over our inner reality.

Spiritual Bypassing: Discernment, Healing, and the Holding Presence of God

When our spiritual practice is not integrated with our psychological material, it can lead to shadow problems. We split ourselves in an unhelpful way that is not true to any path of wholeness or spiritual transformation.

Vibrant blues, yellows, greens blend creating a fluid, dynamic feel depicting the swirl of our emotional life and nature.

Spiritual Life and Our Emotions: A Contemplative Way of Being

Having looked at some of the benefits and challenges of our emotions in the spiritual life and journey, we can now explore some practical ancient ways of meditative prayer to facilitate this process. The key is to find, and rest in, a place of undefended awareness where we can open to the divine with intention of heart in the midst of our emotional turmoil; returning again and again to the unconditional divine embrace that offers us this freedom of heart. So, below, I explor

Close-up of a dictionary page highlighting the word "Psychology" in bold. The page is well-lit, with surrounding text slightly blurred showing the importance of our psychology in the spiritual path.

Spiritual Life and Our Emotions: When Spirituality Avoids Feeling

Spiritual bypassing names a subtle but pervasive tendency within spiritual life: the use of spiritual beliefs or practices to avoid painful feelings, unresolved wounds, and developmental needs. While often unconscious and well-intentioned, it can quietly undermine growth, wholeness, and genuine transformation. What Is Spiritual Bypassing? The term spiritual bypassing, coined by psychologist John Welwood in 1983, describes the use of spiritual beliefs or practices to avoid eng

Abstract art of two overlapping profiles in swirling warm hues, featuring blue and orange tones, creating a swirling, flowing mood suggesting the emotional currents we can find ourselves caught up in.

Spiritual Life and Our Emotions: Toward Wholeness and Integration

Transformation of our emotion life remains one of the greatest challenges confronting us on our spiritual path. Emotions and the Spiritual Struggle Indeed, perhaps in exasperation, many historical strands of Christianity relegated feelings to an inferior and suspect status, often seeing them as manifestations of female weakness far less trustworthy and more 'primitive' than 'male' rational powers. Strong feelings needed to be muted for fear of muddying objectivity, with 'dis