What is spiritual direction, anyway?

What is spiritual direction, anyway?

Guest commentary by Kathy Finley

Although I’m mainly retired, I do some spiritual direction from my home office. When people ask what that is, it’s a little tricky to explain. But let me try.

Spiritual direction — or perhaps better spiritual companionship — is listening together with another person to where the Holy Spirit, the presence of God, in the other’s life might be leading that person.

Perhaps one of the best descriptions I’ve seen is by the Rev. Dr. Carol Vaccariello:

“We all are spiritually hungry. We all need someone to walk with us. To journey with us. To give us the courage, to give us the incentive, to give us the inspiration. And that’s what a spiritual director is. That’s what we do.”

Although I don’t remember for sure, this likely came from the website for Spiritual Directors International (SDI) It’s a great resource located in the Northwest, which can help you locate a spiritual director if you ever desire one.

Spiritual companionship

When someone comes to me for spiritual direction — or when I go to my spiritual director because we all need one — there is a lot of deep listening to the ways that life is unfolding for that person and how that might be further explored. The common denominator here is faith — or a search for it.

Many people who come to me are from another denomination or aren’t really sure where they are with God at all right now. When I see my director I often get a needed nudge or another set of eyes or ears to catch something that is right in front of me but that I’ve missed till now.

The usual frequency for meeting with a director is every month or two, although there were times in my life when I would only seek a director when I was facing a life choice and needed some wisdom as I did.

The process of direction can take many forms. Because I’m both a reader and writer, I may often suggest a book or an article based on what I’ve heard in a session. However, many may not do that. Quite often my director will start with some poetry or a meditation, which usually seems to be eerily on target for what’s happening in my life.

In these conversations about life in the light of faith, God is the ultimate spiritual director, which is why it’s more accurate to call the process spiritual companionship.

A soul friend

St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, has helped shape spiritual direction as we know it today and the role of the director. Long before him, though, there was a strong tradition of an anam cara, a soul friend, in the Celtic church.

There are a number of training programs for this work around the country, usually connected to a Catholic institution, but not always. A clergy person is not necessarily trained or capable in spiritual direction and a growing number of lay people are. So it’s good to check out a person’s background and experience before asking to see them for direction.

The result, as the SDI website describes it, is:

“In spiritual companionship, a trained or experienced companion uses deep listening to encourage the spiritual story of the other to unfurl. Through this relationship, the person seeking companionship is empowered to explore a deeper experience of God, Allah, Tao, The Universe, or however you may refer to the ground of all being and, at the same time, enjoy a deeper experience of their own lives.”