FAQ #2: How does Spiritual Direction Work?

A spiritual director or companion is present to the directee through deep listening. Typically, this happens in an hour-long, one-on-one meeting either in person or via tele-conferencing. But it can also happen in a small group (2-4 people) in a ninety minute or two-hour session depending on the size. This meeting offers a safe, hospitable environment to openly and prayerfully explore where God’s Spirit is present, speaking, inviting, and leading. The directee is encouraged to draw close to God through conversation, listening, and prayer.

The role of a spiritual director is not to give you answers or to tell you how to fix a situation. A spiritual director is not a therapist who gives you tools, resources, and pathways to finds solutions to problems. In fact, in most situations if I’m directly asked, “What do you think I should do?” I will encourage you to listen to your own wisdom and to trust your own path and watch where the Divine appears. I will ask you questions that will help you facilitate your own discernment process.

The spiritual journey is never ending and travels through every soul-scape, from seasons of dry wilderness to mountaintop experiences, from the shadowy valleys of sorrow to the wide-open fields inviting you to explore new horizons. This is why I, personally, have met with a spiritual director for over 15 years. And how it works for me is that this practice of meeting with a director has helped me identify common themes, habits, shifts in my thinking, divine invitations to something new. It gave me the assurance of someone walking with me through difficult situations. It helps me show up to God, to myself, and to others, day by day, month by month, year by year. And it is an expression of my commitment to faithfully walk with God.

You can explore more about what Spiritual Direction is all about in my newly released book Sacred Conversation: Exploring the Seven Gifts of Spiritual Direction. Or go directly to Frequently Asked Questions.