The text of the Booklet

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
 praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps. 139)

SPIRITUAL DIRECTION

An Introduction
with information concerning its practice in
Essex and East London

SPIRITUAL DIRECTION

What is Spiritual Direction,
and what is a Spiritual Director? 

The two terms can seem rather daunting – appealing to people who are, somehow, rather ‘holy’ and not like the rest of us. 

Yet to be human means to have a ‘spiritual’ nature as well as physical and emotional aspects.  This spiritual aspect is experienced in an immense variety of ways and is always unique to the individual.  In some it is recognised and well developed, in others it is neglected.  All religions seek to address this aspect of our humanity and there are those who, through their particular vocation, and often with appropriate training, can help others explore their inner world.  Spiritual Direction invites a deeper relationship with this world. It addresses the whole person before God, but is different from psychotherapy or counselling.  It is the process of accompanying people on their journey into their ‘being real before their Creator’.

Spiritual Direction has emerged in many contexts using language specific to particular cultural and spiritual traditions. Describing Spiritual Direction requires putting words to a process of fostering a transcendent experience that lies beyond all names and yet longs to be articulated and made concrete in everyday living. It is easier to describe what Spiritual Direction does than what spiritual direction is.

Spiritual Direction helps us towards wholeness and integration so that we learn to live in love and peace, as humble servants of God. No one definition can do justice to the diversity of this ministry and so a variety of definitions have been included in the boxed sections of this leaflet, some of these are taken from the Spiritual Directors International website at www.sdiworld.org.

Direction and Companionship
Spiritual guidance can happen authentically in a wide variety of forms, which can be divided into two major groups: formal Spiritual Direction and informal spiritual companionship. Formal Spiritual Direction includes relationships that are explicitly defined with a clear separation of roles between director and directee. Meetings are usually scheduled in advance on a regular basis, and a directee normally has only one formal director.

Informal spiritual companionship is characterized by a lack of structure and role definition. These relationships are not considered exclusive, and most people have several such companionships. Meetings tend to be irregular and spontaneous. There is nearly always some atmosphere of mutuality, and each person retains his or her own locus of discernment.  There is no notion of providing a service, and fees are out of the question.

Different Approaches
It is important to realise there are many approaches to this ministry. Being a Spiritual Director (Spiritual Discerner, Accompanier, Adviser or Guide etc) is a vocation and, like all vocations, there are gifts as well as responsibilities.  The Director is identified by the gifts they have: gifts of human and spiritual wisdom, discernment, maturity and who are able to encourage others.  The person seeking a Director will have in mind all these things and needs to be asking the basic question – “Can I entrust myself to this person before God?”  It is an ancient calling with its roots in the prophetic and wisdom traditions.  In every religion there are those to whom people are drawn because they are recognised as being divinely gifted.

Spiritual Direction has been, and remains, particularly strong within Roman Catholic and Orthodox religious orders, and over the past twenty years Anglican and Protestant traditions have begun to recover it more fully. Today many people are offering this ministry: men and women; lay, religious and clergy.

An archetypal form of Spiritual Direction was practiced by the Desert Fathers (c.300 - 600 AD). In the desert surviving as a human being and a faithful Christian was for most people only possible with a reliable guide. Spiritual guidance grew in a very natural way. Beginners looked for support from experienced fellow travellers. They sought concrete advice and clear directions so that they would not lose their way: 'Speak a word to me”. This remains strong for Orthodox Christians who still look to the Monastic life to give insight into the mystery of God.  The monk or nun, deepening their relationship with the Divine mystery, will find themselves sought out as Directors.

In the Anglican tradition various historical streams have an influence.  “Spiritual Direction in the Anglican Tradition is somewhat like the Anglican Church itself — a combination of many paths which have been handed down over the centuries. Traditionally the ‘Anglo-Catholic’ segment of the Church has always had a form of Spiritual Direction. There are still some directors from that old tradition which held that the Director was also one's Confessor.  Just as Direction is becoming more sought out in other traditions, we too are experiencing more people looking for directors and so now there are both Evangelical and Anglo-Catholic seekers and Directors” (Dana Fisher, Professor at Trinity College, Toronto, amended).

There is the recognition that parish clergy are entrusted with the “cure of souls” or pastoral care. In recent times Spiritual Directors have been trained in Franciscan, Benedictine, and Ignatian traditions.  Many combine these traditions and others, as it seems necessary according to the needs of the Directee.  “The marks of a director are love, kindliness and a real compassion. The language used is one of healing and growth rather than that of the law court with its judgment, condemnation, and punishment. The pastoral roots of the Anglican tradition mean that its practitioners are ‘counsellors, Confessors, and physicians of the soul’, not judges. There is warmth and a lightness of touch.” (Canon Peter W. Ball)

 Spiritual Direction, like therapy, is usually offered as a one-to-one experience in private sessions with spiritual mentors who have most likely completed extensive formation for the ministry of Spiritual Direction.  Unlike therapy, it includes the Holy Spirit of God as the third partner in the process. While it may be appropriate to discuss personal and relational struggles in the context of spiritual direction, a spiritual director is not a psychotherapist or counsellor. There may be occasions when an individual will benefit from both ministries. Most Spiritual Directors will be able to suggest referrals if appropriate and may suggest altering the frequency or depth of direction during counselling.

What happens in Spiritual Direction?
To begin with you will have an exploratory meeting lasting about an hour to discover if you can work together. Most Spiritual Directors like to meet in their home/study but other arrangements can be discussed. Normally this first session will cover expectations, boundaries, confidentiality, frequency of meetings, fees or donations and a general time of getting to know each other. This will give you the opportunity to share a summary of your spiritual journey. The meeting may start or end in prayer. If, on reflection, both of you sense that it is right to move forward you can agree another time to meet. 

In future sessions, you and your Director work together in a process of discernment. The agenda for such times is, normally, set by you.  Experience shows that nothing is excluded from this process! As a relationship of trust is built it is possible to go deeper into the movement of the self before God – to truly ‘be yourself’ before another in such a way that the truth sets us free. For many, Spiritual Direction will provide a relationship that overcomes what the Jesuit, John Powell, once strikingly identified: “I am afraid to tell you who I am because, if I tell you who I am, you may not like who I am, and it’s all I have to offer.” This will never be rushed and the Director will never pressurize you to reveal more of yourself that you feel able. You always retain control over the depth and agenda of the process.

Spiritual Direction is often thought of as a long-term relationship and some people may only ever have one director. For others it can be helpful to change directors from time-to-time. A short-term relationship is also perfectly appropriate in some circumstances in order to address a particular spiritual issue or event. All directors will be happy to explore these issues and many will suggest a regular review of the relationship and its continuing usefulness.
 

What does it cost?
Traditionally, the ministry of Spiritual Direction has been offered free of charge by people who are supported by other means. This continues to be the norm. There are however some people who need to charge a fee in order to offer the ministry and others who ask for a donation to help offset the cost of the on-going training, support and supervision that protects and enhances the quality of their ministry. Directors will never want to exclude anyone simply on the grounds of cost and issues of finance will always be discussed in advance.
 

Finding a Spiritual Director
It is up to you to choose a Spiritual Director who has the training, formation and experience that suits your needs. For advice about finding the right person, you can approach your own clergy or one of the Area Contacts listed on this site. Before making contact, try to put on paper some brief details about yourself, your spiritual journey and what you are looking for in a Spiritual Director. This can then be sent or emailed to one of the Area Contacts to begin the process.

In other parts of London, please contact: The London Centre for Spirituality, The Church of St Edmund the King, Lombard Street, London EC3V 9EA  or www.spiritualitycentre.org    **Email:  info[at]spiritualitycentre.org   or telephone 020 7621 1391.

** NOTE: To e-mail, key in @ instead of [at]   as in a normal e-mail address.

This leaflet has been compiled by the Spiritual Direction Coordinating Group whose aim is to promote the ministry of Spiritual Direction ecumenically within the areas of Essex and East London covered by the Dioceses of Chelmsford and Brentwood.

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