In the Coracle

About Spiritual Direction

February 8, 2005 // Tags: Spirituality

What is Spiritual Direction?
Spiritual direction is a ministry of listening, of walking with an individual on their life journey. It includes learning more about spiritual disciplines. God wants us to have joyful, abundant lives. Spiritual disciplines better equip us for living our lives fully. In spiritual direction, the director works with individuals to open up their journey to be fuller and more abundant, and to discern what it is God is calling them to do for their community and world. The spiritual director is like a midwife or a coach on the journey.

Most often, an individual meets with a spiritual director once a month for an hour. Occasionally, sessions might occur more often.

How is it different from counseling?
In spiritual direction, God is in charge of the journey. The spiritual director is a companion, someone trained to help you work through your questions and concerns, but always with a conscious awareness of Godâ€™s presence and desire for us.

In counseling, there is generally a crisis orientation. Something needs to be fixed so that we can be more effective in our relationships with others and with society. In spiritual direction, the focus is on the presence of God in our life and how we respond to Godâ€™s presence and love.

Some links:
What is Spiritual Direction?
From an article in Christianity Today
Spiritual Directors International

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Introduction

Welcome! I'm Pat, and I'll be your host here. Please comment on what you see here. I am a lay missionary to North Bend on the east side of Seattle, a husband, dad to 2 kids, a software test architect for DeepRockDrive, a web software company that does live, interactive concerts streamed over the Internet. I'm also a failed and (quite possibly future) church planter and a Doctor of Ministry student with Bakke Graduate University, and usually on this blog we discuss Christian spirituality (especially of the Celtic, post-Evangelical, post-Charismatic and neo-monastic flavors), photography, motorcycles, and other oddball things.

About the Coracle

As I study Christian spirituality, I find the Celtic stream helpful, challenging and liveable. One of the images from early Celtic Christianity is their sea transport - the coracle.

The ancient Celts traveled in coracles - handmade, wooden framed and hide-covered boats, to journey where the trinitarian God led them. Though the transportation was simple, the journey was profound. This image is an illustration of the way I experience God's guidance - an invitation to travel with him on his paths, not mine; at his pace, not mine.