Spiritual Direction
Wondering about Spiritual Direction?
You feel and/or think deeply about life, the universe and everything. Also, you read spiritual books and subscribe to daily meditations. You try to talk with your friends about spiritual things but they don’t get it.
In addition, you experience a deep connection to Spirit yet valued practices no longer offer the solace they once did. Even your image of God, once treasured, now seems lacking.
You feel disoriented by unexpected changes. A sense of deeper yearnings arises within you yet to be put into words.
Where can you safely talk about your inner life, you wonder. You don’t want people feeling sorry for you or giving advice.
Above all, you want to be seen and heard for who you are. You want to explore your own wisdom and inner experience but don’t know where to start.
What is Spiritual Direction?
Spiritual direction offers a safe place where your soul can show up.
Here your inner life can be explored at depth. Deepening your inner life strengthens your connection to God, to your self, to others and to the world around.
In Spiritual Direction you learn to notice what is life giving and what leads to dead ends. Begin to see more clearly and live more deeply. Discern the next step in the evolution of your life.
When a person enters
the spiritual direction process
and opens herself or himself
to the Mystery within,
the invitation to strengthen the spiritual self
can release potential
and free them in new ways for leadership,
whether or not
they hold a formally
an appointed leadership position.
A Metaphor for Spiritual Direction
Keeping the water up to your plants in the heat of summer offers a metaphor to understand spiritual direction. Likewise, people can come feeling wilted and reconnect to the spring of life-giving water residing within them.
Yes, it is hard to keep the water up when the hot and dry conditions go longer than expected. Regular spiritual direction is one way of keeping the water up to our souls. Keeping the water up to the soul is the goal of Sustaining Spirit Space.
Spiritual direction offers support during the changing seasons of life – to sustain the spiritual life and to allow space for Spirit, no matter what the conditions.
What to Expect in a Session with Elizabeth.
Whether in person in Melbourne or on video calling, the spiritual direction session begins with friendly greetings.
We then compose our hearts to focus on our intention together. For some that might be with a brief (2 min) meditation or prayer, for others, simply stating the intention to begin is helpful.
If this is your first conversation I might ask you about what drew you to spiritual direction, or about what you have heard about it or what you expect.
As I get to know you I might ask an open question such as “What is arising for you at present?” The conversation gently unfolds.
Listening intentily, I am alert to movements of the spirit, toward God or away from God. I might ask you to talk more about a phrase. I might ask you to describe a feeling in more detail. We take the opportunity to explore what arises in more depth than in a normal conversation.
As we draw to a conclusion I ask, “Where are you now at the end of the conversation? What has changed since we began?” We then make a time for our next meeting.
Frequency of Meeting
Frequency of meeting is entirely up to the individual. Many like a monthly pattern, some like every three weeks, some extend to bi-monthly. In times of transition or high pressure the frequency can be increased as needed.
Pricing for Spiritual Direction
Elizabeth offers three pricing levels.
- 30 minutes at $75.00
- 60 minutes at $150.00
- 90 minutes at $225.00
Most people choose the 60-minute session. This is a good length of time to concentrate and gives you room to cover considerable ground and at depth. If meeting monthly, 60 minutes allows time for you to raise issues of interest or concern without feeling hurried. There is time included to gather up the threads and make another appointment.
A 90-minute session is chosen because you feel that there is a lot of material to get through. This may be because you are new to spiritual direction. Or you have not seen your director for a while. Or because there is upheaval in your life. Alternatively, some folk need to explore concerns in detail and do not want any sense of hurry.
The 30-minute sessions are surprisingly versatile. You can use this like a “top up” between usual sessions to discuss something unexpected that needs some processing. If stamina is an issue, for example, during illness, touching base for 30 minutes is better than nothing. Much can be accomplished in 30 minutes when the conversation is focused. Reginald Somerset Ward, an English spiritual director from the early twentieth century, offered 30-minute meetings to all the individuals he worked with, with great benefit.
Curious to learn more?
Contact me today to book a free 20 minute spiritual direction phone conversation.
Together we can explore what spiritual direction in Melbourne could offer you.
If I am not the best fit for you, I can connect you to other spiritual directors.
Spiritual direction is offered in person from Heidelberg, Melbourne, or online.