What is "spiritual direction"?
Spiritual direction goes by many other names as well: spiritual companionship, spiritual guidance, spiritual friendship, anam cara (soul friend), and more. It has ancient roots as a practice of assisting a person in honoring the spiritual dimension of their life and reflect on their relationship with the Divine. My role as a spiritual companion is to aid you in your self-discovery of your inner spiritual truths and wisdom, your relationship with the Divine, and how that relationship impacts your life and the network of relationships in your life. I desire to provide a prayerful, hospitable, confidential (within legal boundaries) holding space for you to explore your spiritual meaning, desires, stuck places, healing needs, and hopes. We continue in this relationship for as long as both of us feel that the Spirit is active and present and providing the subtle guidance you need. Most of the people I serve as a spiritual companion meet with me about once a month for an hour but that can be adjusted based on my client's needs.
Who are my clients?
I am available as a spiritual guide for interested people of any faith tradition and those who do not reside in any particular tradition. I recognize that some people have been wounded by a faith tradition, and will be respectful of them. Some people are spiritual seekers. Some people simply want to explore their spiritual path and are looking for a non-judgmental, hospitable companion to journey with them. I am hospitable to men and women alike, and LGBTQ-friendly.
I now specialize my spiritual direction and guidance ministry to work only with clients who are particularly interested in doing deep exploration for inner healing, shamanic journeying, meditation visioning, dream work and other ways of engaging the deep structures of the personal and collective psyche/spiritual realms. I support the client's connection to their spiritual grounding and their profound inner work; drawing upon the ancient tools and practices of spiritual guidance and journeying that complement health, wellness, and insight.
I also meet with people who need support after a spiritual awakening, a crisis in their spiritual life, or an extreme spiritual emergency.
Spiritual awakenings and spiritual emergencies?
Some people experience an extreme state that profoundly affects their life and there is a powerful spiritual component to the experience. It may be bought on by spiritual practices but sometimes it can be precipitated by some crisis not directly related to any spiritual work. A powerful but traumatic psychedelic or plant medicine experience, a near death experience, a traumatic accident, UFO encounter, haunting or other spirit encounter are just a few of the possibilities that are unanticipated or disorienting. People often question their mental and emotional health, experience extreme distress and loss of orientation, and wonder what kind of support is needed. My approach is to provide steady spiritual and practical support, sometimes as part of a team, to help the client approach this as a spiritually transformational and healing process leading to greater wholeness.
