pat loughery

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 God’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 God’s presence and love.

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