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July 2023

July 19, 2023

Meeting the Desert Mothers: Mary of Egypt

Mary of Egypt is one of the best-known desert mothers. She left her Alexandria home...

March 2023

March 16, 2023

How Spiritual Directors Love Their Clients

You’ll often hear spiritual directors talk about how much they love their directees. And it’s...

February 2023

February 22, 2023

Theodora of Alexandria: A 5th Century Gender Fluid Desert Mother?

The legend of Theodora of Alexandria is a 5th century tale of sex, gender fluidity...

February 07, 2023

Meeting the Desert Fathers and Mothers: Paula of Rome

The Desert Fathers and Mothers of the 4th century were the original spiritual directors, sought...

January 2023

January 27, 2023

How Spiritual Directors Attract Clients

2023 is going to be a great year for spiritual guidance. More and more people...

September 2022

September 13, 2022

Attributes of God: Free from Anxiety

Don’t know about you, but I, like millions of others right now, have anxiety issues....

August 2022

August 02, 2022

Spiritual Direction Review: SDI Engage Conference 2022

Back in May, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the SDI Engage Conference attendees and hosts...

June 2022

June 28, 2022

Starting a Spiritual Direction Practice in 2022: A Step-by-Step Process by Laura Lies

For today's post, I'm delighted to feature guest Laura Ann Lies for this guide on...

May 2022

May 18, 2022

Divinity in Daily Life: Busy Times as Spiritual Practice

To get better at something we consider challenging, we have to practice. You know what's...

April 2022

April 21, 2022

Attributes of God: Divine Light

Throughout history and among many spiritual traditions the divine has been associated with light. In...

April 08, 2022

Discussing ’50 Ways To Pray’ on the ‘Pew and Beyond’ Podcast

I was on with Rev. Canon Lisa Vaughn and Rev. Neil Mancor on their Pew...

February 2022

February 28, 2022

Consent in Spirituality – Confronting Abuse by Religious Leaders

How do we have a relationship with God that is truly consensual? I’ve been thinking...

January 2022

January 21, 2022

Learning at the Feet of Elders: A Return to Apprenticeships

Learning doesn’t just happen in classrooms. Apprenticing — the ancient practice of learning a trade...

December 2021

December 07, 2021

Unitarian Universalist Spiritual Direction – for the Spiritual but not Religious

People who are spiritual but not religious seek spiritual directors who can be attentive to...

October 2021

October 14, 2021

Discernment Challenge: How Do We Know It’s God?

One of the most prominent questions in spiritual direction and discernment is this: When I...

September 2021

September 03, 2021

Biblical Perspectives in Spiritual Direction: What is an Experience of God?

In spiritual direction, we explore a person’s experience of God. What we discover is that...

July 2021

July 20, 2021

Contemplative Practice in UCC: Becoming Still to Encounter the Still-Speaking God

The denomination I am ordained in, United Church of Christ (UCC), has a catchphrase: “God...

April 2021

April 15, 2021

Cool to be Kind: Bruce Reyes-Chow’s new book “In Defense of Kindness”

Kindness might need a defender. From the 2016 presidential election on, there’s been a debate...

March 2021

March 15, 2021

Inclining our Ear Toward God: Listening As A Church

In a world full of solutions, opinions, and advice, listening is one of the...

February 2021

February 09, 2021

e-Spiritual Direction: How Long, O Lord (Will We Always Be Online)?

We're stuck online for now. Are Zoom, Skype, or Doxy the way we’ll do spiritual...

January 2021

January 19, 2021

Pray Not with Swords in Hand: Reflecting on A Prayer by Violent Insurrectionists

Imagine the shock and disgust that rippled through mainline and progressive Christianity in this country...

December 2020

December 21, 2020

Imagining the Birth of Jesus: Engage with Christmas Scripture

The Bible isn’t one-way communication, we can engage with it. This living text invites us...

November 2020

November 29, 2020

Visualization of Inner Freedom: Releasing Ourselves from Self-Fastened Shackles

Sports psychologists use visualization. So do shamans and spiritual directors. Visualization is a powerful...

October 2020

October 23, 2020

Are You OK?: A Few Thoughts on Life and Spiritual Direction

Two commonly heard phrases (or some variation) I have noticed on social media: "Are you...

August 2020

August 28, 2020

Defining Spiritual Direction: An Interview with Dr. Melissa Hofstetter

What exactly is spiritual direction? Shepherd Heart Ministry Consulting's Executive Director Dr. Melissa Hofstetter sat...

July 2020

July 22, 2020

Back To School Pandemic: Choosing Without Obvious Choices

Parents of school-aged children are currently facing the hardest discernment situation one can face: making...

July 06, 2020

Heart Work is Hard Work – The Spiritual Direction Workout

It’s not uncommon to hear a client say, “I’m exhausted at the end of...

June 2020

June 16, 2020

Getting the Most from your Spiritual Direction Session

You’ve made the commitment. You’ve set aside the time for spiritual direction. But you wonder:...

May 2020

May 29, 2020

Prayer During A Pandemic – It Can Be Challenging!

Don’t know about you, but I’ve needed a lot of help with prayer during the...

May 18, 2020

Mindfulness: Developing Spiritual Awareness Through Meditation and Prayer

It's not always easy to sit down and meditate, but practice makes perfect! If...

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