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December 2017

December 11, 2017

What Spiritual Direction Means to Me — Janet Ackerman, OP

From time to time, I will have guests post here on the subject of "what spiritual...

November 2017

November 29, 2017

Sexual Misconduct in Spiritual Direction

Sexual misconduct isn’t limited to the entertainment or news businesses. All of that messy, improper...

November 06, 2017

Giving “Thoughts and Prayers” a Break

When tragedy occurs we naturally want to reach out with words of comfort. Lately, so...

November 01, 2017

Learning from our Reactions Along the Spiritual Path

There seems to be a universal pattern to life, including the spiritual path. Action →...

October 2017

October 17, 2017

Losing Your Religion: How Spiritual Direction Can Help

Losing the religion you grew up with can be a heart-wrenching experience, and it’s one...

September 2017

September 25, 2017

Discernment in a Fake News World

To practice spiritual discernment—the process of making faithful choices—you must have as many facts as...

August 2017

August 31, 2017

Spiritual Direction and a Rejection of the Nashville Statement

Evangelical Christian leaders who refuse to accept LBGTQIA+ persons as they are recently released their...

August 08, 2017

Praying for Peace in a Frightening World

If the threats of nuclear war are getting to you and you need a new...

July 2017

July 24, 2017

Why You Don’t Need a Spiritual Director to “Call You on Your Stuff”

When seeking a spiritual director, people sometimes say they want one who will “call them...

July 14, 2017

Holding Feet to the Fire: The Role of Accountability in Spiritual Direction

Occasionally I hear someone say they want a spiritual director who will “hold their feet...

June 2017

June 26, 2017

Spiritual Direction in an Anxious World

Spiritual direction is not a cure for anxiety but anxiety frequently comes up as people...

June 14, 2017

Conversion from Hate to Love

I’m always interested in how to change the world---especially how to assist people who are...

June 01, 2017

Keeping Faith in the Midst of Fear

I’m going to get political here because, like a Cecily Strong character on Saturday Night...

May 2017

May 22, 2017

Is Media Overload Dulling your Spirit?

Confession time. I’m addicted to refreshing my twitter feed. And the result is I’m on...

May 16, 2017

Who are we doing all this for? God-talk on The Leftovers

The urge to speak with God face to face and understand great mysteries is a thread...

May 01, 2017

What Clergy Need to Know about Spiritual Direction

Spiritual direction is a clergyperson’s best friend. Deep listening and discernment enhance the life of...

April 2017

April 26, 2017

Spiritual Direction for the Resistance

A young minister colleague came to me last week and said, “we really need spiritual...

April 13, 2017

Why I Became a Spiritual Director

The practice of spiritual direction rescued me. I never felt I fit into the conservative...

March 2017

March 21, 2017

Spiritual Direction and the Most Common Spiritual Block

If I were to poll spiritual directors and ask what is the most common concern...

March 01, 2017

5 Ways to Observe Lent this Year

Many Christians observe the season of Lent with 40 days of a spiritual practice of...

February 2017

February 24, 2017

How to Find the Right Spiritual Director

One of the advantages of having a lot of spiritual direction training programs around these...

January 2017

January 20, 2017

How to Say Goodbye to your Spiritual Director

All relationships have a lifespan, and the relationship between a person and their spiritual director...

January 03, 2017

5 Ways Spiritual Direction Can Improve Your New Year

Have you included “getting spiritually grounded” on your list of goals for 2017? If so,...

December 2016

December 29, 2016

Young Adults as Spiritual Directors

The field of spiritual direction harbors an unfortunate bias against young adults becoming spiritual directors....

December 02, 2016

Discernment as a Visioning Tool

Many churches and faith based organizations do good work in the present but have difficulty...

November 2016

November 14, 2016

Spiritual Direction for the Deeply Troubled

An elderly minister I visit regularly in my job as visitation pastor for my church...

October 2016

October 31, 2016

5 Spiritual Discernment Questions for the Undecided Voter

With only a few days left before the 2016 Presidential election there are still those...

October 25, 2016

5 Ways to Detox Your Spirit from this Presidential Election

Feeling addicted to political news and commentary? If so you’re not alone. You may need...

October 03, 2016

Spiritual Direction and Election Anxiety

For highly sensitive people like me, news in the fall of a presidential election year...

September 2016

September 19, 2016

5 Ways Spiritual Direction Promotes Freedom

Spiritual direction takes freedom very seriously. We want to feel free to be the...

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