Five Recommended Books on Spiritual Direction

theology

2015-08-10T17:16:59-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Paying Attention to What Is

Last updated on: August 10, 2015 at 5:16 pm By Teresa Blythe

It was my annual 3-day summer retreat at a reduced rate resort in Scottsdale and I was ready to lounge by the pool. As I was about to enter, I noticed a swarm of about 40 elementary to middle school-aged kids with their camp counselors also entering the pool area. It was a charity event for the inner-city kids and they were ready to whoop it up. This was not my idea of a contemplative day at the pool. I... Read more

contemplation

Uncategorized

2015-08-06T09:01:40-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Top 5 Fears People Have About Spiritual Direction

Last updated on: August 6, 2015 at 9:01 am By Teresa Blythe

Because the practice of spiritual direction is still rather new to a lot of people, there are some fears borne out of misconceptions about it. Here are the top five fears I have noticed people have about spiritual direction. 1. The spiritual director will judge me. Fear of being judged harshly keeps some people away from spiritual guidance. Even when they learn that our training is explicit that we are not to here to judge, correct or change people. That last... Read more

2015-07-22T15:15:11-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Spiritual Directors as “Good Soil”

Last updated on: July 22, 2015 at 3:15 pm By Teresa Blythe

The effectiveness of any spiritual director resides primarily in his or her ability to be a gracious container for whatever story the directee wants to bring to that session. I find Jesus’ story of the parable of the sower helpful in explaining this (Matthew 13:3-9). Think of the directee as the sower (the farmer) and the director as the soil in which the farmer tosses the seed. Think of the seed as the story. In the parable, Jesus says our... Read more

spiritual mentor

contemplative Christianity

2015-06-19T16:23:36-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Staying Peaceful when the News Isn’t

Last updated on: June 19, 2015 at 4:23 pm By Teresa Blythe

One of the most common threads in spiritual direction conversations is “what do I do with my outrage over all the news I hear about violence and heartbreak?” I’ve asked my spiritual director that question a few times myself. Overall, our world is proportionately less violent than it was thousands of years ago. But that’s irrelevant when news travels instantly via smartphones and social media now. We are aware of horrific violence everywhere it happens. And for sensitive people who are... Read more

discernment

2015-06-12T11:21:39-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Anne Lamott and the Trans-bashing Tweet

Last updated on: June 12, 2015 at 11:21 am By Teresa Blythe

The high priestess of progressive Christian inspiration, Anne Lamott is busy this week backtracking and apologizing for a crude twitter remark in which she said (and I will paraphrase) she would not call Caitlyn Jenner “she” as long as Jenner still had a penis. Since quite a few transgender Christians seek spiritual direction—mostly because it is one place in the church where they are accepted as they are—the one thing I know for sure about trans people is that calling... Read more

2015-06-08T12:55:20-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Giving Away Your Power

Last updated on: June 8, 2015 at 12:55 pm By Teresa Blythe

Spiritual direction is about claiming your own power and God’s power within you. The code of ethics that spiritual directors abide by expressly prohibits us from becoming gurus. To be the person who gives advice, admonishes or fixes your problem is to take your personal power away. Never, ever give your personal power away to another human being! Kumare is a fascinating documentary illustrating this dynamic. Billed “a true film about a false prophet,” Kumare is a social experiment by... Read more

discernment

guru

spiritual mentor

contemplative Christianity

2015-06-04T13:02:07-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Why I remain a contemplative Christian

Last updated on: June 4, 2015 at 1:02 pm By Teresa Blythe

Although I often work in spiritual direction with people from no religious background, I am no “none.” While I’m open to spiritual practices from a variety of religious traditions and am proud to have close friends who are atheists, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim and everything in between, I remain a committed progressive contemplative Christian. I don’t seek to convert anyone because I do not wish to be converted–that “do unto others” rule that Jesus emphasized is paramount for me. I’m comfortable... Read more

2015-06-02T16:16:19-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Summer Slowdown

Last updated on: June 2, 2015 at 4:16 pm By Teresa Blythe

Warm weather invites us to slow down but how many of us really accept that invitation? Our jobs certainly don’t slow down just because the summer is here. We just slog through at the same high-speed pace even as our bodies cry out for a break. It is hard spiritual work to listen to our bodies and the rhythm of the seasons while also maintaining jobs, clean homes, connections with friends and staying “in the loop.” Something has to give.... Read more

discernment

Uncategorized

2015-05-04T13:04:19-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Five Ways to Deepen a Conversation

Last updated on: May 4, 2015 at 1:04 pm By Teresa Blythe

Spiritual directors have five conversational tools we use to help the person we are talking with share more deeply. These aren’t secrets and you don’t have to be a spiritual director to use them. They are especially helpful if the person you are talking with feels safe with you and wants to talk about important aspects of their life. They are “hospitality-in-action.” Silence. Listen in order to understand what the person is saying and not to develop your own witty... Read more