{"id":2769,"date":"2024-06-20T14:13:25","date_gmt":"2024-06-20T22:13:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/?p=2769"},"modified":"2024-07-03T14:27:53","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T22:27:53","slug":"helping-others-navigate-lifes-decisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/2024\/06\/helping-others-navigate-lifes-decisions\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping Others Navigate Life\u2019s Decisions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
<\/p>\n
By guest blogger, Anne Randerson, PhD<\/p>\n
In my previous post, I wrote about taking a Whit Monday stroll through our local park to get some fresh air and inspiration. Nature is a healthy option for combatting stress and fatigue; it nourishes my soul. I wrote about the obstacles, inspiration and discernment I experienced along this walk.<\/p>\n
In our capacity as spiritual directors we help our clients\u2014our spiritual directees and companions\u2014navigate the spiritual meaning that permeates their lives, including any unexpected obstacles that may crop up. We do our best to offer them a sacred space, and quiet, contemplative moments, to help them find discernment for their most important questions. During spiritual direction sessions, brief moments of grace\u2014divine light and love\u2014may illuminate their thought process: they may realize what they need to do, or perhaps not do, at any given time. Sometimes, what is needed are merely moments of silent reflection.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
In our ministry, we strive to offer our clients a safe, accessible place\u2014even through online sessions\u2014to help them understand the most pressing matters that arise in their lives, whether spiritual, professional, or personal. This is why we usually adopt our clients\u2019 specific terms regarding how they choose to name the Divine: God, the Holy Source of Wisdom, etc. And, like many of my colleagues, I respect the fact that some of my clients prefer not to identify with any theistic terminology or ideology.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Discernment and contemplation, along with a hefty dose of patience, help us decide what is right for us and our loved ones: whether to act, react or respond in accordance with what we feel deep down, what we feel in the moment\u2026what comes across our paths. Yet, despite our best intentions and planning, we might find ourselves unexpectedly derailed, like my father-in-law\u2019s heart attack and sudden loss of memory, and the burden it has placed on our entire family, especially his wife, who, unexpectedly, has taken on the role of constant caregiver.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just in the past week, two of my friends have experienced enormous loss through chronic illness and the abrupt death of a spouse. It is so hard to navigate the shock, pain, and grief that arise during devastating times like these. Illness, accidents, and death are occurrences most people never want to go through, nor discuss, even though they will eventually touch most of us, or our loved ones, at some point. That\u2019s how life works. However, despite the intense feelings of sadness and sorrow that stem from loss, life is still beautiful. That is why it is important to remember to cherish the moments and things we have, such as tall grasses and fragrant flowers in spring.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
I am grateful for the inspiration I received in the park on Whit Monday. Now, as I sit at my computer\u2014overlooking my overgrown lawn and its wildflowers\u2014and type, I hope my slice of life in Belgium resonates with you. Wishing you and your loved ones blessings for peace and good health.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Many thanks to Teresa Blythe for this opportunity to contribute to Spiritual Direction 101.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Anne Randerson, Ph.D.<\/strong> graduated from the Phoenix Center for Spiritual Direction Apprentice Training Program in January, 2024. Anne lives in Brussels, Belgium and is a spiritual director, writer, mindfulness-based transitions coach, teacher of contemplative practices and creative expression, and a member of Spiritual Directors International (SDI). In 2003, Anne earned her Ph.D. degree in Human Life Studies<\/em> after six years of research in northern Japan. Her dissertation was titled: Human lifestyle and sensitivity towards nature\u2014A comparative study between Japan and the West from a religious perspective<\/em>. Anne has lived in five countries, speaks six languages, and currently offers online sessions to spiritual directees from multiple faiths, cultures, languages, and backgrounds. She especially welcomes individuals from LGBTQIA+, neurodivergent (including ADHD), global and creative communities, and those facing chronic illness, grief, and loss. Anne also facilitates interfaith group spiritual direction, contemplative nature-based retreats, and plans to lead international pilgrimages soon. To reach Anne, please visit https:\/\/evocativesoul.com<\/a> or email: info@evocativesoul.com.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By guest blogger, Anne Randerson, PhD In my previous post, I wrote about taking a Whit Monday stroll through our local park to get some fresh air and inspiration. Nature is a healthy option for combatting stress and fatigue; it nourishes my soul. I wrote about the obstacles, inspiration and discernment I experienced along this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1083,"featured_media":2772,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nHelping Others Navigate Life\u2019s Decisions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By guest blogger, Anne Randerson, PhD In my previous post, I wrote about taking a Whit Monday stroll through our local park to get some fresh air and\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/2024\/06\/helping-others-navigate-lifes-decisions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Helping Others Navigate Life\u2019s Decisions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By guest blogger, Anne Randerson, PhD In my previous post, I wrote about taking a Whit Monday stroll through our local park to get some fresh air and\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/2024\/06\/helping-others-navigate-lifes-decisions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Spiritual Direction 101\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"www.facebook.com\/phxcsd\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-20T22:13:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-07-03T22:27:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/203\/2024\/06\/Flowers-in-park-AR-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"722\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Teresa Blythe\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Teresa Blythe\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/2024\/06\/helping-others-navigate-lifes-decisions\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/2024\/06\/helping-others-navigate-lifes-decisions\/\",\"name\":\"Helping Others Navigate Life\u2019s Decisions\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-20T22:13:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-07-03T22:27:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/#\/schema\/person\/475a5ccae87a3f76c015ff255413ec70\"},\"description\":\"By guest blogger, Anne Randerson, PhD In my previous post, I wrote about taking a Whit Monday stroll through our local park to get some fresh air and\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/2024\/06\/helping-others-navigate-lifes-decisions\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/2024\/06\/helping-others-navigate-lifes-decisions\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/2024\/06\/helping-others-navigate-lifes-decisions\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Helping Others Navigate Life\u2019s Decisions\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/\",\"name\":\"Spiritual Direction 101\",\"description\":\"How to Hear God, Every Day\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/#\/schema\/person\/475a5ccae87a3f76c015ff255413ec70\",\"name\":\"Teresa Blythe\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1c4987d0a5af627ee6bbc2d05f1946b4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1c4987d0a5af627ee6bbc2d05f1946b4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Teresa Blythe\"},\"description\":\"Teresa Blythe is a full-time spiritual director and ordained UCC minister living and working in Phoenix, AZ. She is founder of the Phoenix Center for Spiritual Direction and served as the Director of the Hesychia School of Spiritual Direction in Tucson for over 14 years. She now trains spiritual directors in the Apprentice Training Program, which she created. Contact her at teresa@teresablythe.net.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.teresablythe.net\",\"www.facebook.com\/phxcsd\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/author\/teresablythe\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Helping Others Navigate Life\u2019s Decisions","description":"By guest blogger, Anne Randerson, PhD In my previous post, I wrote about taking a Whit Monday stroll through our local park to get some fresh air and","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/2024\/06\/helping-others-navigate-lifes-decisions\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Helping Others Navigate Life\u2019s Decisions","og_description":"By guest blogger, Anne Randerson, PhD In my previous post, I wrote about taking a Whit Monday stroll through our local park to get some fresh air and","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/2024\/06\/helping-others-navigate-lifes-decisions\/","og_site_name":"Spiritual Direction 101","article_author":"www.facebook.com\/phxcsd","article_published_time":"2024-06-20T22:13:25+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-07-03T22:27:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":722,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/203\/2024\/06\/Flowers-in-park-AR-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Teresa Blythe","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Teresa Blythe","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/2024\/06\/helping-others-navigate-lifes-decisions\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/2024\/06\/helping-others-navigate-lifes-decisions\/","name":"Helping Others Navigate Life\u2019s Decisions","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-06-20T22:13:25+00:00","dateModified":"2024-07-03T22:27:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/#\/schema\/person\/475a5ccae87a3f76c015ff255413ec70"},"description":"By guest blogger, Anne Randerson, PhD In my previous post, I wrote about taking a Whit Monday stroll through our local park to get some fresh air and","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/2024\/06\/helping-others-navigate-lifes-decisions\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/2024\/06\/helping-others-navigate-lifes-decisions\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/2024\/06\/helping-others-navigate-lifes-decisions\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Helping Others Navigate Life\u2019s Decisions"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/","name":"Spiritual Direction 101","description":"How to Hear God, Every Day","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/#\/schema\/person\/475a5ccae87a3f76c015ff255413ec70","name":"Teresa Blythe","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1c4987d0a5af627ee6bbc2d05f1946b4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1c4987d0a5af627ee6bbc2d05f1946b4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Teresa Blythe"},"description":"Teresa Blythe is a full-time spiritual director and ordained UCC minister living and working in Phoenix, AZ. She is founder of the Phoenix Center for Spiritual Direction and served as the Director of the Hesychia School of Spiritual Direction in Tucson for over 14 years. She now trains spiritual directors in the Apprentice Training Program, which she created. Contact her at teresa@teresablythe.net.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.teresablythe.net","www.facebook.com\/phxcsd"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/author\/teresablythe\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1083"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2769"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2769\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualdirection101\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}