Spiritual Direction
We offer three modalities of spiritual direction
- Enhanced / Inner Healing Spiritual Direction
- Traditional Spiritual Direction
- Contemplative Spiritual Direction
(Directees may access the different modalities according to their needs.)
What is Enhanced / Inner Healing Spiritual Direction?
Have you ever wondered, “I’ve been on this journey of prayer for a long time, but I keep stumbling into patterns of conflict, pain, self-doubt, or struggle?” It’s very common for those of us who seek to lead lives guided by prayer and spirituality to try to root out parts of ourselves that do not measure up to our ideals and values (i.e. dimensions that seem selfish, greedy, petty, rude, judgmental, helpless, jealous, combative, etc.) Some who are attentive to the interior life will notice that there are dimensions of us that are very healthy and well integrated, others that are burdened, parts that lead us to extreme responses, aspects that carry deep pain, parts that help us connect with loved ones, parts that drive them away, and parts that connect us with the joyful flow of life. When the less noble parts of us come up, we tend to judge them fairly harshly. Very often, these parts carry wounds or the need to defend something, and if we can be prayerfully attentive to them, they will often reveal a deep need, value, story, or important piece of life wisdom. However, because so many of us are uncomfortable with these less-than-admirable parts of ourselves, they are often left out of our attention when we go to prayer, and they continue to exert undue influence over our inner and outer lives.
When our directees stop battling these parts, turn toward them with curiosity, seek to understand them, and start to hold them with some compassion, something marvelous happens. The sway that these parts have held (often for decades) start to lessen, they reveal their life wisdom, and as they are welcomed into the light of God’s presence, they begin to heal.
Inner Healing Spiritual Directors have advanced training in modalities that tend to these subtler aspects of our personalities, which unconsciously impact our thoughts, words, and behavior. They are trained in the common relationships that these inner parts tend to have with one another, and how to work with complex networks of the inner system. (Spiritual Directors International published our article that outlines some of the features of this approach.)
What is traditional spiritual direction?
Every person is on a unique journey of soul, and the spiritual director helps us attune to the movements of God’s presence that embraces every aspect of one’s life. Through the spiritual direction journey, we become more and more aware of how that sacred presence is active, and how it beckons us to respond. Issues of discernment, longings for healing, meaning of large and small life movements, images that arise in prayer and dreams, resonances with Scriptures, and desires for greater authenticity and service to others all serve as gateways into deeper awareness of God's presence and action upon our lives. From movements of great creativity and inspiration to experiences of dryness, doubt, regret, and grief --- you are welcomed to bring your authentic self to the light of the spiritual direction encounter.
What contemplative spiritual direction?
“Be still, and know that I am God.” - Psalm 46:10. Some encounter moments in life when we are beckoned deeper and deeper into the heart of God. With eyes closed, you and the director listen with the ear of the heart to the “still small voice” of the Spirit. The director often opens with a guided meditative prayer that leads toward stillness, and then we simply hold the intention to be open to the transforming presence of God. As we grow more still, some of the usual mental chatter becomes muted, and the contours of our deeper truest self begins to emerge. At times, a phrase or image surfaces. The director holds this sacred space, sometimes offering a short question that is inspired by the director’s mutual listening in the quiet.
Our Spiritual Directors
Brent Anderson, M.Div., BCC
Brent has been honored with the sacred privilege of accompanying tens of thousands of people through their inner journeys. In assessing common formation for spiritual directors, he, in collaboration with the community of spiritual director leaders in Northern California, discovered that while most spiritual directors are formed in contemplative listening, presence, and attend to movements in prayer, there can be less competence when needs of inner healing come to the surface. He has advanced training in how to work with one’s inner system and attend to interior aspects of the personality that may have been neglected (which are often barely conscious), but exert a great deal of impact in one’s inner and outer relationships. He was invited to author an article on this, which was published in the journal of Spiritual Directors International. A more extensive biography is available here.