LISTENING TOGETHER
Spiritual Direction is a deep listening process through which a person opens and attuned to their relationship with the Divine, others, creation, and oneself. Through conversation with a spiritual director in an atmosphere of trust, a person moved toward deeper awareness of the presence and movement of G-d in everyday life. As we share our dreams, struggles, triumphs and fears, we open to our deepest and wisest source of freedom and joy.
A spiritual director helps a person notice, savor, and open to the presence and invitation(s) of the Divine through spiritual practices in the ordinary stuff of life. The director is a listening and supportive person who creates an environment where one can look honestly at their relationship with the Sacred.
In direction, the primary relationship is between the directee and G-d, with the director acting as a focusing lens. Because an objective of spiritual direction is journeying alongside a guide unto awakening to greater consciousness of G-d’s presence, spiritual practice(s) can be part of the process. Since G-d meets each person uniquely, spiritual practices invite “listening for/watching for/opening to” the wild wind of the Spirit from the particularity of the directee’s bodily, communal, and storied experience.
“The whole purpose of spiritual direction is to penetrate beneath the surface of a [person’s] life, to get behind the façade of conventional gestures and attitudes which they present to the world, and to bring out their inner spiritual freedom, their inmost truth, which is what we call the likeness of Christ in their soul.”
Thomas Merton
The full range of human experience – past, present, and future – is the province of G-d and therefore of direction. An expectation of the process is that G-d is found in the deepest levels of human experience, so there is no need to focus on explicitly “religious” topics as if spirituality was a separate compartment of our being. It is our stance in relation to the stuff of life presenting itself is what makes spiritual direction distinctive: the posture of the director and the directee together is to attend to “Divine Presence” or “G-d seed” or “opening” in the experience that the person might receive welcoming it with curiosity as gift and teacher.
Body
Our bodies are beautiful, particular, and located. Attending to and from the uniqueness of our bodied selves is vital to any authentic encounter. Body, place, and time are three trustworthy guides to reality.
Mind
Mindfulness practice invites us to discover a more unitive way of being. We are not are thoughts. We are more than stories we tell ourselves. Languages, communities, and the narratives we rehearse form mind… mind can therefore be transformed.
Spirit
Spirit joins in love… its all about openhearted, soulful relationship. Spirit woos us to open to the ecosystem relations giving and sustaining life, while wooing us to discover a way of love, of presence, and gratitude.
One of the goals of spiritual direction is welcoming all of oneself, while fostering a growing awareness of one’s definitions of success, purpose, and fulfillment. As with seeds in a garden, death leads to new life, so the ultimate goal is to grow up into a self in Christ, and this is a life-long journey. The path while chronicled is also very personal and unique. Growing to experience a more unitive way of being with reality enables one to see oneself with “G-d eyes,” eyes of warmth and love, welcome and compassion.
“We have to learn to hear on every level at once if we are really to become whole. The problem is that most of us are deaf in at least one ear. We have to learn to listen to Scripture. And we have to learn to listen to life around us.”
JOAN CHITTISTER
This might be the moment for you to take a next step toward life… you can schedule a free Zoom appointment by either clicking the Zoom link or contacting Dwight.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is spiritual direction?
Spiritual Direction is a time-honored practice of accompaniment, and a rhythm of intentional conversation. Ordinarily it is between two persons, in which one person consults another – typically a wise guide, trained, and experienced in spiritual accompaniment – about ways in which the Divine may be touching their life, directly or indirectly. Spiritual direction is a process of consciously inviting another to journey with you as you deepen your attunement practice to the gift of presence: God’s, creation’s, other people, other communities’, and even one’s own presence. Though conversation, shared silence, somatic practice, and opening postures a person is joined in welcoming the real in all of life.
- Is spiritual direction for me?
The fact you are already exploring spiritual direction may be all the response you need. You sense a need for something. So, if you find yourself longing to experience a greater sense of the Divine in your life; if you desire a more integrative or holistic spirituality; if you desire a more joyful & compassionate, community-oriented & deeply liberating, mystical & intellectually honest, mentally stimulating & body-positive, creative & respectful of tradition spirituality then Spiritual Direction may be for you.
Working with a spiritual director can also be helpful if you are recovering from a legalistic or fundamentalist experience of God or religion. Or if you feel like you might be on the verge of “giving up” on your practice of religion or spirituality. Often the experience of wanting to abandon one’s own experience of religion or spiritualty is a kind of Spirit invitation to more… its like you know it isn’t working… and you can’t do “that” anymore. Sometimes you may even feel that by continuing to engage in those practices your soul is eroding or even that its contributing to harm or injustice in the world. There is no need to navigate all of that on your own.
- How do I find a Spiritual Director?
Each person’s journey is particular. Your journey is particular. Often a wise way to begin is in conversation with some valued friends as they may be able to point you to a spiritual director who could uniquely accompany you at this leg of your journey. Also, you may want to try opening up to Divine guidance, inviting Spirit to bring people into your world and remain open and curious as you encounter various wise guides. A practical resource is, Spiritual Directors International; SDI is an online network with databases to help people find soul friends in their region or with a needed specialization. And of course, since you’re already at his website, you are welcome to initiate an initial conversation with Dwight Friesen, and please know that any initial sessions are complimentary to help in your discernment process.
- What if I don't identify as "Christian"?
Spiritual Direction is NOT an exclusively Christian practice. In fact, many if not most, faith traditions and spiritual paths have a similar practice of journeying alongside a “wise guide.” Because spiritual direction attends – in part – to some of the more mystical aspects of life it leans more apophatic than cataphatic, thus “beliefs” and “theology” are not the focus. Attending to being, listening, acceptance of reality, welcoming the stranger, curiosity, and love tend to be more common threads. While Dwight is deeply rooted within Christian traditions, his life’s work has been to discover and open to ever more loving ways of being faithfully present. Having spent much of his vocational life walking alongside people journeying to wholeness and liberation, he is opening his practice even wider. The only prerequisite for entering into such a relationship is a desire to move toward even greater union with the real, and willingness to bring one’s whole self in honest and curious conversation.
- What is the investment?
The integrative nature of spiritual direction invites investment in every realm of one’s existence. But during this process of initial inquiry, having a clear sense of the financial investment is helpful. Dr. Friesen’s rate for spiritual direction is $120 per hour. Please know that if cost is barrier to beginning a conversation a sliding-scale can be explored together. Spiritual direction is an investment in your formational becoming, and is a vital aspect of self-care unto holistic flourishing.
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Spiritual Direction