“Be kinder to people than you think they deserve.
Everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.”
– Unknown
Private Spiritual Direction
Individuals
There is an essence in each of us that is seeking expression. At the center of all spiritual practices lies the quest for wholeness – the experience of Self in all its multi-dimensionality. A felt relationship to something larger than ego: Self/Source/Spirit – call it what you will – offers a new grounding. The heart of the inner work is to see ourselves with clarity and compassion. This can be the route to deep and meaningful change. There is peace in coming to accept past and present realities for the teachers that they are and in seeing the patterns that we create and recreate – until we don’t! Everyone lives on the unfolding edge of their self-understanding! Knowing this makes the journey into the inner landscape an adventure into greater aliveness.
“Do not die before becoming the person you were meant to be.” – Unknown
“Compassion is the basis of morality.” - Schopenhauer
Life Partners and Significant Relationships
When relationships are viewed through the lens of spiritual practice, things open up. Rather than being stalemated as a tug of war between wills, significant relationships become places to refine and rediscover our dreams. It is possible to release old resentments and “impossible” obstacles. It is possible to gain clarity and make choices with a sense of freedom and grace. There are many practices couples can bring to bear to create change – even one person’s decision to change alters old patterns in life-changing ways. The question isn’t: who does someone else want you to be? The question is: who do you want to become?
“If you would know only love’s pleasure and not love’s pain, then it is better that you pass out of love’s threshing floor and into the seasonless world, where you will laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.” -
Kahlil Gibran
“Just want to say again thank you for your support, caring, thoughtfulness, honesty and willingness to give your all in your discernment and clarity with us. I appreciate that you are a person of such integrity and heart.” – private client
“I wanted you to know what a wonderful impact our day with you has made on our relationship.” – private client
Families
Families really are systems! The functioning of each individual impacts everyone else. When families are under stress, it can be hard to see where the potential for positive movement comes from. And the answer is not obvious: it’s usually not the person who is (or apparently is) creating the most trouble! Rather it’s the person(s) with the highest motivation to create change who have the real power! Discover how much change can happen when you redefine your role and behaviors in a challenging family constellation.
Seminarians and Pastoral Formation
Working with a spiritual director can be a powerful and illuminating dimension of theological education and the pastoral formation process. In addition to offering a sacred space for ongoing spiritual reflection during a time of rapid change, the process inevitably provides a lens into this office of ministry and provides opportunities for considering what role that work might play in one’s own professional future.
“I don’t know how – or if – I would have made it through the challenges of seminary without the support in clarifying my path that our work has provided. Thank you.” – Starr King School for the Ministry graduate
Collegial Support
Reflecting with colleagues on the shared journey of this strange and wonderful profession called ministry is a distinctively meaningful and joyful aspect of this work. The companionship of spiritual direction is available to colleagues either in person or through phone consultations.