What is spiritual direction?

Spiritual Direction is the practice of sharing your spiritual journey with a companion who helps you be attentive to the presence, action and invitations of God in the midst of your everyday life.

A spiritual director is someone who has received special training (formation) in the art of accompanying another person on their spiritual journey. Most spiritual directors in Aotearoa, New Zealand will be anchored in the postures, practices and perspectives of contemplative Christian spirituality.

Typically, you will meet with your spiritual director once a month for an hour - in person, or on Zoom. This trusted relationship may last for many years as you journey together through the ups and downs, ebbs and flows of your deepening connection with the Loving Mystery, which many people call God.

A spiritual director can help you to:

  • have a growing awareness of the “holy in the ordinary”.

  • become more self-aware as you reflect on your life and your story.

  • notice the moments and movements of grace in your life.

  • develop contemplative postures and practices that help you to connect more deeply with the Sacred.

  • respond to inner invitations for healing, growth and maturing that arise in the life of faith.

Spiritual directors are companions and co-discerners.

The term spiritual director might imply that this person is going to ‘direct you’ and instruct you in what to think and believe. However, the opposite is true! A good spiritual director helps you look and listen for yourself to the invitations of God.

He or she seeks to help you to discern the direction God seems to be drawing you in love; listening with you for what seems to be for your good and growth. Sometimes your spiritual director will make suggestions or offer resources to explore, but what you do with these is always up to you.

“Spiritual direction is a nourishing practice in my life. It gives me a safe place to be brave as I explore the unfurling edges of my relationship with the Divine, other people and the world around me. I am thankful for the deep well of listening and communion that happens as I am helped to look at my life with eyes of love.”

— Kathryn Overall, Tauranga

What do I value about spiritual direction?

 

DAVID CRAWLEY

“Spiritual direction is a relational space that allows me to be who I am, as I am. Here I don't have to be anything for anyone. Wonderful! I am free to attend to significant happenings in my inner and outer worlds and to join with my spiritual director in wondering where God is in it all. Over time, my director helps me deepen my awareness of the divine love at the heart of all things.”

JANE WILKINSON

“Central to my spiritual direction experience is a deeply trusted and safe relationship where I feel held and seen. Paying attention and noticing are crucial in understanding how God is with me - within, around, and often in the ordinary and everyday. It is a place to explore, to be honest, and to imagine. I love Alan Jamieson's picture of swimming beyond the flags. Spiritual direction allows and invites this sort of adventurousness.”

JOSHUA TAYLOR

“I chose to become a spiritual director because I had a great experience of spiritual direction for myself. It came during a really stressful time of my life when I felt overwhelmed with busyness and under lots of pressure. It was spiritual direction that helped me deepen my journey with God and find nourishment in what felt like a desert.”

DIANE GILLIAM-WEEKS

“I’ve been seeing spiritual directors for over 25 years. It’s the place where I am known and safe to speak of the depths of my intimacy with God and the exciting discoveries I make along the way. God works through my director to help me see and hear God more clearly.”

 Some further definitions of spiritual direction

“…help given by one Christian to another which enables that person to pay attention to God’s personal communication to him or her, to respond to this personally communicating God, to grow in intimacy with this God, and to live out the consequences of this relationship” - Barry & Connolly, The Practice of Spiritual Direction, p8

A relationship in which one person helps another “with a personal understanding of the spiritual life, growth in self-knowledge, and deepening intimacy with God.” - Janet Ruffing, To Tell the Sacred Tale: Spiritual Direction and Narrative

... “Holy listening” - Margaret Guenther in her book by that title. She also uses metaphors of hospitality and midwifery to describe the role of the spiritual director.

Click here for a helpful article on spiritual direction, written by Dr Anne Shave after the completion of her PhD thesis, which included interviews with people about spiritual direction.

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  • How to Become a Spiritual Director

    Spiritual Growth Ministries (SGM) offers a two year Spiritual Directors Formation Programme. Click here for further details about this excellent formation opportunity for training in spiritual direction and the art of having fruitful spiritual conversations.

  • Spiritual Direction on Retreats

    Spiritual direction is also an important component of contemplative retreats and quiet days. In longer retreats, each retreatant normally has individual time with a spiritual director on each day of the retreat. Download the SGM Calendar to find a retreat opportunity in your region.

  • Research Papers on Spiritual Direction

    A number of research papers addressing various aspects of spirituality and spiritual direction have been written by participants in our Spiritual Directors Formation Programme. These are known as Special Interest Projects and can be browsed and read on this website.