Spiritual Direction

I mentioned spiritual direction and my positive experience with it in an earlier post. If you would like to learn more about spiritual direction in the Unitarian Universalist context, check out the UUWorld’s May 2007 article about spiritual direction, written Michelle Bates Deakin. Deakin gives a concise summary of spiritual direction:

Spiritual directors each have their own style and format, but typically, a session with a spiritual director begins with a period of silence, followed by conversation, prayer, and meditation. [Spiritual director Jade] Angelica also incorporates Reiki—a practice of stress reduction and relaxation administered by “laying on hands”—into many of her sessions. She explains that “the emphasis is on the relationship between the God energy and the person, not as in counseling where the emphasis is on relations between human beings.”

Believing in God is not prerequisite for undertaking spiritual direction. The purpose of spiritual direction is to connect a person with the spirit in his or her life, and that spirit takes on different forms for different people…

Hafidha Sophia asked in a recent comment about how one can find a spiritual director. The Unitarian Universalist Spiritual Directors’ Network lists directors by geographic region and also directors who can provide spiritual direction over the telephone. Unfortunately the site does not list contact information for each director, but you can contact Jade Angelica for more information.

Another resource is your local Unitarian Universalist minister, who may be able to suggest spiritual directors in your area. To find your local Unitarian Universalist congregation and its contact information, click here.