Here you are, you’ve decided to embrace your inner sense of spirituality. You’ve made the commitment. You’ve set aside the time for spiritual direction. But you wonder about resources. You may be looking for a go-to person, a mentor, some kind of spiritual counselor. You should have someone with whom you can consult and to exchange meaningful ideas.
This person could be a fellow seeker (a trusted friend or family member with a strong spiritual conviction), a trusted psychic or medium, or even a mental health counselor willing to discuss spiritual matters with an open-mind. Thankfully, they do exist! Reiki healers can also serve as wonderful mentors!
Once you’ve found that go-to person, I am going to detail some tips for how to get the most from this kind of a relationship.
Spend some time before the session considering what you need to [and want to] discuss.
This seems like a no-brainer, but our busy lives sometimes find us hurling from one appointment to another with little time between. without If you can, set aside some time the day or a few hours before your monthly session to calm your mind and consider what area of your life you want or need to explore. Recall—mentally or from notes—experiences you would like to share with the spiritual director.
•Prayer experiences or times you felt a significant manifestation of the Spirit.
•Challenges you faced over the month.
•Joys, gifts or high points of your month.
•How your relationships are faring.
•How you relate to your spiritual community.
•What you have learned and how you have grown in the last month.
Have a regular spiritual practice and keep track of how it’s going
When you are engaged in a regular spiritual practice, be it a type of prayer, meditation, body work or play, you are communicating with the Divine. Even if you are not someone who journals, keep a few notes throughout the month about how the practice feels and how you are experiencing God. You might want to look over your notes prior to the spiritual direction session. Because you know your spiritual director will ask how your spiritual practice is going. (That’s what we do!)
If you journal, bring your journal to the session with you
I love it when one of my clients comes in with his/her journal. It’s a log of daily experiences, questions, written prayers and so forth. Also, people sometimes forget the really incredible experiences of the Divine that happened a few weeks prior. Your journal can be a place for essays about your life or poems you write. All of that is great content for a deep and engaging spiritual direction conversation.
Bring your art, too
If you are an artist or writer, it’s likely you experience the Divine in your creative pursuits. If you want to bring in something you have created or share a writing with your director, please do.
Yes, you can come in with a list of topics to talk about.
The spiritual direction session is entirely yours and directors are trained to follow your lead when it comes to what to talk about. If you’ve done all of the above and still don’t know what to talk about, share the story of your journey of faith. There is always something more to look embedded in your life story.
Louis Grassi 