Spiritual Direction

Spiritual Direction –

Contents

Spiritual Direction and Companioning Near Me

Contents:

1. What is Spiritual Direction Companionship?
2. Brief history of Spiritual Direction: https://pattithomas.net/blog/historyofspiritualdirection-8eb9
3. History of Spiritual Director’s International SDI

https://www.sdicompanions.org/about/history-of-sdi/

4. How to get started with spiritual direction
5. Contact Form
6. How much does a session cost?

1. What is spiritual Direction Companionship?

Spiritual direction is not therapy; it is the practice offering deep listening. Spiritual Direction and Companionship aims to help the person experience the eternal and the infinite aspects of our true nature through the wise, experienced and compassionate company of another human being.  Spiritual Direction and Companionship is a deeply intimate personal conversation between two people.  A simple definition such as the one stated above though accurate, is incomplete.  Defining an intensely personal relationship and defies a brief definition. Each person in spiritual companionship defines what the experience is for them.

2. Brief history of Spiritual Direction https://pattithomas.net/blog/historyofspiritualdirection-8eb95

Spiritual Direction can be traced back as far as the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Centuries to the Dessert Mothers https://dominiccogan.com/the-desert-fathers-and-mothers-who-were-they/ who left the urban areas to live in the Egyptian desert. Some fled because of persecution, some to get away from distractions and temptations, and some to remove themselves from what they considered corruption within the church after Constantine came to power, ended persecution of Christians, united church and state for the Roman Empire, and made himself the head of the church.

In the 16th Century Martin Luther and others led the Reformation, breaking away from the Catholic church and starting Protestantism. The Reformers objected to the ways they felt the church had gotten away from Scriptural instructions through papal authority, selling indulgences (paying to reduce one’s punishment for sins), and confessing to priests, among other things.  They established the 5 Solos: God’s Word alone, faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.

The move away from contemplative practices that came with the Reformation in the 16th Century as well as the emphasis on reason and education that came with the Enlightenment, or Age of Reason, of the 18th Century, influenced the Protestant church’s view of discipleship (learning how to be a follower of Christ) toward education by imparting knowledge and teaching doctrine.

So when and how and why did Spiritual Direction get reintroduced into Evangelicalism? In her thesis and dissertation, Margie Van Duser gives credit to Eugene Peterson, translator of The Message, and Henri Nouwen, a Dutch Catholic Priest and professor.  Much credit also goes to Dallas Willard, a Philosophy professor, and his one-time pastor, friend, and founder of Renovaré, https://renovare.org/Richard Foster.  In 1978 Foster published the book Celebration of Discipline, reintroducing spiritual practices, that was widely read in Evangelical churches.

3. History of Spiritual Director’s International SDI https://www.sdicompanions.org/about/history-of-sdi/

SDI is an educational nonprofit, serving over 6,000 members in 42 countries around the world, committed to supporting and growing access to spiritual companionship and the deep listening, open questions and compassion our healing modality offers.

From a small gathering of spiritual directors at Mercy Center in Burlingame, California, USA, in 1989, the community has grown to include more than six thousand members on six continents who represent more than fifty spiritual traditions.

4. How to get started with Spiritual Direction/Companionship?

Visit the Spiritual Directors International page https://www.sdicompanions.org/find-a-spiritual-director-companion/ https://www.sdicompanions.org/find-a-spiritual-director-companion/ offers guidance to finding a spiritual director right for you. Think about what you are longing for that a spiritual director could help you with.

My personal personalized URL on the Membership page: https://www.sdicompanions.org/sdi-profile/gabriella-cahaley/

Fill out the Contact Form and return it to me.  Contact me with questions and about appointment availability

Schedule your first free session.

Contact form

5. How much does a spiritual direction session cost?

I offer a 30-minute free session.  For continuing session, I use a sliding fee scale.

The fee scale is $70.00 to 85.00 for a 55-minute session.

A 30-minute session, also on a sliding fee scale is $35.00 to $45.00.

Clients are encouraged to use the image of the scale to determine the fee that is comfortable for them.