What is Spirituality?
Spirituality has to do with the spirit as in the essence of being human – your soul or your inner life. It is the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things. Spirituality can be about a journey of transforming our spiritual, psychological and somatic aspects of ourselves to become more our true selves, who are created in the image of God.
Why the term Spiritual Direction?
Spiritual Direction is really not about being “directed.” Rather, it is very much about being transformed and guided to draw closer to God. It invites you into this relationship whether you attend a church, mosque, synagogue, temple, or none of these. Other descriptive words that could be for Spiritual Direction are Soul Care, Spiritual Companioning, Walking With or Along Side someone.
Reasons people come to Spiritual Direction
To seek a closer relationship with God
To discover God's presence in your life, the Presence within you
To make difficult choices
Share your hopes, struggles, and losses
Identify and trust your own experiences of God
If desired, to explore different prayer practices such as contemplative prayer and meditation
To connect with God as a source of strength, comfort, and guidance
Meeting with the Spiritual Director
The Spiritual Director journeys with you as you deepen your relationship with God. The journey takes place in the context of a confidential session with your Spiritual Director. The person coming for Spiritual Direction is trying to be serious about some form of intentional prayer and reflection on God's presence in everyday life. The Director is a facilitator, with God, Spirit, or Higher Power being the true Director.
Need more information regarding Spiritual Direction, please click HERE.
What even IS "Spirituality"?
Yadav was born and raised in Tamil Nadu, India. He had a Hindu upbringing, but when he moved to the United States to study he started to separate himself from his family’s belief system. He was comfortable not having specific religious involvement. He didn't feel a trite religion-shaped hole in his heart. He wasn't a subplot in God's Not Dead 5.
Running had always been one of his favorite ways to spend some time alone, but he started to feel as though something peculiar was happening when he ran. He couldn't think of anything that was different physically or mentally within him, so he tried to ignore the feeling. He did not succeed. He decided to see a spiritual director.
The spiritual director encouraged him to simply uncritically notice the thoughts that came to him and his physical state the next time he went on a run, however insignificant the details may seem. Over the course of subsequent meetings, the director helped Yadav discern and articulate that the muscle memory expressed in his legs coupled with the endorphins released as he ran made him feel strongly connected to his animal self. Running outdoors with this awareness also heightened his acknowledgement of his place within an ecological system. This perspective brought him a profound sense of harmony within himself and a sense of deep belonging within the world around him. This sense of belonging was especially helpful after leaving the familiarity of his home country—something he did not think was having any effect on him.
The spiritual director used the bare bones of Yadav’s lived experience to help him see for himself that something as mundane as daily exercise had the potential to amount to more. In this example we see the ways in which spiritual health interacts with the other dimensions of wellness. But what is “spiritual health"?
The 8 generally agreed upon dimensions of wellness are:
Physical
Occupational
Spiritual
Environmental
Financial
Social
Intellectual
Emotional
The spiritual dimension of health is the glue that holds the other dimensions together. It asks the question of why we even bother tending to the other dimensions in the first place.
In Yadav’s case, the spiritual practice of awareness encouraged thoughtful scientific analysis of his body, and this was beneficial to his intellectual and physical health. A stronger sense of connection to his surroundings called to mind the state of his environmental and social health, and the whole experience contributed to his overall emotional health. Yadav’s spiritual exploration also brought to mind some of the difficulties he had been facing regarding his lost sense of cultural identity. Up until that point, these suppressed feelings had invisibly inhibited his occupational health.
Spirituality has been defined and redefined throughout human history, and it is now my intention to shout yet another definition to the abyss:
spir·it·u·al·i·ty /spiriCHo͞oˈalədē/ n.:
the practice of deriving any amount of meaning from any event, thought, or activity
Sound vague? It’s because it is.
We can meet with any amount of people from militant atheists to militant fundamentalists, and the same question can be found at the tip of their tongues: What meaning can I derive from my life, experience, and surroundings? Even if their answer is “none,” they’ve still asked the question. For some reason the human mind deeply craves context. It is not enough for us to simply survive. We need to know we are a part of something greater, even if that “something greater” is simply our ecosystem, our families, or even, paradoxically, the understanding that we are a part of nothing greater.
So what is spirituality? Everything, and beyond.
By Rachel A. Parsons, MA
Podcast Series on Spiritual Direction
What is Spiritual Direction:
https://oembed.libsyn.com/embed?item_id=12737822
What does Spiritual Direction Do:
https://oembed.libsyn.com/embed?item_id=12737756
Who is Spiritual Direction For:
https://oembed.libsyn.com/embed?item_id=12737732
Spiritual Direction and Finding Meaning:
About Companioning
We have linked to Spiritual Direction International to answer many questions concerning Companioning. These links will take you to Spiritual Direction International (SDI); to return, close the SDI page. Find answers to some of your questions below.
What is Spiritual Companioning? Read more
Do I need a Spiritual Companion? Read more
Who is a Spiritual Companion? Read more
Getting Started Read more
Portrait of a Spiritual Director/Companion Read more
Guidelines for Ethical Conduct Read more
Resources
The Practice of Spiritual Direction William A. Barry & William J. Connolly 1982
The Discerning Heart, Maureen Conroy
Discernment: A Path to Spiritual Awakening, Rosemary Dougherty
Listening Hearts, Suzanne Farnham, Joseph Gill, et al.
What Is Spirituality? David L. Fleming
Stages of Faith, James Fowler
Holy Listening; The Art of Spiritual Direction Margaret Guenther; 1992
Spiritual Passages, Benedict Groeschel
Soul Friend; An invitation to Spiritual Direction Kenneth Leech; 1992
Spiritual Guidance Across Religions, John Mabry
Spiritual Direction and Meditation, Thomas Merton
Spiritual Direction: Wisdom for the Long Walk of Faith, Henri J.M. Nouwen
Candlelight: Illuminating the Art of Spiritual Direction, Susan Phillips
Spiritual Discovery: A Method for Discernment in Small Groups and Congregations, Catherine Tran and Sandra Boyd
Articles
Fetzer Institute
What Does Spirituality Mean to Us?
A study of spirituality in the United States
Click Here
The New York Times
Can Spiritual Directors Help?
Nondenominational “spiritual companions” offer to connect clients to the divine in their everyday life.
Read full article HERE.