Spiritual Intelligence is your total intelligence. It incorporates your mental health, physical health, and relational health and is rooted in how you engage with all beings, understand your story over time and see your purpose as connected to the highest good. It can be seen in the spontaneity of your dance, your heart, and your word.
A Spiritual Director supports you in your entirety. Adept at paying attention to soul and seeing good woven through your life, they will pray with you and recognize your life as sacred. This brings a reassurance like nothing else.
I’ve had short and long term spiritual directors. For the last nine years I’ve been in monthly spiritual direction. These soul check-ins start with a minute of silence. As I navigate my life by soul I know that here I can share from that perspective. I don’t have to hide the weird stuff or the ordinary stuff. The subject matter includes family, work, creative practices and the body politic. This witness and prayer is gold. My spiritual director is studied in grief, somatic psychology, InterPlay, and brings honesty, humor, and support for my body wisdom. Sessions often end with a blessing.
As a member of Spiritual Directors International, I am grateful to be part of a network of directors. Through it I came into contact with Spiritual Directors of Color organized by Therese Taylor-Stinson. A powerful resource.
In their latest blog Jennifer Olin-Hitt recently wrote Spiritual Direction: A Movement Toward Soul Wholeness. It starts by saying, “The human condition is filled with moments and seasons of struggle that are not categorized neatly in a mental health textbook. Loss can lead to deep grief. Ethical dilemmas in the workplace can open up great turmoil of conscience. We become angry at our loved ones. We can act in ways that we regret. Mid-life can bring questions of meaning. Children challenge our values. Some of us wake up in the night with questions of existence: what is my purpose? Is there life beyond this life? For questions and moments such as these, the struggling person may turn to a spiritual director.” Jennifer then gives a brief overview of spiritual direction and ways that spiritual direction intersects with mental health therapy.
I am privileged to train and support spiritual directors and leaders who integrate body wisdom and creative practice in their offerings. My 2018 offerings include two longer programs on Body Wisdom Tools for Spiritual Formation and Support for Spiritual Leaders. This Program will be repeated in October.
I also have space for monthly spiritual direction or a consultation if you need it. I equally recommend Donna Mazzola, Nancy Pfaltzgraf, Soyinka Rahim, Ellen Solot, and Stephen Winton-Henry for spiritual healing and support. See more about them here.
Check out The Braided Way, a website and magazine which aims “to support an individual’s spiritual development, while influencing our larger culture toward inter-spiritual (and inter-religious) understanding, acceptance and engagement.”