An announcement and an invitation, my friends: I’ve been enrolled in a spiritual accompaniment training hosted and facilitated by Still Harbor, and I’ve reached the point in my training where I’m preparing to begin my practicum! This means I’m seeking a few people (2-3) who are available to work with me once a month starting in March to explore and be supported in their spiritual practice.
Though the term spiritual direction has its roots in a specific tradition, the close relationship built over time between two people with spiritual practice as its foundation transcends labels or religious history. I’ve been working with a spiritual director for more than a year, and I’ve found it to be invaluable in my self-care, spiritual, and political practices and spaces. The language from Still Harbor that describes spiritual direction is
“The process of contemplative listening carried out in the context of a one-to-one trusting and confidential relationship. A trained spiritual director journeys with another person by listening to that person’s life story and experiences with an ear for the movement of the spirit, the presence of the sacred, and/or the insights that come from making deep meaningful connections. By offering supportive responses as appropriate and encouraging deepening reflection, clients can open up to new understandings and paths of growth.
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I have loved training and practicing this work with my colleagues, and it intersects beautifully with my spiritual care work within the health care community. I am so excited about continuing to move deeper into this work, and I’m looking for folks who are interested in working with a spiritual director, or who are interested in supporting my training and education in this work. I’m prioritizing my availability for BIPoC folx, for women & femmes, for queer folx, and for folx who are making plans and decisions around their reproductive health, and considering how their religious and/or spiritual life supports them, or complicates this. Having said that, I’m open to new clients outside these communities as well. In order to work together, I ask that we both make a three-month commitment, and that we begin in March. These three sessions are free. Please note, given my schedule I’m only looking for three clients, so if you’re interested, let me know soon, so that I can save space for you.
This work has been nourishing and meaningful for me, and I hope that it can be the same for you. As you reflect on and heal from your past, welcome and tend to your present, and discern and daydream your future, take some support.
A note about our relationship: if we are close, if we’re friends or family, it’s likely that our relationship outside this context would mean we shouldn’t work together; I would love to suggest a colleague who would be interested and available to work with you, though! If we haven’t spoken voice to voice, if we don’t have a relationship outside this space or social media, and you’d like to learn more, contact me! Rather than leaving a comment here, please contact me here.
photo by Brandon Atkinson