Spiritual Direction

A soulful, honest, and generative spiritual life is accessible here & now.

“The first task of seeking guidance then is to touch your own struggles, doubts, and insecurities—in short, to affirm your life as a quest. Your life, my life, is given graciously by God. Our lives are not problems to be solved but journeys to be taken with Jesus as our friend and finest guide.” ― Henri Nouwen, Spiritual Direction: Wisdom for the Long Walk of Faith

If you are anything like me, being human is an alchemy of unbearable bitter and heavenly sweet - and not always equal parts.

Each day carries enough heft on its own and each season brings about weather patterns that cloud our interior and exterior lives. Our aging bodies, our working relationships, our broken-beautiful families, our vocations and side-hustles are the playgrounds where we experience weepy sorrow and fantastic joy. To add to the merry-go-round of these personal scenarios we are often left spinning from a culture of distraction with all its noise, chaos, and technological overuse.

Spiritual direction is a conscious practice of slowing down, stepping off the merry-go-round and finding your footing in the midst of the grit of life.

Spiritual direction is an occasion to savor the textures and flavors of being human.

Spiritual direction is a space for you to stay awake to your soul, to breathe in the Spirit, and to be heard by a fellow companion on the Way.

Join me for an introductory Session where you are invited to have a soulful, honest, and generative spiritual conversation AND we Encounter Christ’s rich Presence together…

-Pr. David

About SD: Spiritual direction, or spiritual companionship, is typically a 1-on-1 experience where a directee meets with a trained spiritual care practitioner, and together attention is given to the divine movements in one’s everyday, ordinary life.

A working definition of Spiritual Direction by Pr. David:

Spiritual direction is a shepherding posture of walking alongside a companion at the confluence of Spirit, soul, self…AND Spiritual direction is cultivating a shared space of attunement for a companion to further recognize, reflect, and respond to the Divine’s Presence on their journey.

During these hour-ish sessions, we move at the speed of relationship which is another way to say that we move at a slow, intentional pace to connect with our deepest selves and to explore your life with God.

The rhythm of Spiritual Direction is helpful for those who are:

  • navigating life transitions, big or small

  • discerning next steps in their work or vocation

  • processing changes in faith, theology, or religious worldview

  • wrestling with grief and identifying God’s place in the process

  • seeking contemplative space to process the social & political unrest of our time

  • desiring to create rituals of sacred practice and self-care

  • looking for additional space in their lives for prayer and contemplation

  • practicing the faithful work of centering God’s presence, wisdom and energies in their daily lives

Frequently Asked Questions:

  • A typical session lasts 45-60 minutes. We begin by lighting a candle to signify the Divine’s Presence with us and then enter into 2 minutes of silence. After the chime, a directee can choose to linger in silence, request a centering practice, or move into prayerful  conversation together. During a session, the director mostly listens, asks questions, and occasionally reflects back to the directee significant themes or insights that are being shared. This space is safe,  confidential, trauma-informed and non-judgmental—all in hopes of honoring your story and experience of the Divine.

  • The introductory session, which lasts about 30 minutes, is free. Following the first session, I charge a sliding scale fee of $65-80 per session. Payments are made by the end of the session. If cost is a barrier, please let me know and I’d be glad to help make arrangements.

  • Typically directors and directees meet once per month.

  • I have a BA in Theology & Pastoral Ministries from Indiana Wesleyan University and was certified in Spiritual Direction through Fall Creek Abbey’s School of Spiritual Direction where I serve as one of their affiliates. I am also a member of the SDI and adhere to their Guidelines for Ethical Conduct.

    1. Spiritual direction helps us integrate our splintered lives.

      Life today is incredibly complicated and trying to keep up is impossible. The speed of life and continual innovation of technology spewing a magnitude of information and options at us causes us to splinter. Our attention is diffused as though being pitched a hundred fast balls in a split second and trying to decide which one to catch and which ones to duck so that we don’t get smashed in the face. Entering spiritual direction, especially over a length of time, helps us SLOW DOWN and pay attention to the recurring themes, threads and patterns that help integrate the disparate parts of our lives. Most importantly, we begin to see God in the fractals.

      2. Spiritual direction pulls us toward the centre of our being as life draws us away.

      We know what it is like to feel the pull of centrifugal force as we go about our days. The draw of work, relationships, technology, social media, going, doing, play and traveling tug at us to move out and expand more and more. Yet, little in life has the same force of power to draw us in toward the centre of our being. Spiritual direction focuses our attention on the interior life; on our moods and the movement of God within our desires. We pay attention to emotions as important messengers of the truth that we possess and the potential lies that possess us. Spiritual direction offers the counter-balancing centripetal force, grounding us in our true identity as people completely known and completely loved by God.

      3. Spiritual direction awakens us to God’s presence and activity in the midst of suffering.

      For as many cures discovered and advances made in our day, an unprecedented number of people are suffering from the most obscure, evasive, un-diagnosable maladies. Mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, and PTSD, as well as physical issues stemming from allergies to food and/or the environment are disheartening to those who have them and the experts who are looking for causes and cures. These elusive and perplexing conditions often contribute to an unwelcomed spiritual fog and the perceived absence of God. While spiritual direction doesn’t promise a cure or assure the return of distinguishing God’s presence, it does provide loving and supportive companionship. Meeting with a spiritual director, someone who is trained to be a compassionate listener and keep confidence, is a balm to those who need a safe place to suffer honestly and not alone.

      4. Spiritual direction acquaints us with the mysterious and often surprising means of God’s formation in our lives.

      It’s true that many who begin looking for a spiritual director do so in the second half of life. And it’s also true that many enter into this relationship because the construct of faith they once espoused no longer works for them. Whether toppled by unexplainable adversity or fueled by questions their old paradigm no longer answers, mid-lifers look for someone with whom to process the confusing dynamics of life on a spiritual journey. What their quest for a spiritual director suggests is the fact that we are often too close to what’s happening in us and to us, and we need someone with objectivity to help us sort it all through. Through meeting for spiritual direction, many are able to recover their faith as they discover God in the midst of the rubble of their deconstruction – and begin to see the mysterious and surprising means by which God forms them into their true-selves-in-Christ.