Spiritual Direction
A safe, non-judgemental and trauma-informed space to explore your Self, the Divine, and the ways you dance together.
Hi, I’m Levi. I recently began training with The Healing Collective in order to pursue a certification in spiritual direction. I’m in the process of taking on a couple directees who might be interested in this kind of work.
An Invitation
Are things… changing? Do you have questions you feel like you’re not allowed to ask? Are you deconstructing? Shattered? Or perhaps things are just… shifting, somehow. Maybe you’re rebuilding? Do you wonder where (or whether) God is? Are you heartbroken, and looking for the space to be that? Do you long for a place to exist without feeling like a project that needs to be fixed? Do you sense something luring you into a different or deeper expression of faith? Are you… stoked (since not everything has to be a nightmare all of the time)?
The greatest healing I’ve experienced in this life has come through the empathetic presence of others who bore witness to it — who saw me fully — and loved me, wholly. James Finley writes that when a person can do this — “risk sharing what hurts the most with someone who will neither invade nor abandon them, they come upon, within themselves, the pearl of great price.”
My own participation in spiritual direction throughout the past five years has allowed me to experience this nonjudgmental with-ness, and I don’t know of a greater gift to participate with the Giver, in giving.
I’d love to hear your story. I’d love to listen to and be with you as we explore where Life and God have you right now — wherever that may be, whatever you may do, however it may feel.
Some Questions, Answered
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Spiritual direction is meant to provide a “safe container” in which someone can explore their life and their relationship with the Divine — free from judgement, shame or the fear of coercion. It asks, simply, “What is God doing in my life, right now?”
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In short: spiritual directors listen. We listen to you, and we listen for God — ever-present in our midst — and the way the Spirit of Life is speaking in and through your story.
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Anyone. Everyone. You.
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Folks come to spiritual direction for all kinds of reasons. Perhaps you’re seeking a deeper relationship with God. Perhaps it feels as though you’ve lost your relationship with God. Or, perhaps, God is not lost, but you’re changing, and you’re looking for new ways of engaging with the Mystery. Perhaps you’ve suffered spiritual or religious abuse, and “God” is not a title you can use, at all... That’s okay, too.
Some people simply want to sit in the presence of an empathetic witness and talk. Company helps us “work it out” (whatever it happens to be), and that’s one way to think of spiritual direction: accompaniment — through a big decision, a faith-shift, a budding (or dissipating) relationship, or simply with the quiet help of someone seeking to attune to the Life in your everyday mundane.
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Spiritual direction is an ancient practice with roots in and across a variety of religious (and non-theistic) traditions.
My native language is Christianity, but pursuing spiritual direction does not require that you speak it (nor will there be any altar calls). As for me, in the words of David Hayward, “Christianity is my home, but I have cottages everywhere.”
It is my goal that you feel safe, not that you say “right” words or use “right” names. And if you’re searching for new names, I’m happy to keep an eye on the ground for where your flashlight beams.
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A trauma-informed lens is integrated into this spiritual direction certification program, and you can read more about it here, at The Healing Collective.
Additionally, I carry my own therapuetic and trauma-aware work, study and experience from the past decade’s worth of healing pursuits.
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It is not. While similarities and overlap exist across all healing modalities — whereas therapy might be more diagnostic and problem-based/solution-oriented — spiritual direction is like soul friendship with someone who is with, in and through life as it is, and as it unfolds. Many directors work with people adjacent to and in conjunction with their therapy, but are attuning moreso to what the Spirit is up to in the here and now as you bring your depths to surface. Spiritual direction is not a replacement for counseling or psycho/therapy.
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While I work with people according to what is most comfortable for them, I like to start each session with the sound of a bell (my beloved singing bowl), and silence — which you are welcome to sit in for as long as you wish, and break at any time.
I may ask a question like, “Where does God seem to be showing up in your story right now?”
As you share your life, it is my goal to ensure that you are safely held in a warmth spacious enough for whatever wants to emerge — be it pain or healing, sorrow or joy, shame or freedom. Nothing need be embarrassing, and nothing is off limits.
When it feels helpful, I may ask a question, or make an observation, while also aware of the pivitol role that quiet plays in a world that so often fills it with noise. There’s a lot of space for silence in spiritual direction, and one of life’s deep joys is in learning to sit in and listen to it.
When we’re nearing the end of our conversation, I’ll let you know, and we’ll conclude with a moment of silence, meditation and/or — if it makes sense — a practice to “take home” between sesions.
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A typical session lasts 50 to 60 minutes. In general, though adjustments can be made, spiritual direction happens once per month.
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I am currently in a two-year certification program, and will not be charging for spiritual direction sessions until I receive it in full.
So… nothing.
Let’s Meet
If you’re searching for a safe place in which to ask questions, get curious, explore, rage, celebrate, grieve, hope, wonder, discern, and [fill in the blank], I’d be honored to join you.
In who you are.
In who you are becoming.
