How Does Spiritual Direction Fit into an Overall Self Care Plan?

• Spirituality

• Relationships

• Vocation

• Health

• Creativity

• Service

• The Daily Round - Errands - Tasks

• Play – Adventure - Beauty

What is spirituality? Some of us may define it as that which brings us into contact with the Divine or a sense of Transcendent Reality. Others may think of spirituality as that which animates us and makes us feel alive. Spirituality may be defined as relationship; our relationship with God, our relationship with ourselves, our relationship with God-in-Self, God-in-Others and God-in-Earth. Spirituality may be thought of as our unique contribution, our particularity, our core essence or our True Self. (Thomas Merton, Richard Rohr). Most of us would agree that spirituality is that which gives us a sense of meaning and what we ultimately value. (Paul Tillich)

However we define spirituality, we begin to see how it infuses every part of self care. There is no separation between our spirituality and our relationships, our vocations, our daily lives, our health, our creative expression, how we serve in the world and our sense of adventure, beauty and play. Regardless of our theology or what we believe, spirituality is the very foundation of our human experience.

Spiritual direction is available as a resource to care for and deepen our spiritual lives, and thus our relationships, vocations, health, etc., all the parts of our life experience. We learn how to pay attention to the movement of God in our everyday lives. We learn how to discern the stirring of Spirit in our hearts. We learn how God communicates with us. We employ several spiritual practices to strengthen our spiritual muscles; contemplative and discursive prayer, meditation, journaling, creative expression, body prayer and movement and sharing our spiritual experiences with others.