Spiritual direction is not a cure for anxiety but anxiety frequently comes up as people share their life stories with a spiritual director. In those moments of anxiety—even panic—the response of a caring, compassionate and non-anxious spiritual director can make a difference.
The Mayo Clinic describes anxiety as “intense, excessive ...
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Articles posted by Teresa Blythe
I’m always interested in how to change the world—especially how to assist people who are consumed with hate to convert to a spirituality based in love. And since hate-filled people rarely go to spiritual direction, and all my friends are of the loving variety, it took the resurfacing of ...
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I’m going to get political here because, like a Cecily Strong character on Saturday Night Live said recently, “I want one day without a CNN alert that scares the hell out of me, all right?”
Yes, I’m afraid and it’s hard to keep the faith. Most of the people I ...
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Confession time. I’m addicted to refreshing my twitter feed. And the result is I’m on media overload, a spiritual condition many find themselves in these days.
Media overload is when your eyes glaze over because you’ve been reading or watching too much news. It’s when you can’t stand to be ...
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The urge to speak with God face to face and understand great mysteries is a thread running through HBO’s third season of the dystopian religious drama “The Leftovers.” Last week, in episode 5 of the show’s final season, Episcopal priest Matt Jamison (played by Christopher Eccleston) finally gets a chance ...
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Spiritual direction is a clergyperson’s best friend. Deep listening and discernment enhance the life of a congregation and its leaders, so if you are clergy, I hope you consider how this spiritual practice can be used or expanded in your work. If you are a layperson, please pass this ...
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A young minister colleague came to me last week and said, “we really need spiritual direction for the resistance--time to reflect on what we are so passionate about.”
The resistance of which my friend speaks is made up of humanists, interfaith religious leaders and progressive Christians all fighting the creeping ...
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The practice of spiritual direction rescued me. I never felt I fit into the conservative church I grew up in, so I set out as a young adult to find a spiritual path that focused on God’s unconditional love of creation.
The journey took considerable time. My new path had ...
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If I were to poll spiritual directors and ask what is the most common concern people bring to direction, I’m guessing most would say “I want to pray more, but I just don’t.” Wanting to do something but not getting around to it is known as an action block. ...
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All relationships have a lifespan, and the relationship between a person and their spiritual director is no different. It is a shame when people hang on with a spiritual director out of a sense of duty or obligation. If you find you are no longer growing in the way ...
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