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Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with thedivine, or to learn and grow in their personalspirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters of the divine, or how they are cultivating a life attuned to spiritual things. The director listens and asks questions to assist the directee in his or her process ofreflection and spiritual growth. Advocates of Spiritual direction claim that it develops a deeper awareness with the spiritual aspect of being human, and that it is neitherpsychotherapy nor counseling nor financial planning.
Historians of philosophy likeIlsetraut andPierre Hadot have argued that spiritual direction was already practiced and recommended by the main schools of philosophy, as well as by physicians likeGalen, as part ofspiritual practices in Ancient Greece and Rome.[1][2]
While there is some degree of variability, there are primarily two forms of spiritual direction in the Roman Catholic Church: regular direction andretreat direction. They differ largely in the frequency of meetings and in the intensity of reflection.[citation needed]
Regular direction can involve a one- to two-hour meeting every four to eight weeks, and thus is slightly less intense than retreat direction, although spiritual exercises and disciplines are often given for the directee to attempt between meetings.
If the directee is on a retreat (lasting a weekend, a week or even 40 days), they will generally meet with their director on a daily basis for one hour. During these daily meetings, exercises or spiritual disciplines such aslectio divina are given to the directee as sustenance to further their spiritual growth.
TheSpiritual Exercises ofIgnatius of Loyola are a popular example of guidelines used for spiritual direction.
Most ofancient schools of philosophy remarked the importance of spiritual direction in order to improvemoral education. This guidance, a kind of "therapy of the souls", led the pupils toself-awareness of their faults and progress.Socrates can be considered as the ideal of spiritual director among his followers, butPlato also guided his students with personal advice and comfort through their learning process.Aristotle would have fixed some rules for a proper spiritual guidance of pupils in the second book of hisRhetoric. Other examples can be found inCynics,Epicureans—who used epistolary form for this purpose (e.g.,Metrodorus)— orStoics —likeMarcus Aurelius,Seneca,Musonius Rufus orEpictetus in hisDiscourses—who actively practiced spiritual direction.Philodemus' workOn Frank Criticism showed that spiritual guidance should be based on freedom of speech (parrhesia) and mutual respect between master and pupil. A physician likeGalen, not affiliated to any school of philosophy, recommended to follow spiritual guidance from an aged and experienced man before attempting self-examination.[1]
WithinChristianity, spiritual direction has its roots inearly Christianity. Thegospels describeJesus serving as a mentor to his disciples. Additionally,Acts of the Apostles chapter 9 describes Ananias helpingPaul of Tarsus to grow in his newfound experience of Christianity. Likewise, several of thePauline epistles describe Paul mentoring both Timothy and Titus among others. Tradition also states thatJohn the Evangelist tutoredPolycarp, the 2nd-century bishop ofSmyrna.[citation needed]
TheologianJohn Cassian, who lived in the 4th century, provided some of the earliest recorded guidelines on the Christian practice of spiritual direction.[3] He introduced mentoring in the monasteries. Each novice was put under the care of an older monk.Benedict of Nursia integrated Cassian's guidelines into what is now known as theRule of Saint Benedict.
Spiritual direction is widespread in the Catholic tradition: a person with wisdom and spiritual discernment, usually but not exclusively a priest or consecrated in general, provides counsel to a person who wishes to make a journey of faith and discovery of God's will in their life. The spiritual guide aims to discern and understand what theHoly Spirit, through the situations of life, spiritual insights in the fruit of prayer, reading and meditation on the Bible, tells the person accompanied. The spiritual father or spiritual director may provide advice, give indications of life and prayer, resolving doubts in matters of faith and morals without replacing the choices and decisions to the person accompanying.
Eastern Orthodoxy comes from the same pre-schism traditions, but the role of a "spiritual director" or "elder" in Orthodoxy has maintained its important role. The original Greek termgeron (meaning 'elder', as in gerontology) was rendered by the Russian wordstarets, from theOld Church Slavonicstarĭtsĭ, 'elder', derived fromstarŭ, 'old'. The Greek tradition has a long unbroken history of elders and disciples, such asSophronius andJohn Moschos in the 7th century,Symeon the Elder andSymeon the New Theologian in the 11th century, and contemporary charismatic gerontes such asPorphyrios andPaisios.Sergius of Radonezh andNil Sorsky were two most venerated startsy ofMuscovy. The revival of elders in the Slavic world is associated with the name ofPaisius Velichkovsky (1722–1794), who produced the Russian translation of thePhilokalia. The most famous Russian starets of the early 19th century wasSeraphim of Sarov (1759–1833), who went on to become one of the most revered Orthodox saints.TheOptina Pustyn nearKozelsk used to be celebrated for its startsy (Schema-Archimandrite Moses, Schema-Hegumen Anthony, Hieroschemamonk Leonid, Hieroschemamonk Macarius, Hieroschemamonk Hilarion, Hieroschemamonk Ambrose, Hieroschemamonk Anatole (Zertsalov)). Such writers asNikolay Gogol,Aleksey Khomyakov,Leo Tolstoy andKonstantin Leontyev sought advice from the elders of this monastery. They also inspired the figure of Zosima in Dostoyevsky's novelThe Brothers Karamazov. A more modern example of a starets is ArchimandriteJohn Krestiankin (1910–2006) of thePskov Monastery of the Caves, who was popularly recognized as such by manyOrthodox living inRussia.
InJudaism, the Hebrew term for spiritual director differs among traditional communities. The verbHashpa'ah is common in some communities though not all; the spiritual director called amashpi'a occurs in theChabad-Lubavitch community and also in theJewish Renewal community. Amashgiach ruchani is the equivalent role among adherents of theMussar tradition. The purpose ofHashpa'ah is to support the directee in their personal relationship withGod, and to deepen that person's ability to find God's presence in ordinary life. AmongstLubavitchers this draws on the literature and praxis ofHasidism as it is practiced according to Chabad standards, and toJewish mystical tradition generally. Spiritual mentorship is customary in the Hasidic world, but not necessarily in the same way.
InSufism, the term used for spiritual master ismurshid, Arabic for 'guide' or 'teacher'. Amurshid is more than a spiritual director and is believed to be guiding the disciples based on his direct connectivity with theDivine. Themurshid's role is to spiritually guide and verbally instruct the disciple on the Sufi path after the disciple takes an oath of allegiance orBay'ah (bai'ath) with him. The concept ofMurshid Kamil Akmal (also known asInsan-e-Kamil) is significant in mosttariqas. The doctrine states that from pre-existence till pre-eternity, there shall always remain aQutb or a Universal Man upon the earth who would be the perfect manifestation of God and at the footsteps of theIslamic prophetMuhammad.[4]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Later writings on spiritual direction (as perTop ten reading list for spiritual directors – January 19, 2013):