• Do you have a deep desire for intimacy with God?

• Do you hunger for spirituality in your life?

• Have you experienced perplexing spiritual dilemmas and wanted to talk about it without fear of censorship or someone trying to fix you?

• Has God been at work in your life, but you didn't recognize that it was God, or how God was leading?

• Have you been in a period of time where your prayers seem like the doldrums?

• Does your spiritual life seem dry and meaningless?

• Does your life seem incredibly busy and without meaning?

• Have you been away from God for a long time and are wondering how you can cultivate the presence of God in your life?

• Do those around you look to you for spiritual guidance, but you need a place to talk about your own spiritual concerns?

The journey to God begins with an inner longing for that which is grander than ourselves to satisfy that which is empty within us. We may strike out on a search for God only to discover the wondrous truth that God is already searching for us; that our yearning for God is also God's yearning for us.

Our journey to God is not another accomplishment we achieve; instead, it is a response of love to God, who wants a love relationship with us that is real and personal. This relationship is a gift that we receive and a choice that we make. The Christian life is not only a journey to God, but a journey with God, within the embrace of God. It is a life lived out of the continual life-giving presence of Christ around us and within us.

Spiritual direction, also known as spiritual friendship, or spiritual companionship, is a ministry of one person accompanying another along his or her spiritual journey. The Holy Spirit is the true Director. Spiritual direction is the opportunity to reflect on your relationship with God while another is prayerfully in the presence of God on your behalf. The spiritual director assists you along the way by asking reflective questions, pointing out God's movements in your life, encouraging new directions, and perhaps suggesting resources and spiritual exercises that can nurture your intimacy with God, or just prayerfully listening.

The responsibility for your life with God is yours. The director does not tell you what to do. Ultimately you must own whatever insights are uncovered or course of action is taken. For more information about how to get started, click on the FAQ page.

I am a deeply grateful graduate of the Shalem Spiritual Guidance Program. For more information go to Shalem Extension Programs.

Christ’s Attention to the Heart

The risen, living Christ
Calls me by name;
Comes to the loneliness within me;
Comforts that which is wounded in me;
Seeks for that which is lost within me;
Releases me from that which has dominion over me;
Cleanses me of that which does not belong to me;
Renews that which feels drained within me;
Names that which is formless within me;
Empowers that which is newborn within me;
Consecrates and guides that which is strong within me;
Restores me to this world which needs me;
Reaches out in endless love to others through me.

    -- Flora Slosson Wuellner

Back to Top