A very interesting phenomenon occurs once in a while
in my spiritual direction appointments, personally, and with those who do
spiritual direction with me. I have gone to spiritual direction and have said, “I
absolutely don’t know what to talk about! Nothing major is hitting my brain or my heart to bring out."
I have observed, with amazement, when a client sits and
talks about many things, seemingly trivial and disconnected. Then, as if a
switch had flipped, the spiral goes deeper, and deeper, inside. What is inside comes out with expression and
emotions.
It's not uncommon for a directee/seeker to come to the end of a session and then comment about no need to worry about what to talk about because by the end of the hour something very deep came up to process. It amazes me every time I observe this.
There is a beauty of spiritual direction that is sometimes hard to explain. I am the physical body as spiritual director
in an appointment but the divine, which I call the Holy Spirit, is the true
Spiritual Director. I have another chair in the room as a visual reminder to
both of us. This helps me to get out of
my own way and call on God or the divine to be with us both.
I have never been let down in an appointment. There have been times that I have blundered,
getting in my own way, but most times the peace at the end of our time tells me
that God is bigger than me and can make straight lines out of crooked ones! I hope to continue letting Him.
So, if you have a thought to contact a spiritual
director or would like to talk with me or want to make an appointment, but don’t know what to talk about, don’t let that stop you! You may be amazed. This is something you can try for one time or
several times, until you get a feel for what you want to do.
