Articles on Spiritual Direction
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Spiritual Direction?
By Stephanie Gretchen Burgevin The first time I heard the term spiritual director was when I was taking Shalem’s Leading Contemplative Prayer Groups and Retreats. It’s an 18-month long amazing program that calls you to dig deep within your spirit and live your gifts. Thus, one of the requirements is to have a spiritual director.…
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Thank You, Shalem
by Jean Link As I sit down to write about my experience of leaving the Spiritual Guidance Program staff this year, all that comes to me is to simply say, “Thank You.” Reflecting back on my 25-year experience with Shalem, I remember when I was first introduced to Shalem. Barbara Osborne, a long-time Shalem staff person, brought me to…
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Battlefields by Moonlight: A Shalem Odyssey
by Carolyn Metzler When I started Lent by offering a conversation about mortality to my congregation, I did not know how close I was to the subject! Subsequent events reshaped me spiritually, brought me face to face with the frailty of the human body and resilience of the human spirit. I was invited into a dark blessing, a holy…
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The Holy in the Ordinary
by Ann Siddall It is early morning at Stillpoint Spirituality Centre in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia. A cool breeze stirs the gum trees, the kookaburras are laughing joyously, and the earth is fragrant after the first soaking rain for three months. As I set up for a small retreat, check the diary, and respond to e-mails, a…
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Through a Mirror Dimly
By Maureen Watson In 1895, Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen was surprised by what he saw. A screen on the opposite side of his lab began to glow. When he held something up between his experiment and the screen, he saw all the bones in his hand projected on the wall. Seven weeks later, Roentgen introduced the world to X-rays. As…
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Becoming Who We Are
by Rose Mary Dougherty (from the Shalem Archives, 1996) Several months ago I had what I have come to call “my recurring dream.” I’ve had the same dream periodically over the past ten years. In the dream I am young and I am going to several personal wisdom figures, asking them if they think I…