Spiritual direction can mean different things to different people, but in my understanding it is the art of Christian listening carried out in the context of a one-to-one trusting relationship. It is when one Christian is trained to be a competent guide who then "companions" another person, listening to that person's life story with an ear for the movement of the Holy, of the Divine.
Jeffrey S. Gaines


The metaphor I use is a radio station," says the Rev. Kevin Gillespie, a Catholic priest who heads the spiritual-direction program at Loyola College in Maryland. "My station -- the way I listen to God -- is different from yours. My goal is to help you hear your station more clearly.

Ideally, your spiritual director should be a person with some formal training or experience in this area.  He or she should have knowledge of the Christian mystical tradition and should be at least generally familiar with psychological development.  Your director should be a person of prayer who has attended one or more eight-day silent directed retreats.  Finally, he or she should also be in spiritual direction with another and should have already worked through painful issues from the past.
Philip St. Romain


What kinds of benefits or fruit could someone expect from ongoing work with a spiritual director? A sense of inner peace and inner calm, a sense of direction in their life, and discernment. And the fruit would be actually living in and embracing the wonder and awe of God.
Jeffrey S. Gaines


The spiritual director has the responsibility of intercessory prayer, of staying in God’s presence on behalf of the person in order that there may be divine light in his directing.  Source unknown

• Individual spiritual direction sessions
• Occasional spiritual direction groups which meet for twelve weeks

We also offer some spiritual direction through phone sessions or e-mail. For more information, e-mail us at info@inspiritresources.com. 

A spiritual director serves as a soul friend, a companion on the spiritual journey. Tilden Edwards speaks of spiritual direction as one Christian helping another to know where grace is happening and how that grace is being resisted or responded to in prayer and in action.

In Spiritual Direction, the focus is on discerning God's presence and leading.  Therefore, much of spiritual direction revolves around the prayer life.

Spiritual direction has its roots in the monastic traditions, but today's Spiritual Directors come from all denominations.   Lay people as often as clergy are the ones in enrolled in Spiritual Direction Training programs. 
   
The Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation in Bethesda, Md., requires two years of course work to finish its program but is "not a certification program," says Tilden Edwards, its director. "It's up to the Holy Spirit to confirm you as a spiritual director, not us."  To promote integrity in the spiritual-direction field, Spiritual Directors International in San Francisco has drafted ethical guidelines for all Spiritual Directors.

The norm for direction sessions is usually a one-hour session monthly which focuses on listening to and noticing the movement of the spirit in the directee's life. 

If you do not already have a spiritual director and don't know whom to ask, You can check with Shalem Institute of Spiritual Directors International (links below). Even after choosing someone, agree with your director to give the relationship a trial for a while.  Spiritual directors usually meet with directees on a monthly basis.  After a few sessions, evaluate whether you this is the right person for you to continue to meet with.

LINKS

The Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation
"The mission of the Shalem Institute is to be an ecumenical community responding to a call to help mediate God's Spirit in the world through the loving wisdom of contemplative tradition."
Sursum Corda

Spiritual Directors International
Throughout human history, individuals have been called to accompany others seeking the Mystery we name God. In this time, Spiritual Directors International responds to this call by tending the holy around the world and across traditions.

See also

Dreamwork
Journal Keeping
Labyrinth
PERSONALITY TYPING:
     Enneagram
     Myers-Briggs
Prayer and Meditation
Spiritual Direction
Illness and Healing