Blogger and writer Maggie Ross makes a case for not using the terms "spiritual director" and "spiritual direction."

But there are even deeper reasons for us to be conscious of spatial and linear thinking. These two kinds of thinking represent two models of power, and each of these models of power leads to maturity or immaturity, salvation or a dead end, love or fear, and to each are tied attitudes that link death and power. For this reason alone—and there are many others—we need to get rid of the terms "spiritual director" and "spiritual direction" once and for all. The nuances of these terms immediately set up a hierarchical model in the unconscious that predisposes the relationship to dominance, co-dependence, and immaturity.

What do you think? Agree or disagree? Comment here.

And read Maggie Ross' entire post here. 

"Charles Taylor, a Canadian philosopher who says the world's problems can only be solved by considering both their secular and spiritual roots, was named recently as the recipient of a religion award billed as the world's richest annual prize."

The far-flung staff of Spiritual Directors International met in Federal Way, Washington, USA, on June 11 and 12. There are only three full-time staff members in the Bellevue office. Everyone else is a contract employee working from California, Colorado, Kansas, Texas, and Pensylvania.

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We arrange our homes to reflect our personalities and interests. Literature lovers fill their rooms with books and comfy reading chairs. An enthusiastic cook may spend thousands turning a dull kitchen into a glittering showpiece. Yet aside from occasional holiday decorations, the spiritual side of life rarely plays a starring role in the home.

Across the country, on secular campuses as varied as Colgate University, the University of Wisconsin and the University of California, Berkeley, chaplains, professors and administrators say students are drawn to religion and spirituality with more fervor than at any time they can remember.

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Not all members of Spiritual Directors International are comfortalbe calling spiritual direction a "ministry." Some Jewish spiritual directors use the term avodah. Some see it as a sacred call. Others say it is a sacred work or a sense of shlichut (rather than being called, being "sent"). Another option is to refer to spiritual direction as a service rather than a ministry.

How do you refer to what you do in spiritual direction? Click here to comment.

The author of The Universe is a Green Dragon and other books was the keynote speaker at the five-day conference, the annual gathering of Spiritual Directors International, an association of 6,000 spiritual guides from 51 countries. They hail from Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and other traditions.

Executive director, Liz Budd Ellmann, is quoted by Women's Press: 

One of the goals of Spiritual Directors International, the Washington-state based membership organization of spiritual directors, is getting the word out about what spiritual directors do and are. According to Executive Director Liz Budd Ellman, MDiv, "We are all about reaching out, letting ordinary, everyday people know that spiritual direction-there was a time when it was for the priestly class, only for the religious, pure and pious-is really available for all of us.

 Click here to read the entire story.

By profession, they're Catholic nuns, chaplains, psychotherapists, college professors, meditation teachers, even ordained clergy. How are these "spiritual directors" different from therapists, life coaches and clergy? 

There is another organization in the world, Retreats International, which is closing its doors at the end of this year. Retreats International is not associated with Spiritual Directors International. Spiritual Directors International is growing everyday, and there are lots of exciting plans for the future. So keep praying and working for the spread of the ministry of spiritual direction in the world. Spiritual Directors International is alive and well.