The % figures in Workshop Descriptions indicate the relative percentage of presentation, discussion, and experiential activity.
Friday Workshops
One and a Half Hours (choose two and one alternative)
F1. Supervision for Self and Others
This workshop will present a simple tool that describes the spiritual direction process and the art and skills needed to reverently attend to another in a spiritual direction conversation. Participants will have an opportunity to reflectively engage in a self-evaluative process using one of their own spiritual direction conversations. Finally, participants will participate in a process that uses this tool for the supervision of another. At the end of the workshop participants will have a simple, effective tool to support the ministry of spiritual direction. 40%, 40%, 20%.
Lucy Abbott Tucker is a teacher, spiritual director, and supervisor at the Institute for Spiritual Leadership in
F2. Berur: How Do You Know if It's God?
Discernment is a key pillar supporting the ongoing practice of Spiritual Direction. Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition, refers to this process as Berur: the identification, extraction and liberation of sparks of godliness embedded within the busyness of our lives and the darker motivations of our psyches. Through group exercises, textual study, and discussion we will explore the concepts and actual discernment practices that might indicate the godliness of particular choices, especially when they fall outside the bounds of convention or accepted religious norms. We will also examine how Berur carries with it redemptive potential for repairing the fissures of our broken world. 33%, 33%, 33%.
Rabbi Howard Avruhm Addison, PhD, is a founding teacher of the Lev Shomea Institute for Jewish Spiritual Direction. He is the author of The Enneagram and Kabbalah, and co-editor of Jewish Spiritual Direction.
F3. Self-Emptying Love in a Global Context: Ignatian Spiritual Exercises and the Environment.
Western spirituality has traditionally emphasized human redemption as "ascent" to God. Thus, nature's role in Salvation History has been seriously neglected. This workshop develops an alternate spirituality that highlights the importance of the earth and its fruitfulness as a sign of our human covenant with God. The view is God's self-emptying love as empowering, in contrast to overpowering the free decisions of human beings and the spontaneity of non-human creation. 60%, 40%, 0%.
Robert T. Sears, SJ, is Adjunct Professor in the
F4. Spiritual Direction with Survivors of Suicide
Over a million people die of suicide worldwide every year. Their deaths release a primal scream of anguish into the atmosphere, leaving an imprint of pain and sorrow on the hearts of those they leave behind. Conservatively, each suicide directly impacts at least six people, some of whom will become directees. This workshop will acquaint directors with the unique dynamics of suicide grief and the spiritual challenges that survivors face. You will be empowered to gently hold the hearts of those who may be walking on glass. 50%, 30%, 20%.
C. Karen Covey Moore, DMin, is an ordained United Methodist minister and spiritual director in
F5. Biblical Archetypes and Return to Essence
Returning to one's essence is an integral part of coming home to the cosmos. Learn how biblical spirituality is orientated to a new creation. We will reflect upon three characters from the Judeo-Christian biblical tradition in an ongoing search for truth, wisdom and wholeness. Through them we will participate in blending the human, the cosmic, and the divine. We will witness their return to themselves and the larger community. You will be enriched as a spiritual director when you engage with this illustration of human development unfolding as a spiritual enterprise. It is hoped that through this communal experience the flow of divine energy will help participants bond as a new creation at one with themselves, and with the universe. 25%, 50%, 25%.
Bishop Remi De Roo and Pearl Gervais are experienced presenters on spiritual issues, biblical themes and the Enneagram. With Diane Tolomeo, they co-authored Biblical Characters and the Enneagram.
F6. Finding God in the Heart of the Other
Together we will explore ways in which interfaith friendships, relationships, and collaborative partnerships create pathways for us to experience the profound "Loving Presence of the Divine." These graced relationships create the foundation for deeply felt spiritual connections that will support us on our individual faith journeys as well as in our work for peace and social justice. This workshop offers a unique opportunity for interfaith dialogue and healing. Using prayer, chanting, sacred text, contemplative silence and interactive discussion, we will experience directly the unique spiritual gifts that come as we encounter the "Other" with an open heart. 20%/30%/50%.
Karen Lee Erlichman, MSS, is a licensed clinical social worker in
F7. Sufi Mystical Psychology
We will explore two interrelated Sufi models of spiritual psychology-transformation of the self and inner evolution-and their implications for spiritual direction. The model of the transformation of the self involves development through seven stages: tyrannical self, regretful self, inspired self, serene self, pleased self, self pleasing to God, and pure self. We will discuss classic Sufi disciplines of self-transformation, including work with a sheikh or guide, remembrance, and service. Next, the model of inner evolution describes our seven souls: mineral, vegetable, animal, personal, human, angelic, and divine. We will discuss the gifts of each soul and how to balance the energies and motivations of our seven souls. 70%, 20%, 10%.
Robert Frager, PhD, is Director of the Spiritual Guidance program at the
F8. Exile and Homecoming in Thomas Merton
In a 1941 journal, Merton says: "I am not physically tired, just filled with a deep, vague, undefined sense of spiritual distress, as if I had a deep wound running inside me and it had to be stanched." The wound is only another aspect of the fact that we are exiles on this earth. In our time, exile can be political, cultural, or, as in Merton, a kind of spiritual alienation. Together we will hear what Merton says about exile, reflect on our own experiences of exile and homecoming, and discuss how these primal themes affect those with whom we work as we journey with them in and towards God, "who is our home." 33%, 33%, 33%.
Don Grayston, PhD, is an Anglican priest, retired academic, Merton scholar, and director of the Pacific Jubilee Program in Spiritual Formation and Spiritual Direction, co-sponsored with Vancouver School of Theology in B.C.,
F9. Canku Wakan (Sacred Road): Coming Home to a First Nations Cosmology
Traditional Native ceremonies are integral for the lifelong traveler on the
Rev. Tim Iistowanohpataakiiwa, MA, is an ordained Episcopal priest and traditional Native healer. He has conducted spiritual direction within Christian and Native traditions for four decades.
F10. Spiritual Direction and Eldering: Two Ways
Directors who have accepted the mantle of elderhood are a special resource to older directees. Elderhood is the last stage of human development for spiritual people. Elders are detectable in part because they show us they are on a spiritual journey: an elder journey. The scope of this workshop will be to define the archetype of elder as a model for a spiritual second half of life and to discuss the qualities of direction that reflect elder like expression. These include mentoring, "Earthkeeping," "wisdomkeeping," and being a source of blessing. 33%, 33%, 33%.
Terry Jones, DMin, is a retired psychotherapist, and founder and President of the Elderhood Institute in
F11. Star of the Sea: The Inner Artist as Pilgrim Guide to the Cosmos
This workshop focuses on the use of art as a means of discovering personal symbol. In addition to sharing his own paintings and stories, Mickey McGrath will offer several practical exercises which can be used by spiritual directors, especially those who feel "artistically challenged." Although his own art is inspired by Christian spirituality, his prayerful, non-threatening approach will appeal to people of all faith traditions. With equal servings of humor and passion, you will learn his own unique twists on traditional imagery, such as the black Madonna, and his love for the variety of all God's children. 50%, 25%, 25%.
Michael O'Neill McGrath is an award-winning artist, writer, and frequent presenter and keynote speaker at gatherings of Catholic religious educators. Since 1987 he has been a spiritual director at the Grunewald Guild, an interfaith art guild in
F12. Dying to Live: Beyond the Fear of Death and Dying
A paradox lies at the heart of this presentation: why are death and dying "the most natural and expected of life experiences" so feared and denied in our culture? Through discussion and gentle experiential work, we will explore our own struggles around these profound issues and will discover new ways of helping others come to terms with their mortality. By remaining soft and open in this heart-centered exploration, death and dying are revealed as an integral healing process in the human journey. The hidden gift in this challenging and sacred work is that by compassionately embracing our dying, we are liberated to fully experience, at last, our living. 50%, 25%, 25%.
John Pollard, MA, is a spiritual director and psychotherapist. He teaches at the
F13. Being Sensational: The Taoist Perspective
The Taoist perspective helps us to experience living in the present moment with vibrancy and fullness of life. In this workshop we shall learn how to mindfully experience taste, sound, movement, art, and smells in order to really wake up to abundant life. We will reflect on the wisdom of several Taoist sayings such as "chopping wood and carrying water," "the uncarved block," "wu wei," and "the watercouse way." 20%, 20%, 60%.
Patricia Roberts, MA, MRE, has returned to her home town
F14. The Power of Shame
In order to come home to the cosmos, one must have a place to come home to. According to Gershen Kaufman, "Shame is an entrance to the self." In other words, shame is an invitation to come home. As a hidden dynamic, shame blocks one's ability to see reality clearly. However, when shame is discovered, an opportunity for healing arises and a new awareness of God and self become available. In this workshop spiritual directors will learn ways to identify shame, to understand the importance of awareness of shame, and to journey with the directee toward healing. 33%, 33%, 33%.
Kathryn Royer, DMin, presents spiritual formation workshops and seminars across the