Most of us would prefer to sit together, face to face, for Spiritual Guidance/Direction. Yet working by telephone or Skype and Zoom turns out to be a very good option for those that do not have access to a Soul Friend/Spiritual Guide /Director/Mentor locally, or who decide that they want to work with a specific person who is not local to them. I have been working like this for over a decade, with so much awe at what is possible when two hearts open together to the One, no matter the distance.
On the one hand, we can acknowledge the reality that we are sitting in different physical spaces. Yet at a deeper level, we know that we are never separate but interconnected. And deeper still, at the beginning of each session together, we very intentionally open to the Reality that we sit together in the One Heart of the Absolute Reality, the Only Being, which is always and everywhere, within and without. We sit together held in Love, and the apparent separation in space ceases to matter. We remember this reality each time we meet by beginning with a short silence and invocation or prayer.
You should have a quiet place where you will be undisturbed for an hour. I invite you to think about how you can create sacred space for yourself during this time, just as I would create it for you/us if we were meeting in person. I will be sitting in my sacred space, with a candle lighted inviting the Sacred, Light, Spirit, Grace to be present for our time together, and so you might want to do something similar. Most important is that you treat the hour like a time away, truly sacred time out, from the hurriedness of life, so that you might listen more deeply for the movement of Spirit in your life.
My approach to Spiritual Guidance is more contemplative, rather than active. In other words, I don’t intend to give you guidance, or advice or direction of any kind. I intend to listen with you to what arises from your own true nature, your own connection with Spirit, and help you to hear it. Together, we will quiet down, waaay way down, leaving the noise and clutter of the mind, to sink deeply into the stillness within, and we will listen. We’ll typically begin with just a few minutes of checking in – seeing if there are any logistics or immediately urgent things we need to let each other know about. Then I will lead us into a period of shared silence, allowing you to settle in, letting go of the busyness of the day and all expectations and agendas for the time, opening deeply to the present moment, just as it is arising, and asking for/opening to guidance, in no particular form. From there, we will open the conversation with whatever seems to be most present in your awareness, what seems to be inviting attention, or demanding it. Sometimes, it is company in the silence that the soul wants. Other times it is to be heard in its joy or in its suffering. Each session is different. Every session is sacred.
Typically people meet for Spiritual Direction/Guidance for one hour, once per month. Spiritual Direction/Guidance is not therapy, nor is it problem or issue oriented. (For some great definitions of Spiritual Direction see the Spiritual Directors International website at www.sdiworld.org) Rather, it is an ongoing process whereby the directee receives companioning on his or her spiritual journey toward deeper relationship with, alignment in and openness to Ultimate Reality, the Ultimate Mystery, God or Spirit, by whatever name. Since that journey is life-long, there is no predetermined length of time that the Soul Friend relationship will continue. It is always a process of discernment involving listening on both parts for the direction of Spirit. My longest-term Spiritual Guidance relationship has been continuing for the last 12 years, and there are others who come and go, depending on what is going on in their lives. It is a very individual process, guided by, most importantly, the interior freedom of both partners in the relationship.
Here’s how it works:
- You contact me at janetquinnphd@gmail.com to let me know that you are interested in exploring a Spiritual Guidance/Soul Friend relationship with me. Please put Spiritual Guidance in the subject line so your email doesn’t get deleted as spam.
- I will respond to your email, and then send you an Introductory Information Form.
- You review the form, and if what I am asking seems in line with what you are seeking, you can complete the form and email it to me, with a picture.
- I will review the form and respond to you, suggesting some times that I have open for an initial session.
- You will let me know a time that works, and whether you want to use phone or Skype (audio only; I don’t use the camera as I find it too distracting).
- When I get this info, I will confirm a time and provide you with the phone number to call or my Skype id.
- You will send me a check or use PayPal or Zelle to make a payment prior to the session. My fee is $125 per session. If this fee is a hardship, please contact me and we can find an amount that works. Full-paying folks help me work with others who can’t afford the full amount. I can help you understand how to use PayPal if you need my help!
- At the end of the first session, we will take a few minutes together to discern if it feels like a good fit for us to continue an ongoing, Soul Friend/Spiritual Guidance relationship, listening, of course, for inner guidance about this. If the answer is yes, we will schedule our next appointment.
Please write to me with any questions you have about the logistics of this. It actually flows beautifully in real life – all these words make it sound so complicated!