How is it with your soul today?

Hello There,

Thanks for taking a look at my site. But wait, before you move on, let me ask you a question. How is it with your soul this day? Is it a little unsettled about something? Is something tugging at your soul that you’re not quite sure about? You must be working on some deeper question if you have come here. Or maybe you are just curious about what this Spiritual Direction stuff is? Yes, I was too, and not too many years ago when I first began to explore the idea.

So, just so you know, the typical method of Spiritual Direction is done in a conversational style, either one on one, or in a small group setting. It’s basically talking with a trained Spiritual Director, in confidence, about your spirituality and how it integrates into all of your life. I have done Direction that way since I finished my training in 2016.

Now, just this year I am branching out into Written Spiritual Direction. I love the power of writing. It has helped me so much recently when I had so much to work through. I so appreciate how it can be so helpful to get those whirling thoughts in my head straightened out and how it can lead me find answers that were buried deep down in the recesses of my being.

There has been a lot of research done on the healing power of writing. You can find tons of information just by doing a quick search on the topic. Some references that have helped me, and that I use are, Expressive Writing, Words that Heal, by James W. Pennebaker, Ph.D. and John F. Evans, Ed.D., Writing From Your Soul, by Janet Connor, Writing to Wake the Soul, by Karen Hering. These just scratch the surface. There is much, much, much more to be found if you are interested.

Are you feeling a little inadequate in the writing area? Yes, me too. I’m far from being a stellar writer, and that stuff about grammar that I learned many years ago is very rusty. But you certainly don’t have to be a “writer” to benefit from putting words on paper, and you don’t have to be “good” at it either. What is good anyway? Good can be anything that helps YOU.

So, I offer you this opportunity. Find some paper and pick up a pen, use your keyboard if you prefer, but don’t let yourself get distracted with emails, etc. and all that information that is coming at you. Put that aside for just a few minutes. It will wait for you.

Sit quietly for a few moments. Close your eyes if you feel comfortable. Slowly, intentionally, breathe in, breathe out. Slow your pulse. Slow your breathing. Slow your heart rate. Think about what is most on your mind at this moment. What is it that is tugging at your soul? Set a timer. Write for just 5 minutes and let those deep thoughts flow out of you. Stop at the end of the 5 minutes this time. You can write more later if you want.

Take just another moment. Sit back, close your eyes. Breathe in, slowly. Breathe out, slowly. Take a moment and reflect on how you feel. Was it helpful in some way? How do you feel about the writing? Did you write something that was unexpected? Now, give yourself a pat on the back. You just engaged in an exercise that can be hard on the emotions. Recognize this and be gentle with yourself.

If something rose up in you that you want to share, send me an email at RebeccaSerpe17@gmail.com. I would love to introduce you to Written Spiritual Direction and all that it can offer. Or, just let me hear your thoughts, I would be grateful to know what you think about this.

Thanks for taking a few minutes to read this. May peace fill your soul this day.

Becky