Introduction to Spiritual Direction with Michelle Dayton The ChurchNext Podcast

On today’s podcast, Episcopal priest and spiritual director Michelle Dayton discusses contemporary spiritual direction: what it is (and is not), what it can do, and what methods people use in practicing it. We’ll also discuss different methods of spiritual direction, what a one-on-one spiritual direction session is like, as well as the client /director relationship.

Christian spiritual direction dates as far back as the fourth- and fifth-century desert fathers and mothers, whom early Christians petitioned for spiritual guidance. St. Benedict codified the spiritual mentoring of novices by older, more experienced monks into his Rule. For centuries, Christians have offered each other directed spiritual guidance. In the mid-twentieth century, developments in psychology and counseling combined with growing parishioner needs for individualized spiritual guidance led to a resurgence of interest in spiritual direction and a change in the ways in which Christians practiced this discipline.