One on one non-religious spiritual direction

You may be familiar with traditional spiritual direction. Traditional spiritual direction usually happens within the belief system of the religious group that you currently belong to.  Traditional spiritual directors can be very helpful in assisting you in deepening your faith. Unfortunately, when it is your faith that you are questioning, solutions like pray more or read the Bible more don’t really seem that helpful. Perhaps you find that you can no longer participate in your current congregation then you are left without any guidance.

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Some individuals do not leave of their own accord. Some are forced to leave for one reason or another.

What is the difference between spiritual direction and non-religious spiritual direction. As you might imagine, non-religious spiritual direction provides companionship and resources that lie outside of rigid religious dogma.  Non-religious spiritual direction allows you to ask questions in a nonjudgmental setting.

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The process of leaving behind old, outdated religious beliefs and replacing them with new spiritual beliefs is often referred to as Deconstruction and Reconstruction. A non-religious spiritual director is available to explain the journey through deconstruction and reconstruction. Millions of others have taken that journey. The problem is that it is always a personal journey. And that can make it lonely and a bit scarry.

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You won’t find many congregations that are organized around deconstruction and reconstruction. This is where the non-religious spiritual director is helpful. Working one on one with you, the non-religious spiritual director accompanies you as you work through the religious issues that you are no longer comfortable with. You do this at your own pace.  

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Some congregations are beginning to recognize that many individuals who have left high control religions have experienced religious trauma syndrome (RTS). Dr. Marlene Winnell talks extensively about RTS in a 2011 article that appeared in the British Journal CBT Today.  While not everyone who leaves their family’s religion suffers from RTS, many from high control religions do. Psychologists like Dr. Winnell are leading the way in recognizing and treating this type of trauma.

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I offer a free one-hour exploratory session to anyone who is looking for non-religious spiritual direction. If you are interested in learning more about non-religious spiritual direction and the services I provide, please send me an email at Mike@michaelglove.com and I will set up our first meeting. Let’s see if I can be of service to you.