Curious if anyone knows of a UB reader/student who is trained for and offering spiritual direction services.
Admin: can we post sources here?
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Spiritual Director
13 posts · 5 participants · started Dec 27, 2024, 1:37 AM
Dear Mark,
I can’t see why that wouldn’t be okay. As long as any disclosure of information was in accordance with the Association’s ethics. Any disclosure of names should be done of course with the permission of the person involved.
Have I missed anything??
With love!
Moderator 2
Salut
Qu’entend-tu par direction spirituelle ?
Salut Qu’entend-tu par direction spirituelle ?
“Hello
What do you mean by spiritual direction?”
Bradly here: And “services”?? You seek a priest? Or guru? Or spirit guide? Who reads the UB.
I have known readers who were licensed, professional psychiatrists and psychologists, lay ministers and ordained ministers, social counselors, etc.
Also met those who claim much about themselves who are quite deluded…or worse.
Perhaps you could describe the need more specifically?
Thanks.
"Live loyally today—grow—and tomorrow will attend to itself. The quickest way for a tadpole to become a frog is to live loyally each moment as a tadpole."
Here is a Google AI response to “spiritual director meaning”
A “spiritual director” is a person trained to guide and support another individual in deepening their relationship with the divine, usually through attentive listening, reflection, and prayer, helping them discern God’s presence and calling in their life, without making decisions for them; essentially acting as a facilitator for spiritual growth rather than a direct leader.
You can do your own search and likely would learn more than what I know. My wife is interested in finding such a trained person. What I am asking here is whether anyone knows of a veteran Urantia Book reader/student who could help her.Dear Mark,
Are you saying she wants someone other than you to help her? If so, maybe this is not unusual.
At first your question kinda surprised me. But I reflected upon it and let it rest. Then I had an idea.
What I am about to write is anectdotal about a friend and long time reader who met up with a non-reader and introduced the book to her some 20 or more years ago. He always came to study group, and she sometimes came with him. I am good friends with them and we converse several times a month nowadays.
A bit about her background. She was raised Catholic but in her mid-teens she converted to Judaism. She identifies with Judaism. Before my friend came into her life, she had been married to a Jew; they had children, but later divorced. About the UB, she was open-minded and did not dismiss it out of hand. Over the years in study group she rarely had anything to ask or contribute. I did not think this was unusual. My study group disbanded when the covid virus became rampant.
My friend, well, both are my friends, but he was a reader before I met him and maybe he found the book before I did. I don’t know. I mention this just to indicate the longevity of his contact with the material. He doesn’t strike me as the type to be a so-called “spiritual director”. I’m not the type either. I don’t know what is the archetype for such a person, or if there even is one.
Occasionally, when we get together, she has a question for me. She wants to know what the book has to say about such-and-such. Her husband is present. And to myself I wonder why she doesn’t ask him? Did she already ask him? I am curious about it but just go with the flow.
Sometime this year she started going to a catholic church. I don’t know very much, but she’s making an effort to reconnect there and did some sort of prepping in advance of going to confession. I am very supportive of her and her longings to get what she needs and wants. I have confidence my friend will find her way. She’s putting herself out there where the action is. Mingling with others is always enriching.
Probably a lot of people benefit from the guidance of priests, pastors and the like. I imagine an ideally qualified person to be both a psychologist and a long time reader.
Hello Mara,
Thank you for your insights. An internet search is revealing about what a spiritual director may offer.
Seeking spiritual guidance, direction, and habits of living which cultivate our personal religious progress is a positive intentionality that demonstrates hope and faith. The UB certainly offers many recommendations and excellent guidance itself for such questing.
Indeed, I was searching for a guru and enlightenment myself when I first discovered the Revelation teachings. There are so many ways to discover the Spirit within and better hear the voice of our personal Guide.
Best wishes to you both.
Papers 100-103 have always comforted and guided me since first reading those over 50 years ago. I never tire of revisiting such affirmations and assurances as found there.
Time in nature, meditation, prayer, communion with God, singing thanks and praises in congregation, reflecting on my motives and priorities, and being with children always uplift my BEING and my BECOMING.
"Live loyally today—grow—and tomorrow will attend to itself. The quickest way for a tadpole to become a frog is to live loyally each moment as a tadpole."
Some guidance in Paper 100 regarding our personal spiritization and religious experience:
100:0.2 (1094.2) Spiritual growth is mutually stimulated by intimate association with other religionists. Love supplies the soil for religious growth—an objective lure in the place of subjective gratification—yet it yields the supreme subjective satisfaction. And religion ennobles the commonplace drudgery of daily living.
100:1.6 (1095.1)Religious experience is markedly influenced by physical health, inherited temperament, and social environment. But these temporal conditions do not inhibit inner spiritual progress by a soul dedicated to the doing of the will of the Father in heaven. There are present in all normal mortals certain innate drives toward growth and self-realization which function if they are not specifically inhibited. The certain technique of fostering this constitutive endowment of the potential of spiritual growth is to maintain an attitude of wholehearted devotion to supreme values.
100:1.7 (1095.2)Religion cannot be bestowed, received, loaned, learned, or lost. It is a personal experience which grows proportionally to the growing quest for final values. Cosmic growth thus attends on the accumulation of meanings and the ever-expanding elevation of values. But nobility itself is always an unconscious growth.
100:1.8 (1095.3) Religious habits of thinking and acting are contributory to the economy of spiritual growth. One can develop religious predispositions toward favorable reaction to spiritual stimuli, a sort of conditioned spiritual reflex. Habits which favor religious growth embrace cultivated sensitivity to divine values, recognition of religious living in others, reflective meditation on cosmic meanings, worshipful problem solving, sharing one’s spiritual life with one’s fellows, avoidance of selfishness, refusal to presume on divine mercy, living as in the presence of God. The factors of religious growth may be intentional, but the growth itself is unvaryingly unconscious.
100:1.9 (1095.4)The unconscious nature of religious growth does not, however, signify that it is an activity functioning in the supposed subconscious realms of human intellect; rather does it signify creative activities in the superconscious levels of mortal mind. The experience of the realization of the reality of unconscious religious growth is the one positive proof of the functional existence of the superconsciousness.
100:2.3 (1095.7)Religion can progress to that level of experience whereon it becomes an enlightened and wise technique of spiritual reaction to the universe. Such a glorified religion can function on three levels of human personality: the intellectual, the morontial, and the spiritual; upon the mind, in the evolving soul, and with the indwelling spirit.
100:2.4 (1096.1)Spirituality becomes at once the indicator of one’s nearness to God and the measure of one’s usefulness to fellow beings. Spirituality enhances the ability to discover beauty in things, recognize truth in meanings, and discover goodness in values. Spiritual development is determined by capacity therefor and is directly proportional to the elimination of the selfish qualities of love.
100:4.2 (1097.6) Religious perplexities are inevitable; there can be no growth without psychic conflict and spiritual agitation. The organization of a philosophic standard of living entails considerable commotion in the philosophic realms of the mind. Loyalties are not exercised in behalf of the great, the good, the true, and the noble without a struggle. Effort is attendant upon clarification of spiritual vision and enhancement of cosmic insight. And the human intellect protests against being weaned from subsisting upon the nonspiritual energies of temporal existence. The slothful animal mind rebels at the effort required to wrestle with cosmic problem solving.
100:4.3 (1097.7)But the great problem of religious living consists in the task of unifying the soul powers of the personality by the dominance of love. Health, mental efficiency, and happiness arise from the unification of physical systems, mind systems, and spirit systems. Of health and sanity man understands much, but of happiness he has truly realized very little. The highest happiness is indissolubly linked with spiritual progress. Spiritual growth yields lasting joy, peace which passes all understanding.
"Live loyally today—grow—and tomorrow will attend to itself. The quickest way for a tadpole to become a frog is to live loyally each moment as a tadpole."
For our mutual edification:
91:3.5 Aside from all that is superself in the experience of praying, it should be remembered that ethical prayer is a splendid way to elevate one’s ego and reinforce the self for better living and higher attainment. Prayer induces the human ego to look both ways for help: for material aid to the subconscious reservoir of mortal experience, for inspiration and guidance to the superconscious borders of the contact of the material with the spiritual, with the Mystery Monitor.91:6.3 No matter how difficult it may be to reconcile the scientific doubtings regarding the efficacy of prayer with the ever-present urge to seek help and guidance from divine sources, never forget that the sincere prayer of faith is a mighty force for the promotion of personal happiness, individual self-control, social harmony, moral progress, and spiritual attainment.99:6.2 There is a real purpose in the socialization of religion. It is the purpose of group religious activities to dramatize the loyalties of religion; to magnify the lures of truth, beauty, and goodness; to foster the attractions of supreme values; to enhance the service of unselfish fellowship; to glorify the potentials of family life; to promote religious education; to provide wise counsel and spiritual guidance; and to encourage group worship. And all live religions encourage human friendship, conserve morality, promote neighborhood welfare, and facilitate the spread of the essential gospel of their respective messages of eternal salvation.To all interested persons:
I ask my wife to write a short description of spiritual direction services. Here is her understanding:
“Spiritual Direction is a relational practice in which a trained Spiritual Guide listens to and companions someone who desires a deeper relationship with the Divine or wishes to grow in their personal spirituality. A form of soul care, Spiritual Direction is an interpersonal relationship in which you learn how to grow, live, and love in the spiritual life. A trained Spiritual Director helps people connect more deeply with their true selves, without judging, proselytizing, or preaching. Spiritual Direction is not counseling,
In confidential, private sessions a trained Spiritual Director listens attentively, reflects what you are experiencing, and helps you notice the presence of the Spirit by examining your relationship with the Divine. You share your experiences of the divine, how you are cultivating a spiritual life, or challenges you are facing. The director might ask about your feelings, how you experience God, or what methods of prayer help you feel closest to God.
Benefits of Spiritual Direction redefine your relationship to yourself and the Divine. Spiritual Direction creates a faith-based friendship.
Paid sessions (in person or virtually) last about an hour and usually happen monthly. Spiritual Director Associations are found worldwide. Go to the internet for more detailed information. “
MK here: I believe every person is individualized by the Father and therefore may determine a unique study of and decision basis for relating to God. It is good for my wife and for all people. The UB is a great resource for assessing value of relations, as you have inferred so nicely here.
It’s interesting (and paradoxical) that our spiritization is so personal and individualized, and that personal religious experience cannot be given, loaned, received, or transferred from, to, or by ANY other being or personality.
We are each completely responsible for our own religious experience and spiritual progress and no force or being can save us or spiritize us but our own motives, priorities, and decisions/choices. No matter our environment or circumstances we can be spiritized and have personal spiritual progress. We can overcome all personal and social and planetary obstacles to reach our spirituality.
And yet it is our relationships with other personalities and Deity that are so vital to our progress and value to others, through our duty, loyalty, service, sharing, and caring.
We not only bear and share our fruits of the Spirit with others, but we are also blessed and benefit by others who do the same. Personalities are a network of the current of love. Sharing and caring is the currency of the Universal economy of creation.
"Live loyally today—grow—and tomorrow will attend to itself. The quickest way for a tadpole to become a frog is to live loyally each moment as a tadpole."
Repeated from Paper 100, posted above:
100:1.7 (1095.2) Religion cannot be bestowed, received, loaned, learned, or lost. It is a personal experience which grows proportionally to the growing quest for final values. Cosmic growth thus attends on the accumulation of meanings and the ever-expanding elevation of values. But nobility itself is always an unconscious growth.
100:1.8 (1095.3) Religious habits of thinking and acting are contributory to the economy of spiritual growth. One can develop religious predispositions toward favorable reaction to spiritual stimuli, a sort of conditioned spiritual reflex. Habits which favor religious growth embrace cultivated sensitivity to divine values, recognition of religious living in others, reflective meditation on cosmic meanings, worshipful problem solving, sharing one’s spiritual life with one’s fellows, avoidance of selfishness, refusal to presume on divine mercy, living as in the presence of God. The factors of religious growth may be intentional, but the growth itself is unvaryingly unconscious.
Me here: So…the behaviors and “habits” that can be developed and learned to help us intentionally spiritualize our personal religious experience include a host of strategies and techniques which can benefit by mentors, teachers, coaches, and practitioners of many different disciplines and practices.
Such intentions and efforts to gain experiential wisdom bear fruit based on our sincerity and persistence and tenacity in all such pursuits.
Or so I understand…
"Live loyally today—grow—and tomorrow will attend to itself. The quickest way for a tadpole to become a frog is to live loyally each moment as a tadpole."
