Give me a candle of the spirit, O God, as I go down into the depths of my being. Show me the hidden things, the creatures of my dreams, the storehouse of forgotten memories and hurts. Take me down to the spring of my life, and tell me my nature and my name. Give me freedom to grow, so that I may become that self, the seed of which you planted in me at my making. Out of the depths I cry to you, O God.
George Appleton.

Spiritual direction or spiritual accompaniment as I prefer to call it, is a bit like panning for gold, in that when a person comes to see a director for help with their existential or spiritual struggles, it’s as if the director and directee metaphorically dip into the stream of life together and pull up all kinds of things. And there, somewhere in the messiness, amidst all the rocks, debris and muddied water, is a gold nugget, the gold nugget being a symbol for our true self, the part of us that reaches out to God.

To recognise our true self, and thus to engage in the world from out of this very centre of our being, is what the process of spiritual direction is all about. Spiritual direction offers a safe space for the directee to be listened to in great depth.

What is the difference between Spiritual direction and Counselling?

There is a small yet very important difference between spiritual direction and counselling, which is that, metaphorically speaking, there are three chairs in the room in spiritual direction, as opposed to the two chairs that would be common place in the more usual counselling experience. The third chair is God’s, for what forms the essence of spiritual direction is our relationship with God and the art of getting out of the way of God’s grace, thus enabling us to listen to the still small voice within.

The director or ‘holy listener’ is open to anything the directee might bring. The director is willing to hear about darkness and desolation and the times of God’s seeming absence and neglect. More often than not these experiences have been thoroughly examined and explored by the director within himself and so the director is comfortable with the tears and anger that may be expressed by the directee.

Training

I am a fully qualified Spiritual director, having completed in 2008 the two year London Diocesan Course in Spiritual Direction. www.spiritualitycentre.org I offer direction from home and also from the Westminster Cathedral Centre for Spirituality. If you would like to find out more information or if you would like the opportunity to discuss things with me, do feel free to make contact.

Inspitational Breakfast/Bodytalk 25th February 2009 - Chris Goodchild on Premier christian radio

Comment by John Pantry on 27 February 2009 at 2:33pm:

"Chris Goodchild is a member of the London Catholic Worker Community where he works alongside the poor and marginalised. He is also a spiritual director, writer and teacher of the Alexander technique. He offers talks on autism and how the Alexander technique can facilitate in meditation and contemplative living."

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