Welcome!

If you are here to explore working with a Spiritual Director, you may well be in the right place. Explore the site -- go to the GETTING STARTED (FAQ) page where many of your questions may already be answered; read the blog and listen to how you feel; follow some of the links to learn more; find out a little something about my background. If you'd like to contact me -- either to set up an appointment or ask a questions, there's a contact form on the right side of each page that you can use to MAKE A CONNECTION.

Most simply, though, the spirit of my practice can be summed up in these words (adapted from Robert Mabry Doss): For those who come here seeking God ... may God go with you. For those who come embracing life ... may life return your affection. And for those who come to seek a path ... may a way be found, and the courage to take it step by step.

Monday, April 23, 2018

Everyday Spiritual Practice

In 1999, Skinner House books published, Everyday Spiritual Practice:  simple pathways for enriching your life.  It was edited by the Rev. Scott Alexander, and includes 38 chapters, each one written by a different person describing a spiritual practice which they, themselves, found meaningful.  These weren't academic essays about various practices; they were first person accounts of the authors' lived experiences with the practices they described.  And, so, each chapter included both a description of how the practice worked (i.e., what to do), as well as why the practice was meaningful (i.e., why to do it.)

There have been other such collections.  Three that come to mind immediately are:


I have read all three -- more than once -- and can recommend them.  I would note that all three are written from a distinctly Christian perspective.  I do not think that this is in any way a bad thing.  I think that they would be accessible even to non-Christians (who have the ability, and the willingness, to "translate" Christian language and theological assumptions).

Celebration of Discipline covers what you might call the Christian classics -- meditation, prayer, fasting, solitude, service, confession, worship, etc.  First published in 1978, Celebration of Discipline is, itself, a classic.

Brian McLaren's Finding Our Way Again, also looks at "the ancient practices" of the Christian tradition.  McLaren (author of such books as A New Kind of Christian, and, A New Kind of Christianityamong others) offers more of a context for these practices than Foster does, and many liberal/progressive religious folks would find his theology more appealing.

Practicing Our Faith is another anthology, and more expansive than either of the others.  Still, none of the chapters would surprise anyone who has any kind of exposure to traditional Christian spiritual practices.



Everyday Spiritual Practice is a different kettle of fish altogether.  Firstly, it does not assume a Christian orientation (although it is in no way anti-Christian).  All of the contributors are either ordained clergy or lay people within the Unitarian Universalist tradition.  And if you know anything about us UUs, you will not be surprised that the practices covered within these pages range from the traditional things like prayer, silent retreats, sacred reading, yoga, and mindful eating, to such things as marriage, parenting, the experience of loss, anti-racism work, and vegetarianism.  There are also chapters on quilting, gardening, and cooking.

If you are looking for ways that you can, as Scott says in the Introduction, "spiritually examine, shape, and care for your life -- and the life around you -- to achieve more wholeness, satisfaction, depth, and meaning," then you ought to do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of this book.  (And yes, full disclosure, I have a chapter in the book.  In fact, that chapter formed the foundation for my own later book, Simply Pray: a modern spiritual practice to deepen your life.)

Pax tecum,

RevWik