Gerald May 3 God's Job

Gerald May 3God’s Job

“In spiritual direction, one might say, ‘My prayers are for God’s will to be done in you and for your constant deepening in God. During this time that we are together I give myself, my awareness and attention and hopes and heart to God for you. I surrender myself to God for your sake.’”

Gerald May, Care of Mind / Care of Spirit, p. 121.

In Care of Mind/ Care of Spirit, May, encourages us to begin our meeting for spiritual direction with a similar silent prayer, remembering that giving spiritual direction, being a spiritual friend, is like being in prayer, only we are with someone else as well as God. We are to encourage the visitor or guest’s attention moment by moment to God, at the same time knowing we can only do this if we as well are tuned in to our own prayer life.

May gives advice about how to bring up sexuality early in the sessions so that it is an acceptable topic: “What are times you have felt closest to God? What about nature, music, sex, worship, or times of crisis?” May also makes a strong case for spiritual directors to be careful about relationships with their directees outside of the direction relationship. Dr. May’s detailed chapter on referral is easily understood especially because he writes about so many of his own personal experiences. May’s important concept of the difference between healing in the largest sense and curing a specific disorder is something we all in the healing professions need to digest and remember. 

I am also grateful that I am in a group of spiritual directors that took May’s advice and meet regularly to discuss concerns and issues that arise in our work, meeting for mutual support, prayer, and questioning, knowing that we are not doing this ministry alone but are in community.

May asks us to look in directees for the experience of God beyond their belief system, knowing that belief and experience are two different areas to talk about. It is important that we use the language for the spiritual experience of the directees, not our own, trying to avoid solving people’s spiritual problems with statements such as, “You should pray this way” or “you need to have more faith.”  May writes that the directee needs to know that the desire for an experience of God is already the experience of God that he or she is seeking.

I hope to remember that I am a companion, at most a midwife, on a person’s heart-journey with God and that this is God’s business, and God is in charge even though I may have such good ideas!

Joanna joannaseibert.com

Dark night Gerald May

Gerald May 2 dark night

“Maybe, sometimes, in the midst of things going terribly wrong, something is going just right.”
 Gerald G. May, The Dark Night of the Soul

Gerald May’s profound discussion of the difference between clinical depression and the dark night of the soul in this book and Care of Mind, Care of Spirit speaks to the need to recommend immediate help in clinical depression but sees the dark night as a normal part of the spiritual journey to be “seen through rather than worked through,” a cloud of the unknowing where there is a subtraction of prior “knowings” rather than an addition. The dark night is usually not associated with loss of effectiveness in life or work. The sense of humor is usually retained. Compassion for others is enhanced after the dark night experience. There is a sense of rightness about it all. There is not a pleading for help. The director of one in the dark night is generally not frustrated, resentful or annoyed. May describes clinical depression as the opposite of these explanations.  May’s book on spiritual direction is extensive with so many examples of good spiritual direction as well as reminders of pitfalls and how easily we can get off track.

When I pick up his book, I am reminded to approach this ministry of being a spiritual friend with “fear and trembling.” Over and over May teaches us that we will only be good spiritual directors and friends as long as we stay connected to a spiritual path ourselves and realize that we are simply a vessel, and that we ourselves must stay connected to God as best we can especially during our visit or time together.  

Joanna    joannaseibert.com

More Celtic and Crickets

More Celtic and Nature

“There is no plant in the ground

But tells of your beauty, O Christ.

There is no creature on the earth

There is no life in the sea

But proclaims your goodness,

There is no bird on the wing

There is no star in the sky

There is nothing beneath the sun

But is full of your blessing.

Lighten my understanding

Of your presence all around O Christ

Kindle my will

         To be caring for Creation.”

Phillip Newell, Celtic Prayers from Iona

cricket time on a Canadian lake

The late Native American producer and musician, Jim Wilson, recorded the chirping sounds of crickets at regular and a slowed down speed which is said to match “the average life span of humans”. In the slowed down version, the crickets seem to be singing alleluias.  It is an impressive sound of praise from nature. No one else to my knowledge has been able to reproduce the sound, so it may be manipulated in some way, but nevertheless, I have listened to the recording so often that when I am outside in the night sky with the crickets, I hear an angelic chorus.

Joanna joannaseibert.com