Thursday, August 27, 2026

Fall Semester 2026

Classes:

FE3041 Spiritual Direction Practicum 1

  • Each gathering for supervision will include one student presenting a verbatim.  The verbatim form 6 from your manual is due to the professor 2 days prior to assigned presentation day. After you present a verbatim, you will need to turn in a Supervision reflection form which is due one week after your presentation.
  •  October will include a written reflection paper.
  • Grades:
    • Class participation 50%
    • Verbatim presentation 30%
    • Verbatim Reflection paper(s) 15%
    • Spiritual Direction reflection paper 5%
  • Hours Needed
    • 40 hours (up to 20 hours significant conversations; 20 hours of direction)
      • Thats 14 hours a month
      • Monday: 3,4
      • Tuesday:  4
      • Wednesday: 1,  3, 
      • Thursday:  2,3
      • Friday: - 1, 3,4 
    • Log hours here
      • NCSD-KC - (Kasey) First Monday  5:30-6:30 - done.
      • WISD- H - (Hunter) - 2nd thursday  @ 5:30 - done. 
      • NCSC- L - (Lexxi) - 2nd Wed @ 5:30
      • KYSD-R - (Rach) First Thursday @11 - done. 
      • NCSD-A - (Alan) - Second Monday @ 5:30 - done. 
      • MNSD-SP (steve potato) - second Tuesday @ 7 - done
      • MNSD-B - First tuesday of the month @ 7 - done
      • OHSD - ST (sunny) - fourth Tuesday @5:30pm - done 
      • NCSD-CG- (clint/Gnosis) - third tuesday @ 6pm - done
      • NCSD-JM - (Mckeiver) - 4th thursday @ 6pm - reschedule Nov & Dec
      • TNSD-RT - (Nat's Robin) - 
      • NCSD-LCB  - (Lessie) - 2nd saturday @11am - reschedule Nov. 
      • NCSD - JR- (Janelle) - 3rd Friday @3pm - done
      • NCSD-SR - (Serena) - 4th Wednesday @5:30 - done. 
    • okay so I actually did the math in my tracker and I have too many clients. I will be removing WISD-H. 
ST2001 Theology for Social Transformation
  • Weekly Reflections/Insights: Each week, students will contribute a brief written reflection from their engagement with the readings. Reflections should focus on one key theological assumption, proposal or idea, and/or sociopolitical implication in course texts as they relate uniquely to the concerns students hope to engage transformatively. In other words,
    • what connections do you find between your concern and the theological ideas engaged?
    • How do the assumptions and key ideas in this text relate to the problem you are addressing?
    • What key insights from the reading help you better understand this particular problem? 
    • How might the complexity of this problem expose blind spots in the author’s proposal? 
    • All entries should be 250 words and submitted on Canvas in the designated area for the week.
  • Constructive Conversations: Asynchronous students will engage each other in an online threaded discussion forum to demonstrate their constructive engagement with course materials, and one another. This course will function largely as a seminar, meaning Constructive Conversations will function as the primary way in which asynchronous students will contribute to and learn from critical engagement and shared ideas in class.
    • Each week, the professor will provide a prompt for students to respond with Video submissions only... 3-5 minutes
    • Each student will need to provide a RECORDED response
  • Profiling the Problem Paper: What is that one social or political reality that keeps you up at night? What core concern is at the center of your current or future work in the world (or in your social transformation project)? What aspect of social transformation do you hope to engage theologically? In this paper, students will identify and describe a social or political concern that they seek deeper theological understanding and transformative engagement with. More specifically (and tangibly), students should focus on those concerns that are reflected in their current or potential vocational
      • should be roughly 500 words, double-spaced, and should function as a “profile” of the problem you are identifying. Please provide as much detail as possible about this issue based on your current understanding of it. A few questions to help guide your reflection are as follows: 
      • What is the central problem or issue at the center of my vocational work? 
      • What does this problem look like? 
      • How would I describe it to someone who was curious but had never heard of it? 
      • What intersection of identities is uniquely affected by this problem? 
      • What other social or political realities relate to this problem, and how?
    • The lack of accessible spiritual care and spiritual community for people whose religious identities and practices fall outside—or between—traditional religious institutions.
      • “This proposal works if we assume Christian congregational belonging, but what happens when we apply it to people whose spiritual identities exist outside institutional religion?”
      • Dimensions of the problem:
        • 1. Access to spiritual care outside institutional religion
        • 2. Religious pluralism and theological legitimacy
        • 3. Spiritual homelessness after religious transition
        • 4. Economic limitations
    • "1) You could establish that religious/spiritual identity doesn't always fit neatly within institutional categories. Then identify the actual problem: spiritual-care systems often assume institutional belonging. From there, describe who gets particularly affected—religiously unaffiliated people, Pagans and other minority traditions, people reconstructing after leaving religion, people with hybrid identities, etc.
    • 2) Then comes the sociopolitical layer: whose spirituality gets recognized as legitimate enough to deserve care, resources, space, and trained accompaniment?
    • 3) And finally your vocational stake: Your emerging work in spiritual companionship is partly an attempt to imagine what spiritual care can look like when the starting point isn't: “What do you believe?” but something much closer to: “What is sacred to you, and how are you relating to it?”
    • 4) The structures that financially sustain spiritual care are disproportionately tied to established religious institutions, leaving spiritually unaffiliated and religiously marginalized people with fewer accessible and sustainable alternatives.
      • If access to spiritual care is a legitimate dimension of human flourishing, then responsibility for sustaining that care should not fall exclusively upon either religious institutions or isolated individuals purchasing services in the private market. And importantly: The labor of providing that care should itself be valued and materially sustained.
    • PRIMARY QUSTION I ASK EVERY READING/AUTHOR: Does your theological framework still work for people who don't live inside the religious world you're assuming? Is what you are suggesting applicable to all people  and what does it mean for those who it does not? How can this be reconstructed for those on the outside?
  • Constructive Correlation Essays/Papers x 2: In these essays, students will put two theological perspectives from course readings into conversation around one key concept or idea that students find useful for their own constructive theological engagement. These concepts can be explicitly named in the readings or can be conceptualized by students, however, they should represent some common ground on which both perspectives do contribute (fairly). They should also relate to students’ guiding concerns articulated in Profiling the Problem.
    • In addition to putting two perspectives in critical conversation - noting points of tension and cohesion between the two -  students will offer a preliminary constructive proposal for a way of making sense of and applying this idea that emerges from your perspective in relation to the two proposals in question. In other words, what unique insights emerge for you related to the concept at the center of this critical conversation, and how does it shed light on the issue you are trying to better understand for the sake of transformative engagement? 
      • How clearly did I articulate the idea or concept at the center of this correlation between these two thinkers? 
      • Did I clearly articulate critical points of tension and/or convergence between these two perspectives in a way that was fair to each of them?  
      • Did I offer my own perspective on the tension between the two perspectives and make a proposal about how insights born from the tension connect with my Problem?  
    • These papers should be 1250 - 1500 words, double spaced, and should adhere to the Turabian style for citations and formatting.  
  • Final Paper: In this final paper, you are invited to articulate your constructive theological perspectives related to the three theological themes of the course (Human Being, Sacred Thread, and Moral Imagination) with specific attention to your identified Problems. This is where the reflections and essays can all come together. 
    • These papers should include three elements (which also serves as primary assessment criteria)
      • Re-statement of the Problem: Re-articulation and brief description of the problem you have identified. If you have tweaked or narrowed this focus throughout the term, here is where you can re-articulate it in connection with the other two elements. This does not need to be long. It only needs to make clear what your focus has been in a way that connects to the remainder of the paper. 
      •  Moral Imagination: What is your theological vision for the future that provides hope in relation to this Problem? What possibilities do you envision that inspire your beliefs and that (should) inform current practices/ethics toward this end? 
      • Constructive Theological Proposal: What do you believe and how do you propose we understand: 
        •  Human Being - How do you understand “sin” and the problem of evil? What is your definition and how does it connect with the unique features of your Problem? 
        • Sacred Thread (“God,” Jesus/“Christ”/the Cross, Spirit)- What theological sense do you make of these traditional trinitarian categories, understanding that you are not required to conceive of them as a Trinity? 
      • A few questions to consider:
        • How do you conceive of God in terms of the Omnis? How do you understand God’s relation to the world, and in what ways is God active or not? Etc. 
        •  What significance does Jesus have in your theological perspective? Is he the Christ in a unique sense, or do you understand his divinity (or humanity) differently? 
        • How do you conceive of Spirit and how does it relate to human activity, your theological perspective, etc.? 
    • These papers are due - TBD and should be 1500 – 2000 words, double-spaced, and should adhere to the Turabian style for citations and bibliographies.
  • Student Presentations:  Students will present their constructive theological ideas in class, and will hear from their peers in the same way. Each student will have 10-15 minutes to present:
    • What was your Problem and what Possibility informs your perspective?
    • Describe the “reality” of your Problem. Help us “see” it. 
    • Describe your vision for the future of your Problem after neoliberalism (read: solved). In other words, help us see the Possibility for what can be, which both provides hope and informs current ethical praxis toward that end. 
    • Present your theological proposal
    • Describe your constructive theological proposal in a way that illustrates the connection between your attention to the Problem and Possibility you have identified and your theological understanding of Human Being and Sacred Thread. 
For the Final:

Human Being → Sacred Thread → Moral Imagination

Human beings have the capacity for direct relationship with the Sacred.


The Sacred exceeds any single religious institution or theological formulation and can therefore be encountered through multiple traditions, relationships, practices, and understandings.


Therefore, we should construct systems of spiritual care that accompany people in discovering and deepening their own relationship with the Sacred rather than requiring conformity to a particular religious framework. ----- What would society look like if spiritual well-being were treated as one dimension of human flourishing worthy of communal investment?
Books:
  • Coleman, Monica A. Making a Way Out of No Way: A Womanist Theology. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-8006-6293-6 ($18.90)
    • https://www-jstor-org.dtl.idm.oclc.org/stable/j.ctv19cwbfr
  • Copeland, M. Shawn. Enfleshing Freedom: Body, Race, and Being. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2010. ISBN: 978-0-8006-6274-5 ($24.00)
    • https://libguides-thedtl-org.dtl.idm.oclc.org/c.php?g=1088790
  • Douglas, Kelly Brown. Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2015. ISBN: 978-1-62698-109-6 ($19.76)
    • https://libguides-thedtl-org.dtl.idm.oclc.org/c.php?g=1523448
  • Farley, Wendy. Tragic Vision and Divine Compassion: A Contemporary Theodicy. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1990. ISBN: 0-664-25096-3 ($23.05)
    • https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.dtl.idm.oclc.org/lib/dtl/detail.action?pq-origsite=primo&docID=3416966
  • Jones, Serene, and Paul Lakeland, eds. Constructive Theology: A Contemporary Approach to Classical Themes. ISBN: 0-8006-3683-X ($48.96)
    • https://www-jstor-org.dtl.idm.oclc.org/stable/j.ctv1hqdhmw
  • Rogers-Vaughn, Bruce. Caring for Souls in a Neoliberal Age. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016. ISBN: 978-1-349-71633-3 ($29.99) 
    • https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.dtl.idm.oclc.org/lib/dtl/detail.action?pq-origsite=primo&docID=4737089

Semester 9/12 - 12/20


No Classwork

  • Monday 08/31
    • NCSD-A @ 5:30 - 6:30
  • Tuesday 9/1 
    • MNSD-B @ 7 - snapchat
  • Wednesday 9/2
  • Thursday 9/3
    • KYSD-R @ 11am-12
  • Friday 9/4
  • Saturday 9/5
  • Sunday 9/6


Week 0 

  • Monday 9/07
    • NCSD-KC @ 5:30-6:30
  • Tuesday 9/08
    • MNSD-SP @ 7pm-8pm
  • Wednesday 9/09
    • NCSC- L @ 5:30
  • Thursday 9/10

  • Friday 9/11
    • OBOD meeting in the park 
  • Saturday 9/12
  • Sunday 9/13
    • Charlie bday!!

Week 1

  • Monday 9/14
  • Tuesday 9/15
    • NCSD-CG - @ 6pm-7pm
  • Wednesday 9/16
  • Thursday 9/17
    • CLASS: 1:30-4:45
  • Friday 9/18
    • NCSD - JR @3pm
  • Saturday 9/19
    • NCSD-LCB @ 11am
    • FALL EQUINOX CEREMONY
      • 5:30-8:00 pm
      • Where: 5710 Anthony St, McFarland, WI 
  • Sunday 9/20
Week 2
  • Monday 9/21
  • Tuesday 9/22
    • OHSD - ST @ 5pm
  • Wednesday 9/23
    • NCSD-SR @ 5:30
  • Thursday 9/24 
    • CLASS: 1:30-4:45
    • NCSD-JM @6pm-7pm
  • Friday 9/25
  • Saturday 9/26
  • Sunday 9/27
Week 3
  • Monday 9/28
  • Tuesday 9/29
  • Wednesday 9/30
  • Thursday 10/01
    • KYSD-R @ 11-12
    • CLASS: 1:30-4:45
  • Friday 10/02
  • Saturday 10/03
  • Sunday 10/04
Week 4
  • Monday 10/05
    • NCSD-KC @ 5:30-6:30pm
  • Tuesday 10/06
    • MNSD-B @ 7-8 pm
  • Wednesday 10/07
  • Thursday 10/08
    • Reflection paper on a spiritual direction session 

    • No Class this week - Therapy or SD?


  • Friday 10/09
    • OBOD meeting in the park 
  • Saturday 10/10
    • NCSD-LCB @ 11am
      • Will Need to Reschedule. Shamanism Class on next set day. 
  • Sunday 10/11
Week 5
  • Monday 10/12
    • NCSD-A @ 5:30-6:30pm
  • Tuesday 10/13
    • MNSD-SP @ 7pm-8pm
  • Wednesday 10/14
    • NCSC- L @ 5:30
  • Thursday 10/15
    • CLASS: 1:30-4:45
  • Friday 10/16
    • NCSD - JR @3pm
  • Saturday 10/17
  • Sunday 10/18
Week 6
  • Monday 10/19
  • Tuesday 10/20
    • NCSD-CG @ 6pm
      • Schedule the next 2. 3rd tuesday still work?
  • Wednesday 10/21
  • Thursday 10/22
    • CLASS: 1:30-4:45
    • NCSD-JM @6pm-7pm
      • Need to discuss next 2 sessions schedules, both are holidays. 
  • Friday 10/23
  • Saturday 10/24
  • Sunday 10/25
Reading Week - 4th Mon-Wed and 5th thursday and friday 
  • Monday 10/26
  • Tuesday 10/27
    • OHSD - ST @ 5pm
  • Wednesday 10/28
    • NCSD-SR @ 5:30
  • Thursday 10/29
    • No Class this Week ---- therapy or Spiritual Direction?
    • Work on papers
  • Friday 10/30
  • Saturday 10/31
  • Sunday 11/01
Week 7
  • Monday 11/02
    • NCSD-KC @ 5:30
  • Tuesday 11/03
    • MNSD-B @ 7
  • Wednesday 11/04
  • Thursday 11/05
    • KYSD-R @ 11
    • CLASS: 1:30-4:45
  • Friday 11/06
  • Saturday 11/07
  • Sunday 11/08
Week 8
  • Monday 11/09
    • NCSD-A @ 5:30
  • Tuesday 11/10
    • MNSD-SP @ 7pm
  • Wednesday 11/11
    • NCSC- L @ 5:30
  • Thursday 11/12
    • CLASS: 1:30-4:45

  • Friday 11/13
    • OBOD meeting
  • Saturday 11/14
    • NCSD-LCB @ 11am
    • SHAMANISM FOUNDATIONS
      • 10:00 am - 6:00 pm @ Holy Wisdom
  • Sunday 11/15
    • SHAMANISM FOUNDATIONS
      • 10:00 am - 6:00 pm @ Holy Wisdom
Week 9
  • Monday 11/16
  • Tuesday 11/17
    • NCSD-CG - @ 6pm-7pm
  • Wednesday 11/18
  • Thursday 11/19
    • CLASS: 1:30-4:45
  • Friday 11/20
    • NCSD - JR @3pm
  • Saturday 11/21
  • Sunday 11/22
Thanksgiving  Break
  • Monday 11/23
  • Tuesday 11/24
    • OHSD - ST @5pm
  • Wednesday 11/25
    • NCSD-SR @ 5:30pm
  • Thursday 11/26
    • NCSD-JM @6pm
  • Friday 11/27
  • Saturday 11/28
  • Sunday 11/29
Week 10
  • Monday 11/30
  • Tuesday 12/01
    • MNSD-B @ 7
  • Wednesday 12/02
  • Thursday 12/03
    • KYSD-R @ 11
    • CLASS: 1:30-4:45
  • Friday 12/04
  • Saturday 12/05
    • YAY MY BDAY
  • Sunday 12/06
Week 11
  • Monday 12/07
    • NCSD-K @ 5:30
  • Tuesday 12/08
    • MNSD-SP @ 7pm
  • Wednesday 12/09
    • NCSC- L @ 5:30
  • Thursday 12/10
    • CLASS: 1:30-4:45

  • Friday 12/11
    • OBOD meeting 
  • Saturday 12/12
    • NCSD-LCB @ 11am
  • Sunday 12/13
Week 12
  • Monday 12/14
    • NCSD-A @ 5:30
  • Tuesday 12/15
    • NCSD-CG - @ 6pm-7pm
  • Wednesday 12/16
  • Thursday 12/17
    • CLASS: 1:30-4:45
  • Friday 12/18
    • NCSD - JR @3pm
  • Saturday 12/19
  • Sunday 12/20
Break (hours for Sem 2)

  • Monday 12/21
  • Tuesday 12/22
    • OHSD - ST @ 5:30
  • Wednesday 12/23
    • NCSD-SR @ 5:30
  • Thursday 12/24
    • NCSD-JM @ 6pm
  • Friday 12/25
  • Saturday 12/26
  • Sunday 12/27
  • Monday 12/28
  • Tuesday 12/29
  • Wednesday 12/30
  • Thursday 12/31
  • Friday 1/01/27
  • Saturday 1/2/27
  • Sunday 1/3/27

Thursday, August 13, 2026

Give Me The Courage To Live by Howard Thurman

 


Give Me The Courage To Live by Howard Thurman


Really live– not merely exist.

Live dangerously,

Scorniging risk!

Live honestly,

Daring the truth–

Particularly the truth of myself!

Live resiliently–

Ever changing, ever growing, ever adapting.

Enduring the pain of change

As though ’twere the travail of birth.

Give me the courage to live,

Give me the strength to be free

And endure the burden of freedom

And hte loneliness of those without chains;

Let me not be trapped by success,

Nor by failure, not pleasure, nor grief,

Nor malice, nor praise, nor remorse!

Give me the courage to go on!

Facing all that waits on the trail–

Going eagerly, joyously on,

And paying my way as I go,

Without anger or fear or regret

Taking what life gives,

Spending myself to the full,

Dead high, spirit winged, like a god–

On… on… till hte shadows draw close.

Ten even when darkness shuts down,

ANd I go out alone as I came,

Naked and blind as I camm–

Even then, gracous God, hear my prayer:

Give me the courage to live!

Reflective Question Group Model - Spiritual Direction

Circle of Trust approach developed by Parker J. Palmer and the Center for Courage & Renewal, which uses open, honest questions to help the "soul" or authentic self emerge without fear of judgment.


1) Welcoming the Authentic Self (Check-In)The True Self: 
  • What part of your authentic self has felt hidden or pushed aside this week?
  • Current Alignment: Where do you feel a mismatch between your outer life and your inner truth right now?
  • Inner Voice: If your inner wisdom could speak clearly right now, what is the first thing it would say?
  • The Mask: What role or expectation are you carrying today that you need to set down in this circle?
2) Deepening the Capacity to Listen to Others
  • Internal Distractions: What is cluttering your mind right now that might get in the way of your fully listening to others?
  • The Fixer Impulse: When you feel the urge to "fix" or advise a companion, what anxiety is that stirring up inside you?
  • Heart Resonance: As you listen to your companion, what chord does their story strike in your own lived experience?
  • The Sacred Gap: In the silence between speakers, what are you noticing about the quality of presence in our room?
3) Cultivating Open, Honest Questions - In this format, instead of giving advice, group members learn to ask questions that help the speaker hear their own inner teacher. Train your group to ask questions like:
  • The Blueprint: "What does your own inner wisdom say is the very next step for you?"
  • The Feeling: "When you look at that situation, what is the primary emotion that surfaces in your body?"
  • The Story: "What is the old story you are telling yourself about this, and is it still true?
-----------------

Reflective Questions:
  • What are we inviting into this moment?
  • What within you is asking to be heard today?
    • Why is it asking for my attention? 
      • Why?
  • What message has life been sending you lately?
  • What are you carrying within you that you have not given voice to?
    • Why do you hold it in silence?
    • What purpose has this served?
  • Where do you feel a sense of dryness, emptiness, or disconnection in your inner landscape?
    • What is this telling you?
      • What 
  • Where do you feel invited to welcome change in your life?
    • What emotion does this bring forward?
      • Why?
  • When have you felt the most at peace?
  • When was the last time you felt something move your spirit or an overwhelming sense of love, awe, or mystery?
  • What is currently bringing a sense of deep vitality, joy, or spiritual nourishment to your life?

Authenticity Retreat: Poetry Method

Poetry Model - Group Spiritual Direction/Authenticity Retreat: 10-6pm

Ask everyone to arrive by 10am

Welcome: Everyone is invited to get a cup of coffee, water, tea, etc. Grab a journal if they did not bring one. Grab a poetry book if they did not bring something with them and are welcome to look through them. This is a time to introduce ourselves unofficially, catch up with anyone we know, or just sit in silence. Take 30 minutes to settle into your body, settle into the space, and just pause. 

Opening Exercise: the name game (shake out bodies, help break any nervous tension, etc) 

Meditative Center: Drumming and guidance through a light body exercise to help ground everyone and  set the stage for contemplative awareness. Drum and ask reflective questions to get our minds open:
  • What are we inviting into this moment?
  • What within you is asking to be heard today?
  • Is there something you are being invited to change or explore?
Remind them that they are in sacred space - meaning they are safe to let down any masks and expectations. They can express themselves freely. This is a space of loving support and everyone is welcome to exist exactly how they wish to be. It is sacred because it is special, it is special because we have decided to carve out a time and place together. This is co-creation. 

Drumming ends and we take three deep breaths as a group. SD invites everyone to place an item on the altar in the middle of the room - anything they feel represents them in who they are; saying their name as they do so. 

Calling in the intention for the day: SD Leads and then opens the floor - anyone who wants to share what came up for them in the meditation can do so. If no one wants to share or if only a few people do, then ask how everyone is feeling. is anyone nervous? Feeling resistant? Hopeful?

11:30 - Break for lunch! Come back 12:30. 

Introduce the practice of Lectio Divina and explain that we are going to use poetry as our primary medium for the day. Typically done to connect with The Divine - we are seeking to connect to the divine within us - our authentic core.  We do this by being open and honest with ourselves, what particular word or phrase comes up for us, does it touch anything in our actual lives, what emotions or sensations do we feel in our body, what images arise from it? Write it down and do not worry about making it seem cohesive. This could be bullet points, it could be stream of consciousness,  etc. Just write what comes up for you. Explain the 1-2 word echo's from each person's share. 

1) The Initial Sowing:
Person A reads Poem 1 aloud for the first time.
The Silence: 2–3 minutes of absolute quiet. Everyone writes down their raw imagery, feelings, or words in their notebooks.

2) The Multi-Reflection Carousel (The "Rinse & Repeat" Core)
Round 1: Person A’s Reflection- Person A reads the poem again and shares what it means to their authentic self.
Persons B, C, D, E, and F each give just a word or two that they really hear in Person A's words.
Director Summarizes: You anchor Person A's share and transition.

Round 2: Person B’s Reflection - Person B shares their reflection on Poem 1 from their notebook.
The other 4 people (A, C, D, E, F) give just a word or two they hear in Person B's share.
Director Summarizes: You anchor Person B's unique lens.

Round 3: Person C’s Reflection - Person C shares their reflection on Poem 1.
The other 4 people offer their 1-word echoes.
Director Summarizes Person C.

So on and so forth

3) Phase 3: The Poem Closure
Communal Silence: Once all 6 parties have shared and been summarized, you call for 2–3 minutes of silent integration.
The Transition: You officially close the chapter on Poem 1, take a deep breath, and hand the floor to Person B to introduce Poem 2 to start the entire process over.

The cycle repeats until all people have shared their poem. 
********IMPORTANT: take a 10 minutes tea and coffee break half way through (after poem 3)

Invitation to take some reflective pause; walk around, be in nature, and agree to come back after 15-30 minutes minutes depending on how much time is left. 

Bringing everyone back: Drumming and deep breathing - Gentle movement Body scan to ground us back in the moment. 

Closing Discussions: 

Round 1: The Vulnerability of Sharing and Echoing
The Prompt: "How did it feel to share your raw inner reflections out loud, and then immediately hear the group throw back a word or two? What did it feel like to have your words mirrored without anyone trying to fix or advise you?"
What this illuminates: This helps participants notice if their authentic self felt safe, defensive, or relieved. It highlights the power of simple validation.

Round 2: The Gift of the Offering
The Prompt: "How did it feel to watch five other people make completely unique meaning out of the poem you brought into the room? What was it like to see your offering touch others in ways you didn't expect?"
What this illuminates: This cultivates a deep sense of spiritual generosity. It shows the speaker that their choice had a ripple effect across five other distinct internal worlds.

Round 3: any open discussion that emerges naturally. 

-----------------------

Actual timeline TBD - I will have to do a trial run with circle of facilitators to see how long each poetry run will last. 


The Master Retreat Timeline (10:00 AM – 5:10 PM)

10:00 AM – 10:30 AM: Welcome & Settle 
Coffee, tea, journaling prep, unmasking, and settling into the physical space.

10:30 AM – 11:30 AM: Opening Exercise & Meditative Center 
Name game, grounding drumming, body exercise, altar placement, and opening reflections.

11:30 AM – 12:50 PM: Lunch Break (about 60 mins)
a full hour ensures people can properly digest and rest.

12:30 PM – 12:45 PM: Intro to Lectio Divina / Poetry Practice 
setting expectations for non-judgmental listening, writing down raw imagery, and explaining the "1-word echo" rule.

12:45 PM – 2:30 PM: Poetry Carousel: Part I 
Poem 1 : Initial sowing, 6 shared reflections, 1-word echoes, director summaries, and poem closure.
Poem 2 : Full loop.
Poem 3 :  Full loop.

2:30 PM – 2:45 PM: Comfort, Stretch & Tea Break 
Essential mental break to clear the air before moving to the next set of poems.

2:45 PM – 4:30 PM: Poetry Carousel: Part II 
Poem 4 : Full loop.
Poem 5: Full loop.
Poem 6: Full loop.

4:30 PM – 5 PM: Reflective Pause & Nature Walk 
Private, silent integration time outside to sit with their notebook entries.

5PM -- 5:15PM: Regrounding & Re-entry
Gentle drumming, body scan, and shifting back into the collective circle.

5:15 PM – 6 PM: Closing Harvest Discussions (34 mins)
Round 1 : The Vulnerability of Sharing and Echoing.
Round 2 : The Gift of the Offering.
Round 3 : Open discussion, final director blessing/summary, and departures.

Thursday, July 30, 2026

Hope is a crushed stalk - Pauli Murray

 Hope is a crushed stalk

Between clenched fingers.
Hope is a bird’s wing
Broken by a stone.
Hope is a word in a tuneless ditty -
A word whispered with the wind,
A dream of forty acres and a mule,
A cabin of one’s own and a moment to rest,
A name and a place for one’s children
And children’s children at last. . .
Hope is a song in a weary throat.
- Pauli Murray

Friday, July 24, 2026

group reflections

  •  What within you is asking to be heard today?
    • I am nervous... i am scared to be hopeful because i feel trapped
    • I am loving the idea of group spiritual direction and taking on clients 
    • I am loving the idea of living a life that is authentic and carries the flavor of spirituality at all times
    • then i can feel more natrural in having that color lay over my life at home too. 
    • Everything i currently do feels so stark in comparison to the spiritual. 
    • I am scared i won't be able to make this transition. I won't be able to survive on it. 
    • What if the dream is not substanciable. 
  • What within you is asking for your attention
    • I am lonely. 
    • I miss community. 
    • I worry that without community to help me keep my shape... I do not have a true identity or sense of self
    • I am lonely
    • I miss my gods
    • I want to pray more
    • I want to do readings
    • but i'm resistant for some reason. 
    • I keep myself isolated 
    • I am lonely. 
  • Why is it asking for my attentiion
    • because loneliness only makes me feel more trapped and hopeless
  • why?
    • because we are not meant to be alone.
    • We are meant to have community
    • seeking community does not make you weak 
    • I am scared of rejection, so i isolate. 
    • This is a limiting belief and boundary i put on myself. 

Thursday, June 25, 2026

Sacred Flame: but what if im not religious?

 For those that think Spiritual direction is not for you because you are not religious:


"A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which are only accessible to our reason in their most elementary forms - it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute the truly religious attitude; in this sense, and in this alone, I am a deeply religious man." - Albert Einstein

"Whether we think of ourselves as religious or not, most people, at times, consider religious questions. We may also experience religious feelings. This can be as simple as responding to beauty, order, and unanswered questions about the world, which may prompt appreciation and wonder. It may also, on occasion, give a sense of something more — in feeling part of all that is, with a sense of clarity and meaning in what we see.” - Todd Macalister

“...a larger, richer, more satisfying life is, in the last analysis, the end of religion. The love of life, at any and every level of development, is the religious impulse.” - William James (on how religion is not about belief, but rather about life.)

"We are the local embodiment of a Cosmos grown to self-awareness. We have begun to contemplate our origins: starstuff pondering the stars; organized assemblages of ten billion billion billion atoms considering the evolution of atoms; tracing the long journey by which, here at least, consciousness arose. Our loyalties are to the species and the planet. We speak for Earth. Our obligation to survive is owed not just to ourselves but also to that Cosmos, ancient and vast, from which we spring.”

― Carl Sagan