Spiritual Counseling, Creation Spirituality Style

To me, doing spiritual counseling, a.k.a. spiritual direction, represents a great spiritual adventure. Having immersed myself for many years in Creation Spirituality and, before that, in the kind of post-Vatican II and liberation theologies that are the humus itself of contemporary Creation Spirituality, as well as in interreligious dialogue and process thought, I find that spiritual counseling is also a very specific kind of activity. That is, it has precise points of reference. Finally, it is “good work” in the sense articulated by Matthew Fox in his groundbreaking book The Reinvention of Work.

Spiritual counseling is a very ancient practice, perhaps one of the first marks of a human culture. The ability to recount to another one’s troubles and to ask aloud before another the deeper questions of life, trusting that the other will receive one’s utterances without judgments of any sort, represents a high level of personal maturity. The ability to choose the right person for such an exercise, and avoid the wrong ones, is itself an ability to be developed in time. I made my own mistakes in this regard at a young age, but then I became very happy with my choices.

Finally, the very fact that the counselor is able to listen and respond without projecting his or her own unresolved issues on the “client” is to me the ultimate sign not just of personal maturity, but of a truly developed civilization. Meaning that, while perfection is not of this world, and troubles do beset people’s minds, a society where spiritual counseling is widely practiced in a healthy way is much more advanced than any other, regardless of technological levels.

Creation Spirituality is one of the best environments in which to practice the ancient art of spiritual counseling because it was resurrected in contemporary times with the stated intention to clear the ground from inappropriate guilt, sexual repression, and excessive idealization, which have dominated Catholic spirituality in the last 500 years.

From a psychological point of view, the kind of spiritual direction which was common in the Catholic Church until a few decades ago — and is still practiced and advocated today by those “traditionalists” who are nostalgic for the past — is an unhealthy practice. At minimum, it exhorts the “directees” to repress their libido and conform to a norm, instead of exploring in full their God-given desires and gifts. In the worst cases, it turns into abuse, psychological and/or physical.

The main principle guiding my own approach to spiritual counseling was gifted to me by Matthew Fox on my ordination day, when he preached about the awareness of being “a midwife to midwives.”

A midwife plays a very important function, of course, that of helping with the delivery in many ways. By steering the course of it, by supporting the woman in labor, by helping her decision-making, by giving in advance the correct advice, by rejoicing at the birth, by cleaning up after the birth, and so on. Adults do give birth to themselves, spiritually speaking, and although they could do it on their own — that is, with the sole assistance of God — the presence, encouragement, steering, and rejoicing of a “midwife” can mean a lot. In my life, I had a few “midwives” without whom I think I would not have grown as I did. It’s even unlikely I would have reached my present age, if I think deeply about it, and surely with a lower level of maturity.

Most importantly, however — Matthew said at my ordination — a true priest knows to be a midwife who is helping people to become, in their own time, midwives to others. It is a cascade. It must be. If it is not — at least in principle — there is an implicit retention of power at the origin of the waterfall itself. That means that the priest thinks of himself, after all, as the origin of wisdom, rather than “ascribing all glory to God.”

The power of God, which is the same as the power of a vital and well-lived life, flows constantly in the whole cosmos. Foolish is the one who thinks he can stop it; wise is the one who learns how to channel it for the well-being of others.

In my approach to spiritual counseling, there is also a good dose of “fear and trembling” — to keep with traditional terms — in the sense that I am well aware that approaching the treasure chest of a soul means finding oneself before God’s workings in that same soul directly, without the screen of polite conversation. Although, of course, within the context of spiritual counseling, one keeps being civil and friendly, there is a sense in which one also must be direct and frank.

C.G.Jung spoke of the analytical setting as a “témenos” or a sacred precinct. In such a “container,” the energies that would be dangerous if handled outside of it can instead be expressed and explored. There are several points of contact, indeed, between Jungian analysis and spiritual counseling, especially in its Creation Spirituality version. There are, however, also important differences, which I will endeavor to explain in my next DM.

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NOTE: You may contact Gianluigi to request a free 30-minutes exploratory session of Spiritual Counseling by writing directly to gianluigi@misticaevolutiva.it

Banner Image: “Counseling.” Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

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Queries for Contemplation

Have you had experiences of spiritual counseling/direction? Have they been good or bad?

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Related Readings by Matthew Fox

The Reinvention of Work: A New Vision of Livelihood For Our Time

Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality

Natural Grace: Dialogues on creation, darkness, and the soul in spirituality and science

A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice

The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times

The Beloved Will Guide You: St. John of the Cross and the Triple Dark Night of Our Times

Julian of Norwich: Wisdom in a Time of Pandemic–and Beyond

A Way to God: Thomas Merton’s Creation Spirituality Journey

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