“Try not to resist the changes that come your way. Instead, let life live through you. And do not worry that your life is turning upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come?”
It seems that people are hungry - but it is not their bodies which are hungry - it is their spirits. The hunger of the spirit is just as real and just as compelling as the hunger of the body. Like the body, the growth of the human spirit towards full maturation is a natural process.
When something is needed, we feel it.
When it is time for a new phase, it begins to happen.
Our soul's hunger is best fed from within - by discovering new dimensions inside ourselves. Spiritual exploration is about discovering the place for real and deep contact with ourselves.
I want to answer three questions you might have about the topic of ‘Spiritual Exploration’
Question 1: What is ‘Spirituality’ Anyway?
According to some, spiritually means, quite simply, waking up. Waking up to what? Maybe waking up to a bigger reality beyond our small human lives. The reality we know is the one we live in, consisting of concrete matter and a web of relationships on a variety of levels. We learn about ourselves and the world from messages we have been given by everyone with whom we have been in contact; from actions we have done and their consequences; from experts who appear to know more than we do.
So maybe spirituality is about stripping the layers of learning so that we can uncover a deeper ‘self' - a self that we are not quite in touch with at the moment.
There are growing numbers of people who are leaving organised religions for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it is because they find that they can no longer subscribe to a fundamental belief or particular dogma. Other times it is because they take issue with the church leaders and the man-made structures which inhibit rather than enhance their own spiritual development.
Yet there are many principles which are commonly held by all people whether religious, or spiritual, or non-believers:
there is something bigger than ourselves to which we are connected for which we might use a number of names including God, Spirit, Divine presence, Oneness, energy, light etc.
we are all connected and interconnected with other humans and with all of nature
love and kindness are the basis of all effective human interactions
inner fulfilment comes from being able to operate from our deepest/highest/best self
appreciation is the foundation for the joy we seek
Question 2: Why is the Spiritual Self Important in Our Everyday Functioning?
Spirituality is not something that exists with no connection to our physical, mental and emotional selves. Our spiritual self is the doorway to our authenticity. Our spirituality gives us our foundation for great meaning in our lives and enables us to stay in balance and peace even while we are busy with the practicalities of life. It’s really hard to write anything using the word spiritual which doesn’t sound either fake or patronising. In cosmic terms we are specks of dust in a hurricane but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t engage with everyone, on every level, as much of the time as we can. Spirituality is not something to dress up in – we need to live from the inside out and if we can do that then we need not use the word spiritual at all actually!
Question 3: What is the Difference Between Spirituality and Religion?
Religion is very meaningful to some people who like the dogma and fixed boundaries. People who attend services and ceremonies as part of their religious tradition experience a sense of community and connectedness with those who are following the same path. However, those who have left a particular religion often miss that aspect of joining together with others to celebrate events and sing and pray together. Still others, who have no wish to join an organised religion, would like to mark particular occasions in their lives with a sacred celebration. Or would like to be with others who have come together to read or meditate around themes like reconciliation or forgiveness or healing. Spirituality is about the search for, and connection with the deepest part and the highest part of ourselves. It is a personal journey to the Divine. I have been on my own personal journey for many years and it is my honour and delight to accompany others on their journeys as their Spiritual Director or Workshop Leader.
Where Do You Hold Your Spiritual Guidance Sessions?
All person to person sessions are held in my home in Connemara, Galway in the West of Ireland. Together we will explore the nature of YOUR spirituality and look at new concepts. I will help you to integrate head and heart thinking, and live your spirituality from the inside out.
Participant Comments:
“A spiritual journey in itself, the session opened my heart to new horizons and expanded the realm of coaching to new dimensions. She was great - very inspiring - the session has changed my outlook on life.”
“My 37-year-old daughter had died from breast cancer leaving behind two young children. My son-in-law's grief was expressed in anger and accusations towards me leading to a complete breakdown in communication within the family whereby I was unable to see my grandchildren. As well as feeling falsely accused I felt isolated and disempowered and unable to begin to tackle the process of grieving for my daughter. I met with Geraldine to discuss the situation. Through her excellent interpersonal and counselling skills she helped me to focus on the key issues and, more importantly, to believe in myself and to trust my own strength to challenge my son-in-law. After our meeting Geraldine continued to guide, support and inspire me to move forward. Relationships are much better now and I regularly see my grandchildren. I feel that out of everyone around me it was Geraldine who played the major role in helping to heal my emotional pain”
“Very inspiring. I really liked her style i.e. combination of being down to earth and enlightening.”
Working with Individuals - Spiritual Guidance
Geraldine is available for working with individuals as a Spiritual Guide. This can be done in a one day intensive at her home, or as a half day initial session with telephone and email follow ups, or as a series of telephone or Skype conversations over a four week period.
What do You Mean By Spiritual Guidance?
Spiritual Guidance might be helpful to enable you to connect with your own spirit so that you can more easily connect at a deeper level with those around you.
The aim of Spiritual Guidance is to help people connect with their own inner strength, wisdom and spirituality, whatever their beliefs. In a safe space of complete acceptance, the Spiritual Guide will assist people in gaining clarity and peace, and in gathering the inner resources they may need to take the next step forward in their life.
Spiritual Guidance will help people to come to know themselves as whole and complete and totally acceptable.
The role of the Spiritual Guide is to see the client as just that - to hold the vision for them - especially at times when they can't see that for themselves. By holding this sacred space, the client can enter into a deeper experience of and relationship to the Divine in their life until such time as they are able once again, to create that space for themselves.
Spiritual Guidance is not a replacement or substitute for traditional coaching. But if we feel that we are out of our depth at a certain point in our lives, then Spiritual Guidance might help.
Spiritual Guidance may involve looking at negative patterns the client is experiencing and helping the client to move through and beyond them by employing metaphysical or spiritual perspectives and tools to shift perceptions, thought patterns and beliefs, which will help to change the client's experience.
Each client's unique spirituality and/or religious tradition will be honoured. It is not the job of the Spiritual Guide to impose their own spirituality or viewpoint onto others but to help guide the client to connect with their Spirit in a way that is authentic to them.
The major benefit of Spiritual Guidance is the dawning of a more personal, direct and intimate experience of Spirit - however Spirit is perceived. There is a sense not only of emotional healing, but of coming home to one's true self. Thus the Spiritual Guidance approach empowers people in turning to Spirit as the strength within them and learning to trust it as the rock upon which to walk through life.
Why Do People seek Spiritual Guidance?
They want a different approach to dealing with their lives, based on changing their beliefs and using a spiritual rationale
They have identified that there is another part to themselves apart from the physical, emotional and mental, which they have named as spiritual, but they have no idea how to access this part - or what to do with it when they have!
They seek clarity and understanding relating to a particular spiritual path e.g. Catholicism or Buddhism
They are confused about why a particular pattern keeps re-appearing in their life and they want a different approach to provide clarity
They want a better balance between their heart and their head but don't know how to get that
They want to be able to access both their masculine and their feminine energy to make their day to day interactions more effective
They want to explore different spiritual practices which might help them to connect with their spirit
They are having a problem in forgiving a particular person in their lives and need some help to do it
They are conventionally successful but happiness has eluded them and they feel a gap within themselves which they think might be their undeveloped spiritual self. They want to get in touch with this side of themselves and look at the spiritual application of their strengths and gifts
Contact me if you are interested in booking a FREE private phone call to explore what you are looking for and whether I can help.
