Spiritual Direction Formation & Certification: Previous Cohorts

The Listening Path: The Creative Art of Attention by Julia Cameron A 6-week Artist's Way Program from legendary author Julia Cameron A Washington Post and Publisher's Weekly Bestseller "Cameron's fans will love this"--Publishers Weekly The newest book from beloved author Julia Cameron, The Listening Path is a transformational journey to deeper, more profound listening and creativity. Over six weeks, readers will be given the tools to become better listeners--to their environment, the people around them, and themselves. The reward for learning to truly listen is immense. As we learn to listen, our attention is heightened and we gain healing, insight, clarity. But above all, listening creates connections and ignites a creativity that will resonate through every aspect of our lives. Julia Cameron is the author of the explosively successful book The Artist's Way, which has transformed the creative lives of millions of readers since it was first published. Incorporating tools from The Artist's Way, The Listening Path offers a new method of creative and personal transformation. Each week, readers will be challenged to expand their ability to listen in a new way, beginning by listening to their environment and culminating in learning to listen to silence. These weekly practices open up a new world of connection and fulfillment. In a culture of bustle and constant sound, The Listening Path is a deeply necessary reminder of the power of truly hearing.

The Gifts of Imperfection: 10th Anniversary Edition by Brené Brown NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * In hardcover for the first time, this tenth-anniversary edition of the game-changing #1 New York Times bestseller features a new foreword and brand-new tools to make the work your own. Don't miss the five-part HBO Max docuseries Brené Brown: Atlas of the Heart! For over a decade, Brené Brown has found a special place in our hearts as a gifted mapmaker and a fellow traveler. She is both a social scientist and a kitchen-table friend whom you can always count on to tell the truth, make you laugh, and, on occasion, cry with you. And what's now become a movement all started with The Gifts of Imperfection, which has sold more than two million copies in thirty-five different languages across the globe. What transforms this book from words on a page to effective daily practices are the ten guideposts to wholehearted living. The guideposts not only help us understand the practices that will allow us to change our lives and families, they also walk us through the unattainable and sabotaging expectations that get in the way. Brené writes, "This book is an invitation to join a wholehearted revolution. A small, quiet, grassroots movement that starts with each of us saying, 'My story matters because I matter.' Revolution might sound a little dramatic, but in this world, choosing authenticity and worthiness is an absolute act of resistance."

The Honest Enneagram: Know Your Type, Own Your Challenges, Embrace Your Growth by Sarajane Case Find a way to bring out the best in yourself with this heartfelt, informative, and approachable guide to all things Enneagram. The Enneagram personality system consists of a spectrum of nine personality types. Based on the hit Instagram account, @enneagramandcoffee, this book is an introduction to the Enneagram itself, along with information about each type. With the feeling of your best friend telling you about the Enneagram and beautiful illustrations mixed in with the writing, this book is digestible and engaging for new and seasoned Enneagram fans.  

The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief by Francis Weller Offers a new vision for grief as a communal ritual to be embraced for healing.

Didn't See It Coming: Overcoming the 7 Greatest Challenges that No One Expects and Everyone Experiences by Carey Nieuwhof An influential pastor, podcaster, and thought leader believes it's not only possible to predict life's hardest moments, but also to alter outcomes, overcome challenges, and defeat your fiercest adversaries. Founding Pastor of one of North America's most influential churches, Carey Nieuwhof wants to help you avoid and overcome life's seven hardest and most crippling challenges: cynicism, compromise, disconnectedness, irrelevance, pride, burnout, and emptiness. These are challenges that few of us expect but that we all experience at some point. If you have yet to confront these obstacles, Carey provides clear tools and guidelines for anticipation and avoidance. On the other hand, if you already feel stuck in a painful experience or are wrestling with one of these challenges, he provides the steps you need to find a way out and a way forward into a more powerful and vibrant future.

Spiritual Direction in Context by Nick Wagner (Editor) As the popularity of spiritual direction grows, directors are facing situations the monks and nuns, who served as directors for centuries, never had to face. The articles in this book, drawn from the magazine Presence, the international journal of Spiritual Directors International, address who specific contexts affect the practice of spiritual direction. Included will be articles on spiritual direction in the workplace, with the aging, in hospital, with women's groups, with youth, with those who are mourning, direction of the Internet, with seminarians, with people who live on the street, and other topics.

Spiritual Direction Supervision: Principles, Practices, and Storytelling by Lucy Abbott Tucket A workbook designed to support the care and growth of your spiritual direction practice.

The Practice of Spiritual Direction by William A. Barry; William J. Connolly The Classic Work on Helping People Become Closer to God Fathers Barry and Connolly see the work of spiritual direction as helping people to develop their relationship with God. In thinking and practice they have absorbed the insights of modern psychotherapy, but have not been absorbed by them. This highly practical book reflects the authors' experience at the Center for Religious Development in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where spiritual direction is available and where directors are trained.

Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others by Connie Burk; Laura van Dernoot Lipsky This beloved bestseller-over 180,000 copies sold-has helped caregivers worldwide keep themselves emotionally, psychologically, spiritually, and physically healthy in the face of the sometimes overwhelmingtraumas they confront every day. A longtime trauma worker, Laura van Dernoot Lipsky offers a deep and empathetic survey of the often-unrecognized toll taken on those working to make the world a better place. We may feel tired, cynical, or numb or like we can never do enough. These, and other symptoms, affect us individually and collectively, sapping the energy and effectiveness we so desperately need if we are to benefit humankind, other living things, and the planet itself. InTrauma Stewardship, we are called to meet these challenges in an intentional way. Lipsky offers a variety of simple and profound practices, drawn from modern psychology and a range of spiritual traditions, that enable us to look carefully at our reactions and motivations and discover new sources of energy and renewal. She includes interviews with successful trauma stewards from different walks of life and even uses New Yorker cartoons to illustrate her points. "We can do meaningful work in a way that works for us and for those we serve," Lipsky writes. "Taking care of ourselves while taking care of others allows us to contribute to our societies with such impact that we will leave a legacy informed by our deepest wisdom and greatest gifts instead of burdened by our struggles and despair.

It's OK That You're Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture that Doesn't Understand by Megan Devine As seen in THE NEW YORK TIMES * READER'S DIGEST * SPIRITUALITY & HEALTH * HUFFPOST Featured on NPR's RADIO TIMES and WISCONSIN PUBLIC RADIO When a painful loss or life-shattering event upends your world, here is the first thing to know: there is nothing wrong with grief. "Grief is simply love in its most wild and painful form," says Megan Devine. "It is a natural and sane response to loss." So, why does our culture treat grief like a disease to be cured as quickly as possible? In It's OK That You're Not OK, Megan Devine offers a profound new approach to both the experience of grief and the way we try to help others who have endured tragedy. Having experienced grief from both sides--as both a therapist and as a woman who witnessed the accidental drowning of her beloved partner--Megan writes with deep insight about the unspoken truths of loss, love, and healing. She debunks the culturally prescribed goal of returning to a normal, "happy" life, replacing it with a far healthier middle path, one that invites us to build a life alongside grief rather than seeking to overcome it. In this compelling and heartful book, you'll learn: * Why well-meaning advice, therapy, and spiritual wisdom so often end up making it harder for people in grief * How challenging the myths of grief--doing away with stages, timetables, and unrealistic ideals about how grief should unfold--allows us to accept grief as a mystery to be honored instead of a problem to solve * Practical guidance for managing stress, improving sleep, and decreasing anxiety without trying to "fix" your pain * How to help the people you love--with essays to teach us the best skills, checklists, and suggestions for supporting and comforting others through the grieving process Many people who have suffered a loss feel judged, dismissed, and misunderstood by a culture that wants to "solve" grief. Megan writes, "Grief no more needs a solution than love needs a solution." Through stories, research, life tips, and creative and mindfulness-based practices, she offers a unique guide through an experience we all must face--in our personal lives, in the lives of those we love, and in the wider world. It's OK That You're Not OK is a book for grieving people, those who love them, and all those seeking to love themselves--and each other--better.

Permission to Feel: Unlocking the Power of Emotions to Help Our Kids, Ourselves, and Our Society Thrive by Marc Brackett

Simple Ways: Towards the Sacred by Gunilla Norris A lucid, poetic, and practical primer for prayer, meditation, and mindful living, Simple Ways a wide range of accessible ways towards the Sacred in our daily lives. No matter what our spiritual background, these ways are completely available to any of us.

Praying in Color: Drawing a New Path to God by Sybil MacBeth "Just as Julia Cameron in The Artist's Way showed the hardened Harvard businessman he had a creative artist lurking within, MacBeth makes it astonishingly clear that anyone with a box of colors and some paper can have a conversation with God." --Publishers Weekly, starred review  Maybe you love color. Maybe you are a visual or kinesthetic learner, a distractible or impatient soul, or a word-weary pray-er. Perhaps you struggle with a short attention span, a restless body, or a tendency to live in your head. Maybe your prayers feel more like a list for Santa Claus than a love letter to God, or you're just bored with the same old prayers you've said since you were a toddler. Maybe you're not sure that anyone out there is listening, or you just feel deep in your bones a hunger to know God better.  The prayer practice Praying in Color® was born when Sybil's desperation to pray for family and friends intersected with her love of color and doodling. Praying in Color® invites the whole body into prayer and gives you a new way to be with God.    This revised, expanded edition of the bestselling, groundbreaking book:   Presents double the wisdom and insight from Sybil MacBeth, from fifteen years of experience praying, teaching, and leading workshops  Includes a foreword by Lauren F. Winner, author of Girl Meets God   Brings a sense of fun and delight into prayer time  Gathers our mind, body, emotions, thoughts, and spirit into the same space for a while  Is ideal for praying on your own or in small groups, church fellowships, hospital rooms, university classrooms, prison ministry, elementary schools, and so much more.  Sections of the book include:   Disgruntled Prayers  Praying Your To-Do List  Praying for Our Enemies  Hodgepodge Prayers  Twelve-Step Prayers  Praying with Scripture  Praying the Liturgical Year  Praying in Community  Sending and Sharing Prayers  And so much more.  More than 150,000 people have discovered a delightful way to pray with the right side of the brain. Praying in Color has forever changed the way people pray--and will change your life, too.  "It would not be an overstatement to say that Praying in Color rescued my devotional life from nonexistence. . . . I've given away more copies of this book than I can count." --Lauren F. Winner  

Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: It's Impossible to be Spiritually Mature, While Remaining Emotionally Immature by Peter Scazzero MORE THAN 500,000 COPIES SOLD! A road map for discipleship with Jesus that is powerfully transformative. Peter Scazzero learned the hard way: you can't be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature. Even though he was the pastor of a growing church, he did what most people do--avoid conflict in the name of Christianity; ignore his anger, sadness, and fear; use God to run from God; and live without boundaries. Eventually God awakened him to a biblical integration of emotional health and the spiritual practice of slowing down and quieting your life for to experience a firsthand relationship with Jesus. It created nothing short of a spiritual revolution in Scazzero, in his church, and now in thousands of other churches. In this updated edition, Scazzero shares new stories and principles as he outlines his journey and the signs of emotionally unhealthy spirituality. Then he provides seven biblical, reality-tested steps to become emotionally mature: Become your authentic self Break the power of the past Let go of power and control Surrender to your limits Stop to breathe by practicing rest and Sabbath Learn new skills to love well Love Christ above all else Plus, check out the full line of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality books dedicated to many different key areas of life. Workbooks, study guides, curriculum, and Spanish editions are also available.

Didn't See It Coming: Overcoming the 7 Greatest Challenges that No One Expects and Everyone Experiences by Carey Nieuwhof An influential pastor, podcaster, and thought leader believes it's not only possible to predict life's hardest moments, but also to alter outcomes, overcome challenges, and defeat your fiercest adversaries. Founding Pastor of one of North America's most influential churches, Carey Nieuwhof wants to help you avoid and overcome life's seven hardest and most crippling challenges: cynicism, compromise, disconnectedness, irrelevance, pride, burnout, and emptiness. These are challenges that few of us expect but that we all experience at some point. If you have yet to confront these obstacles, Carey provides clear tools and guidelines for anticipation and avoidance. On the other hand, if you already feel stuck in a painful experience or are wrestling with one of these challenges, he provides the steps you need to find a way out and a way forward into a more powerful and vibrant future.

My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem

No Cure for Being Human (And Other Truths I Need to Hear) by Kate Bowler NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The bestselling author of Everything Happens for a Reason (And Other Lies I've Loved) asks, how do you move forward with a life you didn't choose? "Kate Bowler is the only one we can trust to tell us the truth."--Glennon Doyle, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Untamed It's hard to give up on the feeling that the life you really want is just out of reach. A beach body by summer. A trip to Disneyland around the corner. A promotion on the horizon. Everyone wants to believe that they are headed toward good, better, best. But what happens when the life you hoped for is put on hold indefinitely?  Kate Bowler believed that life was a series of unlimited choices, until she discovered, at age thirty-five, that her body was wracked with cancer. In No Cure for Being Human, she searches for a way forward as she mines the wisdom (and absurdity) of today's "best life now" advice industry, which insists on exhausting positivity and on trying to convince us that we can out-eat, out-learn, and out-perform our humanness. We are, she finds, as fragile as the day we were born.  With dry wit and unflinching honesty, Kate Bowler grapples with her diagnosis, her ambition, and her faith as she tries to come to terms with her limitations in a culture that says anything is possible. She finds that we need one another if we're going to tell the truth: Life is beautiful and terrible, full of hope and despair and everything in between--and there's no cure for being human.