Under the provocative title In Order to Grow, We Must Transgress, spiritual director Michael Simmons, writes: As soul companions, our work is to create space for this transgressive process, and welcome the shadow as it appears. ….Receiving our shadow brings about vitality to our relationships because it is necessarily inclusive to the fullness of our humanity, and we can only receive in another that which we’ve received in ourselves.
Looking to Jesus, Ignatian imaginative prayer, and employing a Jungian lens, Michael guides us through a process of befriending our emotions, positive transgression and transformation.
As a companion piece, we invite you to revisit our archives to meet author and spiritual director Tilden Edwards interviewed in 2004 by Gary Moon. Mid-way through their conversation titled Spiritual Director, Spiritual Companion: Guide to Tending the Soul, Edwards says, “This ongoing conversion process….also shows us something of the nature of divine love, where we’re given the freedom for the flaws and their consequences by the very nature of love, but where that love would draw us through the very flaws toward the realization of the great Love at the center of what is. Felix Culpa! Happy fault! Nothing is outside the orbit of grace. But it surely can feel like it until the grace is realized.”
We are grateful that spiritual directors are trained to companion us toward that realization.
You may also enjoy reading a few poems by James Reed. “Jim” is a psychologist who practices from a spiritually-sensitive perspective. He also offer a few reflections concerning each poem and how it might be helpful in “extending the session” with spiritual directee or counseling client.