Beyond the Basics
Ongoing education and training for Spiritual Directors
Refresh - Grow - Bloom
Includes learning, a contemplative community and practices, experiential training, practical topics and more
Come join our contemplative community, where taking the time for quiet and talking about deep things is the norm. Quench that longing for a refresher or improve some of your skills as a Spiritual Director, while being supported and encouraged. Join us in Beyond the Basics.
Beyond the Basics Come and See Session
Friday, November 6, 2027 - 12:00 noon CT - ONLINE
Click here to register
What is Beyond the Basics?
Beyond the Basics is a Christian ecumenical program that rests on the premise that we continue to receive and grow the gift of being able to be present and listen to another’s story in a healthy way; through our own prayerful practices, ongoing education, peer support, skill development in supervision, and our continued contemplative experience of God as Director.
At Christos, we present Beyond the Basics in three online units (six sessions each), which may be taken independently or in any sequence. More than simply a book study, Beyond the Basics expands on original Spiritual Direction curriculum to further develop Directors with skills, insights and experience.
As a Beyond the Basics attendee, you will grow and gain competence through:
Further development in the art of Spiritual direction; ability and skills to listen respond, and discern during the sessions and beyond
Continued developing knowledge of scripture, prayer practices and ways to enhance and engage in sessions
Gaining flexibility and wisdom in places where directees may be in resistance, dark nights of the soul, movements in stages of faith and prayer, liminal spaces, changing images of God, mental health issues, and other common areas
An understanding of beginning theory and practice of Supervision and commitment to soul care
What would you like to see in our Beyond the Basics curriculum? Click below to take a quick survey.
Click the video at right to hear from Beyond the Basics Coordinator Cecilia Whitacre
Content. We will look at practical topics such as how to find directees, set up a practice, create a retreat, bring spiritual direction to your church/community, etc. You will also enjoy a small group component that will enhance your understanding and give experiential practice time for tools and skills development, within that most important practice of peer supervision. You will have a trained, experienced Spiritual Director facilitating your group.
Attendees. This program is for any Spiritual Director whether you’ve just been seeing directees for a little while or have been offering direction for years. Both beginning and advanced directors will benefit from the materials. Christian Spiritual Directors from Christos and other organizations are welcome.
Timing - The following units are planned for 2027:
Winter / Spring Unit: January - April 2027
Summer Unit: June - August 2027
Fall Unit: September - November 2027
You may take units individually, or all three. Each unit will have fresh content, utilize a different classic book on spiritual direction (not already read in TTH) and need not be taken in a particular order.
Cost : $495 for Christos alumni; $595 for non-alumni per unit. There is a discount for early registration. The unit cost includes a $50 non-refundable cancellation fee.
What does Beyond the Basics include?
FAQ
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No, each unit (see below for unit decriptions) may be taken on its own without any prerequisites.
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This course is for both new and experienced spiritual directors who want to reconnect with their practice, develop their unique voice, and expand their vision for Spiritual Direction in the wider church and community. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to reinvigorate your practice, this course will offer insights, practical answers and support.
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Stable internet and access to Zoom; a quiet space where you can reflect, engage and participate in the exercises during class; time and space outside of class for reading (we will take our time and read one book over three months) reflection and light assignment practices.
Beyond the Basics - Unit Descriptions
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Workbook – Spiritual Direction: A Practical Introduction ©2008 by Sue Pickering. Unit 1 topics include:
Spiritual Direction: what does it look like in actual practice? What makes a good director? Practicing the skills
Listening to God. Knowing how God communicates, how do we know it’s God, awareness and presence
Discernment. Recognizing God in religious experience and in the everyday of the directee
Responding to God. Working with our directees changing prayer, symbols, intimacy with God
Listening and Responding to Ourselves. Self-knowledge, the body, red flag areas, therapy, self-care for the director
Listening and Responding to Others...in places of disappointment, pain, trauma, abuse, transitions, crisis, blocks, sexuality, transference & counter-transference, grief, dark nights, etc.
Practical Spiritual Direction in churches, pastoral ministry, group direction, retreats and other context
Supervision. Supervision as gift and necessity
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Please purchase the following books for the class:
Spiritual Direction: A Guide for Sharing the Father’s Love by Acklin & Hicks / Please read the beginning forwards and Chapter 1 before our first class.
Attention / Intention 40-day Praxis booklet - This can be purchased through Contemplative Outreach. Optional - You are invited to use this as a devotional throughout Unit 2.
https://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/
Spiritual direction basics reviewed: fundamentals, structure of a meeting. One-on-One and groups
Vulnerability. Sharing, patience, setting the pace, what makes for vulnerable sharing
Listening. The challenges, self-monitoring, working models
Communicating. Affirmation, resistance, validation, some particular challenges, wrapping up a session, confession
Guidance for Prayer. Tools, discernment, mission, charisms
Passages in prayer and movements in the spiritual life. The three ways, Ignatian insights, dark nights
Psychological models and healing. Insights from psychology, woundedness, our role in healing prayer, emotions
The spiritual director. Qualities, experience, self-awareness, areas of struggle; pride, anger, inadequacy, boredom, and ongoing formation
Supervision. Its benefits and necessity
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WINTER/SPRING UNIT - Listening to Self: Exploring the Contemplative Dimensions Book: Sacred is the Call/ Suzanne Buckley, editor.
Optional Devotional Contemplative Service, 40-Day Praxis, purchased through Contemplative Outreach
https://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/product/contemplative-service-a-40-day-praxis-booklet/
Winter/Spring Topics include:
the human experience of God, our assumptions and mental filters
the mystery of God's presence
hearing with the heart/contemplative listening
prayer and the directee, prayer in the session and prayer & the director
faithfulness and growth in prayer, types of prayer
waiting & staying with the movements of God
running from God, resistance
the contemplative dimensions of the spiritual director
supervision, its necessity and life-giving dynamics
and many other practical topics!
Questions?
Please contact Cecilia Whitacre, Tending the Holy Chicago / Beyond the Basics Program Coordinator, cecilia @christoscenter.org.