Active Imagination:
In this component you will experience your own imagery and its wisdom through various means, including music, art, meditation and touch drawing. You will learn to trust that each image that sparks energy for you contains a message, a wisdom from within. Once broken open, these images enrich your personal life, relationships, family and community.

Focusing:
Your interior has an incredible desire to be listened to...not talked to, not scolded, not preached to. Through the skill of focusing, you will re-learn a natural ability, one that has often been forgotten or blocked, to be in relationship with your inner self. You will learn to reverently and without judgment listen to your life experiences and hear the wisdom your body desires to convey. This process, while it doesn’t change exterior things, creates interior healing through acceptance and compassion.

Life Issues in Ministry:
Serious life issues affect us all. This component is designed to familiarize you with the implications surrounding a wide range of these issues, including: Family of Origin, Chemical Dependency, Conflict Management, Sexuality, Sexual Abuse, African American Spirituality and Psychological, Moral, Legal and Ethical issues in Spiritual Direction. A vital part of this component is applying newly-gained knowledge in ways that help you to process each topic as it touches your own life and the lives of others you encounter as spiritual director, counselor, family member or friend.

No other spiritual direction training program provides the breadth and depth of the supervised practical application of skills of the full-time intensive ISL program.

You will learn to listen and observe with both head and heart, to make sound judgments in an empathetic way and offer them in a manner that invites others to discern interior movements. This experiential learning brings a deep level of reverence to ministry and leadership.

You will learn through the actual experience of companioning another, with the support of both individual and peer supervision and the use of audio and video taping. Training draws on the insights of contemporary developmental and depth psychologies, helping you come to know the textures and terrains of human experience in the spiritual journey, the dynamics of personal transformation and your own dynamics as you companion another.

This extensive practicum provides unparalleled hands-on experiences in a number of settings to enable you to companion another confidently and competently.

Spiritual Direction Practicum:
Important to each intensive ISL program are specially constructed spiritual direction sessions containing program participants and a staff supervisor. You will be involved in two or more of these groups; as spiritual director, directee or as observer. This extensive involvement in the process provides you with in-depth experience that prepares you to companion another confidently and competently. You will learn from the observations of your supervisor and peer observer, as well as from your own observations and experience in providing spiritual direction.

Outside Directees:
You will have another opportunity to practice the skills of spiritual direction by meeting one-on-one with a directee from outside of ISL. These sessions are audiotaped so that this hands-on experience can be further enlightened by the input from your peers and supervisor.

Peer Supervision:
You will meet with fellow participants and a staff supervisor on a weekly basis to share experiences from meetings with outside directees. By sharing partial transcripts, segments of the audiotape or process notes, you can learn from each other regarding alternative interpretations, approaches to assisting the directee and how your own areas of growth impact the dynamic of your relationship with the directee. Direct application of elements learned in other areas of the program are highlighted.

Individual Supervision:
Participants receive thoughtful input from staff supervisors in two forums:

• Spiritual Direction Practicum
  Immediate input from a staff supervisor is one of the key benefits of this practicum experience in helping you to refine your spiritual direction skills.
• Personal Supervision
  In addition, a staff supervisor will be assigned as your personal and professional resource. The supervisor’s objective is to help you discern your calling and refine your skills in companioning others. This is done in individual monthly sessions during which you and your supervisor reflect on recent experiences with your Outside Directee in light of your own life stories. The dynamics of your relationship and the issues involved are explored in order to provide insights and guidance for on-going Spiritual Direction.

Retreat Direction:
As a participant in the full-time weekday intensive program, you also will receive experience in companioning a directee in a guided retreat setting during the two-week “Lenten Retreat with Scripture”. Over the course of the retreat, which includes opening and closing sessions and rituals, you meet with your directee(s) for approximately five hours to share and heighten prayer experiences.

Professional Compentencies Gained