Trust your inner wisdom to know if this is the next step to take on your spiritual journey.
“What the soul knows how to seek it cannot fail to attain.” Margaret Fuller
Welcome
I’m Marianne Cotter, a spiritual director living in Baraboo, Wisconsin. My mission is to offer a safe place for you to discover the beauty and wonder of your spiritual journey. If anything you read here sparks your curiosity, let’s be in touch via email. Thanks for taking time to learn about what I am offering. I hope to hear from you.
What is spiritual Direction?
Spiritual direction is time spent talking about spiritual and religious questions with a trusted person. It is for people of faith and for people of no religious affiliation The spiritual director creates a space for the seeker to explore whatever is going on in their life. This is done through listening in a nonjudgmental way, being fully present, and asking open-ended questions. Over time, the seeker often gains a greater awareness of how to live in alignment with what matters most in their life. The result can be greater freedom and authenticity, even joy.
How does Spiritual Direction work?
Seekers contact me and we arrange an exploratory meeting. In this free one-hour session, I listen for what is stirring in the other person. Then we discuss what spiritual direction is and is not, whether we’ll meet on ZOOM or in person, scheduling issues, and other housekeeping items. If the seeker wants to give it a try, we schedule another meeting. Typically, we’d meet monthly. My fee is $50 per session and there is a sliding scale available.
What Spiritual Direction Is Not
Spiritual direction is not therapy. Clients don’t come with a problem to be solved or a mental health issue to be addressed. Spiritual direction is not pastoral counseling. When I was a pastor, people sometimes came to me for counseling. My counseling was rooted in biblical images and United Methodist theology. As a spiritual director, I see my role as being quite different. It’s not my job to share my beliefs; it’s your beliefs that are front and center. It is, however, my role to sprinkle readings, poems, songs, or images into our conversation which I believe might help you gain insight into your life experience.
Spiritual direction is not grief counseling. Maybe you are going through a tough time as you grieve a loss and need help from someone to work through your feelings, thoughts, and plans for what’s next for your life. As a spiritual director, I do not have the skills set of a grief counselor. However, I have the life experience of being a pastor for a total of thirty years, and I have helped many people move through times of grief. It may be possible that three or four sessions with a spiritual director could be helpful as you journey through your grief to what lies ahead of you. That will be for you to decide.