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How to use this manual

With the exception of the introduction—which simply sets the scene and gives definition and direction to the rest of the work—this manual is broken down into small bite size modules for pondering, meditating, and responding. Each module reflects the same structure as the one before it. The content will be different and the focus will be unique.

I suggest you invest in the process by allowing yourself 20—30 minutes to sit with the material presented and then respond to it. The work here is one of seeing, feeling, and connecting. It is the work of interacting with stimulus and recognizing how it affects us within. It is the process that goes on in creating any great piece of art.

The work in each section revolves around a nature poem. Read it. Re-read it and then gather some focusing words from the discussion immediately following the poem. The discussion is meant to draw out some ideas and impressions that are left with us on reading the poem. The discussion will help us to find some ways in which the words have stirred things within us as well.

After the discussion there will be space to interact with some questions. This interaction is really how spiritual direction and formation is done. Good “Spiritual Direction and Formation” is nothing more than offering the seeker relevant questions to mull over. Through interaction we muddle around and give voice to unnamable things we are feeling and to hidden ways we are connecting with the words of the poem. You will be creating your own piece of art—through your interior interactions with the poems—that reflects your wanderings amid the topics presented.

Read the poem one more time before you begin to interact with the questions.

Because it is a spiritual retreat, you may be inclined to think of your responses as something other than art. But, they are your internal creations. A spiritual retreat helps us to create—within and around us—the life that we believe we are “called to” and “asked” to live. We are creating and that is art.

Find yourself a space that is conducive to silence and wonder. A spot by a lake, by a tree, or perhaps in your backyard. If you cannot find these things, then finding a piece of art or an object of nature that represents these things is fine. Find an awesome and magnificent view and prepare yourself to create anew the life you have been given—one breath and one day at a time.

The ideal setting would be for you to go away, to a retreat house, in the “wilds”. Spend time slowly walking and breathing in the air of the place. Take simple meals. Observe silence. Share this time with a few friends or go it alone. Maybe there is a family cabin, if there is no retreat house; or a friend’s vacation home on the beach or in the woods.

The journey of retreating is an age-old form of direction and formation. The silence and the focus allow us to uncover things that we may never have the chance to notice in our everyday lives. The questions give us pause to make connections and discoveries that we may easily miss in our routines. Go to your retreat and to your heart and wander.