News Highlights “Seeking in the Company
of Others”
A longing to do God-talk as part of my daily life, with others similarly inclined, led me to chaplaincy training, a theology degree, and a training program in spiritual direction. Today, spiritual direction permits me much God-talk, but does not require the use of the word God. For me, the word god is a placeholder; it awaits naming flowing from deep contemplation and careful noticing. My directees and I offer many names to each other—the Divine, the Holy One, the Great Whatever, the Rock, the Source are but a few examples . . . . — Roslyn G. Weiner, a spiritual director at Hebrew College, and author of Seeking in the Company of Others: The Wisdom of Group Spiritual Direction, published by Spiritual Directors International Press
I have led spiritual direction groups and accompanied individuals for nearly two decades. My work is rooted in listening closely for the sacred whisperings within my soul and the souls of those who invite me to witness their seeking.
It is a special privilege to be one of the spiritual directors who accompany rabbinical and cantorial students at Hebrew College. This fall under the auspices of the Miller Center for Interreligious Learning and Leadership at Hebrew College and the Center for Practical Theology at Boston University, I have initiated a spiritual direction group for future clergy, both Jewish and Christian.
I wrote this book to share the fruits of 18 years of convening small groups of persons who want to notice more fully the sacred elements of ordinary life. The practice we explore and cultivate is an ancient one called spiritual direction.
I have created an innovation to that approach which is universal in its applicability and suitable for people of any religious tradition and/or spiritual leaning. Each month I write a curriculum which provides scaffolding within which participants are invited to journey deep within themselves while witnessing and supporting the journeying of others.
My book provides in its appendices pertinent material that can be used in establishing groups. I hope that readers will feel drawn to the process—some seeking training to be leaders and others to form groups and seek a guide to facilitate their seeking.
It is a distinct blessing to discover something about which one is passionate. The blessing is further enhanced when one embodies and shares that passion. Every time I meet with a group, I receive that blessing. This book is a Thanksgiving offering in gratitude for the trust and faith that God and the members of my groups have placed in me.
Roslyn G. Weiner, PhD, STM is a seasoned spiritual director and psychologist. A member of both Temple Emanuel of Newton MA and the Jewish Community of Amherst MA, she received a PhD in psychology from Yale University and an STM degree from the School of Theology, Boston University. In 1998, she completed a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at Massachusetts General Hospital; in 2003, she completed Lev Shomea: Cultivating a Hearing Heart, an Institute for Spiritual Direction and the Jewish Tradition, a two-year training program for spiritual directors. She has been a member of an interreligious peer supervision group for spiritual directors for twenty years and works as a spiritual directors with Hebrew College rabbinical and cantorial students .