About Aelea

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So far Aelea has created 129 blog entries.

Soul Nourishing Practice: Prayer of Lament

Life. Sometimes, it feels like life is happening with us and for us and it feels full of joy and freedom and love and goodness. Other times, it feels like life is happening against or without us and it feels full of grief, sadness, being alone, feeling rejected or left behind. The unexpected twists and turns, the best laid plans falling apart before our eyes, and learning to navigate a [...]

Easter Sunday Imaginative Prayer

An Imaginative Prayer Practice for Easter Sunday. This imaginative prayer practices invites you to into the story of the women on Easter Sunday. Follow the instructions below to engage in a meaningful time of prayer.   1. Find Stillness. Find a comfortable seat and silence the noise around you so you can be fully present here and now. Acknowledge the presence of God meeting you in the place where you [...]

Good Friday Imaginative Prayer

An Imaginative Prayer Practice for Good Friday This imaginative prayer practices invites you to into the story of  the women after Jesus' crucifixion. Follow the instructions below to engage in a meaningful time of prayer.   1. Find Stillness. Find a comfortable seat and silence the noise around you so you can be fully present here and now. Acknowledge the presence of God meeting you in the place where you [...]

Palm Sunday Imaginative Prayer

An Imaginative Prayer Practice for Palm Sunday This imaginative prayer practices invites you to into the story of Palm Sunday, the story where Jesus rides a donkey into Jerusalem. Follow the instructions below to engage in a meaningful time of prayer.   1. Find Stillness. Find a comfortable seat and silence the noise around you so you can be fully present here and now. Acknowledge the presence of God meeting [...]

Energy Flows

I don’t recall the first time I heard about the 7-chakra system… probably because it wasn’t anything I found contrary to the kind of language about energy within the body that I had heard when I was growing up…   I grew up hearing the language of energy moving through the body. The energy within your body could be used to determine the percentage your organs were functioning at, the [...]

Who is Spiritual Direction for?

This blog is part of a series on Spiritual Direction designed to answer questions about the practice of Spiritual Direction. Click here to see the full FAQ Series.   How do I know if I should see a spiritual director? Do I need to be at a certain point in my faith journey? Is it just for people new to faith? Or is it just for people who have been [...]

What are the benefits of meeting with a Spiritual Director?

This blog is part of a series on Spiritual Direction designed to answer questions about the practice of Spiritual Direction. Click here to see the full FAQ series.   When we first start a new practice, it’s often because there’s a result we are seeking; when we start a meditation practice, we may be seeking a sense of calm. When we start a movement practice, we may be seeking heart [...]

What is a session of Spiritual Direction like?

This blog is part of a series on Spiritual Direction designed to answer questions about the practice of Spiritual Direction. Click here to see the full FAQ series.   Entering into a new experience can be stressful. Whether you’re excited, nervous, or a mixture of both, having a baseline of what to expect can be helpful to find a sense of calm as you arrive.   I remember entering into [...]

Common Misconceptions about Spiritual Direction

This blog is part of a series on Spiritual Direction designed to answer questions about the practice of Spiritual Direction. Click here to see the full FAQ series.   What IS spiritual direction; Do you just tell me what to do? Will you just answer all my questions about faith and God? Do I just ask you all my big questions and you tell me the answers or tell me [...]

Spiritual Direction, Therapy/Counselling, and Life Coaching

This blog is part of a series on Spiritual Direction designed to answer questions about the practice of Spiritual Direction. Click here to see the full FAQ series.   When we first hear the words spiritual direction, and perhaps begin to engage in a conversation about this practice with others, questions of how it fits into a spectrum of care offerings emerges. Is it similar to life coaching but specifically [...]