Abstract
The core feature of the spiritual life is human and divine desiring. Understanding and facing our desires as well as comprehending the desires of the Divine, remain a struggle for the human soul. Spiritual directors are likely to spend a considerable amount of time on this struggle and need to develop great skill in recognizing and responding to their directees’ desire for God and in helping them discern and unveil the illusory desires. This article explores the theories and insights of the spiritual stage theory from Islam through Sufism using the psychology of Al-Hakim al Tirmidhi and Christianity through Teresa of Avila, and the spiritual direction best suited for spiritual directees at the different stages. The exchange of both of these approaches presented here can perhaps enrich the spiritual directors’ style to travellers along the spiritual journey who come to them for direction. This mystical spirituality, articulated in Sufism from the Stations (maqamat) of Hakim Al-Tirmidhi and the mansions of Teresa of Avila, though experienced within different spiritual frameworks, brings a commonality in the exchange between them. Their experience of God both as directees and as Shaykh or Spiritual Director has much to offer to present day spiritual directors.
Highlights
PhilipsUnderstanding and facing our desires remains a struggle for the human soul. It is so prevalent in human experience and in the human heart that spiritual directors are likely to spend a considerable amount of time on focusing on the directees’ desires
The core feature of the spiritual life is human and divine desiring
It is so prevalent in human experience and in the human heart that spiritual directors are likely to spend a considerable amount of time on focusing on the directees’ desires
Summary
Understanding and facing our desires remains a struggle for the human soul. It is so prevalent in human experience and in the human heart that spiritual directors are likely to spend a considerable amount of time on focusing on the directees’ desires. This article explores the theories and insights of the spiritual stage theory from Islam through Sufism using the psychology of Al-Hakim al Tirmidhi and Christianity through Teresa of Avila, and the spiritual direction best suited for spiritual directees at the different stages The exchange of both of these approaches presented here can perhaps enrich the spiritual directors’ style to travellers along the spiritual journey who come to them for direction. The breast is the outermost circle, the heart and the inner heart are in the two middle circles and the kernel of the heart is at the center It can be pictured below: Each station is associated with different spiritual stages in Sufism, different levels of knowledge and understanding and different levels of self and levels of the heart in the journey of the soul.[5]
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