LISTEN TO YOUR LIFE:
A SACRED VOICE IS CALLING
The Art of Opening to God in All of Life
Listen to Your Life is for those seeking to live in response to the Spirit. Through listening deeply to the many ways Spirit is present in our daily lives now, and also in our past experiences, we can discern invitations to next steps. This listening process provides foundations for discovering anew who you are today and for growing in response to the call of God to offer yourself in life-giving service.
This program also serves as the pre-requisite for application to the two-year Spiritual Direction Training program offered at Mercy Burlingame.
What is the theological stance that underlies this offering?
We believe that the Mystery we call God is fully present in any and all human experience and that our human vocation is to wake up to the truth and grace of that presence. We pay attention to that awakening in order to participate in the ongoing transformation of the world toward the desires of God’s heart – a work to which we are all invited.
Grounded in Christian faith and practice, we draw on the rich resources of other traditions as a complement. We trust that a work of the Spirit in our time is to go so deeply into one’s own faith tradition that we are touched by the one Spirit alive in each tradition. We find that developing a contemplative attitude and building a community are foundational elements within which the faithful life takes shape. For this reason we have designed our work together using the following elements.
A combination of:
Two weekend retreats at the Mercy Center Auburn to open and close the series.
Four monthly Saturday sessions (9am - 1pm), held over Zoom.
Four monthly two-hour mentor group meetings, also held over Zoom but in small groups.
This rhythm allows time and space for cultivating a contemplative attitude with others.
An integrative and holistic approach encompassing the whole human soul — body, mind, heart and spirit — evoking breadth and depth in life and experience of God.
Practice of ongoing personal self-reflection and corporate dialogue.
A participant-faculty ratio of no more than 6:1 to assure building of the essential experiential component of a ‘holding community’ needed for depth work.
What are you looking for in candidates?
We look for participants with an exploratory spirit and the willingness to be surprised. Because the capacity to be self-reflective about one’s ‘sacred story’ is a core component of our work, we prefer that candidates come with experience in an ongoing spiritual direction relationship. (Spiritual direction evokes a different kind of reflection than prayer partnerships, study or prayer groups, or mutual faith-sharing relationships.) We also require that participants commit to monthly spiritual direction throughout the program and so ask candidates to begin or re-engage spiritual direction right away. We can assist with referrals if that is helpful.
What level of commitment is required for participation in Listen to Your Life?
Participation in LTYL requires a sustained commitment to one’s personal formation, including attendance at all planned meetings, regular time for prayer and reflection, assigned reading, monthly spiritual direction, and completing a monthly reflection on your Circle of Life. Generally we assume 15 hours/month for Listen to Your Life.
There’s a question about “call” in the application form. What do you mean by that?
Frederick Buechner says that “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." The notion of calling emerges from the understanding that every person is created as a gift for the good of the whole. We see call as a 3-way partnership between God who creates and calls us to participate in the world, the person who says “Yes” to developing and expressing who they are, and the community who confirms the gift.
Because the spiritual journey is both personal and communal, we seek candidates who participate in a spiritual community. The application requires a recommendation from a leader in your community who can confirm your commitment to the journey.
What’s the process?
Submit your application for Listen to Your Life with a letter of recommendation and a non-refundable application fee of $50 to Bread of Life, 1260 Fulton Avenue, Suite A, Sacramento, CA 95825 (Attention: Listen to Your Life). After receipt, we will contact you for a personal interview.
What does the program cost?
The cost is $1500 which includes the cost of the two weekend retreats at Mercy Auburn, four Saturday morning sessions, and four monthly mentor group sessions.
We have limited scholarship assistance available and are willing to work with you to develop a payment plan. We encourage potential applicants to engage in conversation about their sense of desire/call within their spiritual communities to seek financial and spiritual support.
OUR FACULTY
We have an ecumenical staff with years of experience as spiritual directors, supervisors, and trainers of spiritual directors. We maintain a ratio of 6:1 students to faculty for a quality experience. Depending on class size some mix of the following will assume leadership.
Joan Stockbridge offers spiritual direction, leads retreats and facilitates groups at Mercy Retreat Center in Auburn. She has been on the faculty for Listen to Your Life since 2019. She received an Oracle Award from the National Storytelling Network in 2016 for leadership in transformative storytelling, the art of using stories for growth and healing. Trained in SoulCollage® and Focusing, she seeks ways to facilitate opening to the sacred. She was trained in spiritual direction at Bread of Life and follows a path of contemplative Christianity.
John Ensign, PhD, is a certified Jungian analyst and a clinical psychologist with four decades of experience across a wide range of settings. He received training as a spiritual director at the Bread of Life Center and the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation, and completed training in Ignatian spirituality at the Center for Ignatian Spirituality in Sacramento. He has studied widely in Christian spirituality and holds a master’s degree in theology from the University of San Francisco. A long-time meditator, he has trained with teachers from a variety of Christian and Buddhist contemplative traditions.
Darlene Carlson is a spiritual director and retreat facilitator. She has led numerous faith sharing and prayer groups for the past fourteen years and has over 24 years of experience both as a catechist and elementary school teacher. She trained in Spiritual Direction through The Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation and offers Spiritual Direction through Bread of Life.