Resources for the Journey

Spiritual direction is a contemplative practice of accompaniment — a trained companion listens with you for where God is already at work in your life, helping you notice, name, and respond to the movement of the Spirit in ordinary and extraordinary moments alike. It is not counseling or advice-giving, but a sacred space of deep listening.

Two trusted guides for this work:

Wild Soul Collective  —  A Boulder-based spiritual direction practice offering individual direction, Circles of Trust®, and retreats rooted in Parker Palmer's Courage & Renewal approach.

Anam Cara Ministries  —  Trains and provides spiritual directors in the Celtic Christian contemplative tradition — “anam cara” means “soul friend.”

If you'd like help finding the right spiritual director, reach out to will@allsoulsboulder.org.

Spiritual formation and mental health care are companions, not substitutes for one another. If you're looking for a counselor or therapist, we maintain a list of trusted, licensed providers in the Boulder area — including several who share our values and work well alongside a faith-informed life.

To request our counseling referral list, please contact the deacons at deacons@allsoulsboulder.org.

The Enneagram is a map of nine core patterns of seeing, feeling, and defending the self. Rather than a personality test, it is best used as a spiritual practice: a way of noticing our habitual patterns with compassion so we can grow into greater freedom and love.

Adam Bailon  —  A Certified Narrative Enneagram Teacher and longtime member of the All Souls community, Adam works one-on-one using the Enneagram as a map to help people notice, name, and find freedom from habitual ways of being.

The Narrative Enneagram  —  The national training organization behind the narrative tradition Adam teaches in — offering workshops, panels, and certification in the Enneagram as a tool for spiritual growth and self-understanding.

Books:

A Hidden Wholeness  by Parker Palmer  —  The book behind the Circles of Trust approach — on living an undivided life and the disciplines that protect the soul in community.

Falling Upward  by Richard Rohr  —  A theology of the two halves of life, and how failure, loss, and struggle can become the doorway into a larger, freer faith.

Soulcraft  by Bill Plotkin  —  A depth-psychological, nature-based map of the descent to soul — foundational to the wilderness rites work behind Wild Soul Collective retreats.

Sabbaths  by Wendell Berry  —  A collection of Sunday poems written while walking Berry's Kentucky farm — quiet, earthy, contemplative verse.

New Seeds of Contemplation  by Thomas Merton  —  A modern classic of Christian contemplative practice, on finding the true self hidden beneath the false self we perform for the world.

The Prophetic Imagination  by Walter Brueggemann  —  A foundational text on how prophetic voice — grief and hope together — forms an alternative consciousness to the dominant culture.

Open Mind, Open Heart  by Thomas Keating  —  The foundational text on Centering Prayer by one of its founders — a practical guide to the wordless prayer practice behind Contemplative Outreach.

This Here Flesh  by Cole Arthur Riley  —  A luminous memoir-in-essays on faith, embodiment, and the stories passed down through her grandmother and father — from the creator of Black Liturgies.

Joy Unspeakable  by Barbara A. Holmes  —  A landmark study of contemplative practice in the Black Church — silence, ecstatic worship, and communal wisdom as spiritual disciplines in their own right.

When the Heart Waits  by Sue Monk Kidd  —  A tender, honest account of a midlife spiritual crisis and the slow, unglamorous work of transformation it required.

Life of the Beloved  by Henri Nouwen  —  A short, tender meditation on claiming your identity as beloved by God, written for a secular friend — deceptively simple, endlessly re-readable.

Anam Cara  by John O'Donohue  —  A lyrical exploration of Celtic spirituality and friendship — “anam cara” means “soul friend,” the term Wild Soul Collective and Anam Cara Ministries both draw on.

Learning to Walk in the Dark  by Barbara Brown Taylor  —  A case for “lunar spirituality” — finding God's presence in uncertainty, unknowing, and the dark, rather than only in clarity and light.

Does Jesus Really Love Me?  by Jeff Chu  —  A journalist's cross-country pilgrimage into the intersection of faith, sexuality, and belonging — part memoir, part portrait of American Christianity in tension.

Jesus and the Disinherited  by Dr. Howard Thurman  —  A short, foundational work reading the gospel as good news for the marginalized and dispossessed — the book Dr. King carried during the Montgomery bus boycott.

Peace Is Every Step  by Thich Nhat Hanh  —  Accessible, practical teaching on mindfulness in ordinary life, from the Vietnamese Zen teacher who helped bring contemplative practice to the West.

Podcasts

Turning to the Mystics  (James Finley)  —  A slow, meditative exploration of Christian mystics like Meister Eckhart and Julian of Norwich, from a former student of Thomas Merton.

Everything Belongs  (Center for Action and Contemplation)  —  Conversations rooted in Richard Rohr's teaching on contemplation, wholeness, and belonging, hosted by CAC's team of teachers and poets.

On Being  (Krista Tippett)  —  Long-form conversations on the spiritual and philosophical questions at the center of human life.

Poetry Unbound  (Pádraig Ó Tuama)  —  Short, close readings of a single poem each episode — a gentle contemplative practice in audio form.

The Way Out Is In  (Br. Pháp Hữu & Jo Confino, Plum Village)  —  Conversations from Thich Nhat Hanh's monastic tradition on mindfulness, suffering, and applying contemplative practice to everyday life.

Everything Happens  (Kate Bowler)  —  Honest, often funny conversations on living through hard times, from a Duke Divinity historian who was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer at 35.

We're grateful to partner with — and point people toward — these organizations and guides for contemplative practice and inclusive community.

Center for Action and Contemplation  —  Richard Rohr's teaching center on contemplative Christian spirituality, offering daily meditations, courses, and podcasts.

Contemplative Outreach  —  Teaching and local groups for learning and practicing Centering Prayer within the Christian contemplative tradition.

Courage & Renewal  —  Parker Palmer's national organization offering Circles of Trust retreats to help people in service professions reconnect their role and their soul.

Living Room Conversations  —  A simple, structured format for honest conversation across differences — useful within the congregation and beyond it.

On Being  —  Krista Tippett's long-running project exploring the spiritual and philosophical questions at the center of human life through conversation and poetry.

Small Church Big Table  —  Coaching and resources for faith leaders exploring LGBTQ+ inclusion, helping congregations discern their own path with theological honesty and grace.

The Grove: A Center for Healing and Wholeness  —  A Boulder County nonprofit offering accessible counseling, healing-arts practitioners, and community classes for mind, body, heart, and soul.