21 Spiritual Direction courses

Life is hectic. Finding time out feels almost impossible. We want to pray, we want to reflect, but when we do find a snatched moment to ourselves, we remain distracted. I've designed this space to help you reconnect with your breath, to gently stretch your body, and to listen... to the voice of your inner wisdom, and to the voice of your Beloved.  We will meditate with Christian scripture, we will journal, we will use creative means to listen to the Spirit. We will share silence, we will move our bodies, we will sit with Love. A little time out, to check in. I hope you will come away feeling centred, refreshed and assured of your belovedness. Two hours at Leasowes Farm in Warwickshire, UK in a small group setting (max 8). Each month a new theme will be explored. Different dates in the same month will cover the same material. See the 'Virtual Mini Retreats' page for a Zoom-based version of the same retreat. "Come away with me to a quiet place" Mark 6:31 What Past Participants are Saying  "Lovely refreshing space to think, move and journal. Thank you." - Seringa "So grateful for 2 hours of guided calm led by Lissy. The barn at Leasowes farm provides the perfect place to relax and become still. Lissy ensured that we all felt comfortable with a gentle structure to the morning. Thank you." - Pam "Thank you so much for this wonderful session Lissy, which reminded me that my soul is such a multi-faceted place deep inside of me that is always being nourished with love." - Nikki The sessions will be shaped around the following themes this year: October: Teresa of Avila November: Letting Go December: Advent / Expectant Hope January: The Gifts of Winter Darkness February: Love March: Lent April: No Session May: Resurrection / Spring June: TBC July: The Gifts of Summer August: No Session Mini-Retreats are hosted by Lissy Clarke, spiritual director, yoga and meditation teacher best known for the weekly audio meditations at Contemplative at Home. Lissy and her family live at Leasowes Farm, a late 17th century farmhouse nestled in the Warwickshire countryside where they have developed the outbuildings to be used as a place for rest and retreat. We look forward to welcoming you here. NB: Mini-Retreats are FREE for members who support the show at £15/ month and above (thank you!! ✨) - but you must still register to secure a place on a particular date, as places are limited. Memberships can be started or stopped at any time. More information here.

Life is hectic. Finding time out feels almost impossible. We want to pray, we want to reflect, but when we do find a snatched moment to ourselves, we remain distracted. I've designed this space to help you reconnect with your breath, to gently stretch your body, and to listen... to the voice of your inner wisdom, and to the voice of your Beloved.  We will meditate with scripture, we will journal, we will use creative means to listen to the Spirit. We will sit with Love. I hope you will come away feeling centred, refreshed and assured of your belovedness.  Two hours, on Zoom. "Come away with me to a quiet place" The sessions will be shaped around the following themes this year: October: Teresa of Avila November: Letting Go December: Advent / Expectant Hope January: The Gifts of Winter Darkness February: Love March: Lent April: No Session May: Resurrection / Spring June: TBC July: The Gifts of Summer August: No Session You are invited to participate from the comfort of your own home. Ideally you'll be able to find a little space where you won't be interrupted. You might wish to ask those you share space with to help you protect this time by respecting your privacy. All who sign up will be sent a link to the recording of the retreat which will remain live until the following session. If you would like to participate via recording, simply register for the event. It would be great if you could let me know that you won't be with us in real time. Past Participants are Saying: "A really well led session allowing time for reflection and prayer." - Ellie Virtual Mini-Retreats are hosted by Lissy Clarke, Spiritual Director, Yoga Teacher and the voice behind the meditations at Contemplative at Home.  NB: Virtual Mini-Retreats are FREE for members who support the show at £15/ month and above (thank you!! ✨) - but you must still register to secure a place on a particular date, as places are limited. Memberships can be started or stopped at any time. More information here.

Creative and Courageous Conversation about Spiritual Direction in the 21st Century.  In this conversation, we will be pondering  How do we gracefully work ‘out of our depths’? Hosted by Chris Chapman

Creative and Courageous Conversation about Spiritual Direction in the 21st Century.  In this conversation, we will be pondering  How can we bring the gold of spiritual direction to a younger audience? Hosted by Sarah Lear

Creative and Courageous Conversation about Spiritual Direction in the 21st Century.  In this conversation, we will be pondering  How does being outdoors enhance and enrich the spiritual direction conversation? Hosted by Julia Mourant

Training Trainers of Spiritual Directors Developing the abilities needed to facilitate Spiritual Direction formation programmes

In the western world, we have been taught to favour logic and reason over the experiential ways of Wisdom. This poetic movement, evolving through energy within our bodies, is a flow and breath, bringing health and a way forward through our difficult paths. Personified as female in ancient sacred writings, Hokhmah in the Hebrew scriptures, and Sophia in the Greek, she is steeped in everyday experience and ordinary life, emerging through connecting to our senses, our emotions and spirituality. During this on-line space Helen will bring to life Holy Wisdom and ways to listen and encourage her intuitive ways. There will be ideas to open to our own ‘deep-body knowing’ and to experience this connection to divine Wisdom. Space will be given for individual reflection time, group discussion and questions. Helen Warwick is a Chaplain and Creative Therapist within the Community of Holy Rood House, Centre for Health and Pastoral Care, in Thirsk, North Yorkshire. Her work includes leading creative retreats and groups, working with people individually and supervision for pastoral workers. She is a trained Occupational Therapist and Spiritual Director with specialism in mental health, creativity, low energy, bereavement and trauma. As a writer Helen has published books by Kevin Mayhew, with her latest book ‘Wisdom Calls: Transformative Ways for Insightful Living’ published by Sacristy Press. https://www.sacristy.co.uk/books/prayer-spirituality/wisdom-calls

Creative and Courageous Conversation about Spiritual Direction in the 21st Century.  In this conversation, we will be pondering  Made in my image - a neurodiverse God? Hosted by Naomi Gates

Live group meetings will take place on Zoom on Sundays from 7-9pm GMT. To check your local time, please use a online time zone calculator such as this one. A Retreat in Daily Life is a way to find something of what you might experience on a residential retreat, with the difference being that you are at home, and the prayer experience is woven into the rhythm of your ordinary life.  The Contemplative at Home Retreat in Daily Life involves two components: Six days per week : Thirty to Forty-five minutes of daily personal prayer, with suggested meditations and reflection questions. One day per week : A two-hour Zoom call, to share with other pilgrims who are on retreat with you. Lissy hosts these sessions in a group spiritual direction format. Who is this for?This retreat is suitable for anyone who has (or has had) some kind of practice of Christian prayer, and is ready to explore a bit more of their faith, their prayer life or their relationship with God. This might be for you if you Would like to explore the contemplative prayer traditions of the Christian faith Are ready for something deeper in your relationship with God Hope to find God in new ways Would like some structure and support to help you reinstate a habit of daily prayer Would like to go away on retreat, but are unable to at the moment Enjoy Contemplative at Home meditations and want to connect with others who do as well Prayer MaterialMeditations from the Contemplative at Home archives are suggested for five days of the week, with an Examen or review practice on the sixth day of the week. Each week follows a slightly different theme. Week One: Introduction to Contemplative Prayer / Establishing your Routine Week Two: Lectio Divina / Listening to Scripture Week Three: Imaginative Contemplation / Encoutering Jesus  Week Four: Praying with the Psalms / My Life in God Prompts for reflection are also provided. Most of the meditations are around twenty minutes in length, with a suggested 15 minutes after the audio meditation for journalling or reflecting on your prayer experience.  Further Details and Commitment The times listed on the sign up link above reflect the time for the group calls. Please be aware of your local time zone. I work in the UK and times may be listed for GMT. There will be one call before the retreat begins, and one at the end of each week, for a total of 5 calls.  There will be a maximum of six participants in the group. Please check that you are able to attend all of the group sessions before you apply. The daily prayer can be done at any time that suits you but, if you don't already have a 30-45 minute window of time devoted to prayer each day, do take some time to think about when you might fit it in, for example: will you wake up earlier? Will you do it at lunch time? in the evening? How realistic is this? Is there a place in your house where you could sit to pray? Will those you share space with will be able to respect your commitment to the retreat? This won't be for everyone, but for those who are drawn to take part in this prayer experience, I have no doubt that it will be a positive and enriching time. I am really looking forward to sharing this space with you.  

A tiny oasis in the middle of your month, these 90-minute sessions will give you space to breathe, practice yoga, journal and relax.  A chance to check out of your busy life and check in with yourself. No yoga experience necessary, just a desire to have a little breather from it all. Aimed at anyone who needs some respite and would like to explore body, mind and soul practices in a gentle and non-threatening way.  A typical session might include: 40 mins gentle yoga asana 25 mins personal reflection (eg: journalling, walking meditation, or another creative prompt) 5 mins breath meditation 20 mins yoga nidra  We will be exploring the following themes this year: October: Teresa of Avila November: Letting Go December: Advent/ Expectant Hope January: The Gifts of Winter Darkness February: Love March: Lent April: No Session May: Spring/ Resurrection June: TBC July: The Gifts of Summer August: No Session My aim is that you will leave each session feeling more relaxed, centred and peaceful than when you arrived. I also hope that you will have a good night of sleep after you've been here! Location: These sessions are run in the barn on our property on the edge of Warwick. Detailed directions will be sent in advance of the sessions. The barn is best accessed by car.  As well as being a trained yoga teacher (CYT200), I am a spiritual director and retreat leader in the contemplative Christian tradition. These sessions are designed to be accessible to people of any faith persuasion or none.