Orienting Yourself Toward a Posture of Discernment

4/12/22

Dear friend,

As I continue to orient myself to a new twofold identity of being both a spiritual director and a leader—I wrote about this in one of my recent letters, which is available here if you missed it—I'm gaining even more clarity that my primary posture toward those I lead is that of discernment.

Discernment.

Is this a word that's familiar to you? Is it a word you've heard but don't quite know what it means? Is it something that guides and grounds your life?

(It totally guides and grounds my life.)

It is absolutely okay if you aren't quite sure what discernment means. You would not be anywhere near alone in that—and that's because discernment isn't something our culture talks about, values, or even considers. It's not a word in our cultural lexicon. It's even less a part of the prevailing value system of the world in which we live.

On top of that, despite it being a spiritual practice and posture, discernment is not often mentioned—much less even taught—in our faith and religious spaces.

So if you don't know what it means—if you feel like the only one in the group who didn't get the memo—I can assure you you're not alone.

Let's talk about it, then.

What is discernment, and why might you value practicing it? Why might you be someone who already practices it (at least to some degree) without even realizing it?

Discernment is a spiritual approach to making decisions in your life.

Discernment is about believing in a spiritual reality—you might call this reality God, but your own name for it works just fine—that wants to shape and guide and accompany you through your life and its activity, decisions, and movements.

When you come to moments of decision, discernment helps you listen for the invitation that's yours. What's being invited of you here? How are you being invited to respond? What are you being invited to do?

It's deeply intimate and personal to you, and it's very much connected to your ability to listen to your voice, the voice of the Divine, and the voices of others.

When I speak of "orienting yourself toward a posture of discernment" (which is the subject line of this email), I'm inviting you to consider living your whole life in this way. What would it be like for you to make decisions or respond to what's happening right in front of you from a posture of discernment—of listening for the invitation in that moment or with that decision?

Now, this isn't about having to stop and pray about every single movement in your day—even decisions about what to eat for lunch. 😉

It is about believing in a relational reality (this includes the relationship you have with yourself, with the Divine Presence, and with others) that matters and informs how you choose to move through your life and your days.

I mentioned that you might already practice discernment without knowing that's what you were doing. Here's what I mean by that.

Are you someone who pauses to check in with herself about how to respond to something—maybe an unexpected email you received, an abrupt encounter with someone at your child's school, an invitation to lead a new ministry at your church?

Are you someone who stops to pray with a decision put before you?

Are you someone who takes time to share your heart with wise ones in your life and receive their wisdom and noticings about what you shared?

These can all be ways discernment looks, or part of a discernment posture toward how you live and engage with and respond to your life.

Let's talk more about all this in the coming weeks.

For now, what questions do you have about discernment? What struggles do you have with it? Does it evoke concerns for you at all?

I'd be so happy to hear the responses you have. You can hit reply, and what you share will come directly to me.

Yours in contemplative light,
Christianne