David Gormong

Sometimes what we need most is someone to listen. Really listen.

When our hearts are broken, when we wonder if we’ve lost our way, we need someone to listen. When we feel heard, we begin to hear ourselves. The chatter in our heads quiets down. We begin to sense the next step of our way forward.

This is the benefit of having a spiritual guide – not that a guide offers you their guidance, which probably wouldn’t help anyway, but that they listen. And they help you listen to what one writer called “the inner voice of love.” They hear you into hearing your own inner wisdom. They see you into seeing your own way forward.

Spiritual guidance is a contemplative approach to ongoing self-care. Expect some gentle questions, encouragement in a contemplative practice such as meditation, maybe a story or two, and lots of listening. Occasionally there might be some silence, just time to be present to yourself and to the divine within.

A spiritual guide holds contemplative space. Think of how a mother holds and nourishes in her womb a potential life not yet fully formed. By holding contemplative space for you, a guide mentors you in how to hold yourself. You come to see yourself, your relationships, and all you do through wise and compassionate eyes. You learn to be present, and follow your inner guidance system. In short, spiritual guidance is an apprenticeship in contemplative living.

I’m an interspiritual guide. I draw on the resources of several meditative and mystical traditions. My deepest roots are in Christian spirituality, with an MA in Spirituality from St. John’s University (MN) and doctoral coursework at Catholic University (DC). I draw insights and practices from other traditions too – Hinduism, Buddhism, Sufism, and Daoism, among others. I appreciate too the insights of science and psychology. I hold a Certificate in Interspiritual Guidance from the Spiritual Guidance Training Institute. I will honor however you name the divine.

Some of my clients are, like me, LGBTQ+, or HSP (highly sensitive persons). Most happen to be men, some young, some closer to my age. Some are pastors as I used to be. Others don’t belong to any spiritual community. Most of us have had our hearts broken along the way, sometimes by religion. For some it’s been challenging to find a path that fits. It helps to talk with someone who understands.

The first session is free. It gives both of us a chance to explore whether we’re a good fit. Beyond that, most clients meet with me once a month, more frequently if desired, for an hour or so by video. Payments are $75 per session, though lower rates are available for clients less able to pay.

To learn more, email dgormong@gmail.com. We can set up a video session to explore what would serve you best. You can learn more about spiritual guidance at SDI Companions. As a member of SDI, I subscribe to their Guidelines for Ethical Conduct. I’ll be happy to tell you more about my training and supervision when we talk.

Feel free to follow me on Instagram: @davidgormong. And don’t hesitate to set up a time to talk.

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It is no mean consolation in this life
to have someone in whom your spirit may rest,
to whom you can pour out your soul.
~ Aelred of Rievaulx

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