I’ve just spent most of this past weekend at the Mystic South conference. As I was leaving the conference, I found myself musing over how I would explain to someone who wasn’t there what this conference is all about. This is a gathering of people drawn to Mystery and the spiritual life coming from many different and varied perspectives. Having said that, I suspect that the one thing most of us gathered there had in common was that somewhere along the way, we each have given ourselves permission to explore the vast universe of meaning in our lives using the pathways and tools and wisdom that avail themselves to us beyond conventional religious and spiritual means.

I found over the weekend that I was making new connections for myself through the people I met, the ideas I encountered, and the experiences I had. 

Experiencing deep connection with people was the easy part. Everywhere I turned from casual encounters to surprise meetings with people I’ve known for many years to deeper conversations with individuals I had just met, people to whom I gave my attention and who returned their attention to me shared the work of Spirit in their lives in so many ways. 

One of the most powerful experiences I had happened sitting in sessions and hearing the presenter offer ideas and understandings about the search for truth and meaning that affirmed my own ideas and at the same time, challenged and expanded them. I felt Spirit supporting me and nudging me at the same time. 

Finally, there were experiences of what I would describe as synchronicity that kept popping up throughout the conference that made me stop, notice, connect and begin to draw on new meaning in my life. 

Making connections is how we find and experience meaning in our lives. This conference reminded me of that in rich sorts of ways, and that in itself invites me to be on watch–for the connections I will continue to make with people, ideas and experiences in my every day. What and with whom are we connecting today?

~Robert Patrick

If these kinds of questions and experiences sound familiar, you might find spiritual direction a good way to explore them.  Here’s how to get started.