Whenever you suffer with a grievance, fear, anger, indecision, the sense of unworthiness or any other type of upset, Awakening Together’s primary recommendation is that you go within to seek clarity and guidance. We also recommend going within through journaling. This recommendation is consistent with The Foundation for the Holy Spirit’s purpose, which is “to help individuals become Self-reliant with inner spiritual wisdom.” (Awakening Together is a means of achieving that purpose.)
However, sometimes a person is not able to get beyond a particular block alone, and he/she needs someone to talk to. If that’s the case, who is the best person to talk to?
According to Awakening Together’s Sacraments of Grace policy, which is consistent with state laws regarding counseling and emotional or mental therapy, the only members authorized to provide spiritual counseling for other members is an Awakening Together Ordained Minister.
This is what our policy says about spiritual counseling:
The Awakening Together standards and expectations regarding spiritual counseling are as follows:
1. Awakening Together ministers are authorized to provide spiritual counseling, but Awakening Together ministers are not marital counselors, family or troubled teen counselors, addiction counselors, psychological or clinical therapists or financial advisors and are not permitted to administer those types of counseling.
2. As a spiritual counselor/mentor, the Awakening Together minister acts as a temporary external form of spiritual wisdom for one who is having difficulty recognizing inner spiritual wisdom due to current mental and/or emotional obstacles.
3. The primary goal of the Awakening Together minister as a spiritual counselor/mentor is to help the individual become Self-reliant with inner spiritual wisdom. The two primary means for achieving this goal are:
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- Assisting the individual to let go of untruth.
- Helping the individual embrace truth and ideas that point toward truth.
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4. “Being an Awakening Together Minister”, which is a course in the Minister Preparation Program (MPP), details Awakening Together’s standards and expectations regarding spiritual counseling. Awakening Together ministers are required to follow the spiritual counseling criteria set forth in that course.
If you need to talk to someone for spiritual help, please select an Ordained Minister from our list of ministers on the website.
Note: A Licensed Minister is not ordained, has not completed the curriculum on spiritual counseling and is not authorized by our policy to provide spiritual counseling.
If you need help selecting a minister to talk with, contact us.
If you missed the Weekly Gathering about gossip, watch it on YouTube.
