TRANSFORMATIONAL LISTENING 2:
TRAINING IN CHRISTIAN SPIRITUAL DIRECTION

Current participants can access TL2 blog here

“A Spiritual Director is not a counselor, a therapist or an analyst, but a mature fellow Christian to whom we choose to be accountable for living our spiritual life and from whom we can expect prayerful guidance in our constant struggle to discern God’s activity.”
— Henri Nouwen

What is TL2?

TL2 is a 2 year certificate training program in the art of Christian Spiritual Direction. It is structured around monthly community life as we journey together in our training & support of one another. The first year of this program is, TL1 Soul Care Companions which you can learn more about here.

The second year of TL2 is a 10-month journey seeking to train individuals called to the ministry of Christian Spiritual Direction in the context of a supportive & encouraging community. As directors, our lives need to reflect a purposeful desire to become like Christ. Learning to pay attention to our own spiritual yearnings is foundational to accompanying others on their journeys of faith. TL2 is both a place of training & a place for your own journey to unfold. 

Topics

TL2 will offer an experiential learning environment combining a balance of knowledge with contemplative practices. We will seek to notice & respond to God’s presence in our own lives while exploring topics that broaden & expand our understanding of the ministry of Spiritual Direction. Topics will include but are not limited to:

  • History of Spiritual Direction

  • Contemplative Life

  • Discernment

  • Spiritual & Psychological Issues

  • Stages of Growth in Spiritual Formation

  • Christian Mysticism & the Experience of God

  • Authenticity, Integrity, Ethics

  • "My experience in TL1 (Transformational Listening) & TL2 (Spiritual Direction) has been a beautiful time of learning, growth, discernment, & transformation...This time of training has honed my rough edges & strengthened both my love of God & my ability to discern God's desires for me. I'm grateful to have chosen the PAX Center for my spiritual direction training."

    MARISSA S.

  • "I had a wonderful experience with TL2! I...quickly found that I was able to connect well with the others in my cohort & that my ability to learn & grow was not at all hindered by being online. It was such a gift to walk & grow with other future spiritual directors, & I absolutely feel prepared to continue on in this ministry now that I have finished my training. I am thankful for all that I learned, as well as for the community that I developed."

    SHAUNA KURIHARA

  • "The TL2 experience has brought me to a fuller, deeper expression of my life in God, & has broadened sense of compassion for self & others in our complex world. It was a graceful dance of challenge, affirmation, & growing together in this art of spiritual direction. "

    AMY SHARON

  • "I had been searching for a training in Spiritual Direction for a while. I had training in spiritual formation, but wanted more of a laser-focused class. I had read books on my own. I had my own spiritual director. But this class brought teaching from deeply experienced directors. It pulled in books for discussion that I hadn't even encountered...It created a network of friends & fellow directors. It provided peer & mentoring supervision to guide us as we grew...I would recommend this (& already have!) to anyone seeking dive into spiritual directing as well as those already walking that way but need to hone the spiritual craft of their gifting."

    HEIDI D.

Group & Individual Supervision

A key component of the course is what is referred to as supervision. In supervision, directors attend to their own inner movements & responses to the directee during sessions & in prayer. TL2 includes both peer group & individual supervision.

Course Requirements

  • Saturday monthly meetings from 10:00a.m. to 4:00p.m EST.

  • Mid-journey retreat

  • Readings & reflection papers

  • Group & individual supervision

  • Serve as a spiritual director for at least 2 people

  • Meet monthly with your own spiritual director

Location & Dates

Please note, this cohort is now full & registration is closed for this year. We encourage you to join our email list to get to know us & be the first to know when next year’s dates become available!

2024-2025 Cohort Dates

TL2 Spiritual Direction Training will be offered as an online community via zoom on the 3rd Saturday of each month from 10:00am-4:00pm EST except for March which will meet on the fourth Saturday, March 22nd. We will begin Sept 21st, 2024 & run through June 21st, 2025. .

The mid journey retreat will be held in person in Massachusetts & begin the evening of the 14th of February, 2025 & finish late afternoon on the 15th.

Tuition & Fees

The tuition for TL2 certificate training is $2,900. A fee of $800 is due upon acceptance with monthly payments of $210 required thereafter (Books are not included in the fee.).

If you need to withdraw your registration for the course for any reason, your registration fee is refundable up until 3 weeks before your program begins, after that it will be counted as a tax-deductible donation towards PAX programs.

Fees are to be made payable to PAX and sent to the attention of “Rama Ziegenhals, PO Box 93, Essex, MA 01929.”

Certificate of Completion

Upon satisfactory completion of the course requirements, participants will receive a certificate of completion of PAX Transformational Listening-Training in Christian Spiritual Direction.

Application Process & Prerequisites

  • Completion of TL1 Soul Care Companions (First Year)

  • Completed application form

  • Letter of recommendation/referral

  • An interview with the Program Director, Rama Ziegenhals