ONGOING FORMATION

If you are new to contemplation, consider the (Primer) Contemplative School. We can also help you find a spiritual director if you are looking for one.

If you are a bit further along in your exploration, and are searching out new formation opportunities, consider making the 18th or 19th Annotation of the Ignatian Exercises. On this page, you will also find upcoming retreats and pilgrimages for 2025-2026.

If you are a spiritual director that has trained in one of our schools, don’t miss out on our regional gatherings or monthly online trainings on pertinent topics.

More details below:

THE (PRIMER) CONTEMPLATIVE SCHOOL

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This online cohort will provide a chance to experience the formation of the contemplative path and it is a great preparation for our two-year certificate programme in spiritual direction, if you wish to take it further. First, we link you with a qualified spiritual director so you have nine to twelve invaluable months of receiving direction. Second, we guide you monthly in a small group setting online through foundational aspects of the contemplative tradition via teaching, practice, debriefings and short readings.

Each monthly meeting lasts about three hours and follows the same format: welcome, a prayer exercise, interactive teaching, a guided practice, a time to debrief the practice, and time to comment and reflect on whatever readings were assigned in the prior month. (The readings typically consist of two-three chapters).

THE NINE MODULES

  1. Presence Over Performance

  2. Desire Over Duty

  3. (Inter) Dependence Over Self-Sufficiency

  4. Vulnerability Over Self-Protection

  5. Gratitude Over Entitlement

  6. Embodied Over Fragmented

  7. Mercy Over Judgement

  8. Mystery Over Certainty

  9. Consent Over Control

Cost and Dates

The cost for the SSD Primer is £600 total for the 2025-2026 school year. There will be a £100 non-refundable deposit with nine monthly payments of about £56 over the course of nine consecutive months.

Other cost information: Books (which are minimal) and monthly spiritual direction are not included.

DATES TBC: Our next Contemplative School starts Fall 2025. Now accepting applications!



If you’d like to find out more information before applying, please get in touch via our Contact Page.

FINDING A SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR

Spiritual direction is an ancient form of pastoral care with a very tight focus: it examines the substance, nature, and actual experience of the God-human relationship. In spiritual direction, the director comes alongside the directee for the primary purpose of focusing on the presence and activity of God in the directee’s life. In a word, spiritual direction is co-discernment. We learn to “see what the Father is doing” (John 5:19), - not just in that moment, but over the months and seasons of a person’s life. The goal is to deepen the relationship with God by growing in attentiveness.

We have trained dozens of spiritual directors across Europe, the UK and beyond. If you need help finding one, just reach out. We would be happy to assist you.

THE IGNATIAN EXERCISES

→ We can connect you with an Ignatian-trained director to meet weekly or bi-weekly for the 18th or 19th Annotation. Contact us if you want to sign up.

→ The 19th Annotation is a nine-month journey that aligns with the church calendar and typically begins in the autumn to coincide with Advent and Lent.

→ The 18th Annotation is an abbreviated version that will give you a ten-week taste of this journey.

→ Each annotation has a component of daily practices (consisting of Ignatian Contemplation of the Gospels, Ignatian Meditations, and forms of prayer).

WHAT’S INCLUDED

MONTHLY TRAININGS

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  • If you are a spiritual director that has trained in one of our schools, and you are longing for more training, consider our monthly online trainings. They are typically midweek on Wednesday evening 6-8 UK / 7-9 Central Europe Time. If you sign up for the year, you have access to all recordings, whether you can attend or not. If you’d like to sign up please fill in the Contact Form.

    Upcoming Trainings:

    +Spiritual Direction and Trauma I with Erin Zappin (20 November)

    +Spiritual Direction and Somatic Body Awareness I with Hope Stockman (11 December)

    +Spiritual Direction and Suffering with Sara Carlisle (15 January)

    +Spiritual Direction and Ignatian Rules of Discernment I with Natalie Baxter Strange (12 February)

    +Spiritual Direction and Desire with Sara Carlisle (19 March)

    Spiritual Direction and Ignatian Rules of Discernment II with Natalie Baxter Strange (9 April)

    +Spiritual Direction and Trauma II with Erin Zappin (14 May)

    +Spiritual Direction and Interior Movements with Helen Vince (18 June)

    +Spiritual Direction and the Enneagram with Sara Carlisle (23 July)

    +Spiritual Direction and Somatic Body Awareness II with Susan Powell (TBC August)

  • Our previous students have shared these key areas of need for ongoing training. For some topics you will notice that we will do two different trainings:

    + Ignatian Spirituality (2)
    + Somatic/Body Awareness (2)
    + Spiritual Direction and Trauma (2)
    + Enneagram
    + Interior Movements in SD
    + SD and Suffering
    + and more!

  • 9 April from 6-8 UK / 7-9 CET with Natalie Baxter Strange

    How Do We Apply the Rules of Discernment in Our Lives and Those We Accompany? (Part 2) 

    St. Ignatius of Loyola's Rules of Discernment have been used for more than 450 years as a way of discerning the various interior movements we all experience. The purpose of these Rules is that we receive the good interior movements and reject the bad. How do we do that in practice in our own lives? And how do we help those we accompany to apply them in their lives? 

    If you are a student that has trained in one of our schools and would like to sign up, please fill in our Contact Form.

  • You can sign up for this training for £30. You can sign up using the Contact Form.