More insights from counseling this week….since, a friend asked, what are you gleaning from your fields of interest this week! Great question. I’m mainly counseling so…

The main thing with helping others is to bring in Love’s actual presence. To “hook up” with Love’s actual Presence towards myself and then others, and specifically start to tune in to the nuances of Love towards this other person i get to encounter and hopefully bless today. To get into the I-am part of God. The God is Love part. The Father’s space towards myself and others.

We have to often step outside our roles and frames in order to see ourselves and others more accurately! I practice that through counseling. We are bigger than our roles in life. But to see others outside their frame is helpful. And to ask them, who are they outside of their roles, is also fruitful. I try to practice it before I preach it!

This requires us to come out from the time pressures of the moment, and just sit I am to I am with God, to rest in Him. But it’s always worth it, in the long run. Whatever brings you into living Sabbath, enter there, before you try to move in rest and peace towards others. Then you might receive some useful insights for them. And yourself.

And, I sit there, in that space, for a while, before attempting to help others. To, as on airplanes, breath the oxygen first before administering it to others. But then to really seek how He is giving them their needed seasonal oxygen. I take time on that part beforehand. As long as it takes. It’s always worth it. Because then, i’m not just giving from my gifts, but more from empathy for who they really are, and what they really need. Sometimes, i even decide in prayer, i’m not the best person to bless them today!

So, to be fully present with them. That makes safety for real growth. So beforehand, i pray for the person, until i can see them more how and where they are at. This helps on lots of levels. It helps me use my gifts to bless them more efficiently, but also it gives me a better view of who they are, and what blocks they may need to clear to move forward in life.

It’s a great way of getting to know God’s heart for others. Prayer is always the pre-requisite or prelude to really being helpful to others. It’s not a religious thing for me, more about tuning into a higher perspective of the other person, and therefore being able to love them more deeply. Then, just being very present with them, actually caring. In some sense, it’s so simple, but to get ourselves in Love’s orientation towards others transforms us all.

Often in prayer, i also get tools or useful insights to overcome blocks. But mostly i’ll get a deeper sense of this persons value, and uniqueness and longer narrative.

And since, counseling for me is just another medium to appreciate and get to know the Wisdom of God’s Love, i’m usually blessed more than the other person, by the encounter. I learn so much about who God actually is. And the complexity of what real discipleship or formation is.

I also often ask:

Who is He blessing through me today. Always a good question. Especially if you are constantly trying to throw your arms around the world, like me. Efficiency with our gifts towards one another. We are not meant to minister to everyone each day. There is delineation and specificity of giving if we want to actually meet Him through the tabernacle of helping others. This is the actual spirituality of ministering to others. It’s mutual formation!

Especially on line this requires on line discipline, and pre-prayer. Knowing who you are meant to bless today matters. Who is God giving you to today? And why? Why is He offering your gifts to this person or situation today, helps make counseling part of your actual spirituality and formation. And ends up blessing others more!

So how do you counsel? I pray, i try to get inside of Love, and see the other person where they are in their story. I seek any tools i carry which might help them; and then, just listen well in Love. I’m glad my friend asked me. I often forget that helping others is part of my actual spirituality. I love helping people, and meeting God in the process.

What insights are you gleaning from your fields of interest friends?