Spiritual leadership

I’ve been writing about high control religions for a while. And I have significant problems with most institutions of organised religion. But today I want to talk about spiritual leadership. I’m not necessarily talking about pagan priesthood here, although if you are interested in that topic, you could do a lot worse than reading Lora O’Brien’s book of the same name.

But I don’t want to think about the priesthood part today. Today, I want to talk about the leadership part.

What is spiritual leadership?

Much of what I found online with regard to spiritual leadership was in relation to Protestant communities in the US. And they’re not always the most… balanced of descriptions. However. They do tend to mention things like: service, hope, faith, influence, altruism, love…

Honestly, looking at the people who claim to espouse these things and the way they appear to act… I question their fidelity to these ideas. There is a lot of talk about “love the sinner, hate the sin” but that sort of leadership tends to condemn people rather than support them!

For me, spiritual leadership is far more about presenting options and walking the walk. In fact, if I had to choose between the two, walking the walk would be most important. Leading by example, showing how to live in line with spiritual beliefs, indeed – even showing how to develop those spiritual beliefs… These to me are the important aspects of spiritual leadership.

Authenticity

We hear a lot about being authentic in the modern world. And this is important in the context of spiritual leadership. But what do we mean when we say “authentic”?

Am I being authentic if I modify my behaviour according to where I am and who I’m with?

Am I being authentic if I change the words I use, based on the situation?

What about clothes and personal presentation?

I would argue all of the above are authentic. I don’t wear the same clothes to work as I do lounging about at home. That doesn’t make me less authentic. The fact that most of the time, any spiritual work I do is done in casual clothing, doesn’t make the times I dress up for the occasion any less authentic.

In the same way, you’d hardly wear the same clothes to a wedding as you would cleaning the toilets…

It’s horses for courses. But all of my clothes these days are authentically me. That is – comfy, soft, loose, requiring no tight or binding underwear. And probably flat shoes or possible very low heels.

My days of wasting energy pretending to be someone I’m not are long over. And it’s the same in my spiritual life.

Yes, there are occasions when I make a bigger deal over something. Imbolc for example, I don’t just treat like another day. Sometimes I’ll dress up in nice clothes, sometimes I’ll do a formal ritual, sometimes I’ll cook a special meal. But there are also years when any Imbolc ritual I perform is performed in my jammies, half asleep, just struggling to get through the day.

To my mind, showing both types of ritual is an important part of authentic spiritual leadership.

Community

Now, most if not all spiritual leaders are involved in community at some level. Those who know me will know my community is mostly online. That doesn’t mean it is any less a community than one that can meet regularly face to face.

I firmly believe we all need community of some sort. And in particular with the way politics is going in the United States right now – it’s a scary time. So community is more important than ever. The so-called spiritual leaders I’m seeing coming to the fore in the US right now? Are the kind I myself would run a mile from.

But I do know several people over there that are trying to build community. The idea of Brig Briciu, the hosteller, is coming to the fore again, big time. (I have a whole 5 week course on the Brigs in Ulster, if you want to dive in more) But the hosteller in particular, I feel, is relevant here.

Hostels in ancient Ireland were places of rest. It was a position of seniority and recognition of wealth in the community. One of the main responsibilities? Keeping the occupants of their hostel safe. And to do that, you had to have some key leadership qualities.

And, yes, some key spiritual leadership qualities. This comes back to practical spirituality. This was in service to the community. And more and more I see the need in the US and in other places around the world, for spaces of safety. For spaces where people can relax and be themselves. They don’t have to hide or pretend to be someone or something they’re not.

Imagine the fight that’s already starting – the US is in the news, but it’s coming in Europe, Asia, the rest of the Americas, Oceania, Africa… (Not sure about Antartica yet, but maybe the penguins have some work to do?)

There are spiritual forces arising in the world. And providing a space for people to be safe, for communities to come together, is going to be more and more important in the times to come.

Who can be a spiritual leader?

Well anyone.

Can you show the way?

Can you offer people a safe space to gather in community?

Do you have the ability to listen? And more, to hear?

Have you the ability to be yourself?

It doesn’t matter where you are in the world. I’d like to hope that Ireland might escape the swing to the right we’re seeing all over the world, but I also know that a man found civilly liable for rape is thinking about running for president and people are supporting him. Not too many, not yet, but people think he’s a worthwhile example of Irishness…

So, no one’s safe really. But we can lean on each other. We can engage in the spiritual leadership we see missing around us. We can offer what we can.

The fight isn’t only held on the front lines, people.