How to Live From the Heart in an Overthinking World

(And How Spiritual Direction Can Help)

Many of us learn early in life to trust our thinking far more than our inner knowing. We analyze, manage, interpret, and try to make sense of things with our minds. Yet at some point the mind reaches its limits. Sometimes, the mind reaches its limits to the extent that we experience a “hitting bottom” moment, or in contemplative terms, we undergo a “dark night.”

Knowledge without connection

We can know a lot about God or about life and still feel disconnected, restless, and unsure of how to live. This is often where the movement from head to heart begins, and for some people that movement is nurtured through spiritual direction.

Transformative listening and attention

In a recent podcast conversation, Sue Vander Woude and Doug Schroeder, both longtime spiritual directors, shared how transformative it can be to simply sit with someone who listens with gentle attention. 

Sue recounted how her first encounter with spiritual direction during seminary awakened her heart. Instead of more information, she experienced a kind of inner nurturing she did not know she needed. 

Doug shared a similar shift. After years in ministry, he met Jeff and Steve Imbach, who were refreshingly authentic and welcomed him without judgment. Through that openness he began to see God and himself in a more compassionate light.

It’s not about fixing

Spiritual direction is not about fixing a person or reaching a goal. It is a form of companionship that helps someone slow down enough to notice what is happening inside. It invites a person to bring not only their thoughts but also their emotions, their body, and their lived experience.

A wider, more compassionate way of being

Both Sue and Doug talked about the joy of watching people open to a wider, more compassionate way of being. They described greater freedom, deeper self-kindness, and a more expansive sense of God. These shifts rarely happen quickly, yet they gather strength through honest presence.

A new identity

Moving from head to heart is not a technique. It is a way of living that unfolds through safe relationships, attentive listening, and a growing willingness to let life become a teacher. It is a slow shift in identity as we discover ourselves as the beloved rather than as problems to be solved. Over time, spiritual direction provides an environment for this transformation to take root and deepen.

For more, listen here: How to Live From the Heart in an Overthinking World