About Anthropos
Becoming Anthropos Together
Anthropos means Living Spirit or, as author Cynthia Bourgeault describes, a "fully human being" who can see and hold the beauty, pain, darkness, light, complexity, nuance, everything that the reality of the present moment offers. It takes deliberate work, yet we all - our families, communities, and the world - desperately need fully human beings, Living Spirits, to show up for each other in the service of healing ourselves and the world.
What is spiritual direction, dreamwork, and waking dreamwork?
Spiritual direction is the practice of journeying with someone as they explore a deeper understanding of, and relationship to, the Divine - whatever that means for them. Through listening, story-telling, journaling, reading, silence, and other creative and contemplative practices, we attune to and become more able to hear and trust the Divine voice. Spiritual direction sits at the crossroads of Mystery and daily life, and asks questions like, “How do I live with meaning and integrity in my present (unperfect) circumstances?” Or “How can I hear or trust the voice of the Divine in my life?”
DreamWork involves learning to tap the rich resources of our dream lives for the inherent internal wisdom that we all possess on the individual and collective level. We develop techniques for remembering, recording, and interacting with our dreams. Even disturbing, confusing, or seemingly neutral dreams have wisdom, and are trying to bring important themes and ideas into our consciousness. This is not dream analysis where there is one, objective meaning to your dreams or dream symbols. In DreamWork we look to both your individual and our collective associations to find the meaning that resonates with the dreamer, and provides a path forward. Learning to be in conversation with our dreams brings a deeper connection to self, more clarity of direction, and provides a self-directed road map for integration, effectiveness, and impact in our waking lives.
Waking DreamWork is a practice of engaging symbolic language to reflect deep truths about ourselves and our world. Working with tools like Tarot, runes, oracle cards, nature, myth, stories, synchronicities, and other symbolic media, we learn how we are connected to, and work in tandem with, the energy of Life as we cycle through our human timeline. Learning to "read the signs" can be an energizing and fulfilling part of a robust spiritual practice, and can help give meaning, purpose, and direction to our waking lives.
Who am I as a dreamworker & spiritual director?
I see myself as holding a sacred space for the exploration of your own personal soul-work. I have a deep love for the Perennial Tradition – that is, the guidance of teachers of mystic faith traditions passed down over centuries. Together we explore practices that inform the development of a rich interior life in the service of revealing the sacredness of all of life and opening up to becoming Anthropos - Living Spirits - together through conscious love for all of reality. My dreamwork practice is grounded in Jungian depth psychology, looking at symbol, archetype, myth, and synchronicity to make profound connections around our unique expression in the world in service of the healing and wholeness of ourselves and the world.
Who can benefit from dreamwork & spiritual direction?
Anyone who wishes to deepen their connection with themselves and the Divine, learn new contemplative and spiritual practices, discern a transition or next steps in life, or even someone who feels they were created for more than what their current life looks like. All people are hardwired for spiritual connection to our own selves, the community, and the cosmos, but most of us have not been taught how to foster that connection, particularly in the context of our current world and busy lives. Anthropos is inclusive - we welcome you as you are and are dedicated to supporting each other as we become more authentically ourselves in our lives and the world.
How is dreamwork & spiritual direction different from therapy?
Mental health counseling or therapy can benefit many people and can be effectively used in tandem with dreamwork and spiritual direction. However, therapy is undertaken with a licensed mental health clinician and focuses on persistent issues that impede healthy interactions with self and others, utilizes therapeutic methods, and can include treatment for mental health diagnosis. While therapy focuses on problem solving, spiritual direction and dreamwork focus on exploring personal connection with self in a spiritual context. Spiritual practices, including dreamwork and spiritual direction, can be transformative, but are never a substitute for mental health care.
About Carrie Dirks
Let's Journey Together
Carrie is a mom, a writer, and dreamworker, and a lifelong traveler on the contemplative spiritual path throughout careers, moves, marriages, parenthood, and her own healing journey. After a long career in nonprofit social services, Carrie now turns her energy toward the spiritual and mystical. The daughter and granddaughter of Lutheran pastors, Carrie studied the Perennial Tradition at the Center for Action & Contemplation's original Living School, and spiritual direction and dreamwork at the Haden Institute. She has led Contemplative Spaces group experiences since 2021 in her local community. Carrie is most at home in nature, spending time with her kiddos and animals, reading, and laughing (and crying) with good friends. She is a member of Spiritual Directors International.
"From the outside, my spiritual journey looks like many people’s – raised going to church, moved away from institutional religion in my 20s and 30s, and then returned to church to raise my kids, wanting them to experience caring community and to develop a sense of something larger than themselves.
From the inside however, my spiritual journey is a wonder, a throughline woven into the very fabric of my whole life which has been full of loss, heartache, mistakes, depression and anxiety, disappointments, and chaos - alongside unspeakable blessings, friendship, beauty, and miracles. Through some incredible programs including the Center for Action and Contemplation's Living School, and the Haden Institute, I have come to know the mystics of Christianity and other traditions, and have rediscovered the still, small place inside where I can rest and commune with the Divine. I came to understand my childhood wonder at being outside in the Colorado Rockies was a doorway; the deep connection I feel taking to my sons is a doorway; the bird calling at sunset, the friend who I unexpectedly ran into, the peace at my father’s deathbed – all doorways. Thomas Merton said, “The gate of heaven is everywhere,” and Rumi tells us that “there are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.” What a blessing to have come to understand there is nothing to be done but to notice, to be in awe, and then to move forward out of that wonder. My life is a spiritual path, and yours is as well.
As humans, we are all wired for spiritual connection and awareness. And it’s good for us. It’s part of becoming Living Spirits - whole human beings - or “Anthropos” – people who are developing and living out of their full humanity, which includes the integration of our spiritual selves. We look around and we can see that our families, our selves, and our world desperately need whole human beings to show up in love and service right now. And each of us can learn to consciously move this way in our lives.
How you do this is unique to you, and talking with a spiritual director and dreamworker can help you navigate this path."
