what makes us different

What Makes OneSpirit Different

An approach to spiritual formation rooted in lived experience

At OneSpirit, we understand that ministry develops over time through experience, reflection, and relationship. It cannot be taught as a set of techniques or ideas alone. It grows through practice, self awareness, and learning how to be present with others.

For nearly three decades, OneSpirit has developed an approach to spiritual education that brings together contemporary understanding of how people learn and change with long standing spiritual and contemplative traditions. This includes valuing the body as a source of insight, recognising the importance of relationship and community, and understanding learning as something that happens through real life engagement rather than abstract theory.

This training focuses on formation rather than information. It supports lasting change in how students relate to themselves, to others, and to the wider world. As you engage in the practices woven throughout the programme, you will develop greater awareness of your own inner experience, including bodily sensation, emotion, and response. Over time, this supports empathy, ethical judgement, and the ability to respond thoughtfully rather than reactively.

Spiritual traditions have long understood that regular practice shapes who we become. At OneSpirit, this understanding is held carefully and applied in ways that support meaningful, long term development.

How learning unfolds

Many education programmes follow a fixed, linear structure. Spiritual development tends to work differently. People return to key themes again and again, each time with greater depth, understanding, and integration.

Our curriculum follows a spiral model of learning that reflects this process.

Students begin with direct experience, engaging with practices rather than starting from explanation or theory. Learning is grounded in noticing what happens in the body, emotions, and attention. This allows students to meet spiritual traditions as living practices rather than concepts to analyse.

Reflection then takes place in small, supportive groups. Students are invited to explore what resonates, what challenges them, and what feels unfamiliar. Questions, uncertainty, and resistance are treated as valuable sources of information rather than obstacles to overcome.

Over time, individual insights are shared and shaped within the group. Learning deepens through listening to others and recognising connections across different experiences. Understanding develops collectively as well as individually.

Students are also supported to put their learning into words and practices they can carry forward. This is not about fixing ideas into rigid definitions, but about finding ways to speak and act that remain grounded in lived experience and open to change.

Honouring many ways of knowing

Interfaith learning can sometimes centre Western academic perspectives without recognising this as a particular viewpoint rather than a neutral one. At OneSpirit, we take a different approach.

We recognise that each spiritual tradition carries its own ways of understanding, teaching, and passing on wisdom. Students are encouraged to engage with traditions through story, practice, relationship, and context rather than through detached analysis.

When learning from Indigenous traditions, this may involve relationship with land, ceremony, or oral teaching. When engaging with Eastern contemplative traditions, practices are explored within their wider spiritual and ethical frameworks rather than being separated into techniques.

Students are also invited to reflect on their own cultural conditioning and assumptions. Throughout the training, questions are explored such as how background and social context shape what feels familiar or unfamiliar, and how to engage with difference respectfully and responsibly.

This work can be challenging. It often involves sitting with discomfort, questioning long held assumptions, and being open to learning as well as unlearning. It is essential for anyone wishing to serve across difference with care and integrity.

Embodied learning and self regulation

Many spiritual approaches have treated the body as something secondary to the mind or spirit. OneSpirit understands the body as central to awareness and presence.

Students learn to notice physical sensation as part of their inner experience and to recognise how nervous system states affect their ability to listen, respond, and remain present. Skills in self regulation are developed gradually and practically.

This is particularly important for those working with grief, conflict, anxiety, or emotional intensity. When a minister can remain grounded and steady, they offer a sense of safety and support to others.

Embodied learning supports integration across thinking, feeling, and action, helping students show up with greater wholeness and reliability.

Learning in community

Learning at OneSpirit takes place within a strong community framework. Students learn alongside others who are also exploring questions of meaning, service, and responsibility.

Tutors guide the process and hold the learning environment with care, but they are not positioned as the sole source of knowledge. Insight emerges through shared reflection, dialogue, and listening within the group. This is true in both online and in person settings. Over time, OneSpirit has developed ways of fostering connection and trust in digital spaces as well as residential environments.

Students often find that they learn as much from one another as from formal teaching. Community becomes an active part of the learning process.

Conscious Communication

Conscious Communication is a core part of the OneSpirit training. It is a practical approach to speaking and listening that supports clarity, care, and responsibility in relationship.

Rather than focusing on techniques alone, this work emphasises presence and awareness. Students develop skills in noticing what is happening within themselves and in the wider relational context, including emotional, bodily, cultural, and power dynamics. Throughout the training, these principles shape how learning takes place, how feedback is shared, how difference is navigated, and how difficult conversations are held.

Students learn to remain present under pressure, to express themselves without blame, and to listen beyond words alone. These skills are essential for interfaith ministry and are widely applicable to facilitation, care work, leadership, and community roles.

Conscious Communication is not an optional extra. It underpins all aspects of ministry and supports students to engage with others thoughtfully, ethically, and with care.