SDI Encounters

In this episode I have a lovely conversation with Elaine Fourie, from Durban, South Africa. Elaine is an SDI Member, a regular Media Reviewer of spiritual and contemplative books for Presence Journal . She is a trained trauma-informed psychologist before retiring from that role. We talk about working with trauma as spiritual companions and seeing trauma as a spiritual wound. We also discuss mystic...

Hi Friends. Matt Whitney here. I thought for the podcast I would do a reading of a reflection I wrote for our SDI Listen publication , which comes out quarterly. It's about something Henri Nouwen wrote in his book The Inner Voice of Love . I hope you enjoy the reading, and the written reflection is below. SDI has thousands of spiritual directors, companions, guides, and teachers who are available...

Chelsea Forbrook is the President of Enneagram Minnesota and is a Spiritual Director and Enneagram Educator based in Minneapolis, MN. She teaches a 10 month experiential Enneagram Course and hosts a podcast called “The Enneagram of Essence.” Chelsea is author of the book, “Blessing My Demons: How to Name, Tame & Transform Your Inner Critic,” which will be released this October. She was part of...

In this week's episode, SDI's Rev. SeiFu and Matt Whitney continue their conversation on what it means to belong to the SDI community, particularly when things get challenging. In our ongoing SDI community dialogue around Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Belonging, we’d like to focus more intensively on the Belonging part. SDI has envisioned our community as a Public Square of Spiritual...

In this week's episode, SDI's Rev. SeiFu and Matt Whitney discuss what it means to belong to the SDI community, particularly when things get challenging. In our ongoing SDI community dialogue around Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Belonging, we’d like to focus more intensively on the Belonging part. SDI has envisioned our community as a Public Square of Spiritual Companionship, in which...

“I already feel more awake`-thank you.” “I cannot wait for the class!!!” “brilliant and blissful,” “Tingly,” “Being present to my own joy,” “Calm and energized,” “Peacefulness,” “Wonder and awe,” “Reconnecting with my true self.” “This was life-changing.” “I feel like I’ve transformed as a spiritual director” (OK, that one is from me, but it’s true). These are a few of the comments received just f...

Hear directly from our Guides for the newest iteration of our Forest Bathing Journey, coming in March 2024. We are pleased to welcome all to join us as SDI returns to the woods of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. For spiritual directors, companions, wayfarers and explorers, we invite you to spend a week immersing in nature, breathing the clean forest air, finding silence and stillness,...

In this recent April 2023, SDI Executive Director Rev. SeiFu Singh-Molares and SDI Creative Director Matt Whitney had a wide-ranging conversation about spiritual direction and companionship, and in particular, reconsidering some of the elements we might consider to be “universal.” Are there common elements to the work of spiritual companionship that we can identify? For example, we often cite “dee...

Recently we at SDI hosted a free preview webinar session with Fr. Adam Bucko, who will be facilitating an upcoming webinar series called Let Your Heartbreak Be Your Guide – Spiritual Direction and Companionship for a World That Has Lots Its Way . This episode we share the audio of that free preview webinar conversation. Join our community of spiritual companions and wayfarers for this 3-part webin...

Recently, SDI hosted a free webinar with Carmen Acevedo Butcher, an internationally acclaimed speaker, author, educator, and poet. Carmen specializes in Early Modern French, German, Latin, Middle English, and Old English mystic writers. You can watch the webinar on Vimeo. SDI is starting a four-part series on two mystics: Brother Lawrence and The Cloud of Unknowing. The series will be hosted by Ca...

Have you ever noticed on the sdicompanions.org website, a small purple chat bubble that follows you in the lower-right hand corner of the screen? It looks like this: The ‘SDI Chat’ feature is there to assist you with questions you might have about most things related to our website, how to do things like renew your Membership, access a Webinar. And, lest you think it’s a virtual assistant AI robot...

In this interview we talk to Eric Massanari, Chair of the SDI Board of Directors. Eric invites all SDI Members to join him and the rest of the SDI Board for virtual teatime gatherings on March 10, 2023. Learn about what it's like to serve on the Board and bring your questions! Bring your tea or coffee to this informal online gathering on March 10th at either 10am Pacific, or at 4pm Pacific! Regist...

In this interview we talk to Rabbi Miriam Klotz, vice-chair of the SDI Board of Directors. Rabbi Myriam invites all SDI Members to join her and the rest of the SDI Board for virtual teatime gatherings on March 10, 2023. Learn about what it's like to serve on the Board and bring your questions! Bring your tea or coffee to this informal online gathering on March 10th at either 10am Pacific, or at 4p...

Busshō Lahn is a Zen student and teacher, and the guiding teacher of Flying Cloud Zen Spiritual Practice Community. He’s also a popular speaker, retreat leader, spiritual director, author, and a Senior Priest at Minnesota Zen Meditation Center. Busshō has just published his first Zen book, Singing and Dancing are the Voice of the Law, by Monkfish Publications. In this episode we discuss this book...

In this week's episode, Rev. Simon Ruth de Voil and Rev. David Wallace swap poetry and song ahead of their upcoming 4-part webinar series entitled " Deep Calls Unto Deep: A Contemplative Exploration of the Psalms in Our Life and Practice ", which begins on January 30.  This Interspiritually-minded and experiential webinar highlights works from The Book of Psalms, a revered sacred text across Judai...

SDI Executive Director Rev. SeiFu Singh-Molares and Lerita Coleman Brown discuss the work of Howard Thurman, anticipating the upcoming webinar series from SDI - Listening for the Sound of the Genuine. This 4-part series will provide an overview of Howard Thurman’s contributions to spirituality, mysticism, and sacred activism. During this webinar, we will walk through the life and writings of Howar...

Hi! Matt Whitney here – Creative Director, and one of the Guides for the Nature Immersion and Deep Listening Journey we have put together for all spiritual directors, companions, and wayfarers. In this episode, I have a conversation with Aimee Bostwick, who is Coordinator of Community and Spiritual Life at Kanuga Conference Center (our hosts for this retreat) in North Carolina about what it's like...

Recently, Cynthia Bailey Manns came off of the SDI Coordinating Council, now called the SDI Board of Directors , and also wrote a reflection for Presence – our journal on spiritual direction and companionship . Cynthia and I discuss her written reflection, her time serving on the Coordinating Council, and her work as a soul companion. Cynthia Bailey Manns, D.Min., is an experienced soul companion,...

SDI is offering a very unique Forest Bathing Journey – a travel experience hosted by us – to the Blue Ridge Mountains for a Nature Immersion and Deep Listening retreat , for seven days in March 2023. In this conversation, the retreat facilitators, Dr Jeanette Banashak and myself, discuss our themes and hopes for this time together, to give you a better sense of what is being offered.  For all spir...

Since 2002 Dr. Bruce Tallman has been a full-time spiritual director and marriage coach in private practice. He is passionate about his mission, which is to help people grow in wisdom and love. Bruce wrote the manual on how to make a living as a spiritual director – a seminal text for most working spiritual directors and companions called Finding Seekers: How to Develop a Spiritual Direction Pract...

In the June 2022 issue of Presence Journal, Dr Westina Matthews writes, “We will not attempt to convince another to adopt any view but rather offer a safe and sacred space to share knowledge and to engage in open and honest dialogue about what is usually considered to be a taboo topic.  In spiritual direction, often resisted is the topic of sex, sexuality, and sexual orientation. We have found tha...

Recently I had the amazing opportunity to chat with author and teacher Rabbi Rami Shapiro , who has written an article for Presence Journal – the SDI quarterly publication on spiritual direction and companionship. It was meant to just be a quick 15 minute conversation that I could use to create a short video to go with the article in the Online Edition of Presence. Because Rabbi Rami was so genero...

Executive Director Rev SeiFu Anil Singh-Molares and Matt Whitney have a conversation in which they debrief the 2022 Engage Conference, which took place May 11-15 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. What were the takeaways? What were the lessons learned? How do we continue to engage with the theme 'Engage' as we go about our spiritual direction and spiritual companionship work in the world? If you missed the...

Michelle Scheidt, Senior Program Officer at the Fetzer Institute, is leading an effort focused on field building and network development among spiritual innovators. She and her advisors are asking: How will we hold onto the rich teachings of our historic faith and wisdom traditions while applying them creatively in today’s time? How will we reimagine roles and institutions as the spiritual and rel...

We are delighted to announce the latest book release from SDI Press, written by SDI Poetry Editor, former Coordinating Council member, and dear friend Jennifer (Jinks) Hoffmann. It’s called, “The Light of God’s Shadow – Musings, Stories, and Poems on Waking Up.” Jinks is a longtime spiritual director and psychotherapist who, through her writing, encourages us to listen for the divine daily call to...