SDI Encounters

EP062 - Listen to our Discover March Newsletter

Did you catch our March 2020 e-mail newsletter? It's called Discover, and it brings with it all the updates and goings-on at SDI. If perhaps it got buried in your inbox, or perhaps you haven't subscribed yet, never fear because I (Matt Whitney) read aloud our newsletter in this podcast episode - so you can simply listen to our updates! This is a bit of an experiment for those who might want to listen to our monthly updates while walking, cooking, cleaning, or playing in the background of whatever else you have going on. But make sure to listen, or read, because there's a lot going on at SDI as we work hard to provide ways for you to do the urgent work of spiritual companionship, and find nourishment within the SDI community!
Subscribe to Discover - The Monthly Newsletter from SDI
Become a Member of SDI - join our Tree of Life, and support the work of spiritual companionship around the world.
Check out our Livestream portal for Companionship and Town Halls.
 

EP061 - Bonus Podcast - Spiritual Companionship For Urgent Times

Hello to our SDI community. It is March 19th, 2020, and the world is very much in flux right now, with the global coronavirus pandemic, markets crashing, jobs disappearing, and civic life grinding to a halt.
People have been referring to our current situation as “uncertain times” which they most certainly are. But, were times so certain before coronavirus?
Last week, when we heard the Governor of New Mexico declare a state of emergency and make the recommendation to cancel all social gatherings, we at SDI went to work to postpone our Santa Fe Conference, which we are happy to say we’ve completed, and we are going to be offering pretty much the same conference, but now rescheduled for April 22-25, 2021.
So although we will not be gathering in person for the foreseeable future, we’ve been hard at work to bulk up our digital offerings, so that we can offer conversation, community, and resources for spiritual companions.
it is these times today that make the work of companionship more urgent than ever. But as we take steps to isolate and self-quarantine, we’ve got to reimagine the ways we do this work. At the same time, we are presented with something of an opportunity – to be faced with a very uncertain world, and to have our daily rhythms of life utterly dispruted – we have a unique opportunity to go deeper in our spiritual practices. Darkness and unknowing – for who knows what comes next with this pandemic – are forced upon us. It is our contemplative practices that will provide us light and ways of being, and perhaps even living joyfully.
To that end, we’ve launched a new web portal called sdicompanions.online which will be the hub for a series of upcoming Town Halls, livestreams, online gatherings, and facilitated contemplative practices. Our first one is being offered this Saturday, March 21, 2020 at 9am Pacific Time. It will be livestreamed over Youtube, or you can join the Zoom call.
Our Conference is called Spiritual Companionship For Our Times, and this will be the theme of this Town Hall. Our Executive Director, Reverend Seifu Anil Singh-Molares, and myself, will facilitate a panel discussion with a group of spiritual companions, and we invite you to join us. There will be opportunity to submit your questions and comments during this 90 minute online discussion, and we hope this will be a springboard by which we can offer community, contemplative practice, and companionship during these indeed, very uncertain times.
Rev. Seifu and I chatted about these offerings, and the things SDI is working on, to continue to provide spiritual companions and contemplatives with tools, resources, and platforms. SDI’s Community is strong and flourishing and we invite you to continue to help us discern and grow the urgent work of spiritual companionship.

EP060 - My Boss is a Zen Priest - On Silence and Meditation

Here's the latest in a series we are calling My Boss is a Zen Priest. I (Matt Whitney, Creative Director) talk with SDI’s Executive Director, Reverend Seifu Anil Singh-Molares. He’s my manager, he makes the decisions, and he’s also an ordained priest in the Zen Buddhist tradition. We have weekly one-on-one check in meetings, where I tell him about the things I’m working on, and he provides feedback and insight. That feedback and insight often delves into deep dives around spirituality. 
This week we talk about our experiences with meditation, and the encounters one has with Silence.
In the episode, I mention our partnership with Spiritual Paths and Interspiritual Meditation, which you can learn more about here.

EP059 - A Day in the Life of a Cancer Care Chaplain - Taqwa Surapati

Taqwa Surapati is a Cancer Care Chaplain for Stanford Hospital in Palo, Alto, California. She completed her chaplain residency at Stanford Health Care, before going to Hartford Seminary in Connecticut for a Graduate Certification in Islamic Chaplaincy in 2014. Prior to that, Taqwa served for a decade as a Spiritual Care volunteer at Stanford and other local hospitals in the San Jose area. Currently finishing her Master of Art in Islamic Studies from Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Taqwa’s interests include oncology chaplaincy, how people of faith think of end-of-life situations and advance health care planning. Taqwa came to the US in 1998 from Jakarta, Indonesia. 
Taqwa was very gracious in offering her time and sharing a bit about her work with us. She describes what is it like to be a “first responder” to people presented with a sense of their own mortality – which often manifests as a spiritual question. Why death? Why suffering? Why me?
Taqwa shares how her Muslim faith helps to sustain her in this work, along with being a mother, and having a simple joy and sense of humor that interrupts her when she’s feeling down, and we hear how all these help to fill the infinite well of compassion she needs for the work she does.

EP058 - The Crisis of Relationship - Pat McCabe (Weyakpa Najin Win, Woman Stands Shining)

Pat McCabe, whose Navajo name is (Weyakpa Najin Win, Woman Stands Shining) is a Diné mother, grandmother, activist, artist, writer, ceremonial leader, and international speaker. She will be the Ceremonialist for SDI’s upcoming Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In this podcast we introduce you to Pat, and learn a bit more about her.
In our conversation, Pat describes what she refers to as "The Crisis of Relationship" – to ourselves, to each other, to the larger community of life, which lies at the root of so much that is disordered about the world right now. The work of healing begins with attuning to the spiritual laws of life that govern our being, our places, and our inter-being. Pat says indigenous cultures call these “Original Instructions” - and how those need to make themselves manifest across cultures. The thing about these Original Instructions is that they’re not written down. They’re meant to be known through lived experience, which requires listening, presence, and practice.
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Support for this week’s podcast comes from SDI’s upcoming contemplative writing retreat, called: Writing at the Edge of the World, June 15th through June 19th, 2020, on beautiful Orcas Island in Washington State, USA. Led by award-winning writer Tania Casselle, and NEA Fellow and Zen Teacher Sean Murphy, this retreat is designed to meet you wherever you are on your creative journey. You’ll leave with a notebook full of writing, and a fresh set of tools to invigorate your creative voice. Learn more on our homepage, sdiworld.org – and you’ll find the Writers Workshop in the homepage slider.

EP057 - Companioning with Death and the Dying - Eric Massanari - Part 2

Eric Massanari, M.Div., is an ordained pastor in the Mennonite Church USA, living in Newton, Kansas where he serves as a spiritual director and the chaplain of a continuing care community for older adults. He serves on the SDI Coordinating Council, where he brings a passion for inter-faith learning, community building, and companioning people who are exploring the fertile ground of elderhood and those who are nearing the end of life. An avid poet and essayist, and a personal good friend.
 
Part 2 of my conversation with Eric Massanari focuses on the topic of death and companioning people at end of life. Last week we learned about what it means to be curious. Inquisitive. Leaning into the unknown and dwelling there in a state of openness and hospitality. As a chaplain Eric encounters and companions a lot of people who are at the end of their life, and who pass on. This also awakens in him a sense of curiosity and humility about his own life, which opens him up to a deep sense of gratitude, and compassion for others.
I (Matt Whitney) am so grateful to Eric for his openness and vulnerability in the questions I ask him around his companioning work. What I heard from him was not specific worded answers to these questions, but rather reflection on how he’s living out these questions every day, and by doing so means leaning further and further into a place of not-knowing.
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Support for this week’s podcast comes from SDI’s upcoming contemplative writing retreat, called: Writing at the Edge of the World, June 15th through June 19th, 2020, on beautiful Orcas Island in Washington State, USA. Led by award-winning writer Tania Casselle, and NEA Fellow and Zen Teacher Sean Murphy, this retreat is designed to meet you wherever you are on your creative journey. You’ll leave with a notebook full of writing, and a fresh set of tools to invigorate your creative voice. Learn more on our homepage, sdiworld.org – and you’ll find the Writers Workshop in the homepage slider.

EP056 - The Practice of Curiosity in Spiritual Companionship - Eric Massanari - Part 1

Eric Massanari, M.Div., is an ordained pastor in the Mennonite Church USA, living in Newton, Kansas where he serves as a spiritual director and the chaplain of a continuing care community for older adults. He serves on the SDI Coordinating Council, where he brings a passion for inter-faith learning, community building, and companioning people who are exploring the fertile ground of elderhood and those who are nearing the end of life. An avid poet and essayist, and a personal good friend.
Eric joined me for a conversation about his work as a spiritual companion, which we’ve turned into two episodes. The first one, here, touches on curiosity – which here I would define as a posture of listening that is genuinely inquisitive and engaged with someone they are listening to. And not just curious about what that person is saying or thinking or feeling, but curious also about the ways the listener finds themselves responding to what they are receiving.
Part 2 of this conversation will come out in our next episode, where we focus on the topic of death and companioning people at end of life.
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Support for this week’s podcast comes from SDI’s upcoming contemplative writing retreat, called: Writing at the Edge of the World, June 15th through June 19th, 2020, on beautiful Orcas Island in Washington State, USA. Led by award-winning writer Tania Casselle, and NEA Fellow and Zen Teacher Sean Murphy, this retreat is designed to meet you wherever you are on your creative journey. You’ll leave with a notebook full of writing, and a fresh set of tools to invigorate your creative voice. Learn more on our homepage, sdiworld.org – and you’ll find the Writers Workshop in the homepage slider.
 

EP055 - Examen the Play Dough - Nancy Shadlock, MA

Nancy Shadlock, MA, is the CEO and founder of Centered Life Coaching (www.centered.ca). Nancy has a Master of Arts in Spiritual Formation from Carey Theological in Vancouver. After completing spiritual direction training through SoulStream and serving many years as a spiritual director, she expanded into the coaching field to help people hear the divine in not just their spiritual life, but also the pain points that show up in their business, relationships and health.
We hear from Nancy in this conversation with Frederica Helmiere about a few of the differences between spiritual life coaching and spiritual direction, and also receive some beautiful insight into the use of artistic clay and pottery as spiritual practice.
Nancy is offering a workshop at our upcoming Santa Fe conference, called ‘Examen the Play Dough’. She describes it as a hands-on, kinesthetic workshop, leading into creativity and insight, in which the play dough is molded into an image of current limitations or struggles, and then to form another totem of what is the fullness of life you are being called to. This workshop is perfect for those who are ready to hear from Source in a fresh way or those who regularly companion others and are looking to add a form of artistic expression to their practice. 
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Support for this week's podcast comes from SDI Journeys. SDI has been leading passionate travelers on spiritual journeys around the world for over 25 years -  not just vacations, but truly exceptional trips filled with inspiring and enriching experiences. We have upcoming journeys planned for 2020- in Iona Scotland, and an Ignatian Journey through Spain. Explore our site to find out more – sdijourneys.org.
 

EP054 - Counseling Communities through Mass Tragedy - Rabbi Carla Howard

Lately on the podcast we've been talking with various workshop presenters for our upcoming Santa Fe Conference. This week, Our Events and Journeys Director Frederica Helmiere talks with Rabbi Carla Howard, who is the Founder and Executive Director of Jewish Healing Center of Los Angeles.  Rabbi Howard combines rabbinic ordination with a unique background of pre-medical studies, clinical work in women’s medicine and midwifery. Rabbi Howard is on the faculty of UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, the Academy for Jewish Religion, and sits on the Bio-Ethics Committee of Santa Monica/UCLA Medical Center.  She has published numerous articles, and lecture on spiritual care and end-of-life issues to both lay and medical organizations, in the U.S. and internationally.
The website for Jewish Healing Center of Los Angeles is https://jhcla.org/
Rabbi Howard’s workshop is titled Counseling Communities Through Mass Tragedy. The description from the workshop states:
"What can leaders of faith communities do when tragedy strikes their community?  How can we prepare for the spontaneous eruption of disaster which by its very definition, strikes us unaware? This workshop will cover disaster Impact and Recovery Models, what makes us effective as community leaders, understanding our roles and its limitations, and how we take care of ourselves in order to be there for others.
This workshop is experiential, interactive and didactic.  Its goals begin from the moment the participants enter the workshop by modeling for them, when they will be working with individuals who have experienced trauma,  how to ensure privacy in a group setting, create safe space, and create compassionate, contemplative space to contain grief and mourning in its myriad forms."
Learn more at our Conference Website - www.sdievents.org
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Support for this week's podcast comes from SDI Journeys. SDI has been leading passionate travelers on spiritual journeys around the world for over 25 years -  not just vacations, but truly exceptional trips filled with inspiring and enriching experiences. We have upcoming journeys planned for 2020- in Iona Scotland, and an Ignatian Journey through Spain. Explore our site to find out more – sdijourneys.org.
 
 

EP053 - Gender Equity and Reconciliation - Cynthia Brix and Will Keepin

Do you or the people you companion long for relationships that are based not only on mutual respect, but also mutual reverence?
Do you or those you companion ever find it difficult to navigate issues of gender and sexuality within your religious or spiritual traditions?​
​Are you, or those those you companion, uncertain of how to be in relationship with women and/or men since #MeToo?
If you answer YES, to any of these questions, you will appreciate the dialog we have in this podcast with Will Keepin and Cynthia Brix, as they discuss the workshops they lead on Gender Equity and Reconciliation, which they will be offering in a one-day intensive format on April 22nd in Santa Fe New Mexico, the day before our Conference, on Spiritual Companionship for our Times. Frederica Helmiere and I had an amazing conversation over web conferencing software with Cynthia and Will, two leaders in the interspiritual movement and in spiritual healing.
Rev. Cynthia Brix, PhD (Hon) is an ordained contemplative interfaith minister and was formerly a campus minister at the University of Colorado, and an honorary doctorate from the California Institute of Integral Studies in Spirituality and Social Justice. Cynthia is co-author of Women Healing Women, and contributing author of Divine Duality: The Power of Reconciliation between Women and Men.
Will Keepin, PhD is a mathematical physicist and scholar-practitioner of interfaith spirituality.  Will co-authored Divine Duality: The Power of Reconciliation between Women and Men and Women Healing Women.  His new book is Belonging to God: Spirituality, Science, and a Universal Path of Divine Love, which presents a universal, nondual path of divine love, bridging science and mysticism. 
Cynthia and Will are co-founders of the Gender Equity and Reconciliation International, which has conducted 120 trainings in nine countries. Here’s how they describe their one-day intensive workshop for our upcoming Conference:
Spiritual companions of all ages and faiths routinely encounter gender injustice –– and in particular, significant challenges between women and men –– in their practices.  The #MeToo movement has increased awareness of gender conflicts, sexual harassment and exploitation, and patriarchal oppression—but how can these knotty challenges be addressed in practical terms? 
​This workshop introduces Gender Equity and Reconciliation International (GERI), which has developed an innovative methodology for healing and reconciliation between women and men. Inspiring examples of remarkable healing and reconciliation between the sexes will be presented from GERI’s application in Christian, Buddhist, and Hindu communities. Experiential exercises are included to give participants a first-hand taste of this transformative process.
 
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Support for this week's podcast comes from SDI Journeys. SDI has been leading passionate travelers on spiritual journeys around the world for over 25 years -  not just vacations, but truly exceptional trips filled with inspiring and enriching experiences. We have upcoming journeys planned for 2020- in Iona Scotland, and an Ignatian Journey through Spain. Explore our site to find out more – sdijourneys.org.