SDI Encounters

SDI - The Home of Spiritual Companionship
  • 4.6 (18)
  • Spirituality

What are the big questions in your life? Where are you on the spiritual journey? Do you have people in your life who listen to your deepest questions, with contemplative presence and compassion? SDI Creative Director Matt Whitney hosts conversations on spiritual direction, guidance, contemplation, and community. This podcast offers a wide range of perspectives, stories, and conversations about the contemplative, healing modality of spiritual companionship, across a wide range of religious traditions and vocations. Discover the benefits of spiritual companionship and deep listening.

  1. Aug 18

    Rev. SeiFu and Mirabai Starr on returning to Ghost Ranch (and inviting you!), April 2027

    What happens when we step away from the noise of ordinary life and enter a landscape that invites us to listen more deeply? In this conversation, Executive Director Rev. SeiFu Singh-Molares, and author Mirabai Starr, explore the contemplative life through the powerful images of striving, yielding, and returning. Drawing on the metaphor of a salmon pushing upstream, they consider the tension between effort and surrender—and the surprising possibility that both are essential to the spiritual path. And, they share about facilitating SDI's upcoming six-day retreat at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, April 4-9, 2027. What does it mean to “push the river” when life asks more of us than we feel capable of giving? When is it time to stop striving and listen for the current beneath us? And how might presence, even in the midst of difficulty, become an expression of love? Together, we’ll consider what our spiritual practices are really for—not to protect us from the difficulties of life, or to help us rise above them, but to teach us how to remain present and responsive when life asks more of us than we imagined we could give. Through contemplative practices, teachings, silence, writing, time in nature, conversation, and community, we’ll explore the wisdom of multiple spiritual traditions and the possibility that even our struggles can become part of the path. And we’ll do it together. You are invited to join Mirabai, Rev. SeiFu, and other spiritual companions in Ghost Ranch, April 2027! Learn more, including registration details, at https://www.sdicompanions.org/product/ghost-ranch-retreat-2027/

  2. Jul 20

    PREVIEW: Insights for Deep Listening and Spiritual Presence - Scott McRae on the Tao and the Art of Spiritual Companionship

    On this brief episode we talk about SDI's upcoming webinar series, The Tao and the Art of Spiritual Companionship.    The Tao and the Art of Spiritual Companionship: Insights for Deep Listening and Spiritual Presence $79.99 Many spiritual companions are meeting people who feel exhausted, anxious, polarized, spiritually dry, or overwhelmed by uncertainty. In moments like these, techniques often matter less than the quality of our presence. The Tao Te Ching points us towards flourishing and fulfilling life, without explanation. This ancient Chinese wisdom tradition invites us into a way of living and listening that flows with life. It points us toward something that spiritual directors sense: that the deepest accompaniment happens not when we do more, but when we release into a vital presence. This three-part series draws from seven essential Taoist themes into conversation with the practice of spiritual direction. Together we’ll explore a fresh framework for deep listening that helps you accompany people with less striving and more trust. We’ll explore not only how we accompany others, but how we inhabit our own inner life. Each session weaves together reflection, dialogue, and practical application. Rather than simply adding another technique, this series helps cultivate the inner posture from which meaningful spiritual companionship naturally flows. Anyone can participate in an SDI webinar! If you’re not a member, just contact us at office@sdiworld.org for your pricing. https://www.sdicompanions.org/product/the-tao-and-the-art-of-spiritual-companionship/ --- Scott McRae has been offering spiritual direction and training for over 25 years and continues to provide ongoing educational resources through the Spiritual Direction Learning Lab. An ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, he holds an M.Div. from Yale University. Scott’s professional journey has spanned church and campus ministries, hospital chaplaincy, and leadership roles, all of which have shaped his approach to spiritual guidance. With three decades of experience training chaplains and spiritual directors, he brings deep wisdom and practical insight to his work. Based in Minneapolis, MN, Scott enjoys life with his wife, Melanie, their adult daughter, and their wonderfully quirky rescue dogs. He finds great joy in long walks, meaningful conversations, and fostering spiritual growth in others.

  3. Jan 30

    Spiritual Companions - Standing Together in Community

    Dear Community, During these deeply disturbing, harrowing and convulsive times, what are spiritual directors and companions to do?  How can we respond?  Please listen to this episode for a special message I wanted to share with all of you. We need to stand together as a community, faithful to our calling and practice, because spiritual direction and companionship heal, and are needed now more than ever. Warmly, Rev SeiFu, and the SDI Team

  4. 12/16/2025

    Cinema Divina with M Freeman

    Cinema Divina is the creative, contemplative practice of media artist and writer M Freeman. M re-imagines the ancient ritual of sacred reading or lectio divina in today’s audiovisual vernacular as Cinema Divina—a contemplative screening process designed to increase access to one’s deeper wisdom, healing, and peace. SDI is hosting a 2-part webinar with M Freeman, where we will practice Cinema Divina together in an online spiritual companionship setting, offering an inspiring blend of relaxation and spiritual imagination. In this podcast chat, we have a really wonderful conversation with M on the origins of Cinema Divina, what folks can expect in doing the practice with them, and other fun things that arise when two spiritual companions sit down together and open up about creative life. You can also visit M's website to learn more about their work in the world.

  5. 12/09/2025

    On Creating Our New Children's Activity Book - Christina Roberts

    In this episode hear from Christina Roberts, author of My Spiritual Journey, a new children’s activity book designed to help kids explore wonder, stillness, and the gentle presence of Divine Love. Christina shares the inspiration behind the book, why children are naturally attuned to the sacred, and how simple practices like drawing, gratitude, and quiet reflection can nurture a child’s inner life. Whether you work with children, care for children, or simply want to reconnect with your own sense of wonder, we hope this new activity book from SDI invites you into a deeper appreciation of the spiritual wisdom children carry and the gentle ways we can help it bloom.

  6. 08/05/2025

    Cynthia Winton-Henry - Somatic Spiritual Companionship - Learn More About SDI's 8-Session Course

    In this episode of SDI Encounters, we’re excited to introduce a powerful new course offering from SDI — an 8-part online series called Somatic Spiritual Companionship: Inner Awareness for Deeper Listening. You’ll hear a bit here on this offering from course facilitator, Cynthia Winton-Henry. This course invites spiritual directors, companions, and wayfarers into a deeper exploration of the body-soul connection, offering a variety of practices that can enrich and expand your approach to spiritual direction and companionship. By engaging with somatic awareness — through movement, meditation, art, and embodied presence — we open new pathways to support others and ourselves with greater depth and authenticity. Facilitated by Cynthia Winton-Henry, cofounder of InterPlay and author of The Art of Ensoulment, the series features a diverse lineup of spiritual companions who will guide us in experiential practices and share stories from their own embodied journeys. Join us for eight live, 90-minute sessions starting Tuesday, September 30, 2025, and learn how to cultivate deeper listening, resilience, and presence — from the inside out. Learn more and register at: https://www.sdicompanions.org/product/somatic-spiritual-companionship/

  7. 06/05/2025

    What Happens in Spiritual Direction and Companionship? A Debrief, and What To Expect with Christina Roberts and Matt Whitney – Part Three

    What is spiritual direction or companionship really like? In these episodes, Christina Roberts and Matt Whitney offer each other 30 minutes of real-life spiritual direction—something like a “Fishbowl” experience—so you can listen in on the process as it unfolds. The first episode will have Matt offering spiritual companionship to Christina. The second episode will have Christina offering spiritual companionship to Matt. In the third episode, we reflect together on what one might expect in entering a spiritual direction/companionship session, what we’ve learned in our years of doing this work, and what this practice makes possible. Whether you're curious about becoming a spiritual director, seeking one yourself, or simply drawn to deep listening and presence, this episode offers a rare, honest glimpse into the heart of spiritual companionship. Learn more about the work of spiritual direction and companionship on our website, or find a spiritual companion that you can work with today, at www.sdicompanions.org. Christina's website is thecontemplativelife.net

  8. 06/05/2025

    What Happens in Spiritual Direction and Companionship? A Live Session with Christina Roberts and Matt Whitney – Part Two

    What is spiritual direction or companionship really like? In these episodes, Christina Roberts and Matt Whitney offer each other 30 minutes of real-life spiritual direction—something like a “Fishbowl” experience—so you can listen in on the process as it unfolds. The first episode will have Matt offering spiritual companionship to Christina. The second episode will have Christina offering spiritual companionship to Matt. In the third episode, we reflect together on what one might expect in entering a spiritual direction/companionship session, what we’ve learned in our years of doing this work, and what this practice makes possible. Whether you're curious about becoming a spiritual director, seeking one yourself, or simply drawn to deep listening and presence, this episode offers a rare, honest glimpse into the heart of spiritual companionship. Learn more about the work of spiritual direction and companionship on our website, or find a spiritual companion that you can work with today, at www.sdicompanions.org. Christina's website is thecontemplativelife.net

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4.6
out of 5
18 Ratings

About

What are the big questions in your life? Where are you on the spiritual journey? Do you have people in your life who listen to your deepest questions, with contemplative presence and compassion? SDI Creative Director Matt Whitney hosts conversations on spiritual direction, guidance, contemplation, and community. This podcast offers a wide range of perspectives, stories, and conversations about the contemplative, healing modality of spiritual companionship, across a wide range of religious traditions and vocations. Discover the benefits of spiritual companionship and deep listening.

Information

  • Creator
    SDI - The Home of Spiritual Companionship
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2018-2025, All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    SDI Encounters

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