SDI Encounters SDI - The Home of Spiritual Companionship

This is Part Three of our preview for our next 10-session course, New Perspectives on the Enneagram for Troubled Times, featuring Chelsea Forbrook and Rev. Nhien Vuong. 


Those familiar with the Enneagram know what a powerful tool for self-discovery and insight it can be. With that in mind we are pleased to announce our latest 10 session course offering from SDI – New Perspectives on the Enneagram for Spiritual Directors and Companions. This unique online course offering from SDI offers spiritual directors and companions the opportunity to connect with peers who are on the leading edge of the Enneagram field.  This course will give seasoned Enneagram explorers the opportunity to take a deep dive and develop new perspectives about the use of this medium in spiritual direction and companionship, while honing new skills and approaches to their practice and calling.


We recently hosted a preview of this series, inviting many of our Presenters for this course to share their perspectives – what’s new, what’s stirring for them, how does exploration of the Enneagram take them beyond archetpyes and personality types – and into deeper reality and identity?


To learn more about the presenters, the course, and to register, go to sdicompanions.org. You do not need to be a spiritual director, or an SDI Member to attend (though members receive large discounts on the registration price).
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Chelsea Forbrook is the author of “Blessing My Demons: How to Name, Tame & Transform Your Inner Critic,” available in stores and on Amazon October 2023.
Chelsea was awarded a scholarship from Spiritual Directors International (SDI) to be a part of the New Contemplatives cohort in 2018 (a selected group of outstanding spiritual directors under age 40), and is a current member of SDI.
Chelsea Forbrook is the President of Enneagram Minnesota, and is a Spiritual Director and Enneagram educator based in Minneapolis, MN. She takes great delight in making spiritual principles and practices easy and accessible for all. Chelsea is certified through Full Circle Enneagram, The Enneagram Institute, Russ Hudson’s year long Depth Certification in Conscious Living, The Somatic Enneagram, and is an accredited professional through the International Enneagram Association (IEA). She teaches a five month experiential Enneagram course for personal transformation, is the creator of the Enneaplaque (a meditation tool for awakening), and hosts a podcast called “The Enneagram of Essence.”
Before Chelsea discovered the Enneagram, she was immersed in anti-racism facilitation work through ASDIC (Anti Racism Study Dialogue Circles), the YWCA, and People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond. Chelsea holds a degree in religious studies with an emphasis on Liberation Theology, and a certificate in Leadership Toward Racial Justice from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities.
Learn more about Chelsea at www.chelseaforbrook.com
Reverend Nhien Vuong, J.D., M.Div., (she/her/hers) is an international Enneagram thought leader, keynote presenter, and retreat facilitator who spiritually companions individuals around the globe using a compassion-based, contemplative approach to the Enneagram. A former Stanford-trained attorney, Nhien left the law to support the evolution of consciousness. An ordained Unity minister, Nhien has been studying the Enneagram since 2002 and teaching it since 2006. She is a Certified Enneagram Teacher, Accredited Enneagram Professional, and the Founder of Evolving Enneagram, a community-based business whose interdisciplinary team of Enneagram professionals offers interspiritual programming to seed and sustain our collective awakening. A Vietnamese refugee living in the United States, Nhien is passionate about a world in which everyone belongs. She regularly offers scholarships for her programs and volunteers to teach the Enneagram to recovery groups, non-profits, and the incarcerated. Nhien is the upcoming author of Enneagram of

This is Part Two of our preview for our next 10-session course, New Perspectives on the Enneagram for Troubled Times, featuring Allen Proctor, Erlina Edwards, and Ben Campbell. 
Those familiar with the Enneagram know what a powerful tool for self-discovery and insight it can be. With that in mind we are pleased to announce our latest 10 session course offering from SDI – New Perspectives on the Enneagram for Spiritual Directors and Companions. This unique online course offering from SDI offers spiritual directors and companions the opportunity to connect with peers who are on the leading edge of the Enneagram field.  This course will give seasoned Enneagram explorers the opportunity to take a deep dive and develop new perspectives about the use of this medium in spiritual direction and companionship, while honing new skills and approaches to their practice and calling.
We recently hosted a preview of this series, inviting many of our Presenters for this course to share their perspectives – what’s new, what’s stirring for them, how does exploration of the Enneagram take them beyond archetpyes and personality types – and into deeper reality and identity?
To learn more about the presenters, the course, and to register, go to sdicompanions.org. You do not need to be a spiritual director, or an SDI Member to attend (though members receive large discounts on the registration price).
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Allen Proctor is Director of the Haden Institute, spiritual director and Presbyterian Minister. Allen works with others to explore questions of identity, relationships, vocation and meaning, using Dream Work, the Enneagram, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, meditation practices and creation spirituality.
Erlina Edwards, passioned by her business interests and spiritual pursuits, is known to many as an Organizational Builder and Enneagram Practitioner. Driven by her commitment to Human Potential Development, she successfully built sustainable organizations to advance emotional intelligence and overall psychological wellness. Erlina Edwards initially earned her Enneagram certification through The Enneagram School of Narrative Tradition and is professionally certified through the IEA. Erlina is an International Interfaith Seminary graduate, an accredited Spiritual Director, and a certified IDEA Consultant (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Anti-Racist). Erlina also holds accredited academic certifications that have advanced and broadened her business and spiritual studies. She is the Co-Executive Director of The Narrative Enneagram School and runs a private spiritual consulting practice; she lives in Tucson, Arizona, with her husband, Gene.
Ben Campbell is a Riso-Hudson Certified Enneagram teacher living in Bath, Maine. In addition to his own programs and coaching, he was selected as a Coach/Facilitator for the Shift Network’s Enneagram Certification Program in Conscious Living (2021-2022) with Russ Hudson and Jessica Dibb. He also presented two talks at the 2023 Global Enneagram Conference in San Francisco: “An Introduction to the Enneagram & Inner Work,” and “Rewilding the Enneagram.” He has appeared on the podcasts “No Small Thing”, “The Enneagram of Essence,” “The Lonely Edges,” and “The Blindspot,” and he taught the Minnesota IEA’s March 2021 Workshop “Passions and Purposes.” He holds a degree in East Asian Studies from Bates College. He is an apprentice at the Maine Primitive Skills School and a long-time student of the Animas Valley Institute. Ben is also President and founder of Enneagram Northeast USA, an official chapter of the International Enneagram Association.

Those familiar with the Enneagram know what a powerful tool for self-discovery and insight it can be. With that in mind we are pleased to announce our latest 10 session course offering from SDI – New Perspectives on the Enneagram for Spiritual Directors and Companions. This unique online course offering from SDI offers spiritual directors and companions the opportunity to connect with peers who are on the leading edge of the Enneagram field.  This course will give seasoned Enneagram explorers the opportunity to take a deep dive and develop new perspectives about the use of this medium in spiritual direction and companionship, while honing new skills and approaches to their practice and calling.
We recently hosted a preview of this series, inviting many of our Presenters for this course to share their perspectives – what’s new, what’s stirring for them, how does exploration of the Enneagram take them beyond archetpyes and personality types – and into deeper reality and identity?
In this episode, we are sharing the first two presenters from this free session, who also will be part of our upcoming course, Sandra Smith and Dina ElBadry.
To learn more about the presenters, the course, and to register, go to sdicompanions.org. You do not need to be a spiritual director, or an SDI Member to attend (though members receive large discounts on the registration price).
In the next episode of this podcast we’ll have Part Two of this session, featuring Allen Proctor, Erlina Edwards, and Ben Campbell, then we’ll release Part Three with Chelsea Forbrook, Rev. Nhien Vuong, and a brief Q&A.
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With over 23 years of teaching experience, author Sandra Smith weaves her background in business and non-profits with her theological education to offer a practical and compassionate exploration of the Enneagram’s nine types. An accredited International Enneagram Association Professional and certified in the Narrative Enneagram Tradition, Sandra teaches internationally, inviting curiosity and compassion to guide the inward turn in exploring the foundational question, “Who Am I?” Sandra has presented at numerous International Enneagram Association Conferences in the USA as well as Canada, and been a speaker at several SDI (Spiritual Directors International) conferences, speaking to the role of the Enneagram in Spiritual Companioning. Her forthcoming book The Enneagram Map to Your Deeper Self: Living Beyond Your Type will be released by Hampton Roads Publishing in September 1, 2024.
Dina ElBadry is an IEA accredited professional and Founder & Head Teacher at The Enneagram Academy, Egypt. She works with Chestnut Pães Academy As Head Mentor Worldwide & Staff member in Africa and Europe. Dina studied the Gurdjieff work and she teaches the CP levels of awareness model that’s based on both Gurdjieff & Sufi Work.

In this week's episode, Rev. SeiFu speaks with Matt Whitney on SDI's 2024 online conference.
Our conference theme this year is “Navigating the Global Dark Night of the Soul of Spiritual Directors and Companions.” We will create an opening and a field for spiritual directors and companions to listen, and speak, into the hardships, struggles, and opportunities we have encountered over the last few difficult years.  Unfortunately, the world’s circumstances don’t seem to be improving, but rather, progressively worsening in many ways.  So we will need particularly effective tools to address empathy fatigue, burnout, and the very same afflictions that can ail all of us at any time: isolation, loneliness, despair, and loss of meaning and purpose.
JOIN US MAY 8-10, 2024!
Let us come together to listen and share insights, fostering a supportive community to navigate these complex times. 
Register now at sdicompanions.org 

In this chat with Executive Director Rev. SeiFu Singh-Molares, we explore some nuts-and-bolts questions about spiritual companionship. What is spiritual companionship? How does it work? Who is it for? Why would someone need spiritual companionship? How does it differ from working with a mental health professional? What is considered "on the table" or "off the table" in a spiritual companionship conversation? Should we pay money for spiritual companionship? This conversation is for anyone who is curious about working with a spiritual companion, and how it can help you on your spiritual journey. 

SDI Communities are SDI-sponsored, often locally-run groups of spiritual companions. These people gather either regionally, or based on a shared commonality, on a regular basis to connect, support one another, network, share contemplative time and practice new skills in spiritual care. An SDI Community can operate anywhere in the world.
Let us know if you’d be interested in joining an SDI Community and we will connect you. You can email us at communities@sdiworld.org
Ravi Verma, previously on the SDI Board as a Member and as Chair, now is helping us host several Special Interest or “Affinity” Groups. In this conversation with our Executive Director Reverend SeiFu, Ravi talks about how these groups are going, where they are going in the future, and how they relate and integrate into the larger vision for the SDI Community in general.