We're experimenting with a video version of our podcast on spiritual direction and companionship! In this first video conversation, we chat with Larry J Morris III about the broader themes of our upcoming webinar series, Beyond Binaries: Spiritual Companionship Through Queer Lenses.

To watch the video of this conversation, head over to YouTube: https://youtu.be/vfoR4UXW5wU

To learn more about our series, and sign up to join us, click here: https://www.sdicompanions.org/product/beyond-binaries-spiritual-companionship-through-queer-lenses/

In this series we will experience stories of spiritual companionship, presented by a diverse group of queer Mystics, who approach their work as spiritual companions through diverse and open-hearted containers. All spiritual directors, companions, and wayfarers are encouraged to participate, walking any straight, queer, or otherwise crooked path to Wholeness.

This engaging new SDI series, open to all people and all identities, invites us to explore our lives, our work as spiritual companions, and our very souls, through the prism of queer perspectives. Indeed we can understand Queerness as a wisdom path – one which, along with our other spiritual traditions and orientations, offers deep wisdom, profound insight, and spiritual liberation. And in true openness and interspiritual dialogue, all of us, queer or straight, can glean insight from the spiritual jewels of the mystical path of queerness.

If that statement invites excitement and possibility, this webinar is for you. If it invites discomfort, this webinar is also for you.

Learn more and register – everyone is welcome – at sdicompanions.org. https://www.sdicompanions.org/product/beyond-binaries-spiritual-companionship-through-queer-lenses/

In this week’s episode, SDI’s Creative Director Matt Whitney speaks with Sean Murphy on his upcoming webinar series on Meditation and Mindfulness. To learn more and register, please visit https://www.sdicompanions.org/product/zen-meditation-and-mindfulness-for-spiritual-directors-and-companions/

Sean Tetsudo Murphy, Sensei, is a fully authorized Zen teacher in the American White Plum lineage, as well an award-winning author and recipient of a 2018 National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship in Creative Writing. He served six years as a member of the SDI board, and has taught on a number of occasions for SDI programs. He is highly experienced in sharing traditional meditative techniques in interfaith and secular settings for practitioners of all backgrounds. The author of One Bird, One Stone:108 Contemporary Zen Stories as well as three novels with Bantam Dell books, he is founder and director of The Sage Institute of Taos, NM, which hosts an innovative ecumenical Meditation and Mindfulness Leader Training Program. He also teaches meditation, creative writing, and literature for the University of New Mexico-Taos and many other venues. His websites are www.sagetaos.org and www.murphyzen.com

This week, through June 24, we are running our Solstice Celebration, which offers 20 percent savings on most everything SDI offers, including memberships. In this conversation with Executive Director Rev. SeiFu, we discuss why we do these celebrations, and how we hope folks benefit.

An SDI membership is a particularly valuable and critical way to develop, connect, and expand the practice of spiritual companionship and the vibrant and deeply meaningful community we share. Whether a seasoned veteran or a newly budding spiritual director, we all benefit greatly from the exchange and conversation that occurs on a community-wide level. If you haven’t already, consider taking advantage of 20% off a new or renewed SDI membership through Monday June 24th!

Discounts this extensive are only available twice per year and include new webinars, journeys and pilgrimages, retreats, special bundled packages, books and publications, advertising, and, as we mentioned, even memberships!