Spiritual Guidance Training Institute
  • Home
  • About
    • About SGTI
    • Affiliates
    • Testimonials
  • Training
    • Training Programs
    • Supervision
    • Pure Presence
    • Webinars
    • E-Courses
    • SGTI Grads
  • Faculty
  • Blog
  • Subscribe
  • Events
  • Library
  • Products
  • Donate
  • Shop
  • Contact
Picture

How Jan and Jeanette Came to Found The Spiritual Guidance Training Institute

4/8/2017

 
Ever since the beginning of our relationship, we have discussed spiritual guidance/direction in interfaith and interspiritual ways.  We read books, wrote papers, asked questions, and listened to many wise teachers on what it means (and can mean!) to engage with people who have the same spiritual heart (our interspiritual nature), and may come from the same or different religious tradition, or none at all. 
Picture
The Spiritual Guidance Training Institute began with a couple questions: What if we started a global institute that trained people to become interfaith and interspiritual guides?  What if we organized pilgrimages for individuals and groups to sacred places around the world and in the United States? There are only a handful of training programs in the United States that focus on interfaith guidance, and none of them is in the Midwest.  We wondered if this was the right timing and the right place to begin this adventure.  We talked with directors of other spiritual guidance and direction programs who all energetically encouraged us to continue making our dream a reality.

We practiced discernment, together and separately, seeking guidance from trusted people with whom we live in our communities.  We also accessed our inner teacher and became aware of how our hearts, minds, and bodies were responding to the question, what if?

Considering how the institute ought to be birthed, we asked what seemed like thousands of questions and answered hundreds of them.  We considered our own strengths and limitations and took those into account as we continued envisioning the institute.  We wrote a mission statement, as well as a vision statement and core values.  We created a website that we hoped would be informative and beautiful.  We agreed on a name after brainstorming and evaluating dozens of ideas.  With every new decision, we consulted each other and listened deeply.  But, not every decision was agreed upon by both of us.

The two most difficult decisions involved where the residential institutes (the two one-week face-to-face encounters) should take place and what organizational structure we should operate from.  Again, we listened and discerned and discussed together the myriad possibilities and potentials.  At one point, we even wondered if we should go our separate ways – because we were unclear about what our dream organization might be.

Friends, The Spiritual Guidance Training Institute is our dream organization and the result of much hard work and prayer.  We have you to thank for cheering us on, inspiring us, teaching us, guiding us, and asking those hard and important questions.  We look forward to meeting you if we don’t know you and continuing our friendship with you if we do.

Jeanette Banashak, PhD, EdD

    About this blog

    Deepening the understanding, practice and importance of spiritual guidance-companionship across traditions.

    Subscribe

    RSS Feed


    Chat with us on Facebook

    Picture

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017

    Categories

    All
    Anti Racism
    Anti-racism
    Beverly Lanzetta
    Blessing
    Books
    Chicago Interfaith Immersion
    Collaboration
    Community
    Compassion
    Contemplation
    Courses
    Creativity
    Education
    Envisioning
    Graduate Theological Foundation
    Healing
    Hospitality
    Interfaith
    Interfaith Spiritual Direction
    Interfaith Spiritual Direction Training
    Interreligious
    Interspirituality
    Interspiritual Luminaries
    Listening
    Meditation
    Millennials
    Mindfulness
    MISHKAN
    Mission
    Multi Faith
    Multi-Faith
    Nature
    Non-violent Communication
    Peace
    Pilgrimage
    Pocasts
    Podcasts
    Poetry
    Prayer
    Pure Presence
    Retreat
    Sacred Space
    Self Compassion
    Service
    Silence
    Spiritual Direction
    Spiritual Directors International
    Spiritual Fluidity
    Spiritual Guidance
    Spirituality
    Spiritual Practices
    Student Spotlight
    Training
    Travel
    Universal Wisdom
    Wayne Teasdale


© COPYRIGHT 2022
SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE TRAINING INSTITUTE
​ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • About
    • About SGTI
    • Affiliates
    • Testimonials
  • Training
    • Training Programs
    • Supervision
    • Pure Presence
    • Webinars
    • E-Courses
    • SGTI Grads
  • Faculty
  • Blog
  • Subscribe
  • Events
  • Library
  • Products
  • Donate
  • Shop
  • Contact