As a follow up to our previous post, Jeanette Banashak has just had an article published by Spiritual Directors International for their blog. Her article guides you through a complete practice of inviting a tree to be your spiritual director: "Trees as Spiritual Directors/Companions."

https://www.sdicompanions.org/trees-as-spiritual-directors-companions/

This spring, SGTI, SGTI students and alumni, as well as 1600 others, participated in Spiritual Directors International’s first virtual conference.  We asked the SGTI community the following questions as a way to serve as a debrief of the conference, learn from each other, and share with our readers: What insights did you gain from this year's SDI conference? How might those insights inform your current or future practice of spiritual companionship/spiritual direction?
 
One alumna offered this response (used by permission): 
 
I need sustained belonging within a contemplative learning community. Yet, strong communities of deep-diving seekers actively engaged in the world are truly hard to find. For me, SGTI is such a community. Yet, since this January, after graduating from the 18-month training in inter-spiritual guidance, I’ve feared that my experience of belonging within my cohort would weaken and fade over time, until I was once again without the community nourishment I relished as a SGTI student and need now, more than ever. As winter shifted toward spring, I lived inside this fear, confused and unsettled as I continued discerning how to fit my new growth as spiritual director into my already full life as art therapist and teacher of graduate art therapy students. 
     
In this unsettled place, I considered cancelling my registration for the Spiritual Directors International virtual conference. I doubted I would feel nourished, or connected to other attendees, by spending yet more hours in front of a computer screen. But this would be my first time attending an SDI conference, and I hoped it might offer ways to see more clearly where I am and where I am headed. And so, I showed up, living my questions, hoping to be touched in some way. 
      
I now am at a loss for words to describe how much I was touched by during the conference. Simply put, I no longer feel afraid. Instead, I feel like the little boat of belonging within which I sailed as part of our intimate SGTI cohort has been taken on board the much larger vessel of SDI, within which I can continue to grow, learn, and find connections to fellow seekers who are as engaged as I am.  Deeply inspired by Father Adam Bucko’s workshop and keynote presentation, I am now reading his book on new monasticism and I feel affirmed that I have been a modern-day monastic literally my whole life. Through SGTI and SDI, I have found my fellow monks.
       
On the first day of the SDI conference, I woke to find a wet, heavy snow coating April’s greening new life with strange winter garb. This snow continued off and on all day.  As I sat in my home in Indianapolis attending the day’s virtual offerings, I grieved for the spring-growth I was sure would be frozen and ruined. Instead, when the snow melted, to my surprise, most everything survived and kept blooming. 
     
​As I returned to my normal routine after the conference, my delight at spring recovering from winter’s last blast has been co-mingled with my delight at having found connection to SDI’s abundant community of contemplative learners. A grouping of yellow, purple and white pansies is how nature conveys for me these overlapping delights. As I look into the faces of these flowers, I see brightly dressed monks with wide-eyed singing expressions.  And I feel like one of them, not alone. This is how I felt throughout the entire 4-day SDI conference and how I continue to feel after it. Like pansies surviving frosts and snows, we contemplatives live amidst the suffering caused by humanity’s frozen-heartedness, and willingly serve it, again and again, helping hearts thaw and spirits bloom. And we find each other. Somehow in this non-contemplative, struggling world, we keep seeking until we find each other. Thanks to SGTI, and in new ongoing ways through SDI, I have truly found belonging within a vibrant community of beautiful, flowering, hardy, courageous spirits who are committed to strengthening each other so that we can live authentically in this suffering world and serve with love.”
 
Another alumna shared this in response (used by permission):
 
"A sense of belonging was a big take home for me, too.  The strongest sense for me was what felt like a palpable urge for the SDI community to respond to the blights that have plagued our larger social landscape more than ever, especially since COVID struck.  This sense of purpose came across much stronger to me than it had when I went to the previous two SDI conferences.  I felt that within this culture of SD (spiritual direction) and Interspirituality, there’s a unique contribution we can make and all want to make together.  

I also felt a sense that we’re learning as we go.  One participant shared that SDs have up till now mostly concerned themselves with the inner life of their companions and their immediate social circles.  But there has not been sufficient concern for the collective in SD practice.  And it’s that concern that I felt many of the keynote speakers and much of our community express.  I was really impressed and heartened that it’s possible to align my love of contemplative practice and Interspirituality with a crying urgency to do our parts to hold up the values of democracy, empirical truth and decent regard for all people walking our streets.”
      
We heard other comments and reflections that all spoke to the richness and depth of this year’s conference. We echo these reflections and continue to be grateful to SDI for the many ways it supports us and our communities. We are forever changed."

Written by: SGTI Student Eric Budzynski
 
I give thanks to native and Indigenous traditions for teaching me to know myself as earth, water, fire, and air; to remind myself to live in harmony with these elemental forces and to allow the constancy of their universal language to guide my own actions in responsible and sustainable ways. Brother Wind, Sister Moon, Grandmother Tree, Grandfather Bird, hear my message of welcome and gratitude.
 
Now our minds and hearts are as one.
 
I give thanks to the ancient messages of the Vedas and Bhagavad Gita as a gift from beyond just as the sacred waters of the Ganges flows from the height of the Himalayas. Not needing to limit the Oneness to an archetype of form but a vast explosion of divine, opulent and generous expression allows those sacred and timeless messages to speak to all hearts of all beings. Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, hear my message of welcome and gratitude.
 
Now our minds and hearts are as one.
 
I give thanks to the followers of the Covenant in trusting the might and power of the One God and the willingness of that god to touch and intervene with the humanity of the world created in its own image. In giving daring and bold proclamation to thrilling and prophetic voices, those heralds still echo clearly throughout the ages as a message of promise and hope to a New World yet to be known or seen by the children of Adam & Eve. Adonai, Abba, Moses, Noah, David, hear my message of welcome and gratitude.  
 
Now our minds and hearts are as one.
 
I give thanks to Siddartha for offering the Middle Way as a path to peace and awakening and a realization that to live fully is to live in acceptance and awareness of all that life affords and offers each of us. May I dwell with you in the divine abodes of love, compassion, joy, and equanimity and continue to know, recognize and understand my own humanity in that of all beings. Tathagata, Guanyin, Buddha, hear my message of welcome and gratitude.
 
Now our minds and hearts are as one.
 
I give thanks to Christ and his beloved community of saints as witnesses to the impenetrable power of love as victor over death and hatred. Centuries of inspired art and expression have given my own life purpose and meaning to know, touch, taste, see, smell, and hear the invitation to share in your creative reckoning as a faithful believer in your own incarnation. Gregory, Cecilia, Paraclete, hear my message of welcome and gratitude.
 
Now our minds and hearts are as one.
 
I give thanks to the author of mercy and to the willing harbinger of his message of peace in a humble prophet. You ask us to surrender, soften, and break open ourselves time and time over to learn your love so that we may never be removed from it again. Faith, prayer, offering, fasting, and pilgrimage show us the path to the essence of your being. Allah, Muhammad, the Merciful One, hear my message of welcome and gratitude.
 
Now our minds and hearts are as one.
 
I have now arrived nearer to the other shore where You wait patiently with my own resistance and unknowing. This is the place where words fail and end and lose meaning. Sound gives way to the complete and unshakable wisdom of silence and Presence. You offer patience, curiosity and love as a way to ultimately see my own Youness radiantly reflected in You and in everything around me. All You that have gathered to help me bear witness, hear my message of welcome and gratitude.
 
Now our minds and hearts are as one.
Now our minds and hearts are as one.
Now our minds and hearts are as one.
 
(Inspired, with gratitude & humility, by the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address. In partial fulfillment of Certificate In Interfaith/Interspiritual Direction/Companionship.)
 

Today, we are pleased to offer a sampling of poetry and artwork submitted by one of our students in the "Interfaith and Interspiritual Wisdom" training program. Students are always offered the opportunity to express their learnings in creative ways. Enjoy this entry by Deb W. in completion of the module on Islam. 

I was not prepared!
I was taken by surprise.
Barriers begin to fall away, 
My heart softens around the edges.
The fog recedes from my mind.
The vail is lifted from my eyes.
So many holes in my knowledge of Islam.
I am curious and yet afraid to step outside the boundaries of my Christian faith? 
How will I be judged?
 
I see now, how I have been deceived! 
Images of 911 destruction, bombings, beheadings of infidels.
Stories of genital mutilation, stoning’s, and inequity among genders.
Terror everywhere, "no Muslim can be trusted.
Islam is a religion of hate”, fear consumes me.
I was led astray, hood-winked, betrayed.
 
God, in his wisdom, united humanity through the linage of Abraham.
He sent messengers for his people:
Moses for the Jews,
Jesus for the Christians,
Muhammad for the Muslims, 
Unified in voice, “There is only one true God.”
Oh God, you are a god of Mystery!
 
The Qur’an teaches.
“The lamps are different, but the Lights are the same.
Each giving off the essence of Holy fire.
One matter, one energy, one diamond.
 
The faithful are called to worship in their unique way.
 Jews sound the trumpet, 
 Christians ring the bells,
Muslims her the melodic voice of the muezzin calling them to Adhan (prayer) five times a day.
“Come and submit, trust, and release your burdens, come and enter prayer.
Turn your body, mind, and spirit toward holy God.
 
God is most great. 
I testify that there is no god but God.
I testify that Muhammad is the Prophet of God.
Arise and pray”!
God is closer to man than his jugular vein.
 
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have lived in times of peace and war together.
In a state of either union or separation.
The right hand receives, the left hand sends.
War reveals the beauty of peace.
Death reveals the beauty of life.
Scarcity reveals the beauty of abundance.
Everything is one. 
There is oneness in the design.
 
Religion at its core, longs for a relationship with God, but humanity has messed it up.
Synagogue’s, Church’s, and Mosque’s intended for worship and belonging.
Places for Love to abound; became exclusive thanks to misguided men.
Each tradition called forth by a loving God, 
for relationship with him.
Man created chaos, mis-representing Love. 
 
Oh God,
 I plead for unity among your people,
 help us to coexist in harmony.  
Al-‘Azim, The Most Great.
I pray for spiritual awakening in each soul. 
Help us remember who we are in you.
We were born with Love, by Love and for Love.
Love is our path to you.
Al-Ghafur, The Ever-forgiving.
 Open our hearts to your mystery and the courage to rest in the unknowing. 
 Place in us warm-hearted curiosity to give us the answers we longingly seek. 
Al-Jalil, The Majestic.
Thank you, Allah,
you are a generous and loving God!
Ameen

Artwork by Deb. W, 2021

“Where the lips are silent the heart has a thousand tongues.”
-Rumi
 
slowing down -
the setting sun
over mountain creek

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, many of us have been living and working in different environments than we would ever have anticipated. Parents and caregivers are home with young children who are in virtual school all day; business people have been working from home for months; restaurant workers are meeting the demands of constantly shifting indoor and outdoor service; service workers have pivoted to online appointments; nearly everyone has had to modify their schedule or lifestyle in some way.
 
Chances are also good that the noise levels at home and work in the past year have been anything but the same as pre-Covid days. For some, the home environment is noisier because family, friends, and housemates are around a lot more. While for others, it is quieter due to working from home without colleagues present. 
 
Several years ago I had a similar change in daily habit when I spent a month at a Cistercian monastery in Norway. I joined their rituals and practices as much as I could and while initially exhausting, the daily liturgy and contemplation, work, and silence provided a welcome rhythm to my otherwise inconsistent and noisy existence. One of the most striking and surprising revelations came to me as I experienced working together to make soap in silence: Silence is my friend (and this was especially essential for me as an extrovert). Yes, the nuns occasionally spoke to clarify something, but for the most part, everything was done in consistently quiet ways – including resolving conflicts. I spent years processing those days of stillness with my spiritual director and ultimately decided it was important to incorporate silence into my daily spiritual practices.
 
Researchers teach us that there are psychological and physiological benefits to silence, including improved sleep, improved concentration and calm, stimulated brain development, boosted immune system, the increased ability to be more discerning in decision making, repaired cognitive resources, and a more relaxed body and brain. In addition to psychological benefits, silence promotes attention and intercontemplation, a term coined by Beverly Lanzetta to describe “the dialogue of religious experience as it reaches into deep states of contemplation and silent prayer”. Intercontemplation is a way of being that encourages the interdependence of spiritualities, religions, practices, healing, wholeness, and fecundity of nature. 
 
Last June, Josh Sims, a journalist for the BBC, wrote an article entitled Will the world be quieter after the pandemic? In his piece, Sims considers if noise pollution will be the next major public health issue. He notices that access to quiet has been primarily granted to those with privilege, including people who have had access to quieter neighborhoods and resources for technologies that enhance peace. Sims quotes postdoctoral researcher and founder of Noise and the City, Erica Walker, who maintains that quiet should be a human right. Noise and the City, Community Noise Lab, Herb Singleton at Cross-Spectrum Acoustics, and noise researcher, Arline Bronzaft, collaborated on a research project that looked at noise levels in and around public schools. They concluded, “Noise pollution impairs learning in children and affects schools in city neighborhoods” and they offered their top recommendation: “[Be] noise aware!”
 
Since my time at the monastery, I have taken small steps to incorporate silence and intercontemplation, and be noise aware, with everything I do. At the foundational level, this looks like taking an extra breath before making a decision and allowing my body to regulate and calm. Additional ways include taking multiple day silent retreats each year, camping and backpacking in nature, taking a break from electronics, walking through the city, writing haiku, and being deliberate about the moments of silence throughout the day. If I can, I’ll do almost anything, or nothing, to recognize beauty and sustain presence.
 
I wonder, will there be a new standard for quiet after the pandemic?

"I decided to create a video with a chant I composed and recorded along with images of candles from different traditions and a Hafiz poem—one of my favorites! Creative media are a significant part of my prayer practice ... I began to compose a chant one day last week using the interval of a perfect 5th. The interval of a perfect 5th along with its complement, a perfect 4th, when sung or played in tune has frequencies that match so completely it creates a hollow, open sound. You can hear this when listening to a violin or other string instrument tune. When the 5th locks in, the musician can hear what is called a “beatless” 5th and knows tuning is complete.

Once I sang through the chant, I created a harmony to go on top of it. The composing of this chant brought me into a space of prayer and I envisioned my singing bowl as the initial tone. I decided I wanted to create a video with images that were meaningful to me, and I chose candles from many traditions, lit in prayer and unity. 

Finally, I chose the poem by Hafiz, translated by Daniel Ladinsky, which speaks to the reality of unity and Oneness that is discovered through contemplation when we enter into the heart of the One Who Loves."

Watch and listen here:

https://tinyurl.com/y54wvwe6​

​Thank you, Christine, for allowing SGTI to share your creation with others! 

Recently, SGTI welcomed Dr. Beverly Lanzetta to its "Interspiritual Luminaries" webinar series. She spoke candidly about the invitation that many of us are feeling today to turn inward and explore more deeply how we see and name ourselves. What is unique about our religious/spiritual orientation? She encourages us to re-think how we view ourselves and our relationship with the Sacred. We are reminded of the quote by Rumi: " There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground."

To do what Dr. Lanzetta suggests, we take time to not only explore the expressions of other traditions, but listen deeply within our heart-mind to discern how the Divine  may be uniquely calling us. How does this manifestation of the Divine encourage us to live in alignment with our deepest values and highest purpose? How do we engage an authentic life that honors how God/Brahman/Tao/G!D/Allah/Ultimate Reality makes itself known to us? Deep silence and spiritual practice can point the way.

Here at SGTI, we often use the terms interfaith and interspiritual. These terms describe the orientation of our studies. We, as instructors, as well as our students, may describe ourselves in a multitude of ways. All ways are honored here. 

Dr. Lanzetta provides us with some enlightening definitions and descriptions of ways we can see ourselves, naming our experience of the Sacred. We invite you to explore some of these definitions on this page of her website. Perhaps they will help you discern an answer to the question, "How do you see yourself?"

By Jeanette Banashak, co-founder of The Spiritual Guidance Training Institute
 
“The mandala evokes the universal longing for inclusivity, equality, peace, wisdom and love that is the profound spiritual aspiration of all living beings.” In this quote, Dr. Edward Bastian describes a tool that has the potential to grow and progress the spiritual life. The mandala is a contemplative tool that incorporates 12 spiritual styles, 12 questions, and 12 religious/spiritual/ethical traditions. The styles are “predispositions or lenses” that serve to support learning and spirituality; the questions are the big questions of life that have been asked for hundreds and thousands of years about the nature of people, creation, ideas, animals, etc.; the traditions include any spiritual/religious/ethical tradition that holds some of the means and practices that might illuminate and expand the questions.
​
Different traditions highlight different spiritual styles. Buddhism highlights meditation, Christianity highlights love, Taoism highlights wisdom (I realize that in this comment I am distilling these traditions into one word. It is beyond the scope of this article to outline the rituals, aesthetics, prayers, practices, and beliefs of all traditions.).  The Mandala helps us to walk the spiritual path in step with our own traditions, spiritual styles, and big questions. In other words, we concentrate more succinctly on our development with focused awareness on ourselves in relation to our  religious, spiritual, ethical traditions. 

I have recently been trained as a facilitator of Interspiritual Meditation (ISM), also developed by Dr. Bastian, and in my final project, I created a Nature Immersion inspired by Forest Bathing Therapy and ISM. I’d like to extend the project and experience by considering and exploring how spending 1.5 – 2 hours in nature might serve any of the spiritual styles.

(On the website, you can click on any of the spiritual styles, any of the seven steps of ISM, and any of the traditions and a curated list of resources is available for me. For example, for the purposes of this paper, I looked for arts and indigenous sources (and found sub-sources for a variety of indigenous traditions), body and indigenous sources, devotion and indigenous sources, etc.)
 
The style of art appeals to people who are attuned to their senses: they connect with beautiful things, sounds, tastes, and smells. The questions for the artist include the following: “Are you naturally creative or comfortable with artistic expressions? Are there artists or works of art that give expression to your own sense of the spiritual? Does participating in the arts inspire and bring out the spiritual in you?” (p. 17). While immersed in nature, the artist may pay special attention to the textures of the trees or rocks, the smells of the woods, the sounds of the birds, or the taste of foraged mushrooms. They may feel inclined to create something while in nature (even a mandala using whatever is found around them) or after the immersion in order to enliven their experience.

The style of the body appeals to people who learn through movement and connection with somatic expression. The questions for the kinesthete include the following: “Does your need for physical activity make it difficult for you to sit still? Do you like to explore and express your spiritual insights through movement? Do you feel subtle emotional and spiritual states through your body?” (p. 25). People with this style would appreciate the act of walking in the woods, dancing through them, or doing yoga among the trees.

The style of devotion appeals to people who have a strong sense of loyalty to people, systems and ideas. The questions for the devotee include the following: “Are you more prone to faith than skepticism? Are you naturally loyal to a job, a person or a community? Do you yearn to be dedicated to a greater cause or higher principle? Do you long to be committed to a spiritual teaching, teacher, or higher power? (p. 39). Once immersed in nature, the devotee may reconnect with their commitment to climate change or a relationship with a person or something in nature.

The style of imagination appeals to people who perceive images and symbols as forms of knowing. The questions for the dreamer include the following: “Do you have vivid and memorable dreams? Are you drawn to spiritual symbols, icons and imagery? Are you naturally interested in mythological stories and beings? Have you had a rich and vivid imagination since childhood?” (p. 45). People with this spiritual style may perceive and conceptualize the animals of the forest, waterfalls, trees, paths, sky, etc. in ways that connect with qualities and practices that are meaningful to them.

The style of love and compassion appeals to people who have an acute sense of our interconnectedness, empathy, care for all people. The questions for the lover include the following: “Do you have a natural empathy for others? Do you want to create happiness and eliminate suffering? Do you have a naturally kindhearted feeling toward others? Do you feel embraced by a universal love and compassion greater than yourself?” (p. 51). While in nature, the lover may experience an overwhelming sense of love from the Divine that might lead to an insatiable desire to serve; they may pass other sojourners and offer love and compassion through a silent prayer or intention.

The style of meditation or contemplation appeals to people who appreciate silence and introspection. The questions for the meditator or contemplator include the following: “Do you long for inner tranquility, focus and insight? Are you comfortable sending considerable time alone in silence? Are you called to discover truth and needle through deep introspection?” (p. 33). For the meditator/contemplator, the journey into nature parallels their journey within, for while they gaze at the beauty and wonderment of a place, they also gaze at their own beauty and wonderment.
            
The style of mystic appeals to people who perceives things beyond what they might regularly observe with the senses. The questions for the mystic include the following: “Have you had unexplainable experiences of the supernatural? Are you attracted to the possibility of mystical visions and revelations? Have you had paranormal experiences not mediated by your five senses? Are you drawn to an unseen mystery that could review of the ultimate nature of reality?” (p. 57). Individuals with this particular spiritual style might connect with the magic and mystery of the woods or they may interact with the non-human elements.

The style of nature appeals to people who feel at home outdoors and communing with natural places. The questions for the naturalist include the following: “Is your connection with nature sacred? Is nature your church or place of worship? Do you feel a special affinity with animals or plants? Do you feel tranquility, oneness or an inter-beingness when immersed in the natural world?” (p. 63). This style will naturally attract individuals who relate to the land, advocate for the land, and work to keep the balance and peace of the environment.

The style of prayer appeals to people who seek assistance or forgiveness, extend gratitude, and feel reverence for people, animals, nature, and ideas. The questions for the prayer include the following: “Do you receive a special peace and tranquility when you pray? Do you feel that prayer is an essential part of spiritual practice? Do you have a daily prayer for help, guidance or protection from a higher power? Do you believe that there are transcendent beings that can hear your prayers and help you?” (p. 69). While meandering in nature, individuals with this spiritual style may feel the desire to sing or chant, or may be compelled to pray for others, offer gratitude for the gifts of their life, or feel a sense of awe for their surroundings.

The style of reason appeals to people who find profound satisfaction in thinking, pondering deeply, and figuring things out. The questions for the thinker include the following: “Do you need a good reason before beginning a spiritual endeavor? Do you like to ponder the universal questions of existence? Do you regard reason as a foundation for a spiritual practice? Do you naturally ask the big why questions, rather than the how questions?” (p. 73). For the thinker, time in nature may include extended time to contemplate life’s big questions or consider nature’s ways of working from an intellectual vantage point.

The style of relationships appeals to people who love to connect with others and practice interacting with others in positive, compassionate, and healing-centered ways. The questions for the mensch include the following: “Do you gain wisdom primarily through relationship with others? Do you prefer the company of others to solitude? Do you like to help others to learn, solve problems and become happy? Do you enjoy being involved in community projects for the common good?” (p. 79). Individuals with this style may want to immerse themselves in nature with a companion or take part in a ritual with a community in support of each other.

The style of wisdom appeals to people who have a deep understanding of life’s truths, insights about or direct perception of ultimate reality. The questions for the sage include the following: “Do you long for the wisdom to guide your own life and help others? Do you yearn for transcendent insight into the true nature of how are you? Do you aspire to the wisdom of the Buddha, Christ, Lao Tzu, Black Elk, Ramakrishna, Muhammad, or Moses?” (p. 85). Individuals with this style may take in nature’s surroundings and integrate the information into their consciousness for future insights and understandings about life.

Working with our spiritual styles helps us to relate to life’s grand questions in ways that nurture and support us. In the context of nature, accessing our styles can enhance our time and lead to holistic spiritual experiences.