Krista Tippett, author, producer, and host of the Public Radio show, "Speaking of Faith" writes, "Focused Attention, Open Awareness" I'm not sure I'd seen the words "physicist" and "contemplative" in the same sentence many times, much less found them together as descriptors of the same person, before I met Arthur Zajonc."

The opening words in Tippett's e-mail announcement for the June 24, 2010 show, "Holding Life Consciously" grabbed me. Having not yet listened to the show or podcast on my iPod, a knowing and affirmation reverberated within my Spirit in subtle new language: Focus. Attention. Open Awareness. Alert. Alive. Stillness.

Gift yourself. Take a minute and read quotes in this blog post. Or, read the full description I read, and listen to the June 24, 2010 show, "Holding Life Consciously"

Notice: What opens in you? Is your inner knowing affirmed with any of these insights? Does a phrase or turn of words evoke an inner smile and affirmation in you?

From June 24, 2010 show, "Holding Life Consciously:

"Zajonc's own life experience has been recently reshaped by a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. He has seen the progression of this illness in other members of his family, and so has some understanding of what is ahead. This is at one and the same time a source of grief and a continuation of the adventure Arthur Zajonc has long been on — to explore what holding life consciously means, now with a progressively debilitating condition. He tells me:

"There are two main types of meditation and both of them are part of my life, which one is a concentration and the other is what I call open awareness. It's a very open presence."

In the concentration phase, tremors actually worsened.

You have a line of poetry or from scripture or an image and you bring your full undivided single-pointed attention to that content. But as we're straining mentally to do that, the hand begins to tremor more. And then when you release the image and become very still and quiet and open yourself wide, the hand slowly calms to the point where indeed your whole body feels at ease and the tremor disappears. Interesting…

I can see that the mind and the body are so delicately attuned to one another that these practices affect the Parkinson's state itself. … So here's the question I pose to myself.

"Is it possible to be alive, active in the world, and yet have such calm, such kind of inner openness and presence that one can lead a life, at least in part, that is an expression of that quality of meditative quiescence that's on the one hand quite alert and on the other hand, completely at ease, completely at rest. … And I'll keep you posted as to whether that comes out all right or not."

What do you think?

"People want to be compassionate, but often they don't know how to go about it." --Karen Armstrong

A 57 second video introduces Armstrong's new Vook, A Compassionate Life in 12 Steps. Short and pithy, let these simple words inspire you. You'll hear a young woman say, "It's time for us to really look within." Do you agree? Could a spiritual director accompany your inner journey of seeking that manifests in compassion for self and others?

Imagine a world of compassion in action. Armstrong does, and teaches us how to go about it. One man tells us, "You gotta be compassionate, man! You can't walk around mad at the world all the time." Indeed! Well, said.

Armstrong is a religious scholar, author, TED Prize winner, and her vision created the worldwide Charter for Compassion.

A vook is a new innovation in reading that blends a well-written book, high-quality video and the power of the Internet into a single, complete story.

Are you looking for some direction in your life - something more? A spiritual director, companion, mentor, or guide may help you along on your journey of discovery. Tips and online resource:  Locate a spiritual director.

 

Give a FREE gift to your community…
The 2011 print version of Seek and Find: A Worldwide Resource Guide of Available Spiritual Directors is published once a year, and it's coming soon!

A complimentary gift ...
Would you like to share a printed copy of the 2011 Seek and Find Guide with someone in your community who would benefit from having a 2011 print version? Perhaps one of these places or people spark an idea in you:

• Your local spiritual congregation leader
• Dean in a theology school or rabbinical college
• Director of a retreat or mindfulness center
• Chaplain or spiritual care provider in your local health care center
• Local business, charitable organization, the Red Cross, or a homeless shelter
• Engage your imagination ... who? where?
  

It's simple:
Send SDI your snail mail address, or the address of a person in your community who will appreciate receiving the Seek and Find Guide. We’ll mail them a COMPLIMENTARY copy later this year! We will even let them know that you are giving them this gift if you would like us to. All members of Spiritual Directors International will automatically receive a free copy via snail mail. It's a membership benefit.

Act by July 1, 2010
Tell us where to send a copy of the 2011 Seek and Find Guide – it’s a fast and easy way to help your community.

• Telephone the home office of SDI at: 425-455-1565; or
• Send an e-mail to Molly: membership [@] sdiworld.org

Please include the following information in your e-mail:
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This is one concrete way we can work together to touch the lives of many people in your community. On your behalf, Spiritual Directors International is reaching out to raise awareness of the global and local ministry and service of spiritual companionship by placing a Seek and Find Guide at their fingertips.

Spiritual Directors International Membership
Current members: Please update your membership information by July 1. Fill out the profile update form http://www.sdiworld.org/profileupdates.html or e-mail membership [@] sdiworld.org. Any changes to your information must be received by July 1st to be included in the 2011 printed Seek and Find Guide.

Not yet a member? Join SDI now. You will be included in the online and printed version of the 2011 Seek and Find Guide, and receive many other membership benefits. It's easy. 

 

 

In Claremont, California, USA, "A rabbi, a minister and an imam walk into a classroom, and it's no joke."

Nardine Saad, an Associated Press Writer reports,

"The venerable Claremont School of Theology has taught Methodist ministers and theologians for more than a century, but in the fall they'll try an unorthodox approach: cross-training the nation's future Muslim, Christian and Jewish religious leaders in classrooms scattered around Southern California as they work toward their respective degrees. The experimental approach launched Wednesday [June 9, 2010] is intended to create U.S. religious leaders who not only preach tolerance in an era of religious strife, but who have lived it themselves by rubbing shoulders with those in other Abrahamic faiths."

Additionally, Saad writes,

• "The collaborative effort among the seminary, Jewish academy and Islamic center is believed to be the first to integrate the three studies. Other Christian institutions, such as Connecticut's Hartford Seminary, offer an imam training program but don't incorporate rabbinical students."
   
• "Jewish organizers are excited that the project will allow future rabbis and imams to study together for the first time — something that's increasingly important in a world where Muslim-Jewish conflict makes headlines almost every day."
   
• "Students have expressed excitement about the project. Susan Goldberg, 36, a third-year rabbinical student from Echo Park, said she is "thrilled" about studying overlapping theologies and scriptures in the project. "I have a great desire to learn about others and in the learning it clarifies who I am and how I'm different and how we're connected," she said. "It can only serve to make us better leaders.""

 Links

Click to read the full article, "Theology School Melds Studies of Different Faiths" by Nardine Saad, writing for The Associated Press, June 9, 2010.

Click to read more about the Claremont School of Theology "University Project."

Spiritual Directors International is a global learning community of people from many faiths and many nations who share a common concern, passion and commitment to the art and contemplative practice of spiritual direction.  

Please add your thoughts and comments to this blog post. 

Do you desire to learn about prayer, where spiritual direction leads, what to seek in a spiritual guide, and what you can bring to a spiritual guidance relationship? Make time for a few minutes with Brother David Steindl-Rast, OSB, through two new short videos. You will hear many gems, including, “Spiritual guidance leads to deep trust in life.”

In an engaging, candid conversation, Brother David adds to the “Spiritual Directors International Learns From…” video series. Filmed during the SDI twentieth anniversary celebration in San Francisco, California, USA, Brother David was a plenary keynote during the educational events.

Conversation with Brother David Steindl-Rast, OSB 7:54 minutes

Brother David-Steindl-Rast, OSB: How to Find a Spiritual Guide, It Can Be Difficult! 3:30 minutes

About
Brother David Steindl-Rast, OSB, has devoted his life to peace and justice through the ministry of cultivating gratefulness and understanding among spiritual traditions. Originally from Austria, he has published many books including Gratefulness: the Heart of Prayer and his most recent, Deeper than Words: Living the Apostle’s Creed.
He co-founded the Center for Spiritual Studies in 1968, and received the 1975 Martin Buber Award for his achievements in building bridges among religious traditions. Together with Thomas Merton, Brother David helped launch a renewal of religious life. From 1970 on, he became a leading figure in the House of Prayer movement, which affected some 200,000 members of religious orders in the United States and Canada.

Additional Links

• FREE educational videos in "SDI Learns From..." YouTube video series. More than fifteen titles are now available to you

• Seek and Find: A Worldwide Resource Guide of Available Spiritual Directors is an online, comprehensive, global listing of more than 5,000 spiritual directors and guides. Using interactive Google maps, you can search anywhere in the world
• FREE one hour Spiritual Directors International Teleconference: “How to Seek and Find a Spiritual Director” 

• To be the first to view new educational videos, add your name to the YouTube subscription service for sdiworld videos
• Links to books by Brother David Steindl-Rast, OSB, and additional juicy titles from spiritual leaders

Spiritual Directors International creates educational videos for the general public to tell the story of spiritual direction, which is also known as spiritual companionship, spiritual guidance, and spiritual accompaniment.

Please share these videos with your colleagues, local religious and spiritual institutions, hospital, organizations that offer spiritual care, seekers, family, friends, students, and everyone seeking a spiritual director or guide.

 

 

Is spiritual direction a worthy solution? The National Catholic Reporter reports, "The Catholic church in the United States is facing a daunting challenge in trying to reach and provide spiritual formation for its estimated 65 million members." In his May 28, 2010 article "An Ancient and Contemporary Pathway to God", Tom Gallagher indicates, "One group believes it has the answer: spiritual direction."

Liz Budd Ellmann, executive director of Spiritual Directors International is interviewed in the article. She reminds us,

“Spiritual direction is not for the pious few, but for everyone who is seeking a relationship with God”

Echoing the historical roots of spiritual direction, Dr. Janet Ruffing, a member of SDI, author, and professor of spirituality and ministerial leadership at Yale Divinity School, New Haven, Connecticut explains, “Spiritual direction is an ancient practice in the church and was recovered and renewed by Vatican Council II."

Jesuit Bishop Carlos Sevilla of the Yakima, Washington diocese believes that, “Spiritual direction allows people to deepen their relationship with God and affects other dimensions of their lives as they carry forward as committed Catholics.”

Spiritual Directors International provided excellent recommendations to guide a person's search for a spiritual director. Included are the reminders to, "reflect and pray," along with "ways to find spiritual directors."

Could spiritual direction become more visible and serve a spiritual hunger in Catholic parishes? Absolutely. To read the entire article, click, "An Ancient and Contemporary Pathway to God" by Tom Gallagher.

Imagine choosing to engage in a contemplative spiritual practice of exile. A Jewish spiritual director recently taught our peer supervision group Hebrew-Yiddish phrases that may be supportive to you as you journey with your spiritual companions:  “pravis galut” means “I am practicing exile” and “pravas galut” means “we are practicing exile.” Practicing exile deepens our dependence on God, a Higher Power, or in Thomas Merton’s words, “the ultimate reality that is love.” 

Practicing exile is not – I repeat: not  – an idealized, cerebral exercise. “Exile is one of the saddest fates,” Palestinian-American Edward Said asserts. “There has always been an association between the idea of exile and the terrors of being a leper, a social and moral untouchable.” Practicing exile does not fail to recognize the experience of millions of people who live in a constant state of being cast out, without a homeland. The practice of exile, however, does allow us, paraphrasing the language of Said, “to create an intellectual and moral space which provides a place from which to refuse to give in to attempts to be co-opted into becoming an ally for power and which unsettles us as long as injustice forces homelessness and exile anywhere.” 

How do we practice exile? Kindness. Solidarity. Shake that tambourine.  

Kindness. The home office of Spiritual Directors International is blessed this week by the visit of the Venerable Panchen Ötrul Rinpoche, who like many Tibetans lives in exile. When the Dalai Lama was asked how he remains serene and cheerful in exile, amidst the intolerance of many religious people, and the tensions between China and Tibet, he responded with a smile, “My religion is kindness.” By greeting people with loving kindness, including people who are “enemies,” we learn compassion for ourselves and may be open to discover the plight of others. Rinpoche is visiting Seattle to raise money for charitable work in Mongolia.

Solidarity. Meeting regularly with a spiritual director strengthens the heart’s movement out of alienation toward community, even if the community consists of fellow exiles. As spiritual directors, we offer an embodied experience of loving solidarity and Christ-like compassion. Many seekers search for a way home to a community “out there,” yet over time, with the support of a spiritual companion, they may discover Jeremiah’s invitation to the exiles to seek peace and prosperity in the city in which they find themselves (Jer  29:7).

Shake that tambourine. Spiritual Directors International member Rev. Valerie Fons is living in exile on many levels. Not only is she living in Washington state – two thousand miles from her Wisconsin family – in a sterile hospital room, as she receives a bone marrow transplant, she also lives in exile from her former body and from the earth. She wrote about exile in her blog, “My body felt like a killing field. The doctors had told me that I would not be able to touch or sit on the dirt for a year following transplant. Following the chemo rounds, I felt as if there was no earth to touch because killing was beneath me, all around and through me.” Yet when I last visited Valerie, doctors delivered the news that she is progressing steadily, and she will soon move into temporary housing. I witnessed a weak-but-joy-filled Valerie rise up on her frail legs to sing a hymn to the doctors. And then she turned the black-plastic plate warmers into a makeshift cymbal and tambourine. Like Moses’ sister Miriam, she celebrated being one step out of exile, closer to the promised land. By pausing to be joyful and grateful, we celebrated at a deep level that God was indeed bringing Valerie out of exile. (See the painting of Miriam crossing the Red Sea, by James Tissot, Songs of Joy, at the top of the blog).

As spiritual companions, we might take up the conscious spiritual practice of “pravus galut” by meeting with kindness the people God sends us each day, by standing in solidarity with people living in actual and metaphorical exile, and by celebrating every inch out of exile into new life. By practicing exile, we join others around the world and across traditions, who like Thomas Merton, “have all known the long loneliness, and that the only solution is love, and that love comes with community.” 

Please share your thoughts about how you practice exile by adding comments to the blog.

 

Every issue of Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction features media reviews, and we never have enough print space for the fabulous new materials that relate to spiritual direction. Thus, bonus reviews are posted to the SDI Web site for your edification! Gain the benefit of our reviewers' perspectives in your search for new resources.

Check out the June 2010, Volume 16.2, bonus book reviews:

• Days of Grace: Meditations and Practices for Living with Illness by Mary C. Earle, reviewed by Pegge Bernecker
• Loving Creation: Christian Spirituality, Earth-Centered and Just by Kathleen Fischer, reviewed by Bobbie Bonk
• Sharing Sacred Space: Interreligious Dialogue as Spiritual Encounter by Benoit Standaert, reviewed by Christine Luna Munger
• Tending to the Holy: The Practice of the Presence of God in Ministry by Bruce G. Epperly and Katherine Gould Epperly, reviewed by Toni Stone

Click to read these book reviews, and past bonus media reviews

LINKS

• Bonus Media Reviews
• Order your subscription to Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction
• Become a member of SDI and receive Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction each quarter. It's one of the member benefits!
• Order past issues of Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction
• Peruse additional FREE resources in the SDI Web Library

 

 

 

 

May 24, 2010: The New York Times Op-Ed Contributor, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, writes about the need for compassion, potential, mutual understanding, and the "power of personal contact to bridge differences."

"When I was a boy in Tibet, I felt that my own Buddhist religion must be the best — and that other faiths were somehow inferior. Now I see how naïve I was, and how dangerous the extremes of religious intolerance can be today." 

"Granted, every religion has a sense of exclusivity as part of its core identity. Even so, I believe there is genuine potential for mutual understanding. While preserving faith toward one’s own tradition, one can respect, admire and appreciate other traditions."

"Harmony among the major faiths has become an essential ingredient of peaceful coexistence in our world. From this perspective, mutual understanding among these traditions is not merely the business of religious believers — it matters for the welfare of humanity as a whole."

Read the entire article, "Many Faiths, One Truth" by Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama.

What do you believe? Have your beliefs changed over time or through circumstances and relationships? Please comment.

 

Eboo Patel, the founder and Executive Director of Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), a Chicago-based institution building the global interfaith youth movement, took the opportunity to thank the Dalai Lama for listening and speaking encouraging words to him twelve years ago.

 

On May 18, 2010, Patel, writing "A Blessing from the Dalai Lama" for The Washinton Post, said,

"Twelve years ago, I went to see the Dalai Lama with the small seeds of a big dream: a movement of young people from different traditions building bridges of interfaith understanding through service. Last week, I had the chance to thank His Holiness personally for speaking encouraging words to a 22-year-old kid with a head full of radical spangles."

"I thought back to my first audience with His Holiness. I was experimenting with Buddhism back then, trying to figure out who I was and what I hoped to contribute to the world. I was eager to explain the Interfaith Youth Core to His Holiness during that first audience, but the Dalai Lama insisted on asking me questions about my own religious path first. I stammered that I didn't know. He prodded gently..."

Patel had the opportunity to say thank you during the Dalai Lama's visit to Bloomington, Indiana, USA, where His Holiness was giving a teaching on the Buddhist Heart Sutra, and took time to meet with a small group of Muslim and interfaith leaders to launch Common Ground Between Islam and Buddhism, his new book. Patel adds:

• "Several times His Holiness spoke of the importance of "coming together", emphasizing that when people interact positively with each other they learn how similar they are, and when they are separated the gap is often filled by hostility."
• "Clearly, compassion lies at the heart of the teachings of both Islam and Buddhism, as it also lies at the heart of other great religious traditions ... The time has certainly come for followers of the world's great religions to work together to create a more compassionate and peaceful world."

Click "A Blessing from the Dalai Lama" to read Patel's reflection.

Who might you thank for offering compassionate listening to you?

The new May 2010 issue of Connections is online and waiting for you now! 14 pages. Clickable. Color. Green.

Connect inside: 

• Member reflections during SDI Twentieth Anniversary celebration in San Francisco, California, USA. Includes keynote snippets from Brian Swimme, Brother David Steindl-Rast, Leadership Institute
• Ireland 2009 reflections -- do you know about the cutaway bog?
• Resources, photographs, online links

Connections is the official Spiritual Directors International e-newsletter, published  in May, August, and November.

Join the international learning community of Spiritual Directors International. You can become a member today.

 

Princeton Theological Seminary values spiritual direction. Impressive:

"Student Health Benefits Plan has included a benefit to make individual (and group) spiritual direction even more affordable for students and spouses who are enrolled in this plan. It is probably the only health insurance plan in the world which includes spiritual direction a covered benefit and there is no deductible for this benefit."

"Students and spouses who have pursued individual spiritual direction during their time at Princeton Seminary routinely report that it has been an invaluable component of their faith formation. Many love having an opportunity to simply focus on where they are in their faith journey with a caring, trained "companion" who can help them hear the meaning in what they are saying and mine what they are experiencing."

Do you value spiritual direction? Is spiritual direction part of your wellness plan?

 

Click here to watch or read the full segment of the May 14, 2010: "Spiritual Direction."

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly features "May 14, 2010: Spiritual Direction" showcasing spiritual direction between two experienced spiritual directors from the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation in Washington, USA.

Host, Bob Abernethy says, "From time to time on this program we have referred to spiritual direction and spiritual directors." Spiritual Directors International thanks PBS for highlighting spiritual direction, and helping people learn about this ancient, contemplative practice that can be for of value to everyone.

The video and transcript highlight the actual session between Bill Dietrich, a Quaker, and Jean Sweeney, a Catholic. Abernethy writes:

"Spiritual directors say what they do is more like prayer than therapy, not so much counseling as helping people sense God’s presence. Every spiritual direction session is probably different, but this is what happened in the conversation we covered."

Click here to watch or read the full segment of the May 14, 2010: "Spiritual Direction." Don't miss all the comments!

To watch a PBS segment filmed earlier in 2010, click "February 26, 2010: Spiritual Directors" showcasing spiritual direction, prayer, and members of Spiritual Directors International.

Thank you to Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly host Bob Abernethy, Bill Dietrich, Jean Sweeney, and PBS for continuing to highlight spiritual direction.

Many months ago, a member of Spiritual Directors International telephoned the home office in Bellevue, Washington, USA with a request. She was searching for a painting of the face of Jesus, that was also a collage of faces. A query was sent to me. I remembered the image, framed in my Mother's bedroom, and from prayer cards during past years in campus ministry. I knew I had a print of it, and that a story from the artist accompanied it.

But I couldn't find it anywhere. Nor did a Google search locate it.

Last week, I was preparing to lead a retreat, and opened an old file box. In the first folder, the print, "In His Image" by William Zdinak (1925-1993) greeted me. Included was a testimonial by Zdinak, describing his one night painting process during the seventies, and a list of many of the better known people included in the image.

I share this in hopes that the member that asked for it may read this blog post, and that you too might be willing to follow your own creative inspirations.

Click to read the full story of the painting.
Blessings!

 

Diana Butler Bass, author of A People’s History of Christianity: The Other Side of the Story, questions, "Happy National Day of Prayer...Or Is It National Day of Fighting Over Prayer?" Writing on May 6, 2010, for The Huffington Post, Bass queries:

"The sentiment of a National Day of Prayer for communal forgiveness and social unity is nice, even noble. It is also politically expedient. Honestly, what politician can vote against prayer and hope to get re-elected? But whose prayer? Which theology? What form of devotion? ... American prayer has more often divided us rather than uniting us. If today's news headlines are any indication, that is still the case. Maybe the Quakers had it right all along: Next year we should try a "National Day of Silence" instead." 

Spiritual direction cultivates compassion and contemplative stillness. Please join Spiritual Directors International for a pause of stillness, a moment of prayer, in whatever way your heart is moved. Feel the pulse of life within you and around you. Perhaps pray the prayer of the psalmist, with this adaptation:

Be still and know that I am God. ...
Be still and know that I am. ...
Be still and know. ...
Be still. ...
Be.

Click to read the entire article, "Happy National Day of Prayer...Or Is It National Day of Fighting Over Prayer?" by Diana Butler Bass.

What do you think? Please share your comments.