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The Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction third annual poetry contest will be judged by a three-person panel. One of the panel members is John Mizelle.

John writes fiction, poetry, and music that arises from the well of silence. He has practiced psychotherapy, taught psychology and conflict resolution, and facilitated spiritual groups for twenty years. All his work is oriented to inviting people to discover the essential, unconditioned Self. He lives in the mountains of Santa Cruz, California, USA, with his wife and a family of animals.

If you would like to submit a poem, click here for the contest guidelines.

For information about the judges, click here.

According to an old Turkish Sufi saying, "You can bandage a cut for yourself, but you cannot take out your own appendix." That is, we can learn and grow through our own efforts, but for profound spiritual transformation we need a guide.

Read more about Islamic spiritual direction here.

Workplace analysts report that a growing number of American companies are hiring chaplains to minister to their employees, offering counseling services and helping with family crises. Listen to this report by Joyce Russell on a pork-processing plant in Iowa that uses chaplains.

Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction welcomes three new members to the editorial review panel:

• Gordon Self from Alberta, Canada
  
• Gloria Tiede from Vancouver, Canada
  
• Doug Gregg from St. George, Utah, USA

For a full list of current panel members, click here.

The Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction third annual poetry contest will be judged by a three-person panel. One of the panel members is Hannah Thomassen. 

Hannah takes her inspiration as a writer from the Pacific Northwest, USA, landscape, where she lives with her husband, two sheep, three donkeys, twelve chickens and a dog on four creekside acres in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. Her professional background includes education and hospital administration, from which she is now retired. She completed a course of study in spiritual direction in 2004 and sees directees in her home.

If you would like to submit a poem, click here for the contest guidelines. 

Stay tuned for info about the other judges.

Be sure your expanded listing is in the print version of Seek and Find: A Worldwide Resource Guide of Available Spiritual Directors. All current members of Spiritual Directors International who are available for spiritual direction will be listed in the print version of the Seek and Find Guide. However, if you want an expanded listing, you need to act soon. The deadline is May 1 for making it into the print version. (The print version will mail in August 2007.) Click here for more information on upgrading your listing.

Most companies strive to be family-friendly. Some brag that they are gay-friendly. But how many are faith-friendly?

Not enough, says David Miller, a minister, author and former business executive. Ford, American Express and Tyson Foods are among the better-known faith-friendly firms.

Read about the movement among business people who want to integrate their religious beliefs and their work here.

From car parts makers to fast food chains to financial service companies, corporations across the country are bringing chaplains into the workplace. At most companies, the chaplaincy resembles the military model, which calls for chaplains to serve the religiously diverse community before them, not to evangelize.

Read more about the growth of workplace chaplaincy in this New York Times article. 

If you have a Web site, and you would like to let folks know you are a member of Spiritual Directors International, here is a handy link you can post. The instructions for posting the link are here. Every hit the Spiritual Directors International gets raises the Google ranking and spreads the word in the world about the ministry of spiritual direction.