Who is a spiritual companion? A spiritual director is a spiritual companion, as is a life coach, a chaplain, a hospice nurse, really anybody in a caring vocation. But it can also be a type of person who lives and listens in ways that embody this type of caring. That is, a spiritual companion need not do it as a job. Some of us are spiritual companions in the way we honor our relationships to family, friends, neighbors, the land, our ancestors, and the cosmos.
So there are lots of ways the role of spiritual companionship manifests, and SDI celebrates the diversity of practices and people who identify as one. But, how does one identify or see themselves and others as a spiritual companion?
In April 2020’s Listen publication, Executive Director Reverend Seifu Anil Singh-Molares wrote a reflection on the Dimensions of Spiritual Companionship - a series of characteristics and skills that a companion lives into.
What are the characteristics of a spiritual companion? Rev. Seifu’s various Dimensions invite us to consider this. And I think it’s important to note that one need not embody ALL of these dimensions at once - but each one should give us some pause, in which I might consider - how do I practice this? How do I embody this dimension?
In an ongoing series of episodes, Rev. Seifu and I will have conversations around each of these dimensions, as a way to unpack and get to know each of them in depth. And as you listen, I invite you to consider each for yourself. The way you understand each dimension need not reflect how we understand it, but I hope these conversations spark either a deep knowing within you, or a good curiosity.
Good Discernment: "We are intuitives and quiet guides, we provide reasoned feedback only when asked, and we also try to advance balance and equanimity at all times."
I hope this conversation has awakened or stirred something in you. Take a moment to reflect - how do you identify with this dimension of spiritual companionship? Does it feel natural? Does it feel elusive? How does this dimension manifest for you? Is it something you desire to increase for yourself? I invite you to take a few breaths, and tend to that stirring.
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Together we are changing the world through the contemplative action of spiritual companionship. Everyone is welcome to become a member of SDI.
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Membership benefits include:
EP104 - Roshi Joan Halifax - The Landscape of Compassion
EP103 - Father Richard Rohr - A Call to Contemplative Solidarity
EP102 - Andre van Zijl on Art and Spiritual Companionship
EP101 - Presence Journal Online - Enhancements, Features, and a FREE ISSUE!
EP100 - Sunyata Kopriva - Providing Culturally Congruent Trauma Care For Young People
EP099 - We Need Elders In Our Lives - Nathan Bettger and Lizzie Salsich - New Contemplatives
EP098 - Free eBook! Starting Spiritual Direction - John Mabry, Part 2
EP097 - Feminist Perspectives on Spiritual Companionship and Direction
EP096 - Catching Up With John Mabry - Creative Work and Interfaith Exploration
EP095 - Setting Intentions for Spiritual Companionship in the New Year - A Short Meditation
EP094 - Two Years of the SDI Encounters Podcast - Notes and Reflections
EP093 - Bernadette Miles - "What stops us from realizing we are lovable?"
EP091 - A Gratitude Meditation for Spiritual Companions
EP090 - Announcing the SDI 2021 Renaissance Virtual Conference!
EP089 - Dimensions of Spiritual Companionship - Accountability
EP088 - Dimensions of a Spiritual Companion - Mutuality
EP087 - Non-theistic Companionship with Joe Sehee
EP086 - Apollo's Lyre - Spirituality and Psychoanalysis with Dr. Kenneth Porter
EP085 - Somatic Healing and Vulnerability with Angie Fadel
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