It has been far too long since we have been in touch! I see that my last email to you was sent in June. Since then I've been deeply involved in Mom care. At 91, my dear mother has experienced ongoing setbacks, one of which led us to realize it was time for her to move. Moving someone is not in my wheelhouse but I stayed mindful for the most part and plugged away. And, oftentimes, I felt quite
grateful to have the pleasure of going through her precious things and "holding the story of her life" in my hands.
That said, my work in the world has been streamlined. I am not leading online courses at this time and am presenting programs in Grand Rapids, MI only twice this fall. See details below. I'm still offering 1-on-1 spiritual
direction/guidance (especially long-distance via Zoom). Most of my time is spent steering the training organization I co-founded 2 years ago—The Spiritual Guidance Training Institute. I thoroughly love teaching people to be spiritual companions. It is pure pleasure and such a gift to help someone learn to serve others with an interspiritual heart! At SGTI, we've heard the call to open our doors to the public too, and there's information on that below.
This summer I also experienced the joy of being elected to the Coordinating Council of Spiritual Directors International. What an honor and blessing to step into leadership for this extraordinary organization that serves so many! I will be serving a 3-year term and traveling to Santa Fe in October and April on SDI's behalf.
And THAT said, life continues to unfold in such beautiful ways for us as a family. My first (biological) grandchild, Nicholas, was born in late April and he is a great source of love and laughter. My youngest daughter is getting married next spring so there is much excitement about that too!
My circle of love continues to grow and I hope this is true for you as well. I always enjoy hearing from my spiritual friends and am eager to know how you're doing staying present, mindful and compassionate. Hopefully, we will cross paths one of these days and share a hug. Even a cyber hug will
do!
The loving-kindness meditation is based on metta, the Pali term for unconditional friendliness, or loving-kindness, and is a form of blessing/meditation practice. It is sourced in the Buddhist tradition, yet versions of it are found in many
spiritual traditions, including Judaism and Celtic Christianity. It is an interspiritual practice that supports many theologies.
“Pure Presence” is a unique protocol I developed for sacred listening to transform our ability to offer presence—the deepest empathy and spiritual care—to whomever we are with. It is presence without agenda. It is presence that
welcomes each individual we meet with wholeheartedness and compassion, not any easy thing to do today given our ethnic, religious and political differences.
A 5-month distance learning program. This one-of-a-kind training program is for people in the caring professions: spiritual directors, clergy and lay servants, educators, social workers, therapists, life coaches, chaplains, spiritual and
secular community leaders, and more. Completion of the 5-month, online program results in a certificate in Interfaith/Interspiritual Competence.This will prepare you to companion and serve seekers of various religious, spiritual and ethical traditions.
