SDI Encounters

Website Chat Support, Compassionate Listening, and Growing Peppers - Ryan Hinson - SDI Technical Support Specialist

SDI Encounters

Show Notes

Have you ever noticed on the sdicompanions.org website, a small purple chat bubble that follows you in the lower-right hand corner of the screen? It looks like this:

The ‘SDI Chat’ feature is there to assist you with questions you might have about most things related to our website, how to do things like renew your Membership, access a Webinar. And, lest you think it’s a virtual assistant AI robot, oh no, there is a live, breathing human being on the other end of that chat. And his name is Ryan! Ryan Hinson is our Technical Support Assistant, and I thought it would be fun to talk with him and give the opportunity for you to get to know him a little bit. Ryan is interesting and thoughtful and has the perfect calm, unflappable demeanor for dealing with our Members’ technical issues and helping them find and do what they need. I personally promise you will learn something new and interesting in this conversation. Ryan Hinson (he/him) brings his skill and patience as a technology literacy professional to the Technology Support Position. He has two decades of experience in online teaching, educational writing, tutoring, and tech support, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Outside of this professional role, Ryan enjoys growing hot peppers and native fruits, foraging, cooking, and playing video games.

More from SDI Encounters

Aug 18, 2026

What happens when we step away from the noise of ordinary life and enter a landscape that invites us to listen more deeply? In this conversation, Executive Director Rev. SeiFu Singh-Molares, and author Mirabai Starr, explore the contemplative life through the powerful images of striving, yielding, and returning. Drawing on the metaphor of a salmon pushing upstream, they consider the tension between effort and surrender—and the surprising possibility that both are essential to the spiritual path. And, they share about facilitating SDI's upcoming six-day retreat at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, April 4-9, 2027. What does it mean to “push the river” when life asks more of us than we feel capable of giving? When is it time to stop striving and listen for the current beneath us? And how might presence, even in the midst of difficulty, become an expression of love? Together, we’ll consider what our spiritual practices are really for—not to protect us from the difficulties of life, or to help us rise above them, but to teach us how to remain present and responsive when life asks more of us than we imagined we could give. Through contemplative practices, teachings, silence, writing, time in nature, conversation, and community, we’ll explore the wisdom of multiple spiritual traditions and the possibility that even our struggles can become part of the path. And we’ll do it together. You are invited to join Mirabai, Rev. SeiFu, and other spiritual companions in Ghost Ranch, April 2027! Learn more, including registration details, at https://www.sdicompanions.org/product/ghost-ranch-retreat-2027/

Jul 20, 2026

On this brief episode we talk about SDI's upcoming webinar series, The Tao and the Art of Spiritual Companionship.

Jan 30, 2026

Dear Community, During these deeply disturbing, harrowing and convulsive times, what are spiritual directors and companions to do? How can we respond? Please listen to this episode for a special message I wanted to share with all of you. We need to stand together as a community, faithful to our calling and practice, because spiritual direction and companionship heal, and are needed now more than ever. Warmly, Rev SeiFu, and the SDI Team

Dec 16, 2025

Cinema Divina is the creative, contemplative practice of media artist and writer M Freeman. M re-imagines the ancient ritual of sacred reading or lectio divina in today’s audiovisual vernacular as Cinema Divina—a contemplative screening process designed to increase access to one’s deeper wisdom, healing, and peace.

Dec 9, 2025

In this episode hear from Christina Roberts, author of My Spiritual Journey, a new children’s activity book designed to help kids explore wonder, stillness, and the gentle presence of Divine Love. Christina shares the inspiration behind the book, why children are naturally attuned to the sacred, and how simple practices like drawing, gratitude, and quiet reflection can nurture a child’s inner life. Whether you work with children, care for children, or simply want to reconnect with your own sense of wonder, we hope this new activity book from SDI invites you into a deeper appreciation of the spiritual wisdom children carry and the gentle ways we can help it bloom.

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