Show Notes
Those familiar with the Enneagram know what a powerful tool for self-discovery and insight it can be. With that in mind we are pleased to announce our latest 10 session course offering from SDI – New Perspectives on the Enneagram for Spiritual Directors and Companions. This unique online course offering from SDI offers spiritual directors and companions the opportunity to connect with peers who are on the leading edge of the Enneagram field. This course will give seasoned Enneagram explorers the opportunity to take a deep dive and develop new perspectives about the use of this medium in spiritual direction and companionship, while honing new skills and approaches to their practice and calling. We recently hosted a preview of this series, inviting many of our Presenters for this course to share their perspectives – what’s new, what’s stirring for them, how does exploration of the Enneagram take them beyond archetpyes and personality types – and into deeper reality and identity? In this episode, we are sharing the first two presenters from this free session, who also will be part of our upcoming course, Sandra Smith and Dina ElBadry. To learn more about the presenters, the course, and to register, go to sdicompanions.org. You do not need to be a spiritual director, or an SDI Member to attend (though members receive large discounts on the registration price). In the next episode of this podcast we’ll have Part Two of this session, featuring Allen Proctor, Erlina Edwards, and Ben Campbell, then we’ll release Part Three with Chelsea Forbrook, Rev. Nhien Vuong, and a brief Q&A. --- With over 23 years of teaching experience, author Sandra Smith weaves her background in business and non-profits with her theological education to offer a practical and compassionate exploration of the Enneagram’s nine types. An accredited International Enneagram Association Professional and certified in the Narrative Enneagram Tradition, Sandra teaches internationally, inviting curiosity and compassion to guide the inward turn in exploring the foundational question, “Who Am I?” Sandra has presented at numerous International Enneagram Association Conferences in the USA as well as Canada, and been a speaker at several SDI (Spiritual Directors International) conferences, speaking to the role of the Enneagram in Spiritual Companioning. Her forthcoming book The Enneagram Map to Your Deeper Self: Living Beyond Your Type will be released by Hampton Roads Publishing in September 1, 2024. Dina ElBadry is an IEA accredited professional and Founder & Head Teacher at The Enneagram Academy, Egypt. She works with Chestnut Pães Academy As Head Mentor Worldwide & Staff member in Africa and Europe. Dina studied the Gurdjieff work and she teaches the CP levels of awareness model that’s based on both Gurdjieff & Sufi Work.
More from SDI Encounters
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/
On this brief episode we talk about SDI's upcoming webinar series, The Tao and the Art of Spiritual Companionship.
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
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.
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.