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Workshop Details
Our workshops will be held on Thursday, May 4, y Friday, May 5, 2023 between 2:30 PM y 5:45 PM.
Workshop durations run from 90-180 minutes each. We will have a 15-minute break starting at 4:00PM.
Day 2 Workshops (B)
Friday, May 5, 2023 - (2:30 PM - 5:45 PM)
All times listed are in CDT. To convert to your own timezone, refer to this timezone converter.
B1
Neuro-Mysticism and Contemplation: The Essence of Trauma-Informed Spiritual Direction
2:30 - 4:00 PM (90 minutes)
Spirituality is a felt sense of safe and nurturing connections to one’s Self, others, Spirit, and the Earth. While previously understood as “events,” trauma is now more widely considered to be the ruptures and residues of overwhelming events. Trauma is a state of disconnection and isolation and, as such, is a spiritual wound that often separates us from our inner wisdom.
Spiritual direction/companionship has something to receive from and contribute to trauma-informed care. Contemplative practices take us to the core of ourselves and to the margins of experience, often to the areas of traumatic desolation. In the places of agony, the mystic can discover union with the Divine, however named and experienced. Using the body as a text of soma divina, through the languages of neuroscience, contemplative practices, and mysticism, spiritual directors can facilitate a hermeneutic to help repair the sacred fabric of spiritual companions and communities.
Shannon Michael Pater
Shannon Michael Pater, M.A.R., M.Div., Psy.D., E-RYT 500, is a trauma-informed spiritual director and restorative yoga teacher in private practice for more than 15 years. In 2020 he suddenly became an international COVID refugee while traveling in India on a long pilgrimage. For 21 months he took refuge in McLeod Ganj, a small village in the Himalayas, the home-in-exile of H.H. the Dalai Lama. While there, he was rescued from near-total isolation by the companionship of street dogs.
Informed by ancient Wisdom Traditions and modern neuroscience, he offers individual and group spiritual direction, supervision and consultation, and an Apprenticeship in a Trauma-Informed Scope of Practice. His soul is deeply nourished by the poetry of Mary Oliver and he practices Miksang, a Tibetan form of contemplative photography. For more about him and his practice: http://www.noticethejourney.com.
B2
The Infinity Process: A Model for Socio-Spiritual Discernment
2:30 - 5:45 PM (180 minutes)
In this workshop, Ashe Van Steenwyk will guide participants through an adapted version of “the Infinity Process.”
The Infinity Process helps participants unearth the toxic myths and ideas that have taken root in their own consciousness, as well as confront the way those same myths and ideas find expression in oppressive societal structures.
This process is about more than confrontation; is about finding healing and liberation for ourselves as we find ourselves more able to “show up” for the ongoing work of social transformation.
There are four primary movements in the process: attending, naming, unveiling, and integrating.
It is called “the Infinity Process” not only because the flow between inner and outer work is expressed visually as an infinity symbol, but to demonstrate that this movement from inner to outer is continuous. Recursive. Our inner work continually reflects outward. And the outer work continually shapes our own consciousness.
M. Ashe Van Steenwyk
Maki Ashe Van Steenwyk (she/they) is the Executive Director of the Center for Prophetic Imagination in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Ashe is the author of A Wolf at the Gate, unKingdom, and That Holy Anarchist, and a contributor to a number of edited tomes. Ashe has been published in Sojourners, Geez Magazine, JesusRadicals.com, Leadership Magazine, the Mennonite, and Mennonite World Review. Her work has been featured in the Minneapolis Star Tribute, the Boston Globe, and on CNN.com. Most of her work was published under her previous name: “Mark.”
Ashe founded the Mennonite Worker, which she pastored for 15 years. In the tradition of the Catholic Worker, the Mennonite Worker practiced hospitality, simplicity, peacemaking, and resistance.
Ashe has a B.S. in Ministry from the University of Northwestern, an M.Div. from Bethel Theological Seminary, and studied Spiritual Direction at St. Catherine University. Ashe is currently working on her doctoral dissertation at United Theological Seminary.
B3
Reweaving Our Life Tapestries When Things Fall Apart
2:30 - 5:45 PM (180 minutes)
In this experiential workshop, we will explore three great movements in life: 1) creativity and creation, 2) loss and unraveling, and 3) willingness to stand in the darkness in order to find the light. Each of us, as well as the people we are supporting as spiritual directors, may be at a different point in this life cycle, and like the seasons that flow from one to another, we also transition from stage to stage–blooming, unraveling, hibernating, and starting all over again, hopefully with more wisdom. We will focus on how you can create more space to embrace each stage, expanding the awareness that we are all part of the tapestry of life that never ceases to be woven.
Mavis Tsai
Mavis Tsai, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and research scientist at University of Washington’s Center for Science of Social Connection. She is the co-creator of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP), a treatment that harnesses the power of the therapeutic relationship to transform clients’ lives. She is the co-author of five books on FAP and over 70 articles and book chapters. She is a recipient of the Washington State Psychological Association’s Distinguished Psychologist Award and is proud to be named by New Harbinger Publications as one of “13 Badass Psychologists… Who Happen to be Women. As Founder of the Nonprofit Organization Awareness, Courage & Love Global Project, (www.livewithacl.org), she trains volunteers to lead chapters on six continents to create a worldwide network of open-hearted change-seekers who strive to meet life’s challenges through deepening interpersonal connection and rising to live more true to themselves.
B4
Listening with the Ear of the Heart in the Midst of Difference
2:30 - 5:45 PM (180 minutes)
As listening professionals, we are engaging in more conversational encounters with persons who are unfamiliar to and different from us. As much as we aspire to engage deeply, we inevitably experience moments of disruption, challenge, and resistance.
In those moments of dissonance, our biases become open for inspection and revision to the extent that we listen with the ear of our hearts—that is, listen within as we listen to the other.
In this workshop, participants will be invited to:
- Explore what it means to listen with the ear of the heart from the perspective of various wisdom traditions;
- Practice listening with the ear of their hearts to their own thoughts, feelings and sensations as they simultaneously engage in conversation with others;
- Consider the implications of this way of listening for shaping a more inclusive, equitable, and just form of engagement in our communities.
Diane Millis
Diane M. Millis, Ph.D., is a spiritual director, teacher, and writer. She has taught at several schools including the University of Minnesota, College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University, and United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. Diane currently offers ongoing formation for spiritual directors through professional development days, retreats, and workshops. Through her practice at Center of the Heart, http://www.centeroftheheart.org, she and her colleagues Pamela Ayo Yetunde and John Chang-Yee Lee offer workshops on Spiritual Directors Working with Difference. Diane served as founder and initial convener of the New Contemplatives Initiative for SDI, and serves on the editorial board for Presence. Her most recent book Re-Creating a Life, published by SDI Press, introduces approaches to deep listening and story tending. She aspires to cultivate spaces for belonging, inclusion, and equity through story. For more information, visit http://www.dianemillis.com.
John Chang-Yee Lee
Rev. John Chang-Yee Lee, D.Min, is an ordained Presbyterian (PC(USA)) Minister of Word and Sacrament and a Buddhist-Daoist practitioner. He is second generation Chinese-American with a background in critical race theory, racial ethnic identity formation, and communal leadership. John is a spiritual director and former assistant professor of Spiritual Formation at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. He is a certified Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). John has published works in Lion’s Roar with the article “Awakening with ‘A Love Supreme’” and the Routledge Handbook of Buddhist-Christian Studies with the submission “Herding Cows and Sheep: Giving Guidance in Buddhist and Christian Spiritual Formation.” His current research and practical application interests include spiritual formation and direction for BIPOC individuals and communities as well as non-dual cultivation practices across religious traditions.
B5
When Directees Talk Politics
4:15 - 5:45 PM (90 minutes)
Some of us may regard political conversation in a spiritual accompaniment session as a distraction from soul work or as a transgression of our professional role or ethical code. This workshop recognizes politics as an expression of values that can shape a directee’s self-image, impact spiritual and emotional well-being, and humanize or dehumanize others. How can we help directees to explore connections between their political world-views and their spiritual lives?
Nicholas Collura
Nicholas Collura is a spiritual director and visiting retreat director at St. Raphaela Center in Haverford, PA. A board-certified chaplain, he is directs a pastoral care team for a Catholic hospice organization in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and he co-coordinates EcoPhilly, a faith-based organizing initiative dedicated to creation care in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. His website is http://www.nicholascollura.com.
B6
Holding the View of Nondualism as We Companion for Our Evolving World - An Interspiritual Exploration
2:30 - 4:00 PM (90 minutes)
Sunyata Kopriva and Nathan Bettger (New Contemplatives 2021) will guide a challenging, interactive, and at times light-hearted exploration born out of their ongoing and deepening friendship and alignment in nondualism and interspiritual practice and companioning. This truly will be an unceasing and compassionate nondualistic invitation to consider what it means to be an integrated and congruent guide or companion in our evolving world. Sunyata brings a wealth of experience as a trauma psychotherapist, researcher, yoga and meditation teacher, social justice artist, and long time student of Minling Jetsun Khandro Rinpoche of the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Nathan’s approach comes out of his practice of full-time hospital chaplaincy and fathering a son with a terminal disability. Drawing from his contemplative and mystical spiritual practice and also his work with grief, trauma, and death and dying, his ongoing invitation is to lean into ALL of life.
Participants will be challenged and invited to dive into the deep end of nondual interspiritual relationships and encouraged to deepen their experience and discipline of interconnectedness for the thorough journey of transformation and liberation for all beings.
Nathan Bettger
Nathan Bettger is a board-certified hospital chaplain and Director Espiritual from Oshkosh, WI, where he lives with his wife (Kat), his two sons (Brendan Arthur and Owen Raine) and his Welsh Terrier (Wendell). Nathan is committed to nurturing connection and community, through our relationships, our bodies, our sense of self, the land that we live on, and our experience of the Divine. Deeply grounded in contemplative and mystic Christianity and nature-based spirituality, Nathan seeks to consistently invite others into more unitive and loving life, whether it be through spiritual companioning, caring for those in the hospital, advocating for more natural earth keeping, caring for his honey bees and his garden, or writing. Nathan has led community groups for many years focused on spiritual integration, conversations on death and dying, grief support, and men’s spirituality. He received his Masters in Divinity from Bethel Seminary in St Paul, MN and Certificates of Spiritual Formation and Spiritual Direction from George Fox Seminary in Portland, OR. Nathan served on the founding board for the men’s spirituality non-profit, Illuman and is a graduate scholar of the Orphan Wisdom School, led by teacher, story teller and author, Stephen Jenkinson.
Sunyata Kopriva
Sunyata Kopriva (they/them) MSW, RYT, LCSW was New Contemplative with Spiritual Directors International from 2019-2021. They are a psychotherapist, artist, and researcher specializing in culturally congruent care for complex trauma, and in 2019 they established their own private therapy practice, Healers Hive. They guide people in integrating multifaceted experiences, internal and external, over time, so that they can reach new levels of beingness in this fast-paced and challenging time in the world. As a dedicated student and teacher of Vajrayana Buddhism and yoga for over two decades, they blend wisdom from many traditional and modern sources to support people at different points in their integration process. This work is deeply meaningful and personal, and Sunyata has learned to hold peoples’ unique and universal stories with dignity. Currently residing in California on unceded Ohlone land, Sunyata enjoys dancing with the redwoods and laughing with the Pacific.
B7
Experiencing Belonging & Interbeing as an Antidote to Othering: The Essential Practice of Tending to a Sacred Relationship with Earth
2:30 - 5:45 PM (180 minutes)
All around us the systems of capitalism, racism, classism, patriarchy, homophobia, speciesism, etc., seek to divide us and teach us that we do not belong to ourselves, each other, or the planet. Join us in this session to engage in practices of belonging and learn how recognizing interbeing & re-connecting to nature can provide useful guidance as we come back into our bodies and into reciprocal relationship with our stories, each other and the land. In this session we will draw upon the work of Sebene Selassie, Robin Wall Kimmer, Joanna Macy, Amos Clifford, Kimberly Crenshaw, bell hooks, adrienne maree brown to explore how felt experiences of belonging to self, land and community can help us disengage from oppressive structures and re-engage in co-creating spaces of deep belonging.
Jodi Lammiman
After living at a wilderness retreat centre for four years, Jodi Lammiman (she/her) founded Refugia Retreats, an initiative that uses retreat, facilitation and eco-spiritual direction to explore the confluence of social & environmental justice and spirituality. Refugia acknowledges nature as teacher, supports people living with ecological & climate grief and anxiety, and fosters holistic wellness practices.
As an interspiritual director and community educator, Jodi is also informed by ecology and living systems theory. She is particularly interested in what nature can teach us about rhythms of rest, germination, and activity.
Jodi was one of SDI’s 2022 New Contemplatives. She completed training in the Work that Reconnects under Joanna Macy, has a Bachelor in Sacred Literature, MA in Spiritual Leadership and has a certification in Spiritual Direction. Jodi currently lives in Mohkinstsis, also known as Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where she resides as a grateful guest on Treaty 7 land.
Justin Ferko
Justin Ferko is a 2022 New Contemplative, Certified Interspiritual Companion, Certified Relational Nature and Forest Therapy Guide with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy, and professional chaplain. He founded Wild Spirit Paths, LLC, in 2022. Justin’s work focuses on the wholeness of beings, supports LGBTQ+ folks on their spiritual paths, and invites folks to return to embodied joy and belonging as children of Earth. He celebrates the giftedness of the LGBTQIA+ community and facilitates soul friendship with Mother Earth.
Justin practices reciprocity and relationship with the More-Than-Human world, Tibetan Buddhist meditation in the Karma Kagyu lineage, and Carpathian Mountain Folk Spirituality. Justin and his spouse Craig live along the banks of the Susquehanna River in Susquehannock and Haudenosaunee lands. His educational background includes completion of Masters of Theological Studies in Church in the World, Spanish Language and Literature, and Secondary Education.
B8
Exploring the Essence of Spiritual Companionship Through Descriptive Inquiry
2:30 - 4:00 PM (90 minutes)
In this interactive discussion, we will inquire into the meaning of “essence.” The facilitator will call on the practices and protocols of Descriptive Inquiry inspired by the work of Patricia Carini and contemplative educators of the Prospect School in Vermont. During the group’s time together, Rev. Dr. Felicia will support participants in storying and finding connections in how we enact this year’s conference themes in our daily lives.
Felicia Black
Rev. Dr. Felicia Black is an ordained interfaith/interspiritual minister, licensed educator, and Doctor of Philosophy in Education with a focus on Curriculum and Instruction, and Early Childhood Education. She is the owner of The WellSpring Center for Renewal, where she offers spiritual life companionship and education consulting to her clients. Her life work focuses on applied spirituality, interspiritual literacy, and the identity development of Black and Brown women and their communities. Felicia integrates her love of dance, music, nature and play into all aspects of her vocation and ministry. When she is not working on her passion projects, Felicia enjoys music, dancing, watching movies, spending time with family, and tending to her contemplative and playful spirit.
B9
Let’s Go Fly a Kite
4:15 - 5:45 PM (90 minutes)
Using the image of kite flying, the workshop will talk about the need to be both grounded and having the ability to imagine and dream as essential for both the director and the directee in spiritual direction conversations. Using input, storytelling and art work, the participants will have an opportunity to reflect on these concepts: grounded, realistic, and visionary. We will consider how these interact and support the direction relationship.
Lucy Abbott Tucker
Lucy Abbott Tucker has been a member of SDI since its inception. In addition to the work she has done for SDI, Lucy worked at the Institute for Spiritual Leadership in Chicago for 30 years, preparing people for the ministry of spiritual direction. She has traveled to Canada, Europe, and Australia, as well as extensively throughout the United States helping to prepare people for the ministry. SDI recently published Lucy’s book on supervision, Spiritual Direction Supervision: Principles, Practices, and Storytelling.
B10
Mystical Dimensions of Spiritual Direction and Companionship
2:30 - 4:00 PM (90 minutes)
In a follow on and expansion on his keynote, Jim Finley will present and elaborate further dimensions and insights on the vital connection of mysticism to spiritual direction and spiritual companionship, including considerations of the role of trauma, addictions, and contemplation, among others . He will also take questions and dialogue with participants. (90 minutes)
Dr. James Finley
Dr. James Finley has been a great friend to SDI over decades now, but it’s been a while since he has been able to join our yearly conference. And what better time than now?
We need to hear Jim’s wisdom and insights as we confront these dark moments we are going through, and recommit ourselves as spiritual directors and companions to composting, distilling, and recognizing Mystical Essence in everything that surrounds us.
B11
The Nexus Between Spiritual Direction and Science
2:30 - 4:00 PM (90 minutes)
In this in this comprehensive follow on to their morning keynote presentation, Ilia Delio, James Stump, Cortland Dahl, and Mohammed Hamid Mohammed will deepen their exploration of the relationship between spiritual direction/companionship and science. Various aspects will be examined including the connections between evolution, physics, neuroscience, and theology; science and intelligent design; and the neuroscience of meditation and contemplative practices. The impact of all of these, among others, on our practice of spiritual direction and companionship will be discussed in this interactive session, with plenty of opportunities for questions and answer, and dialogue.
Ilia Delio
Ilia Delio, OSF, PhD, Founder of the Center for Christogenesis, is a Franciscan Sister of Washington, DC and American theologian specializing in the area of science and religion, with interests in evolution, physics and neuroscience and the import of these for theology.
Ilia currently holds the Josephine C. Connelly Endowed Chair in Theology at Villanova University, and is the author of twenty books. Ilia holds PhDs in Pharmacology from Rutgers University and in Theology from Fordham University, as well as two honorary doctorates, one from St. Francis University in 2015, and one from Sacred Heart University in 2020.
James Stump
James Stump is Vice President of Programs at BioLogos. He oversees the editorial team, participates in strategic planning, and hosts the podcast, Language of God. Jim also writes and speaks on behalf of BioLogos. He has a PhD in philosophy and was formerly a professor and academic administrator. His books include, Four Views on Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design; Science and Christianity: An Introduction to the Issues; How I Changed My Mind about Evolution; and The Blackwell Companion to Science and Christianity.
Cortland Dahl
Cortland Dahl is the Chief Contemplative Officer and Healthy Minds Innovations Research Scientist at the Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Cortland is interested in exploring the interface between the body, mind and brain, and especially in the question of how various forms of meditation may help us cultivate positive qualities like mindfulness, compassion and resilience.
His current work focuses on studying the psychological and neural mechanisms of different families of meditation practice. He is also the creator of the Healthy Minds program, a well-being training program that integrates insights from scientific research with a comprehensive path of contemplative training.
Cortland has an eclectic background and has spent years studying and practicing meditation in Asia, including eight years living in Tibetan refugee settlements in India and Nepal. He has published numerous collections of translations of classic works on meditation and Buddhist philosophy from the Tibetan tradition. In addition to his work with the Center, Cortland is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Tergar International, a global network of meditation groups and centers.
Mohammed Mohammed
Mohammed Hamid Mohammed is a senior program officer at the Fetzer Institute where he leads a portfolio of projects that focuses on the relationship between science and spirituality, spirituality and technology, and spirituality and health. Recent projects he is helping shape and manage include a longitudinal global human flourishing study, research on free will, and a mindfulness app that was named in the top three of its class by the New York Times. As part of his pursuit, he has co-authored articles in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes. His publications include “Communities and Freedom: Transforming Governance” in Why Love Matters: Values in Governance and “Enabling Community and Trust: Shared Leadership for Collective Creativity” in The Foundation Review. Trained in the humanities, social sciences, and human-computer interactions, Mohammed is a philanthropy professional with decades of experience leading research, technology development, and programmatical projects around the world. He has worked in the academic and the corporate sectors before transitioning to philanthropy. Mohammed is an international traveler conversant in various languages, cultures, and spiritual traditions.
B12
Writing Workshop #2: Paths to Publishing
4:15 - 5:45 PM (90 minutes)
In this session we’ll explore various ways to publish your writing. If you’re thinking about putting your words out into the world, whether in short or long form, this informative session will help you take the next step forward.
We’ll talk about the three forms of book publishing — traditional, hybrid and self-publishing — and how to find an agent or publisher.
Publishers look for very specific things when considering manuscripts, and I’ll share tips on how to capture their interest, and the crucial mistakes to avoid!
This conversation will also be useful for authors who have self published and are promoting their book to the public.
We’ll have time for a few of you to present your book ideas for feedback via a brief “elevator pitch.” (See how to write an elevator pitch.) This will also be helpful for everyone present to pick up ideas on how to refine and position their book concepts. We’ll have plenty of time for Q&R.
Learn more about Tania as Writer-in-Residence at Essence 2023 and sign up for 1:1 consultations.
Tania Casselle
Tania Casselle has been a writer and editor for 30 years, published in books, magazines, newspapers and online media in the US, Europe and Asia. Her nonfiction, fiction, poetry and radio work have been recognized in numerous awards and anthologies. A former magazine editor, she is now mainly a book doctor and developmental editor and is hired by publishers and agencies to help their authors write wonderful books! As a writing coach and teacher, she works with people individually and in online and in-person seminars. She helps writers on every level, teaching not just the craft and business of writing, but also exploring the deeper creative and spiritual impulse, helping writers free their natural writing voices and navigate internal blocks.
Tania is a former committee chair for the American Society of Journalists & Authors and a senior teacher and mentorship director for the Sage Institute online Meditation & Mindfulness Leader training program. She holds a Masters in Transpersonal Psychotherapy, follows a contemplative path in the Zen Buddhist and Christian mystic traditions, and is an alumnus of Fr. Richard Rohr’s Living School for Action and Contemplation. A Brit from London, Tania lives in New Mexico with her author and Zen teacher husband, Sean Murphy.