Deep Calls Unto Deep
A Contemplative Exploration of the Psalms in Our Life and Practice
Presenters
Rev. Simon Ruth de Voil
Rev. David Wallace
Dates
January 30 & February 6, 13, 20, 2023
1PM – 2:30PM PST
4PM – 5:30PM EST
Duration
6 hours (total)
Webinar will be recorded.
"GOD, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction. Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I’m not afraid when you walk at my side. Your trusty shepherd’s crook makes me feel secure."
– Psalms 23 - MSG
Known as תְּהִלִּים in Hebrew and Zabūr in Arabic, the Book of Psalms, a revered sacred text across Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, cherished for its deep wisdom, beautiful poetry, and broad exploration of the joys, sorrows, despairs, and longings at the heart of the human condition. Join SDI for this Interspiritually-minded and experiential webinar with guides Simon de Voil and David Wallace. We will be learning about and engaging with the Book of Psalms through teaching, music, writing, and contemplative listening, with opportunities for sharing and for spiritual companionship. All spiritual wayfarers from any spiritual orientation or tradition will find wisdom, song, and practice to nourish their souls.
"God is our refuge and our strength; a haven in times of trouble. Therefore we can be calm though the earth shakes, though the nations change, and though the sea rises. Our trust is in the Holy One who is making the heavens in the earth. Who is with us in the midst of the city and in our own hearts."
– Psalm 46 - Interpretation by Christine Robinson
What to Expect
- Teaching on the Psalms as a historical text, literature, myth, and sacred text.
- Contemplative practices, such as Lectio Divina, writing, and singing.
- Learning to hear our own voice in the writings of the Psalms.
- Spiritual practices to strengthen, encourage, and bring new awareness and fullness to everyday life.
- Listening to one of the sung Psalms as a form of Lectio Divina.
- Receiving and offering invitations to continue our connection to the psalms as an ongoing practice.
Sessions
Session I: An Intimate Encounter —
Engaging with the Psalms as Living Poetry of Our Souls
- An overview of the Psalms as historical texts, literature, myth, and scriptures.
- Exploring different spiritual practices to experience a personal connection with the Psalms.
- Engaging with these ancient poetic expressions that have moved generations of spiritual wayfarers.
- Experiencing the Psalms as an ancient transformative practice that continues to meet us anew as our spirituality evolves. A short teaching on Lectio Divina will be offered.
Session II: The Psalmist as Spiritual Companion —
Examining the Unique Gifts We Each Bring to The Psalms
- Who is the psalmist?
- Encountering the archetypal voices behind these poetic texts.
- Making the psalms alive in this moment by adding our own breath to those voices. How does this practice reveal our own soul’s sighs and cries. Where do we end and where does the psalmist begin?
- Receiving a gift from the ancient psalmist lost to our current culture: a deep understanding of the purpose of praise.
Session III: The Fullness of Life —
Discovering Our Shared Humanity
- Using the image of the guest house (from Rumi) as a central image, we explore transcending the ego and opening to all aspects of our collective human experience: joy, anger, sorrow, confusion, praise.
- Experiencing the psalmist’s ever-evolving humanity — both ancient and speaking to us today.
- Opening to our fullness, which includes opening to finding ourselves variously weak, humble, or in pain— opening to the healing, resolution, and change.
- Opening to join creation in praise as one of its creatures.
Session IV: Embodying the Psalms —
Serving as Spiritual Companions to All Beings
- Engaging the Psalms as “living water” — the many invitations our psalm reading practice offers: daily praise; blessing of our deepest questions and doubts; engagement with the world around us as we notice more fully the beauty and mystery of creation, and our relationship to it and to one another.
- Exploration of using the psalms — and any sacred text — as part of spiritual direction.
"... even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you."
– Psalm 139 - NIV
- Participants from all spiritual traditions and orientations are welcome in this webinar series as are those with all levels of spiritual experience.
- Each session runs 90 minutes.
- All sessions will be recorded and be viewable for at least 12 months after the last session goes live.
When
The webinar series will run 4 consecutive Mondays: January 30 & February 6, 13, 20, 2023 – 1 PM Seattle/Los Angeles, 3 PM Chicago, 4 PM New York, 9 PM London; Tuesdays: January 31 & February 7, 14, 21, 2023: 4 AM Hong Kong, 7 AM Sydney, Australia.
Find your own local time here.
But if that timing doesn’t work, you can enjoy the webinar any time you like.
Each session is recorded so you can watch at your convenience.
Presenters
Simon de Voil
Rev. Simon Ruth de Voil, is an ordained interfaith/interspiritual minister, trained to be a sacred presence outside the conventions of traditional religion. As a sacred musician, spiritual mentor and worship leader he incorporates chant, ritual, poetry, storytelling, and mindful practice to create a space for profound connection and sacred witness. Simon provides music for worship, ceremony, and prayer in a wide variety of churches and non-religious spiritual communities. He particularly loves to create music for meditation, healing services, and rites of passage.
Simon is also an experienced workshop and retreat leader, drawing on 15 years of study, training, and practice that grew from his time living and working in Iona Abbey. Although influenced by many traditions, Simon’s spiritual path and teaching is deeply rooted in Celtic Christianity, the wisdom of the earth, and in the Scottish land where he’s spent most of his life.
Learn more about Simon on his website: simondevoil.com
David Wallace
Rev. David Wallace recently retired as a dean and senior teacher for One Spirit Interfaith Seminary in New York City, and is a faculty member of the spiritual direction program at the Rowe Center and an active officiant and spiritual director. He is a graduate of St. John’s College in Santa Fe, NM, and has continued those studies as a lifelong student of the “great books” of philosophy and archetypal psychology. Rev. Wallace offers teaching and retreats at spiritual venues worldwide, and specializes in poetics, contemplative practice, and the wisdom texts of both the Eastern and Western traditions.
Additional Information
- Participants from all spiritual traditions and orientations are welcome in this webinar series as are those with all levels of spiritual experience.
- Each session will run 90 minutes. We understand that the timing of the seminar will not be convenient in every time zone on the planet. For those who have trouble making this time, a recorded copy of each session will be made available to all those who sign up.
- CEU credits are available for all those who participate. SDI will provide a certificate of completion for self-reporting to agencies. More information can be found here: continuing education units (CEUs).
- Cost: $119 for non-members, with significant discounts for SDI members
- Scholarships are available for those facing financial hardship. Please apply here.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.