“Interspirituality is essentially an agent of a universal mysticism and integral spirituality.
We often walk the interspiritual or intermystical path in an intuitive attempt to reach a more complete truth.
That final integration, a deep convergence, is an integral spirituality. Bringing together all the great systems of spiritual wisdom, practice, insight, reflection, experience, and science provides a truly integral understanding of spirituality in its practical application in our lives, regardless of our tradition.”
― Brother Wayne Teasdale - from The Mystic Heart
Hosts
Dr. Ed Bastian
Author, Teacher
with
Matt Whitney
Duration
6 hours (total)
Webinar is recorded.
In Service to All Beings
It’s been over 20 years since Brother Wayne Teasdale wrote “The Mystic Heart” – a manifesto on the power of living spirit-filled lives, as well as the universality of this spirituality, from which all the world’s great spiritual traditions point towards, and is available and accessible to all. This spiritual paradigm has been called “InterSpiritual” – rooted in open curiosity and acceptance of the marvelous diversity of spiritual perspectives, processes and paths from many spiritual, philosophical, mythological and psychological traditions. At the heart of InterSpirituality is an awareness of interconnection with one another, which becomes the foundation for active engagement in the world. This growing awareness and practice has been advocated for by His Holiness The Dalai Lama, Father Thomas Keating, and many others.
Running parallel to the growth of InterSpirituality is the mounting evidence and research pointing to shrinking religious membership, and a growing population of people who identify with more than one religious tradition, or do not identify with any religious tradition at all.
In light of our rapidly shifting spiritual landscape, it becomes more urgent for spiritual directors and spiritual companions to equip themselves with the sensitivity, language, and practices to meet the needs of the diversifying practices around religion and spirituality. How do we do this in ways that are honoring of these traditions, while avoiding appropriation, both for ourselves and for those we companion? And based on our experiences in holding these spaces, how can spiritual companions discern and contribute to what comes next in the InterSpiritual landscape?
In this video, you’ll find Father Thomas Keating speaking on the urgency of serving the growing population of people who identify as InterSpiritual, Spiritual but Not Religious, or Multi-Religious. Dr. Bastian and our Presenters were all friends of Fr. Keating, and continue his work today:
Join SDI for a one-month webinar exploration on InterSpiritual Companioning and Practices” – We will come together for practice and engagement with some of the great teachers of InterSpiritual Wisdom from across the world’s wisdom traditions. We will ask questions around the emerging interspiritual paradigms, and how to best be of service to those who identify as non-theistic, panentheistic, for folks who are committed to a spiritual tradition, nones or SBNR.
Spiritual directors and spiritual companions equipped with InterSpiritual practice will be ready to serve a dramatically growing population who are exploring their own natural spiritual learning styles and deepest questions, and be ready to help them to cultivate their own spiritual paths and meditative practices.
Each session will engage in InterSpiritual Meditation – a universal, holistic, and integrated Seven Step Process, drawing on the universal wisdom of the world’s great contemplative traditions.
Your Webinar Hosts
Dr. Edward Bastian
Ed Bastian is the founding president of the Spiritual Paths Foundation that provides InterSpiritual programs, books, websites and websites for the study of meditation and the application of contemplative values and insights in the world. These programs and resources enable people to “lead from within” by developing a spiritual foundation to guide their work for the common good. Ed’s teaching includes InterSpiritual Meditation, the Mandala Process, Mindfulness Meditation, Buddhism, Spirit & Nature and End-of-Life.
Bastian is an award-winning executive producer of television programs on Asian religion for the BBC, PBS, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He is the author of the award winning “Living Fully Dying Well,” as well as “Mandala, Creating Your Spiritual Path,” and “InterSpiritual Meditation, A Seven-Step Process from the Worlds Spiritual Traditions.”
Ed has been at the forefront of the emerging InterSpiritual paradigm, dedicating his life to developing educational resources and community dedicated to growing people in the Divine Heart of Universal Spirituality.
Matt Whitney
Matt Whitney is the Creative Director of SDI. Matt is a multidisciplinary artist and educator who grew up in the Pacific Northwest and lives in Seattle. He works between drawing, painting, photography, video, design and illustration. He is the host of SDI’s weekly podcast, SDI Encounters, which engages in conversations around spiritual direction, contemplative practice, and spiritual care. He also works as a certified spiritual director, and is a facilitator trained in Interspiritual Meditation through the Spiritual Paths Institute.
Esteemed Presenters
Rabbi Rami Shapiro
is an award–winning author of over thirty–six books on religion, spirituality, and recovery. Rami co–directs the One River Foundation, is a Contributing Editor with Spirituality and Health magazine, hosts two podcasts— Essential Conversations with Rabbi Rami, and Conversations on the Edge—and a weekly Zoom “talk show” called Roadside Assistance at the Corner of Tohu va-Vohu (Wild and Chaos). He is an initiate of the Ramakrishna Order of Vedanta Hinduism, a 32° Scottish Rite Mason (KCCH) and the 2020 recipient of the Huston Smith Award for Excellence in Inter-Spiritual Education.
Kabir and Camille Helminski
Kabir and Camille are the founders and directors of the Threshold Society, have been working within the Mevlevi tradition of Sufism for about forty years. Kabir is the author/translator of several books of Sufi poetry, and Kabir and Camille have collaborated on several collections, including Rumi: Daylight, Jewels of Remembrance: 365 Selections from the Wisdom of Rumi,The Rumi Collection, The Pocket Rumi, and The Rumi Daybook: 365 Poems and Teachings from the Beloved Sufi Master. Their books are now translated into at least eight languages.
Swami Atmarupananda
Swami Atmarupananda discovered the Vedanta tradition of Hinduism as a teenager and developed what has become a lifelong fascination and dedication. He joined the Ramakrishna Order of India as a monk in 1969 in Chicago and subsequently spent many years in India engaged in monastic, scholarly, and spiritual training. For many years he has travelled widely in the world, giving lectures and retreats, speaking at conferences dedicated to finding a spiritual foundation for civilization, and participating in interspiritual dialog.
Currently he resides at the world headquarters of the Ramakrishna Order outside of Kolkata, India where he has been charged with bringing out a revised edition of the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda in ten volumes.
Tessa Bielecki
Tessa Bielecki was previously Mother Abbess of the Spiritual Life Institute, a Carmelite community with hermitages in Colorado, Nova Scotia, and Ireland. She now lives as an “urban hermit” in Tucson, near her beloved Saguaro National Park. Tessa is the author of numerous articles and five major works, including Teresa of Avila: Mystical Writings; Holy Daring: The Earthy Mysticism of St. Teresa, the Wild Woman of Avila; Ecstasy and Common Sense; Season of Glad Songs: A Christmas Anthology, and Desert Voices: The Edge Effect.
Tessa has years of experience with interspiritual dialogue, most notably with Buddhists throughout the 1980s at Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado. She has led pilgrimages to Spain, Italy, Israel, Palestine, and Jordan, and visited Russia, Mexico, Germany, Denmark and The Netherlands, where she participated in symposiums called Women for Peace and Art Meets Science and Spirituality in a Changing Economy.
What to Expect
- In each session, we will practice InterSpiritual Meditation (ISM) as a group – a seven-step process drawn from the world’s sacred wisdom traditions, and developed by Ed Bastian. The ISM practice is simple to do, and enables people of diverse spiritual and non-spiritual backgrounds to contemplatively engage with one another.
- We will offer a series of awakening questions, which we will invite participants to engage with throughout the webinar.
- We will offer a range of perspectives from several different spiritual teachers and practitioners, whom we will invite to engage with these same awakening questions.
- We will discern where we are at today in the InterSpiritual movement. And, where are we going?
- Adopting spiritual language that is universal and inclusive.
- We will explore cultural appropriation, and how can we honor the sacred wisdom traditions and engage with them meaningfully.
- Breakout sessions in small groups in which you will have opportunity to share your explorations, gleanings, and questions.
An Invitation For Futher Exploration with Spiritual Paths
“The InterSpiritual Journey: Creating Your Path & Companioning Others - an 8-Week Course beginning October 12, 4pm PDT
SDI invites you to continue with us in your exploration of InterSpirituality with this eight week course, hosted by the Spiritual Paths Institute, and will follow the SDI webinar (separate purchase required - see below for details).
In this course you will learn to create your personal 7-step meditation process for maintaining calm wisdom and compassion while being an agent of compassionate action and change. The course will include 8 weekly 90-minute recorded ZOOM sessions and an extensive course website. All for a very reasonable monthly subscription cost which can be cancelled anytime.
Click the link below to learn more and register. NOTE - this will take you to the Spiritual Paths Institute website.
Additional Information
- 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.
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