SDI Encounters

About SDI Encounters

What are the big questions in your life? Where are you on the spiritual journey? Do you have people in your life who listen to your deepest questions, with contemplative presence and compassion? SDI Creative Director Matt Whitney hosts conversations on spiritual direction, guidance, contemplation, and community. This podcast offers a wide range of perspectives, stories, and conversations about the contemplative, healing modality of spiritual companionship, across a wide range of religious traditions and vocations. Discover the benefits of spiritual companionship and deep listening.

Publisher

SDI - The Home of Spiritual Companionship

Category

religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

19 Apr 2020

Latest episode

18 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

117 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   18 Aug 2026

   Rev. SeiFu and Mirabai Starr on returning to Ghost Ranch (and inviting you!), April 2027

   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/

2. 

   20 Jul 2026

   PREVIEW: Insights for Deep Listening and Spiritual Presence - Scott McRae on the Tao and the Art of Spiritual Companionship

   On this brief episode we talk about SDI's upcoming webinar series, The Tao and the Art of Spiritual Companionship. The Tao and the Art of Spiritual Companionship: Insights for Deep Listening and Spiritual Presence $79.99 Many spiritual companions are meeting people who feel exhausted, anxious, polarized, spiritually dry, or overwhelmed by uncertainty. In moments like these, techniques often matter less than the quality of our presence. The Tao Te Ching points us towards flourishing and fulfilling life, without explanation. This ancient Chinese wisdom tradition invites us into a way of living and listening that flows with life. It points us toward something that spiritual directors sense: that the deepest accompaniment happens not when we do more, but when we release into a vital presence. This three-part series draws from seven essential Taoist themes into conversation with the practice of spiritual direction. Together we’ll explore a fresh framework for deep listening that helps you accompany people with less striving and more trust. We’ll explore not only how we accompany others, but how we inhabit our own inner life. Each session weaves together reflection, dialogue, and practical application. Rather than simply adding another technique, this series helps cultivate the inner posture from which meaningful spiritual companionship naturally flows. Anyone can participate in an SDI webinar! If you’re not a member, just contact us at office@sdiworld.org for your pricing. https://www.sdicompanions.org/product/the-tao-and-the-art-of-spiritual-companionship/ --- Scott McRae has been offering spiritual direction and training for over 25 years and continues to provide ongoing educational resources through the Spiritual Direction Learning Lab. An ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, he holds an M.Div. from Yale University. Scott’s professional journey has spanned church and campus ministries, hospital chaplaincy, and leadership roles, all of which have shaped his approach to spiritual guidance. With three decades of experience training chaplains and spiritual directors, he brings deep wisdom and practical insight to his work. Based in Minneapolis, MN, Scott enjoys life with his wife, Melanie, their adult daughter, and their wonderfully quirky rescue dogs. He finds great joy in long walks, meaningful conversations, and fostering spiritual growth in others.

3. 

   30 Jan 2026

   Spiritual Companions - Standing Together in Community

   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

Who has been a guest on SDI Encounters

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Christina Roberts
• Matt Whitney
• Lucy Abbott Tucker
• Rev SeiFu Singh-Molares
• Philip Carter

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

624,132

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.6 / 5

18 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 63 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

58

Social presence

0

YouTube

86

Engagement

85

Contact SDI Encounters

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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