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Editor's note: Jan Lundy and Jeanette Banashak will present our new 4-part webinar series "Spiritual Companionship for the Spiritually Independent" starting March 28, 2019. Here, she outlines her own journey to spiritual independence.

      In recent years, I have come to claim myself as a “spiritually independent” person, not by birth    , but by choice  ; someone who has followed her own “yellow brick road” to the divine. This has not been an easy path to walk especially when you’ve been raised and work in a conservatively Christian part of the world. Upon first meeting, a common query from people in my area is “Which church do you go to?”, for one is often identified by church or parish.

In the past when this question was asked, I’d predictably dodge it by saying, “I’m more of an ecumenical type person,” which would leave them nodding but confused. Because my spiritual life became eclectic and did not follow the unspoken “rules of belonging,” I took to hiding it; practicing and believing in a spiritual closet of my own making out of fear of being judged and found lacking. 

With spiritual maturity, I became braver, and when asked about my religious identity might say, “I have Christian roots and Buddhist wings.” But I revealed myself hesitantly, only to a select few, and not without anxiety.

With a history dating back to somewhere between 40,000 and 65,000 years, the Australian indigenous peoples represent the oldest continuing culture in the world.

The dream for this journey began several years ago with a conversation between Kristen Hobby and Diane Millis.  It was then that an idea formed to co-lead a journey to the Cairns area and to share with SDI members from around the globe, the wisdom, insights and gifts of the indigenous people. There is so much to be learned from them about living in harmony and modeling deep relationships with each other, the natural world and the transcendent.

It seems counter-intuitive to practice joy. Joy seems to move like a hummingbird, flitting where it will, bringing delight and then disappearing. Can we control the hummingbird? Doubtful. When we try, we usually just chase it away.

Yet, in my life, practice often grows the flowers that attract the hummingbird. When I was young, I practiced basketball for hour upon hour. Later, I wrote every day -- as an artistic practice. (Still do.) Now I also have a practice of praying morning and night to God and the ancestors as I seek to make my life one of service, healing and celebration.

Editor's note: Miriam Frey has been a spiritual director for 20 years and has deep experience in the training of spiritual companions. She is coordinator of  Ontario's Jubliee Program. She's also SDI's Canada Coordinator. We asked her to offer key guiding questions for people looking for a formation or training program. We recommend you give this blog post some time and focus. Read it. Discern on the questions that resonate with you. Then read it again. And if you are considering becoming a spiritual companion, please accept our deepest thanks. This calling offers a blend of contemplative practice and deep listening which can change the lives of individuals and through them, their relationships and their communities. As the saying goes.... "How do we change the world most profoundly? One person at a time." Blessings to you all. 

“How do I find a formation or training program?” This is a common question from those interested in serving as a spiritual companion or director. Others will ask, “How do I know if a program is right for me?”

Dear Spiritual Companions, Seekers and Friends,

The time has come for action. Only days remain until our early-bird discount ends on January 31, 2019. We don't want you to miss out on the chance to participate in our annual conference - Seeking Connection ~ Across Generations. Where else will you have the chance to connect with - and learn from - hundreds of other spiritual companions?

This post is for those of you who:

• want to attend, but need more information before making a decision
• want to make sure you're getting the lowest price, or
• have a strong interest, but just don't have the budget.
  

Where does love come from?

What might we discover if we listen in stillness without expectation?

When is a good time to be generous?

To be curious?

To be kind?

How can we make space for that which arises from deep within and disrupts our assumptions and indeed our lives?

~~~

These are questions for living. Questions that arise from what a Zen Buddhist might call "beginner's mind" - fresh, open to learning, free from pre-conceptions.

Such questions can help orient our lives, can help spiritual companions support others to find profound connection.

"Shifting our identification from the ego to the heart-mind is the beginning of individual spiritual work."
~ Ram Dass, Be Love Now

A few years ago, I was blessed to have a private conversation with the yogic sage, Ram Dass, whose work has guided me for years. During our time together, we talked a great deal about the "heart-mind." For him, our spiritual health, as well as the well-being of our planet, are sourced in our ability to live through “the heart-mind.”

In the English language, we use the word "mind" all the time. Yet, in Eastern thought, it is often used to mean the consciousness that pervades everything. It is also used in the field of (Western) body/mind science to explain how consciousness may exist in every cell of the human body.

Of course, we know where the physical heart is, right in the center of our chest. But what if the heart, like the mind, pervaded our entire consciousness—every thought, every cell? And what if we could harness these two perceptions and marry them within our consciousness? What if we could perceive and interact with everything and everyone with our heart-mind?

This practice challenge comes from SDI member and SDI webinar presenter Lisa Van Allen. She lives with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS,) a chronic condition that afflicts people with severe and relentless pain. (She's says she's not brave, but I, like others, admire her.) I share this practice here so all may benefit from her approach to embracing resilience in a time of intense and perseverating difficulty. (Lisa's original Facebook post is below for context.) I am grateful to Lisa for her permission to share it with our community. Sending you love, Lisa - Steven Crandell, SDI Content Director

Use this practice at any time, in any place, no matter how hectic or stressful or painful life is. It will help you towards balance. It will help you welcome the love that arises naturally within us. The practice is simple, but not always easy to follow. Don't chastise yourself for getting distracted. Always forgive yourself. If you feel you have lost your way and are overwhelmed with negativity, that's the perfect time to try this. Or to try it again.

I recently had the great privilege of spending 5 days in beautiful and wildly resilient New Orleans with co-conspirators (and SDI New Contemplative mates) Alison McCrary and Chelsea Forbrook.   Our time together came as a breath of life-giving fresh air for all of us - what an immense support to be held in deep, spiritually-rooted community.