Spiritual Directors International

Educational nonprofit organization that supports professional spiritual direction

Spiritual Directors International (SDI) is an educational nonprofit organization that supports professional spiritual direction and spiritual companionship.

## History

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Labyrinth in the grounds of Manresa Jesuit Spirituality Renewal Centre

Spiritual Directors International (SDI) was formed in 1990 to support the work of professionals who work as spiritual directors.[1] This support happens across religious or spiritual traditions, as the professionalization of this field of practice increasingly involves those who work outside of or without the support of a traditional religious community.[2] As this expansion of serving the function of a "spiritual midwife" continues, SDI supports the establishment of best practices while promoting minimum standards for the practice of spiritual direction or spiritual companionship, including deep or holy listening and hospitality.[3]

SDI is an IRS 501(c)(3) charitable organization.[4]

## Service to the profession

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Spiritual Directors International provides an online repository to match those who wish to receive spiritual direction, or seekers, with those who provide this form of spiritual companionship.[5] As an organization, it supports its members on their own professional paths, without imposing any single belief system, professional certification, or license.[6]

Those who provide this work, and the membership audience, are laypeople and ordained ministers, who together receive ongoing education and communal support through SDI.[7][8] Spiritual Directors, also known as spiritual companions or spiritual guides, are not found exclusively within any faith tradition, as they include many interfaith practitioners.[9] As such, SDI is nondenominational in its membership and approach to this work.[10]

While most who work as spiritual directors do not do that in a full-time capacity, as a professional area of practice, those who work in this area do use this as one aspect of their making a living.[11]

## See also

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* Spiritual direction
* Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola
* Spirituality

## References

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1. ^ Ruffing, Janet K. (2010). "Sacred is the Call: Supervisory Accountability and Responsibility in the Formation of Spiritual Directors". Reflective Practice: Formation and Supervision in Ministry. 30. ISSN 2325-2855.
2. ^ Ruffing, Janet (2002). "Recent Literature and Emerging Issues in the Ministry of Spiritual Direction". Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality. 2 (1): 99–107\. doi:10.1353/scs.2002.0019. ISSN 1535-3117. S2CID 145557893.
3. ^ Prechtel, Daniel L. (2012). Where two or three are gathered : spiritual direction for small groups. Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Pub. ISBN 978-0-8192-2772-0. OCLC 755699307.
4. ^ "IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search > Spiritual Directors International". IRS.gov. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
5. ^ Barrington Forney, Liz (2021-03-02). "Compass for the soul". The Presbyterian Outlook. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
6. ^ Cooper, Andrea (2021-01-13). "Can Spiritual Directors Help?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
7. ^ Frykholm, Amy (15 December 2011). "Holy listening: The spiritual direction movement". The Christian Century. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
8. ^ Blythe, Teresa (16 April 2019). "What You Need to Know About Spiritual Direction Training Programs". Spiritual Direction 101. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
9. ^ Phillips, Susan S. (2008). Candlelight : Illuminating the art of spiritual direction. Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Pub. ISBN 978-0-8192-2297-8. OCLC 183879505.
10. ^ Chafets, Zev (2009-09-16). "The Right Way to Pray?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
11. ^ Blythe, Teresa (2019-03-26). "Making A Living Off Spiritual Direction - The Short Answer Is Yes!". Spiritual Direction 101. Retrieved 2021-08-17.

## External links

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* Spiritual Directors International (SDI)