Contemplation is about waking up. To be contemplative is to experience an event fully, in all aspects practicing the presence of the Holy. Join us for an exploration and a guided meditation. Inspired by, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook by Adele Calhoun.

For more information about Moravian University School of Theology Spiritual Direction Certificate Program: https://www.moravianseminary.edu/academics/certificate/spiritual-direction

Meditation music by Dr. Charity Wicks 

Into Music by Robert Long: [email protected]

Join this conversation with Cathy AJ Hardy, author of the book Pause; A Year of Soulful Meditation. Cathy is a spiritual director, retreat facilitator, and founder of Soul Care ®, offering courses in spiritual formation and direction. A facilitator of soul work for the past two decades, Cathy is also the author of four books: Love Breathes with Me (2018), Walk With Me (2020), and Love Breathes With Me II (2022), and Pause; A Year of Soulful Meditation (2023). In addition to her passion for guiding others in their spiritual growth, Cathy is also a poet and award-winning singer-songwriter, her most recent album being released last year is called Here I Am.  Cathy lives in  British Columbia among the mountains, rivers, and forests. Her song shared at the end of this podcast can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8i9_e9Hmrc

For more information about Moravian University School of Theology Spiritual Direction Certificate Program: https://www.moravianseminary.edu/academics/certificate/spiritual-direction

Music by Robert Long: [email protected]

What does the world need right now? As Maureen took this question to heart, what arose is the world needs our greatness--the fullness of one's being. Using meditation is a spiritual practice that helps you shift your perception to get inside of things...join us for a great conversation and as Maureen leads us an embodied heart meditation. She says that freedom can be found with  conscious communion of the breath. 

Connect with Maureen: https://www.maureendebellis.com/

For more information about Moravian University School of Theology Spiritual Direction Certificate Program:

https://www.moravianseminary.edu/academics/certificate/spiritual-direction

Music by Robert Long: [email protected]

For more information about Moravian University School of Theology Spiritual Direction Certificate Program: https://www.moravianseminary.edu/academics/certificate/spiritual-direction

Music by Robert Long: [email protected]

Join us for Lectio Divina with readings from Love Poems from God by Daniel Ladinsky. A collection of poems by twelve “timeless spiritual writers” from both the East and the West. They include Christian writers such as St. Catherine of Siena, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross as well as writers of other faith traditions. This mediation also includes a loving eyes reading from How to Train a Wild Elephant by Jan Chozen Bays, MD—physician and Zen teacher—who has developed a series of simple practices to help us cultivate mindfulness as we go about our ordinary, daily lives. 

For more information about Moravian University School of Theology Spiritual Direction Certificate Program: https://www.moravianseminary.edu/academics/certificate/spiritual-direction

Music by Robert Long: [email protected]

A conversation with Dr. Catherine Williams, highlighting her new book: Preaching and Music: Powerful Partners in Proclamation.

Dr. Williams joined the faculty at Lancaster Theological Seminary in 2017, now housed in The School of Theology (which includes both Moravian and Lancaster Seminaries), after serving both the academy and the church. Her Princeton Theological Seminary PhD dissertation was on developing a distinctive, post-colonial homiletic rooted in the music of calypso for her birth place, the twin-island republic of Trinidad and Tobago.  A graduate of Westminster Choir College of Rider University, she is also an accomplished musician who has taught piano and voice.

Williams is a worthy guide, offering insightful clarity and practiced wisdom as she engages not only preachers, but also the deep work of Spiritual Directors as we attune to the music of the Spirit alive in each Spiritual Direction encounter.

For more information about Moravian University School of Theology Spiritual Direction Certificate Program: https://www.moravianseminary.edu/academics/certificate/spiritual-direction

Music by Robert Long: [email protected]

Imagine that you are outside walking and you notice a bird soaring high above you. You focus on its wings and the way it holds itself up in the air, gently gliding. Join us for this guided presence practice using birds as a metaphor.

Imaginative meditation inspired by NCHPAD. Poetry by Jennifer Hoffman and Mary Oliver. 

For more information about Moravian Theological Seminary's Spiritual Direction Program: https://www.moravianseminary.edu/academics/certificate/spiritual-direction

Music by Robert Long: [email protected]

An interview of Dr. Cindy Lee author of Contemplative Witnessing: BIPOC-Centered Spiritual Direction. Rev. Mia White joins the interview, as a graduate of our MTS Spiritual Direction Program, and as a member of the BIPOC community.

As a Taiwanese American, Dr. Cindy Lee has a PhD in Practical Theology in Spiritual Formation from Claremont School of Theology and a DMin in Transformational Leadership from Bakke Graduate University. Cindy Lived in Beijing and Taipei for 6 years, and currently resides in LA, while serving on the SDI Board.

In Contemplative Witnessing, Lee explores how BIPOC people can experience a liberating spirituality so we can settle into our own bodies, experience the traditions and spirituality of our cultures, and engage with communities that reflect our sacredness back to us. Contemplative Witnessing serves as a guide for spiritual directors to facilitate such encounters. This book equips spiritual directors, to journey with and within, and to serve as witnesses as BIPOC people encounter our most sacred and honest selves. 

For more information about Moravian University School of Theology Spiritual Direction Certificate Program: https://www.moravianseminary.edu/academics/certificate/spiritual-direction

Music by Robert Long: [email protected]

Join Pam Robertson for a whole body relaxation mediation for fall. I am Listening poem by Macrina Wiederkehr and Joyce Rupp from Circle of Life: The Heart's Journey Through the Seasons. What Makes a Fire Burn poem by Judy Brown, from The Sea Accepts All Rivers. 

For more information about Moravian Theological Seminary's Spiritual Direction Program: https://www.moravianseminary.edu/academics/certificate/spiritual-direction

Music by Robert Long: [email protected]

A  conversation with Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, poet, teacher, speaker. She is a writing facilitator who co-hosts Emerging Form, a podcast on creative process, which is also on substack. Her daily audio series, The Poetic Path, is on the Ritual app. Her poems have appeared on A Prairie Home Companion, PBS News Hour, O Magazine, American Life in Poetry, and Carnegie Hall stage. Her recent collections are All the Honey and The Unfolding. In 2024, she became poet laureate for Evermore, helping others explore grief and love through poetry. Since 2006, she’s written a poem a day, sharing them for FREE on her daily blog, AHundredFallingVeils.com.  The link to the video shared at the end of the podcast of the poem Because: https://youtu.be/dVu-HHUqIng

For more information about Moravian Theological Seminary's Spiritual Direction Program: https://www.moravianseminary.edu/academics/certificate/spiritual-direction

Music by Robert Long: [email protected]