SDI BIPOC Gathering – July 2026
July 22 @ 9:00 am – 10:30 am PDT
Becoming and Belonging: A Contemplative Exploration for BIPOC Spiritual Directors
For many BIPOC spiritual directors, our personal, cultural, and spiritual journeys are shaped by questions of identity, community, displacement, resilience, and vocation. The dynamic relationship between becoming and belonging is not only psychological—it is also spiritual, communal, and prophetic. As we seek to become more fully who we are created to be, we also long to belong to Spirit, to ourselves, to our ancestors, to one another, and to beloved community. In a fractured and divided world, we need both: the courage to keep becoming and the grace of belonging. Together they invite us into greater authenticity, freedom, wholeness, and compassionate presence.
Rather than seeking answers, we will engage the contemplative practices of deep listening, journaling and communal dialogue to guide us to attend to how these movements are unfolding within us. We explore how we cultivate sacred space for these same movements in those we accompany.
We hope this will deepen our capacity for spiritual companionship, and strengthen our call to participate in healing, justice, and the transformation of our communities and world.
About our Facilitator:
Ravi Verma has been providing spiritual companionship and supervision to individuals, groups, and organizations for over twenty years. Fluent across many spiritual traditions, Ravi works with people of diverse genders, races, and spiritual paths—including religious leaders as well as those with no formal tradition. He is deeply passionate about spiritual formation, honoring its rich historical roots while thoughtfully deconstructing them for our contemporary context. He is a past Chair of the Council of Spiritual Directors International (SDI) and currently serves as Diversity and Equity Consultant at SDI.
(Please note this meeting is intended for those who identify as BIPOC)
How to Register / Instructions:
Please read through the instructions below before signing up.
(Not yet an SDI Member? Click here to join.)Once you register for a session, you will be sent a password-free invitation with the Zoom link. If you don’t see it, please check any Junk Mail or Spam folders.Please only sign up if you have checked your calendar and you know you can attend. Saving a spot immediately might seem like a good strategy. But the problem is many people then discover they have a conflict and the spot is not used. Thank you for your kindness in this.Please only sign yourself up. Your registration will be linked to your e-mail addressRemember that we will do more of these free sessions. If you miss out this time around, there will be more opportunities.
What to Expect:
Each session runs about 75 minutes.Each session will be hosted by one of the SDI Staff, and an experienced facilitator from the SDI Community.Guidance from the facilitator will include brief teachings, contemplative readings, and space for meditation/silence.Each session will include Breakout Groups of 3-4 participants, where each participant will have to opportunity to share and to hold space for one-another.
We will not record these sessions to preserve the confidentiality of all participants in the group spiritual companionship.
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