The Poetry of Your Life
Explore poetry as a way of deepening the conversations with those we companion.
Presenters
Colette Lafia
Dates
August 12 & 19, 2026
Time
Duration
3 hours (total)
Webinar will be recorded.
Engaging with poetry can be a spiritual practice that opens the soul to Divine Presence. In spiritual direction, poetry can serve as a doorway to greater awareness and connection, helping us to listen more deeply to the movements of the Spirit.
In this two-part series, we will explore poetry as a way of deepening the conversations we have with those we companion. Drawing from her book, Leaving the Shore: Experiencing Poetry as Prayer, spiritual director and award-winning author Colette Lafia will offer guidance on how to integrate poetry into spiritual companionship as a contemplative practice that offers deeper listening and presence. This webinar will explore the role of poetry in spiritual companionship, focusing on how poetry can open hearts, shift perspectives, and invite the Divine into the conversation.
“Poetry is the voice of the soul…Colette Lafia brings us into the joys and sorrows of life, revealing how God’s enduring love is present in all we experience”
—Richard Rohr, author of The Tears of Things
- Participants from all religious traditions, and spiritual and vocational orientations are welcome to this webinar series.
- No experience is required to attend.
- Each session runs 90 minutes.
- All sessions will be recorded and be viewable for at least 12 months after the last session goes live.
Session Outline
Session One: The Power of Poetry in Spiritual Direction
In this session, we will explore how poetry can serve as a sacred tool in spiritual direction. We will engage in poetry through the contemplative practice of Lectio Divina (sacred reading), allowing words and rhythms to form a way of listening, reflecting, and responding to the sacred. We will explore how poetry honors the inner movements of the Spirit through language, silence, and self-expression across all the spiritual traditions. During our time together, we will examine the intersection of creativity, spiritual practice, and inner transformation.
Session Two: Exploring the Poetry of Your Life
In this second session, we will explore how starting a session with a carefully selected poem can set the tone for a deep, contemplative conversation. We will see how a poem can serve as a spiritual anchor to bring forward new insights and inspiration in a session. We will also engage in journal writing, as a response to poetry, and learn how to offer that practice to those we companion. Poetry enriches our spiritual journey when we allow it to meet us where we are. We’ll discover how reading poetry, along with journal writing, can be a way to encourage those we companion to more deeply express their spiritual experiences and deepen their prayer life.
With poetry, prayer, and simple invitations to listen, reflect, respond, and rest, Colette Lafia leads us into meditative spaces in which we, too, can ‘turn toward the ever-evolving shape of life.’
—Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, author of The Unfolding and host of “The Poetic Path”
When
The webinar series will run two consecutive Wednesdays: August 12 and 19, 2026: 10 AM Seattle/Los Angeles. Find your own local time here.
But if that timing doesn’t work, you can enjoy the webinar any time you like.
Each session is recorded so you can watch at your convenience.
Presenter
Colette Lafia
Colette Lafia is an award-winning author, spiritual director, and retreat leader. As a graduate of the Living School, through the Center for Action and Contemplation, Colette has a passion for the contemplative life. She has worked in the spiritual formation programs at Mercy Center Burlingame and is a commissioned Centering Prayer presenter. Her most recent book is The Divine Heart: Seven Ways to Live in God’s Love, which received a Nautilus Book Award. Her forthcoming book is Leaving the Shore: Experiencing Poetry as Prayer (December 2025). Learn more about Colette by visiting her website (www.colettelafia.com.)
Additional Information
- Everyone is invited to participate in SDI Webinars.
- Each session will run 90 minutes. We understand that the timing of the seminar will not be convenient in every time zone on the planet. For those who have trouble making this time, a recorded copy of each session will be made available to all those who sign up.
- CEU credits are available for all those who participate. SDI will provide a certificate of completion for self-reporting to agencies. More information can be found here: continuing education units (CEUs).
- Cost: $49 or less for SDI members. Non-members please contact [email protected] for your pricing
- Scholarships are available for those facing financial hardship. Please apply here.
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