The Wisdom of Listening:

A 7-Week Practice in Active, Contemplative Listening

This experiential series is open to people of all backgrounds, professions, and spiritual paths and is designed for those who learn best through practice rather than lecture.

Each week, participants receive access to a brief 10-minute video introducing the theme and listening posture for the upcoming week. Our live sessions then focus on reflective questions, guided meditation, one-on-one and group listening conversations, offering spacious, supported practice in contemplative, active listening. 

Along the way, we gently notice the habits, pressures, and cultural patterns that can interfere with deep listening, practicing a compassionate return to presence while learning to stay attentive without over-carrying or absorbing what is not ours.

Rooted in the wisdom tradition of spiritual companionship, this series draws from the first year of Wisdom Tree Collective’s formation and spiritual direction trainings while remaining fully accessible to the wider public. No prior experience is required.

For anyone longing to listen more deeply—to others, to life, or to the Sacred.

Early registration rate: $275 
Available through March 7th.

After this date, tuition returns to $325.

A limited number of partial scholarships are available.

If the cost of this series would be a barrier to participation, you are warmly invited to request a scholarship. We trust participants to discern their needs with integrity, and no additional explanation is required.

👉 Request a scholarship by emailing our Guardian of Financial Well Being, Jill Wright

Applications for the Fall 2026 Certificate Cohorts Coming Soon! 

We are honored to offer a one-year, wisdom-based, online Certificate in Spiritual Formation for anyone longing to deepen and widen their spiritual life. Perhaps you are seeking to expand your spiritual wisdom, feel in between traditions, are in a season of unknowing, or no longer feel at home in familiar religious structures. Or you may be unsure about training in spiritual direction.

This year focuses on growing in wisdom and inner freedom while gently introducing (or revisiting) the foundations of spiritual companionship. It may be taken on its own for enrichment, or as the first step toward becoming a spiritual director.

The Certificate in Spiritual Formation also serves as the first year of our two-year, online Certificate in Spiritual Direction. The second year offers a supervised practicum and integrative project or paper. Participants who continue may register at a reduced fee.  

Both programs begin September 2026. More details and registration opens later this month!

Want to be contacted when the applications become available? Email Kasey Hitt, Director of the School of Spiritual Direction to be added to the list.

Group Supervision for Spiritual Directors

Collective Wisdom Available for Spiritual Directors

For those who desire to be supported as they offer spiritual direction to others. Whether you are offering group or individual spiritual direction, discover how the wisdom of a facilitated group can enrich your own soul and practice. 

Contact Dr. Robbie Pinter for more details about these 2-hour sessions and to submit payment.

Go to our Instructor page to find out more about Robbie.

Total: $160 for 4 sessions

Graduates of Wisdom Tree Collective receive $20 off the 4-session Group Supervision fee.

Tables of Re-membering: A Guided Silent Retreat

As Holy Week approaches, you are invited to experience the power of Love’s table.
At the Last Supper, we encounter a table set at the threshold of transformation—a pause between what has been and what is emerging.

Throughout the retreat we'll allow Scripture, poets, mystics, and artists across centuries to be our companions.

Their voices will invite us to pause, listen, and welcome the parts of ourselves—
and the parts of the human story— that long to be seen, honored, and healed.

Along with a variety of artistic depictions of The Last Supper, we'll take inspiration from by Fr. Sieger Köder's "All Are Welcome" (pictured) and Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party installation artwork and create symbolic place settings that honor the aspects of self and story that have been unseen, silenced, or waiting to be welcomed. Together we will create a collective table topper as a shared work of beauty and belonging.

This retreat offers gentle teaching, contemplative art-making, and spacious silence for rest and reflection.

No art or crafting experience needed.

Come. Enter a time of re-membering.

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Location: Monastery Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand, IN (3 hours from Nashville, TN)

Facilitators: Spiritual Directors, Kasey Hitt, MDiv and Rev. Dr. Amy Steele

Fee: $540, includes 9 meals, private bed/bath, materials and half hour of spiritual direction

Please find and read the WTC Retreat Refund Policy here.

9 spaces available.

Want to make it possible for someone else to attend? You can either gift a retreat to someone you love or you'll have a chance to contribute to the fund during the checkout process. Your generosity is greatly appreciated!

Need a scholarship? Email our Guardian of Financial Well-Being, Jill Wright.

The Wisdom of the Ordinary

Rooted in spiritual reflection and expressive writing, this workshop explores how wisdom reveals itself in ordinary moments.

Through guided prompts and contemplative practices, we’ll consider what it means to listen more deeply to our daily experiences and uncover the insights they offer.

No prior writing experience is needed—only a willingness to slow down, pay attention, and let words become a pathway to meaning.

Participants will engage in accessible writing practices designed to deepen awareness, nurture the inner life, and give voice to lived experience. Together, we’ll discover how writing can be a spiritual practice—one that transforms daily life into a reliable source of insight and connection.

Please have a journal or laptop available to you during the workshop. Zoom link sent the day before the event.

Facilitated by Amy-Lyles Wilson, a published writer and longtime workshop/retreat leader. Amy-Lyles believes it is the sharing of our stories that saves us. She serves as Contributing Writer & Editor and Instructor for Wisdom Tree Collective.

Learn more about Amy-Lyles here: www.amylyleswilson.com 

$35.00 USD Value - Pay What You Can

The price shown is for this one class.

Whatever you are able to pay for The Wisdom of the Ordinary supports our instructors and helps us continue to offer experiences like this one. We are grateful for your support of Wisdom Tree Collective!  

Please do not let cost stand in the way of your participation. Reach out to Jill Wright, our Guardian of Financial Well-Being for financial assistance with this offering.

Group Reading of The Tears of Things

Join us for a five-week guided reading and conversation series exploring Richard Rohr’s The Tears of Things.

Each session pairs a prophetic voice from Scripture with a contemporary figure, inviting us into deeper reflection on justice, compassion, and transformation.

This gathering is for those longing for a faith that can hold sorrow without rushing to fix it, and love that tells the truth with tenderness. Through short readings, silence, and gentle reflection, we will listen together for what is emerging—within us and among us—at the pace of Wisdom.

Meeting Details
Dates: March 4 – April 1
Time: 8:00–9:00 AM (Eastern)
Location: Zoom (Register and receive Zoom link)

Weekly Topics
• March 4: The Path of the Prophet — Isaiah & Martin Luther King Jr.
• March 11: The Role of Anger — Jeremiah & Greta Thunberg
• March 18: Collective Evil — Micah & Desmond Tutu
• March 25: Alchemy of Tears — Lamentations & Joanna Macy
• April 1: Growing Toward Love — The Prophets & Etty Hillesum

Access the reader guide here: ToT_ReadersGuide.pdf  

Sunrise Circle

Join us for a peaceful midweek gathering of Lectio Divina (Sacred reading) of Richard Rohr’s CAC (Tuesday) Daily Meditation and Centering Prayer sit. Sunrise Circle offers a sacred space to begin your day with intention and spiritual connection. Watch the CAC's video about this year's theme: "Good News for a Fractured World." 

When: Wednesday mornings at 7:00 AM

Duration: 45 minutes

Where: Online (access provide through registering)

What to Expect:

Lectio Divina (25 minutes): The Meditation will be posted in the Circle on Tuesday. You may find it helpful to read it ahead of time.

Together, we will read the Meditation. We will take a moment to reflect on the meditation and then each participant will be invited to share a word or phrase that touches them. After each person has had a chance to share the word or phrase, then we will go around and tell why or how it touches our life. If there is time for cross discussion at the end, we will do so. If anyone chooses to pass on sharing, they are welcome to--this is a safe space! You can even come in your pajamas and leave the video off.

Contemplative Prayer (20 minutes): A shared time of silence and stillness to be attentive to the presence and action of God in our being and lives.

Whether you’re new to contemplative practices or a seasoned participant, all are welcome to this circle of peace and growth. Rediscover the beauty of the morning with Sunrise Circle—a time for reflection, prayer, and community.

Sign up for CAC meditations at https://cac.org/daily-meditations.

Centering Prayer Circle 

Practicing a holy pause from speaking and doing to rest in the Divine Embrace and listen for the Sacred in text, art, and music

Beginners and long-time practitioners invited to join us for a Centering Practice every Friday from 9-10 am CST.

The Centering Prayer Circle begins by being guided into 20 minutes of silence followed by  opportunities for Lectio Divina, Visio Divina, and Audio Divina (reading, looking, and listening with the eyes and ears of the heart):

Facilitated by different members of WTC. 

Wisdom Tree Collective Community Circle

Wisdom Tree Collective is a modest community rooted in ancient and present-day spiritual and listening practices. It supports those navigating their spiritual journey, seeking clarity, grounding, and hope. At the same time, it is a refuge for those called to walk alongside others with wisdom and compassion.

In times like these, we need the support of each other. So, we're bringing all of the Collective together into this online common space.

From students, alumni, and mentors from our School to members of our meditation circles, to those new to us and looking for a place to belong, we have a wealth of gifts to share with each other.

Each of us brings our lived experience of joy and weathering storms of all kinds.

Curating and facilitating this online space and hosting seasonal video coffee hours will be Lauree Morris, an alumni from our School of Spiritual Direction, and Jill Wright, a current year two student. Both have a heart for creating a sacred space of refuge and encouragement.

This is a place for you. Choose to interact as much or as little as you desire. Share wisdom, receive wisdom. Share photos, ask questions, post quotes, invite us to events, talk about your experience in other Wisdom Tree Collective offerings.

Don't feel like posting or replying to anything? No problem, just know we're here for you.

Evergreen Courses

Purchase recordings to watch when you desire!

Recording Available for "Trauma-Informed Spiritual Direction 101" with Abby Buter Oakhart

Through this recording, you will receive a foundation in what it means to become trauma-informed and offer trauma-informed spiritual direction.

This is information that is helpful to anyone in a helping profession (or desiring to interact with others through a trauma-informed lens). 

Watch it as many times as you would like and learn: 

• What does it mean to be trauma informed?
• What’s going on in our body when we’re activated (aka triggered)?
• What are tools that we can use when ourselves or a directee is feeling activated?

Proceeds benefit the work & sustainability of Wisdom Tree Collective. 

Recording Available for "Trauma-Informed Spiritual Direction 201" with Abby Buter Oakhart

This recording will teach practical ways to offer trauma-informed spiritual direction, focusing on avoiding re-traumatization through power dynamics, creating safe spaces, and using sensitive language. 

A panel of experienced spiritual directors talk about their trauma-informed practices and invite us to consider: 

• Why do I need to think about power dynamics in spiritual direction?
• How can I set up my space in a trauma informed way?
• What are practical examples of how to practice trauma-informed spiritual direction?

 Proceeds benefit the work & sustainability of Wisdom Tree Collective.