In 1999 Brother Wayne Teasdale coined the term "InterSpirituality" — visioning all the world's spiritual traditions evolving together toward an ultimate shared Consciousness and Heart. The term has since taken on diverse meaning and generated myriad works in an ongoing evolution. This site lets you Land, Browse, Explore, Learn and Experience this emerging interspiritual landscape.
ISDnA (Interspiritual Dialogue 'n Action) is a farflung and dynamic network formed as of 2005 from the various constituencies and groups inspired by the work and writing of Brother Wayne Teasdale. It aims at carrying forward to a wider audience worldwide his vision of interspiritual dialogue and interspirituality as outlined in The Mystic Heart: Finding a Universal Spirituality in the World's Religions.
The network was formed after Bro. Wayne’s transition in 2004 and is an ongoing creative project in the spirit of his vision of civilization centered on the Heart. The network reflects Brother Wayne’s dream of an international association of friends and grew, in his last years, from his original suggestion in The Mystic Heart of a “Universal Order of Sannyasa” in service to the world. In this endeavor we invite the participation and input of all. More detailed information is summarized in the articles below by network members and in the “About” section of this site.
Introductory Articles About ISDnA
Watch for our 2009 expansion to become "The InterSpiritual Multiplex"
How ISDnA Came About—The Inspiration of Bro. Wayne
by Kurt Johnson
Brother Wayne with His Holiness the Dalia Lama in 1999
The purpose of ISDnA is the furtherance of the prophetic interspiritual vision of Bro. Wayne Teasdale. Thus, it is my privilege to welcome you here with some comments on the co-founding of InterSpiritual Dialogue (“ISD”) by Bro. Wayne and others and how it became the driving force for the circle of friends with whom we now do this wider international work, ISDnA.
I became acquainted with Bro. Wayne in 2002 after Martha Gallahue, another eventual co-founder of ISD, told me I must read his book The Mystic Heart: Finding a Universal Spirituality in the World’s Religions. I had little idea at the time that there was a profound synchronicity in this meeting. Wayne and I discovered we not only shared a long history in the celibate Christian religious life (for me 14 years beginning in 1969 with the Anglican Holy Cross order and then in wider, sometimes controversial, ecumenical experiments) but also life transforming experience which had flowed - for both of us - from Hinduism’s Advaitic traditions (where I now practice and teach www.bcan.ws) and from Dzogchen (Tibetan Buddhism) and shamanism. Continue reading...
Reflections on Brother Wayne
by Gorakh Hayashi
Brother Wayne speaking at his Profession of Solemn Vows, with Chicago's archbishop Francis Cardinal George looking on
I met Wayne Teasdale about 8 years ago when he came to interview to teach a course at Columbia College Chicago that I was co-ordinating. We immediately resonated in spirit and energy. After 2 weeks, he asked if I would meditate with him once a week in my office. I was a little surprised but agreed.
Our initial depth connection then was in and through the space of silence. I was a little more than surprised to find myself 8 years later organizing a national inter-faith conference to honor his memory and his vision. Wayne had a way of forming deep and lasting bonds with people that would somehow further his dream of the unfolding of good on the planet. A core principle of Wayne's I would say was to establish strong personal friendships with people and get them involved in the work. A correlate of this was to form powerful ties between people so they could co-create from a place of one heart, one mind. When the individual proposal I had made to present at the World Parliment of Religions was not accepted, Wayne suggested that I present with the New York Interspiritual Dialogue Group. I did this, and after a memorable Barcelona cafe conversation with Kurt Johnson, it became clear to both of us that we were somehow meant to further Wayne's work together. Kurt played an absolutely key role in the manifesting of the Common Ground conference and the ISDnA initiative. Continue reading...
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