Moudi’s extraordinary and challenging life experiences will set the stage for exploring how belonging can be mindfully cultivated by stepping into direct experience. He’ll share how Sufi mysticism, soulful poetry, and the power of narrative can help us belong and feel loved.

Moudi Sbeity is a Lebanese-American poet, author, and contemplative educator with a masters degree in Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling. Born in Texas and raised in Lebanon, he moved to the United States at the age of eighteen as an evacuee following the 2006 July war. In Utah, Moudi founded and operated Laziz Kitchen, a Lebanese restaurant celebrated by the New York Times as “the future of queer dining.” Moudi was also a named plaintiff in Kitchen v. Herbert, the landmark case that brought marriage equality to Utah and the 10th circuit states in 2014. He is the author of the memoir Habibi Means Beloved, and the poetry collection Alhamdulillah Anyway. His poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Orison’s Best Spiritual Literature. Moudi’s work focuses on themes of justice and liberation through a spiritual framework of compassion, forgiveness, and awe. As a lifelong stutterer, he is passionate about writing and poetry as practices in fluency and self-expression.