About Christine

Santa Fe 042

My primary work is to integrate spiritual formation & contemplative practice rooted in the Christian tradition with the healing practice of the expressive arts and the cycles of the natural world. My PhD is in Christian spirituality and I have earned my professional status as a Registered Expressive Arts Consultant and Educator (REACE) from the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association.  I have also completed certificate programs in spiritual direction, supervision of spiritual directors, and 200 hours of training as a yoga teacher (RYT-200).

Rooted in the Catholic mystical tradition with a strongly ecumenical spirit and love for the wisdom of all spiritual traditions, I am a Benedictine Oblate at St. Placid Priory which means that I have made a commitment to live out the monastic way in my daily life. I have a love for interfaith dialogue, especially the ways contemplative strands from Christianity, Buddhism, and yoga philosophy nourish and challenge one another.

I am in the process of moving from Seattle, WA (my home for the last nine years) to Vienna, Austria (one of my ancestral homelands). I am taking a sabbatical from teaching June 10-September 10, 2012 in order to make this transition and renew myself for the year ahead.  I will be continuing to minister to this community through both online classes and live retreats offered in the States and Europe, expanding what is already a global community.

I am committed to contemplative living, one rooted in Sabbath rhythms, and consider myself an urban monk and part-time hermit.  Most days you can find me writing, making photos, preparing to teach, going for a long walk, practicing yin yoga, dancing, having tea with friends, cooking a meal, or on a date with my husband.

You can listen to two podcast interviews with me, one at Otherhood and the other at Sacred Life Arts.

You can read some written interviews with me at Creative Liberty (on In the Studio with…), Trust Tending (on seasonal wisdom), June Mears Driedger, Magpie Girl (on creating Soultribes), Anam Cara (on spiritual direction), and Patheos (on contemplation and creativity).

I am a columnist for Patheos (you can find my reflections on Seasons of the Soul here) and also the author of several books on monastic wisdom and creativity:

EDUCATION

Click on Classes to see my calendar of upcoming classes, retreats, and workshops.  Most of my teaching and retreat work focuses on bringing the expressive arts and spiritual formation together and training others how to integrate creative and contemplative processes into their ministries including Awakening the Creative Spirit: Training for Spiritual Directors in the Expressive Arts, a live program I co-teach with Betsey Beckman.  I also offer a variety of online classes at the Abbey including Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist and Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Contemplative Practice.  One of my current areas of focus is on the continuing education and supervision of spiritual directors and others in pastoral ministries of compassionate listening and spiritual care through the Soul Care Institute programs.