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Category: Monk in the World

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Monk in the World Guided Meditation by Christine (Silence and Solitude) + AUDIO ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dear pilgrims, monks, and artists, During this Jubilee year of sabbatical we are revisiting our Monk Manifesto by moving slowly through the Monk in the World retreat materials together every Sunday. Each week will offer new reflections on the theme and every six weeks will introduce a new principle. This week we pray Lectio Divina with a text from Psalms. You can listen an audio recording of the practice below. We will be praying with this text: Be still and know that I am God – Psalm 46:10   First Movement – Lectio: Settling & Shimmering For now, find a comfortable

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Monk in the World Reflection by Christine (Silence and Solitude) + AUDIO ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dear pilgrims, monks, artists, Please note: This reflection was written when we lived in Seattle and had a dog named Winter. We currently live in Galway, Ireland with our dog Sourney. If you’d prefer to listen to Christine on silence here is the audio version.   Being a monk in the world means, for me, choosing to live contemplatively in resistance to the demand for speed, to live mindfully and with intention instead of rushing through life, to savor my experience rather than consume it, and to remember that my self-worth is not defined by how much I do or achieve,

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Reflection by John (Silence and Solitude) ~ A Note from Your Online Prior

Dear pilgrims, monks, and artists, During this Jubilee year of sabbatical we are revisiting our Monk Manifesto by moving slowly through the Monk in the World retreat materials together every Sunday. Each week will offer new reflections on the theme and every six weeks will introduce a new principle. Mark 6:31-33 He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going

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Join us in 2019 for a Pilgrimage or Retreat in Ireland

  Join the Abbey in 2019 for a pilgrimage to the sacred edges of the world and of your own heart and horizon. Christine and John Valters Paintner lovingly curate and guide these slow-paced experiences with small groups (12-16 people max) so that we create a community of kindred souls walking a magical landscape. We have had one room come available (can be single or double if traveling with a friend or partner) for Writing on the Wild Edges Retreat in Ireland for August 26-September 1, 2018. Please contact us if you are interested. For program details click here>> March

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Dr. Jamie Marich joins the Abbey Wisdom Council!

Abbey of the Arts is delighted to have a Wisdom Council with 12 wise members who enthusiastically support what we do, offer their gifts in service to this community, and provide a sounding board for discernment over future directions. We welcome Dr. Jamie Marich to our council. She is the creator of Dancing Mindfulness, a wonderful contemplative movement practice which Christine has been certified in. Jamie has also written a great book on the practice which you can find here. She has attended live retreats and pilgrimages with the Abbey, been a guest teacher on our Body Wisdom online course, and

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Monk in the World guest post: Jenneth Graser

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Jenneth Graser’s reflection the unfolding process: The deep down longing of my heart in this life for the longest time has been to know God and be known by God.  Over the past 8 or so years, this has taken on a completely different flavour as our family has grown.  Going back in time to around 2002, my life twisted in an unexpected way when I came back home to South Africa after attending a Ministry School in Toronto, only

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Vienna Monk in the World Pilgrimage – November 12-20, 2016

Join us in the beautiful city of Vienna, Austria where we will stay in a Benedictine guesthouse right in the city center. The Advent markets will be going up around town, illuminating Vienna with a festive atmosphere. We will make journeys out to see other beautiful monasteries as well including Cistercian, Augustinian, and Benedictine. This is a city to make both the monk and artist’s hearts delight! Click here for more details and to register>> We offer pilgrimages to Ireland, Germany, and Austria. You can visit our calendar to see other dates and if a program is full, email us

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