The Poetry Parties have been on hiatus for a few months and I am delighted to bring them back as a regular feature this week.

I select an image and suggest a theme/title and invite you to respond with your poems or other reflections. Add your responses in the comments section. Feel free to take your poem in any direction and then post the image and invitation on your blog (if you have one) and encourage others to come join the party! (permission is granted to reprint the image if a link is provided back to this post)

On Friday, August 27th, I will draw a name at random from those who participate and send the winner a copy of Sacred Poetry: An Invitation to Write (an art journal I published with a collection of previous Poetry Party prompts).

Poetry Party Theme: Monk in the World

I have been so deeply moved by the outpouring of response to my recent Monk Manifesto with almost 300 of you signing (and over 500 are participating in my free 7-day Monk in the World e-course).

As a way to deepen your personal expression of this commitment to live in contemplative, creative, and compassionate ways in the world, I invite you to write a poem which explores what it means for you to be a Monk in the World.  The image above is the reflection of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City in the shimmering glass of an adjacent office building.  I love this image because it speaks to me of the meeting place of ancient and modern which is really what living out a monastic way of life in the world is all about.

There is a wonderful poetry-writing exercise from poetry therapist John Fox's book Finding What You Didn't Lose: Expressing Your Truth and Creativity through Poem-Making (I equally recommend his other book Poetic Medicine: The Healing Art of Poem-Making) about exploring your inner poet.  I share the questions here, transposed to explore your inner monk.  Feel free to let this be a prompt for your own writing or take it in an entirely different direction.

Reclaiming Your Inner Monk:

What does your inner monk look like?
What does your inner monk feel like?
Where was your inner monk born?
What does your inner monk see?
Where is your inner monk recognized?
What does your inner monk know?
What does your inner monk imagine?
Where does your inner monk live?
What must your inner monk say aloud?
Why does your inner monk exist?

So please share your own poetic inspirations in the comments section below of living the contemplative life!  Let this be a gathering of monks in a virtual celebration!

I select an image and suggest a theme/title and invite you to respond with your poems or other reflections. Add your responses in the comments section.  Feel free to take your poem in any direction and then post the image and invitation on your blog (if you have one) and encourage others to come join the party! (permission is granted to reprint the image if a link is provided back to this post)

On Friday, March 26th, I will draw a name at random from those who participate and send the winner a copy of my newest book Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire:  The Christian Practice of Praying with the Elements.  (See below for the Publisher's Weekly review and for a link to register for my Easter E-Course on practicing resurrection through praying with the elements).

_________________________________________________

POETRY PARTY THEME: Blessed Be

I co-lead two Soul Care Supervision Groups here in Seattle with my wonderful partner Kayce Hughlett (click the link to see her own Beatitudes). The group is a place for those in ministries of soul care – spiritual direction, counseling, pastoring – to make space for their own process and self-nurturing.  Our theme this month was "Blessed are the Small Selves" which arose out of my own reflections during this season of Lent on all the ways my smaller selves need some honoring and attention.

We can spend a lot of energy on being big and radiant- it is an essential part of offering our gifts to the world.  My word for the year was even sovereignty which I have been praying with for Lent and discovering how part of being sovereign (which means, in part, being fully self-possessed) is tending to and making space for some of the more tender and vulnerable places – the parts of self which long for some care and attention.  This is part of the desert journey of Lent.  The Beatitudes are all about the blessedness of the smaller selves and your invitation this week is to write your own Beatitude(s).

Here are some questions to ponder, rest in each one for a moment to see what it stirs:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

Where are the places you are poor in spirit – longing to surrender yourself to something much bigger than your own ego?  Where are the places where you feel like an exile in the world?

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted

Grief tells us that we loved deeply, that we are passionate.  Where in your heart do you experience a grief that lingers, that is calling for some attention?  

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth

To be meek, means to have softened what is rigid within; to be like the fertile soil which receives its nourishment from the rain, allowing it to seep down into its substance.  Is there a place within you that is longing to soften and yield?  Is there a tender place longing to emerge and be expressed?

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy

Those who are merciful are the ones who extend grace, they also receive grace in return.  Where in your heart do you experience the longing for grace and mercy?  Where is the part of yourself that offers mercy and grace?

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God

To be pure in heart means to live in congruity between your inner life and your outer life, it means to live from an awareness of the sacred pulsing in your own heart moment by moment and in the world around you.   Where in your life do you have a longing for integrity and for seeing God?

Blessed are the Peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God

The peacemakers are those who seek to bring peace to their own hearts so that their interactions with others come from a place of peace, who extend the practice of shalom into the world.  Where in your heart do you experience the longing to make peace?  What are you feeling in conflict with?

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of me.

What are the quiet voices within you which have been persecuted?  How have you shut out the wisdom of these smaller selves?  How might you begin to make more room for them to emerge?

Your invitation this week is to write your own Beatitude – what is the small self needing to be blessed right now?  What is the gift waiting to be received?

It might be a single Beatitude – Blessed are the . . . – or a whole series which rise up when you sink into the quiet spaces of yourself.  Rest into the power of these smaller, gentler selves and notice what they have to teach you.

_________________________________________________

Praise for Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire:  The Christian Practice of Praying with the Elements from Publishers Weekly:

In a warm, personable manner, Paintner, a Benedictine oblate and spiritual director, invites the reader to engage creation as a sacred text by prayerfully exploring theological dimensions of the elements. Drawing on Celtic tradition, Paintner explores religious and cultural symbolism; for example, water's associations with the direction west, the season autumn, and its physical forms and spiritual dimensions, such as tides, thirst, tears, baptism. Suggestions for reflection and action include the application of lectio divina, a practice of sacred reading typically used with scripture, to nature, encouraging the reader to listen deeply for the stirring of the holy in sacred texts around us. In each chapter, Paintner offers reflections on her prayer life during the book's composition, demonstrating how she applied the spiritual practices she suggests (such as lighting a candle when contemplating Fire). Quotes from scripture, poets, essayists, and Christian mystics encourage the reader to seek divine revelation and comprehension of God's love for all creation by cultivating a contemplative relationship to nature. Simple and powerful, this book will be a welcome new resource for individuals and groups seeking spiritual connection to creation.

_________________________________________________

© Christine Valters Paintner at Abbey of the Arts:
Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts

I select an image and suggest a theme/title and invite you to respond with your poems or other reflections. Add your responses in the comments section.  Feel free to take your poem in any direction and then post the image and invitation on your blog (if you have one) and encourage others to come join the party! (permission is granted to reprint the image if a link is provided back to this post)

On Friday, February 19th, I will draw a name at random from those who participate and send the winner a copy of Sacred Poetry: An Invitation to Write.

_________________________________________________

Poetry Party Theme:

Entering the Desert's Fire

This week the Christian liturgical season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday.  For 40 days we are invited on an inner pilgrimage which parallels the desert journey Jesus made before he began his public ministry.  In the Hebrew and Christian scriptures the desert is a place of preparing our hearts, of stripping away of false securities, of radical surrender, and of invitation to transformation.  The Israelites wandered in the Sinai desert for 40 years and the early Christian monks went out into the desert to find a place of profound solitude and silence.  The desert is an archetypal place where we confront our inner demons and are purified and transformed by the its heat.

I invite you this week to write a poem about your own invitation to enter the refiner's fire – in alchemy lead is transformed into gold through heat and this becomes a metaphor for the human soul.  What is the lead within you ready to be transformed into something treasured?

The poem could be a blessing for the journey ahead or an invocation of your deepest longings for this sacred time.  Allow yourself to feel the desert heat as you write and invite in its power to spark, ignite, and illuminate the world.

_________________________________________________

PRE-ORDER WATER, WIND, EARTH & FIRE

If the above reflection on the element of fire resonates with you, you will love my next book Water, Wind, Earth, & Fire: The Christian Practice of Praying with the Elements which will be available in mid-March so pre-order your copy today!

_________________________________________________

© Christine Valters Paintner at Abbey of the Arts:
Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts

I select an image and suggest a theme/title and invite you to respond with your poems or other reflections. Add your responses in the comments section.  Feel free to take your poem in any direction (ie, you can break the "rules" suggested below) and then post the image and invitation on your blog (if you have one) and encourage others to come join the party! (permission is granted to reprint the image if a link is provided back to this post)

On Friday, January 15th, I will draw a name at random from those who participate and send the winner a copy of Sacred Poetry: An Invitation to Write.

_________________________________________________

Poetry Party Theme: Words for the Heart

I was so moved by the response to my New Year's call for words to shape your commitments for the future.  I loved the power that each word offered, how a whole world of hope was wrapped up in just a few letters.

My invitation to you for this week's Poetry Party is to write a poem using only the words below (or variations of them) and connecting words such as and, the, is, etc. (and maybe a pronoun or two).  You don't have to use all 132 of them, but spend some time with them and see how they want to come together.  You can click on the image below to enlarge it.  If you didn't submit your own word yet, consider choosing one and making it the title.

(you can see a larger version by clicking here)

** To see Jo-El's poem from the comments in the original formatting click here **

_________________________________________________

© Christine Valters Paintner at Abbey of the Arts:
Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts

I am posting this week's Poetry Party since the third week of Advent begins today! I select an image and suggest a theme/title and invite you to respond with your poems or other reflections. Add them in the comments section and a link to your blog (if you have one).  Make sure to check the comments for new poems added and I encourage you to leave encouraging comments for each other either here or at the poet’s own blog.

Feel free to take your poem in any direction and then post the image and invitation on your blog if you have one and encourage others to come join the party! (permission is granted to reprint the image if a link is provided back to this post and full credit is given – © Christine Valters Paintner at Abbey of the Arts)

On Friday, December 18th, I will draw a name at random from those who participate and send the winner a copy of my newest zine: Crossing the Threshold: New Year, New Beginnings.

*************************

Poetry Party Theme: Sharing Our Deepest Joy

Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!
Sing joyfully, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
-Zep 3:14-18

Brothers and sisters:
Rejoice in God always.
I shall say it again: rejoice!
Your kindness should be known to all.
-Phil 4:4-7

For this third week of the season of Advent I am hosting a Poetry Party to invite you to help break open the meaning of the sacred texts among us.  In a time of year when we are told that our happiness is to be found through excessive consumption, the first two scripture readings speak of a deeper joy – a rejoicing of the heart which emerges from a place of equanimity, exultation, and profound gratitude for life's moments.

The Gospel reading from this week calls us to share the fruits of our gladness with generosity and kindness: "The crowds asked John the Baptist, “What should we do?” He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” (Luke 3:10-18)  Our joy binds us to a responsibility to extend it to others, especially those whom we encounter who have nothing.  Happiness may allow us to rest comfortably on our own, joy calls us into the world.

Do you remember the profound and un-self-conscious joy you experienced as a child?  When delight erupted from your deepest self in carefree moments?  How are you being invited in your most joyful moments to share beyond your most intimate circle?

I invite you to write a poem this week describing the deeper joy of Advent – deeper than mere happiness – and to describe when you listen to that joy, what is your call into the world that emerges from its heart?

© Christine Valters Paintner at Abbey of the Arts:
Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts

I select an image and suggest a theme/title and invite you to respond with your poems or other reflections. Add them in the comments section and a link to your blog (if you have one).  Make sure to check the comments for new poems added and I encourage you to leave encouraging comments for each other either here or at the poet’s own blog.

Feel free to take your poem in any direction and then post the image and invitation on your blog if you have one and encourage others to come join the party! (permission is granted to reprint the image if a link is provided back to this post and full credit is given – © Christine Valters Paintner at Abbey of the Arts)

On Sunday, November 29th, I will draw a name at random from those who participate and send the winner a copy of my newest zine: Crossing the Threshold: New Year, New Beginnings.

Book Giveaway!

As a special Thanksgiving to you, my wonderful readers, I also have several books to give away this week – books which somehow I ended up with two copies of each (please look up the titles online for more details).  If you'd like one of the books, please post your gratitude poem or list in the comments (see theme below) plus a note of which title you'd like to have.  I will cross the titles off this list as they're claimed, but please look through previous comments in case I haven't gotten back to my computer since someone claimed one.  These are first-come, first-served.  All I ask is that in the coming days you extend the generosity to someone else in your life.

The Everday Work of Art by Eric Booth

Living the Creative Life: Ideas and Inspirations from Working Artists by Rice Freeman-Zachery

Creative Awakenings: Envisioning the Life of Your Dreams Through Art by Sheri Gaynor

Entering the Temple of Dreams: Jewish Prayers, Movements, and Meditations for the End of Day by Tamar Frankiel & Judy Greenfeld

Praying with the Body by Roy DeLeon

The Inferno of Dante translated by Robert Pinsky

All the books have now been claimed – but please keep contributing your wonderful poems!

*************************

Poetry Party Theme: Expanding the Heart in Gratitude

In the United States, this is of course the week of our Thanksgiving feasts.  I decided to host a Poetry Party here even though I anticipate smaller numbers attending as people travel and cook and clean and prepare.  But I am keeping the invitation simple so that you might be able to stop by even briefly to express your gratitude through the beauty of poetic language.

So my invitation this week has two simple suggestions:

1) write a haiku (or several) that captures the essence of a heart-expanding moment for you, something in the course of ordinary, everyday life

or

2) make a list of 5 simple, everday things for which you are grateful. 

You are, of course, welcome to write a longer poem as well about the ordinary things which make your heart sing and overflow.

(Photo taken at a fountain in St. Peter's Square, Vatican City)

** The February 22-April 4, 2010 session of Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Contemplative Practice is now FULL!  I will be adding a second session later today to run concurrently with the second session of Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist from April 12-May 23, 2010. **

© Christine Valters Paintner at Abbey of the Arts:
Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts

I select an image and suggest a theme/title and invite you to respond with your poems or other reflections. Add them in the comments section and a link to your blog (if you have one).  Make sure to check the comments for new poems added and I encourage you to leave encouraging comments for each other either here or at the poet’s own blog.

Feel free to take your poem in any direction and then post the image and invitation on your blog if you have one and encourage others to come join the party! (permission is granted to reprint the image if a link is provided back to this post and full credit is given – © Christine Valters Paintner at Abbey of the Arts)

On Friday, November 6th, I will draw a name at random from those who participate and send the winner a copy of my zine: Sacred Poetry: An Invitation to Write.

*************************

Poetry Party Theme: Honoring the Ancestors

This past weekend I was away leading an art and movement retreat for an amazing group of women.  Together we embraced the threshold space of the Celtic feast of Samhain and the Christian feasts of All Saints and All Souls Days.  In the Celtic tradition this time of year the veil between worlds is especially thin and we can feel the presence of the ancestors more strongly.  Later the Christian church claimed this wisdom for its own liturgical rhythm and we celebrate and honor those beloved dead who have gone before us.

When you stand at the threshold space between this world and the next – who is there to greet you?  Who are the ancestors – genetic, spiritual, creative – who offer you guidance and support through the challenges of life?

I invite you to write a poem in honor of one of your ancestors in particular or in celebration of the great "cloud of witnesses" and "communion of saints" who gather with us.

The photo above was taken in Ireland on my journey there in 2007.

© Christine Valters Paintner at Abbey of the Arts:
Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts

Become a fan of the Abbey on Facebook, follow this blog on Facebook, friend me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter

I select an image and suggest a theme/title and invite you to respond with your poems or other reflections. Add them in the comments section and a link to your blog (if you have one).  Make sure to check the comments for new poems added and I encourage you to leave encouraging comments for each other either here or at the poet’s own blog.

Feel free to take your poem in any direction and then post the image and invitation on your blog if you have one and encourage others to come join the party! (permission is granted to reprint the image if a link is provided back to this post)

On Friday, September 4th, I will draw a name at random from those who participate and send the winner a signed copy of my newest zine: Sacred Poetry: An Invitation to Write.

*************************

Poetry Party Theme: Moments

Art and poetry are essentially about savoring a moment in time, looking and listening closely and breaking open its gifts and basking in its wonder.  Last week I posted a few words and a video link about the moments that make up our lives.

I took this photo at the beach last week. I love this woman's pensive look, I wonder what her experience is of this moment in time.  Is she fully present to the beauty before her?  Is she dreaming of the future?  Is she contemplating the past?  For this week's Poetry Party I invite you to write a poem about a moment in time.  It could be something entirely ordinary that when tended reveals something sacred.

© Christine Valters Paintner at Abbey of the Arts:
Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts

Become a fan of the Abbey on Facebook, follow this blog on Facebook, friend me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter

I select an image and suggest a theme/title and invite you to respond with your poems or other reflections. Add them in the comments section and a link to your blog (if you have one).  Make sure to check the comments for new poems added and I encourage you to leave encouraging comments for each other either here or at the poet’s own blog.

Feel free to take your poem in any direction and then post the image and invitation on your blog if you have one and encourage others to come join the party! (permission is granted to reprint the image if a link is provided back to this post)

On Friday, July 31st, I will draw a name at random from those who participate and send the winner a signed copy of my newest zine: Sacred Poetry: An Invitation to Write.

*************************

Poetry Party Theme: Summer's Sweet Slowness

The other day I posted a list on my blog of things whose sweetness should be savored slowly on summer days.  I invited you to make your own additions to the list and I really enjoyed reading them.  So this Poetry Party is an extension of that theme.  This week it will be in the mid-nineties and sunny here in Seattle, very unusual weather for us, weather that demands we all slow down and savor the height of summer days.  Summer's invitation is to linger and and notice the beauty in small things.

If you contributed to the previous  list already consider turning it into a poem.  Everyone is invited to create their own Ode to Summer's Gifts!

**************************

© Christine Valters Paintner at Abbey of the Arts:
Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts

Become a fan of the Abbey on Facebook, follow this blog on Facebook, friend me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter

I select an image and suggest a theme/title and invite you to respond with your poems or other reflections. Add them in the comments section and a link to your blog (if you have one).  Make sure to check the comments for new poems added and I encourage you to leave encouraging comments for each other either here or at the poet’s own blog. (I was using Mister Linky before but it started slowing down the loading of my pages drastically, so please leave your poems and links in the comments).

Feel free to take your poem in any direction and then post the image and invitation on your blog if you have one and encourage others to come join the party! (permission is granted to reprint the image if a link is provided back to this post)

On Friday, July 3rd, I will draw a name at random from those who participate and send the winner a signed copy of my newest zine: Sacred Poetry: An Invitation to Write (which will ship out by Monday, July 6th and you can pre-order for your own copy for the discounted price of $12.50)!

*************************

Theme: Always We Begin Again

I spent this past weekend with my Oblate community at St. Placid Priory.  It was our annual retreat and this year I helped Sister Lucy facilitate on the theme of "Always we begin again" which is a line from the Rule of St. Benedict.  One of the vows in Benedictine life is conversion which is essentially a commitment to ongoing transformation and recoginizing that we never fully arrive at the destination, we are always on a journey.

I took this photo while up on the Canadian coast last week.  At low tide one day I wandered the beach gathering stones and creating cairns, carefully balancing one stone upon another.  It became a meditation on my life.  For me Benedictine practice is at heart about living my life in a renewing balance between solitude and community, between silence and conversation, between work and prayer, between all the elements of my life that demand attention and energy.  I have returned from this retreat renewed in energy, focus, and commitment to my Benedictine practices.  I am ready to begin again.

We are half way through the year, so I invite you to take this opportunity to pause and reflect where you are being called to begin again.  Write a poem about your longing for balance or the places where you seek renewal.

*************************

© Christine Valters Paintner at Abbey of the Arts:
Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts

Become a fan of the Abbey on Facebook, follow this blog on Facebook, friend me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter