Online classes and retreats
Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist
A 12-week online class limited to 20 participants
Summer Session: June 3-August 29, 2012
We each contain within us a multiplicity of energies which are archetypal in nature. Two of these powerful archetypes are the monk and artist. Our "inner monk" is the part of ourselves that seeks a mystical connection to the divine source and cultivates this through a commitment to spiritual practice. The "inner artist" is the part of ourselves that engages the world through our senses, and is passionate about beauty. Both the monk and artist are edge-dwellers, who call the wider community to alternative ways of being. Our class will explore where these two paths meet. Drawing on monastic spirituality from the wisdom of desert, Celtic, and Benedictine traditions, we will explore contemplative practices that support and encourage the flowering of our creative visions.
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Eyes of the Heart
Photography as a Contemplative Practice
This class material is available on-demand for self-study – you can register and begin at any time
This 6-week e-course is about cultivating your ability to see with the “eyes of the heart” (Eph 1:18). In biblical and mystical traditions, the heart is the seat of our whole being. To see with the heart, means we bring the whole of ourselves to whatever reality we find ourselves in. We will explore photography in service of expanding our contemplative practice and compassionate presence to the world and to ourselves. Through daily emails, weekly reflections, guided meditation podcasts, and a private Flickr group where you have the option to share your images, deepen your contemplative way of being in the world through the lens.
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Water, Wind, Earth & Fire
Praying with the Elements
This class material is available on-demand for self-study – you can register and begin at any time
This 5-week e-course invites you to practice resurrection through contemplative encounters with creation. Join Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, Benedictine Oblate and author of Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire: The Christian Practice of Praying with the Elements, for an online retreat experience in daily life. Through weekly lessons, guided meditation podcasts, and daily emails you will be supported in contemplative ways of praying with nature. Christine is also joined in this course by Kayce S. Hughlett who offers SoulCollage® experiences for each of the four elements, Betsey Beckman with her StoryDance of the Creation story and a guided movement experience, plus songs by River's Voice to deepen each week's theme.
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Lectio Divina: The Sacred Art of Reading the World
This class material is available on-demand for self-study – you can register and begin at any time
Words can illuminate our hearts; they contain seeds of invitation to cross a new threshold. Words ripen within us. We can receive a word and not realize its full impact for our lives for a long while until one day we suddenly see things differently. Lectio divina is an ancient practice of listening deeply to the voice of God shimmering in sacred texts. Lectio cultivates in us the ability to be fully present to the holy call which emerges from words.