Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist

Way of Monk Banner - 12 week class

Summer Session: June 3-August 29, 2012

A 12-week online class limited to 25 participants

(This class is now FULL – please contact Christine to be added to the waiting list or notified when the next session is scheduled)

Description

Be. Here. This Moment Now is all there is, don’t go seeking another. Discover the sacred in your artist’s tools, they are the vessels of the altar of your own unfolding. Look at this cup of holy water, washing clean the brushes. See the blank page, awaiting your blessing. Gaze on the colors before you, each one a name of God: Saffron, Cobalt, Azure, Ruby. Say each one slowly and taste its juice in your mouth. Let this be your prayer. Brush them across the page. First the small strokes, then the larger sweeps. Lose track of all time. This too is prayer. Listen for the words that rise up: Awaken. Envision. Sing. Alleluia. Place marks on the page saying I am here. Watch as word and image dance together. Luminous. Illuminated. This is your sacred text. This is where God’s words are spoken, sometimes in whispers, sometimes in shouts. Be there to catch them as they pass over those sacred lips, tumbling so generously into your open arms.

We each contain within us a multiplicity of energies or “selves” which are archetypal in nature, meaning they are found across cultures and time periods. Two of these powerful archetypes are the monk and artist. Our “inner monk” is the part of ourselves that seeks the ground of all being and a mystical connection to the divine source, longing for what is most essential in life 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, seeking to give it outward form and expression through a variety of media (including visual art, poetry, movement, song, gardening, cooking, relationships, etc.). Both the monk and artist are edge-dwellers, ones who commit to living in fertile border-spaces and who call the wider community beyond the status quo 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 together contemplative practices that support and encourage the flowering of our creative visions.

This class is for anyone seeking to make more explicit connections between their spiritual practice and their creative expression. You might consider yourself an artist, a poet, or simply someone who experiences joy in the process of creating. You might consider yourself a contemplative or have experienced a longing for more presence to each moment.

This class is also for those who are looking for an online community – a kind of virtual monastery – to support your creative and contemplative practice.

Our primary text for this class is Christine's book The Artist's Rule: Nurturing Your Creative Soul with Monastic Wisdom.  You will need to purchase a copy of the book in addition to your registration.

How the course works

What's included

Your commitment

What you need before the class begins

  1. A copy of The Artist's Rule
  2. Registration information is below by credit card.  Checks currently not accepted.  Registrations will be accepted until the class fills.
  3. A commitment to yourself and your creative process (the amount of time you spend will vary with your energy and availability, but please plan on dedicating 20-45 minutes a day for this process plus a longer block of time once a week).  You are making this commitment to yourself and your creative flourishing.
  4. Computer with email access and the ability to download mp3 files or a speaker to listen to them on the website
  5. A free Ning account (details will be sent)
  6. A camera or scanner to post your images

Sessions outline

Policies and FAQ

Please read the Class Policies and FAQ page before registering.

Cost and payment

Program fee $325

(This class is now FULL – please contact Christine to be added to the waiting list or notified when the next session is scheduled)

Your guides for the class

The guides and facilitators for this journey will be Cheryl Macpherson and Stacy Wills, both are trained as spiritual directors, and have studied extensively with Christine.  They will be present to hold the space as sacred and encourage and support the participants.  You will be in wonderful hands.

Cheryl Macpherson

I began my working life as a teacher in New Zealand and continue to find teaching skills valuable when providing spiritual companioning and retreat facilitation. I am passionate about deep listening; being prayerfully present and listening from the heart. For me spiritual direction is very much about creating the spaciousness for listening with and reflecting on the sacredness of life. It is also about being open to inner wisdom and a presence beyond words, and about listening together for guidance in conversation and in quiet.

I bring a variety of life experience and training to my role as spiritual companion. My training includes: a Certificate of Counseling Support from Camosun College '92, Clinical Pastoral Counseling Training and Studies in Bowen Theory at Island Pastoral Services '97, training in grief support and facilitating grief recovery groups with the Burquitlum Grief Recovery System '98. While pursuing an interest in holistic healing I completed master level training in Reiki '99. During this time I completed the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. My two year program in Spiritual Direction was done at Vancouver School of Theology through the Pacific Jubilee Program in Spiritual Direction which I completed in '04. In '06 I was certified as a teacher of the Enneagram in the Helen Palmer narrative style. I also received training from Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault PhD. of the Contemplative Society on leadership in contemplative practice.

I have great respect for the spirituality of 12 Step programs and have been fortunate to assist women exploring their 5th and 11th steps. I am a member of the United Church of Canada and have companioned people from many differing spiritual paths. My own spiritual practice includes; centering prayer, lectio divina, meditation, journaling and creating mandalas. I have had a spiritual director for over 13 years and continue to benefit from this ongoing relationship.

Stacy Wills

I am   a  spiritual director and  contemplative  artist living in Mississippi.  In 2007,  I  completed Journey Partners, a two year training program  in the art of spiritual direction, sponsored by The Center for Ministry, located in Jackson, MS.  Through  the Center, I am  also involved in continuing education classes for spiritual directors, as well as  an on-going peer supervision group.

I have long been fascinated with exploring the intersection of creativity and spirituality.  It was in the hope of exploring that intersection more deeply that  I took part in the very first class of Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist, offered by Christine Valters Paintner, through The Abbey of the Arts.  It was a life-changing and life-giving watershed event in my life.  Since that time, I have completed several other online courses offered through The Abbey, and in 2011,  began assisting Christine by helping to hold the sacred space for others as they make the 12 week journey through Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist.

As an artist, my main focus has been the mandala.  I offer workshops to children and adults, using the mandala as a tool for  self-expression and self-exploration, as well as, community building.   Some of my art has appeared  in Presence:  An International Journal of Spiritual Direction.

My husband, Dan and I have been married for 31 years.  We have three children and four grandchildren.  Along with enjoying family time, I also enjoy photography, reading and spending time in nature.

Visit Stacy's mandala website here.

Praise for the class

Some of what previous participants in Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist have said about the class:

The gifts and graces offered with this class exceeded anything I can express in words, and insights will continue to unfold in the coming months. The material was outstanding and the process was intentional in the places I journeyed through in these short six weeks. I released poetry, stories and images that I did not know existed within me. I learned more about who God created me to be and received abundant support from Christine and other students, all of which gives me the confidence to pursue my life as an artist and a monk with abandon.  -Judy S.

This class is a wonderful combination of reflections, meditations and creative exercises in a virtual community setting that provides an excellent workshop/retreat experience without having to leave home! -Eveline Maedel at Ebenezer Scribe

If you belong to the creative contemplative soultribe, but have yet to find local members, Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist is the perfect remedy. Experience for yourself the power of participating in a sacred circle. Be prepared to dive deep, laugh, cry, and discover new ways of being. Why? Because you're worth it! -Kel at X-Facta

This class provided a rich, inviting, and safe place to explore our Inner Artist and Inner Monk. Christine's deep insights, wealth of creative expression, and gracious leadership and support formed a life-affirming online community while deepening my own call to sacred and creative living. -Cathy Johnson at It's a Matter of Thyme

This class was exquisite. I learned so much about myself via the discussion posts, the daily emails, the weekly assignments, and the friendships that developed through the sharing that occurred. The honesty, the acceptance, the support, the feeling of community…these were priceless gifts. I feel like a whole new world has been opened up to me, I never imagined how much my feelings or thoughts could be impacted in six short weeks. I think this class will be the turning point for me in regards to the rest of my life. I have learned and experienced so much growth and self-awareness; my outlook on life has shifted and I see the world and my life through new eyes.  I can not sing Christine's praises loud enough. -Milena

A powerful and rich experience. I especially appreciated the beauty of the materials and the support provided by Christine.
-Waverly Fitzgerald at Living in Season

Christine's inspired methods of leading creative souls on an inner pilgrimage toward finding the sacred ordinary within their own daily rhythms was not only richly rewarding from a spiritual standpoint but unleashed the artist inside the mystic's hearts in unprecedented ways. -Laurie

For the past six weeks, I have been participating in a wonderful and unique online course offered by the fabulous Christine Valters Paintner through the Abbey of the Arts, called Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist.  It has been a phenomenally enriching, enlivening, transformational experience.  The integration of creativity and spirituality has become a passion of mine in recent years that I have longed to explore within a community of kindred spirits.  In this class, that longing has been both satisfied and intensified!  I want to thank Christine for creating this class and facilitating it so beautifully.  I felt supported at every turn.  And to my fellow monks and artists, thank you for sharing your lives with me…because of you, i have felt "witnessed into being whole again." -Stacy Wills at A Magic Mom and Her Mandalas

The course provided a container for the exploration of the place where my art-making and spirituality meet.  Sometimes a tender place.  I didn't make a lot of new, ground-breaking discoveries, but found a safe place where I could take risks and bring to light (and to life) what is meaningful to me in my art-making.  Christine provided gentle guidance and tender feedback and invitations to create, not "have to do's".  I found a supportive, resonant online community of fellow seekers and risk-takers, edge dwellers and edge dancers. Because I took the class from my studio, with my art supplies and materials, and went on explorations in the countryside around my home, I have anchored my experiences on the course in my daily life.  Yet, I've experienced for the first time, a sense of community with like-minded, open-hearted, creative people.  I would recommend this course to anyone discovering the place inside where art and spirituality meet.  But especially to those who have felt exiled, outcast or simply outside of an artistic or spiritual community. -Melinda Schwakhofer at Inspiraculum

Your course Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist was a delight. Taking this journey of spiritual and creative discovery under your gentle guidance alongside people from all around the world taught me a lot about myself and about the intersection of art and prayer. It reaffirmed for me my commitment to lay Benedictine life, but would be equally nurturing for someone with no explicit connection to monasticism. The community you brought together was no less real for being virtual. -Tess at Anchors and Masts

I just finished “Way of the Monk, the Path of the Artist”. This course was simply a feast for the soul – insightful, intelligent, prayerful, and deeply inspiring. It offered a wondrous path of self-discovery through a series of themes, expressive art and sacred practice. It was a chance for me to pause and look inwards in a meditative, healing way, exploring who I am as an expressive, creative being. Christine is an excellent facilitator. She acted as a gentle, wise guide, posing soul-opening questions and providing the room to ponder those questions to see where they led… what part of the spirit they touched. The course went far beyond my expectations. And, I am sure that the lessons and insights will continue to unfold with time. -Deb Swingholm at Flowering Moon