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Give Me a Word

An Ancient Practice to Guide Your Year

Registration Fee: $120 USD

Program Description

A key phrase, repeated often in the Sayings of the Desert Fathers, is “Give me a word.”   When a seeker went out to the wilderness to approach one of the ammas or abbas and said, “Give me a word,” they were not asking for a command or solution. They were opening their hearts to a communication which would slowly transform their lives.

We find this phrase repeated throughout the sayings of the desert fathers and mothers, those wise elders who, in the second and third centuries, went to the deserts of Egypt, Syria, and Palestine to cultivate a life of radical simplicity and ongoing devotion to the presence of the divine in their lives.

This tradition of asking for a word was a way of seeking something on which to ponder for many days, weeks, months, sometimes a whole lifetime.  The “word” was often a short phrase to nourish and challenge the receiver. A word was meant to be wrestled with and slowly grown into.

A monk once came to Basil of Caesarea and said, “Speak a word, Father”; and Basil replied, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,” and the monk went away at once.  Twenty years later he came back and said, “Father, I have struggled to keep your word; now speak another word to me”; and he said, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”; and the monk returned in obedience to his cell to keep that also.

This story demonstrates how a word could be worked on for years at a time.  The word being sought was not a theological explanation or counseling.  It was part of a relationship which had developed and the assumption that this word, when received by the disciple would be life-giving.  It was meant for this person in this moment of their lives.

Since 2008 we have posted an annual invitation to listen for a word to guide them in the year ahead. We would share a few short and simple practices with hundreds of people participating.

Now we are offering this as a self-study retreat accessible any time to contemplate what holiness is birthing within your soul. Each day there will be a different practice offered to inspire, challenge, and support you in listening for the word that wants to be spoken to your heart.

The practices are not about resolutions or goal setting, they are not about achieving more in the new year or accomplishing tasks or goals. They are about listening for what is calling to you in a particular season of life. They ask us to trust a greater wisdom at work in the world than our own egos.

Through this retreat, you will be invited to release your thinking mind and enter into a space of receiving. 

Ask the wise presences in your life for your own life-giving word.  You will be invited to listen in the stillness, to sacred texts, to your life, to dreams, to nature, to your body, to soul friends, to the ancestors. The word might come from reading a poem or story. It might come in a time of stillness, or it might arrive later in the day, wise words offered from an unexpected source, a dream symbol, a line from a conversation, or an image you stumble upon that seizes your imagination.

The word is something that shimmers for you, catching your attention in a particular way. Shimmering is a way to describe when something in the world is calling to you, beckoning you, urging you to pay closer attention. Sometimes what shimmers is challenging but we know that wrestling will yield something bigger in our lives. Sometimes what shimmers invokes wonder and awe. We notice a felt response in our bodies and spirits that ask us to attune more deeply to what is being revealed.

The purpose of the word is to simply hold it in your heart, turning it over and over, pondering, but not analyzing.  Give it space within you to speak. We don’t force it into a meaning for us. We let it unfold slowly.

Once the word arrives, we offer you some ways to help confirm the word and break its meaning open further through creative explorations. And finally, we invite you to make some commitments for the season ahead rooted in your word.

We come to this process, not from a sense of lack, but with hearts open to receiving the greater aliveness that is our birthright.

Five weeks allows a slow process of unfolding and receiving, not rushing through or grasping. You are invited attune yourself to a different way of being in the world.

* This retreat was initially offered during Advent and Christmas. Some material will reference that season.

What's Included

The retreat begins and ends with a video and audio recording of the online Zoom gathering led by Christine Valters Paintner. These sessions include teaching, meditation, ritual, and reflection. Closed captions and a transcript are available in the retreat portal.

The rest of the retreat is asynchronous which means each day a new creative practice or meditation is posted to our online retreat platform to help you listen for your word, receive your word, or carry your word forward into the world.

These practices will be shared by Christine as well as by guest teachers to support you in this journey of listening.

Daily Practices to Nourish and Inspire You

Part One: Listening for a Word

Part Two: Receiving the Word

Part Three: Carrying the Word With You

Day 1: Welcome + Scripture Reflection

Day 2: Pre-recorded Opening Webinar with Christine

Day 3: Lectio Divina with Life Experience

Day 4: Meditation from Aisling Richmond

Day 5: Read a Set of Spiritual Principles

Day 6: Tend the Night Wisdom of Dreams

Day 7: Dialogue with a Word from Richard Bruxvoort Colligan

Day 8: Sabbath rest + Scripture Reflection

Day 9: Consult a Soul Friend

Day 10: Imagination & the Limberjack from Dena Jennings

Day 11: Memento Mori: Imagine Your Deathbed

Day 12: Allow the Word to Ripen

Day 13: Trust What You Love

Day 14: Lectio Divina and Chant from Carmen Acevedo Butcher

Day 15: Sabbath rest + Scripture Reflection

Day 16: Call on the Angels, Saints, and Ancestors

Day 17: Yoga from Melinda Thomas

Day 18: Pilgrimage of Memory

Day 19: Listen to the Elements

Day 20: Contemplative Walk from Jo-ed Tome

Day 21: Consult the Desert Elders

Day 22: Sabbath rest + Scripture Reflection

Day 23: Bring Your Word to a Threshold Place

Day 24: Create a Pantoum

Day 25: Create a Breath Prayer

Day 26: Hold the Tension from Simon de Voil

Day 27: Choose a Spiritual Teacher

Day 28: Create a Playlist of Word-Themed Songs and Dance

Day 29: Sabbath rest + Scripture Reflection

Day 30: Create an Icon from Claudia Love Mair

Day 31: Commit to a Word-Rooted Practice

Day 32: Write an Acrostic Poem

Day 33: Dancing Mindfulness from Jamie Marich

Day 34: Illustrate the Word Visually

Day 35: Pre-Recorded Closing Webinar with Christine and Deirdre Ní Chinnéide

Your Guides for the Journey

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Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE

Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE is the online Abbess for Abbey of the Arts, a virtual monastery and global community integrating contemplative practice and creative expression. Her programs draw on the wisdom of the desert, Celtic, and Benedictine spiritual traditions as well as the joy of the expressive arts, embodied practice, and Earth-cherishing wisdom. Christine is the author of numerous books on spirituality and creativity, including three collections of poetry. She lives on the west coast of Ireland with her husband John and dog Sourney. Find out more about her here.

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John Valters Paintner, MTS

John Valters Paintner is the online prior for Abbey of the Arts, where he assists his wife Christine in ministering to global community both online and through in-person programs. John was a youth minister and pastoral associate for four years before becoming a high school religion teacher for twelve years. He has a Masters of Theological Studies from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley. His love for the Bible, particularly the Hebrew Scriptures, emerged when he taught the “Old Testament” at an all-boys high school. John is also a lover of the art of story-telling and has written dozens of short stories, one-act plays, and short films in a variety of genres.

Guest Teachers

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Aisling Richmond is a Somatic Therapist and transformative guide who is deeply inspired by nature and the wisdom of the soul. 

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Betsey Beckman is nationally acclaimed as a spirited dancer, storyteller, teacher of SpiritPlay and dancing Spiritual Director.

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Carmen Acevedo Butcher is an award winning author and translator of The Could of Unknowing and Practice of the Presence

Claudia Love Mair (1)

Claudia Love Mair is a writer, artist, conversation partner for the Abbey’s Lift Every Voice Book Club,  and author of God Alone is Enough

Deirdre

Deirdre Ní Chinnéide is a musician, psychotherapist, spiritual director, and workshop facilitator

Dena Ross Jennings

Dena Ross Jennings is a luthier, musician, writer, Virginia Master Naturalist, and an Internal Medicine physician hosting retreats and meditations on her Farmashramonastery in Virgina

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Jamie Marich is a psychotherapist, the developer of the Dancing Mindfulness expressive arts practice, and author of numerous books including Dancing Mindfulness: A Creative Path to Healing and Transformation

Jo-Ed

Jo-ed Tome is a spiritual director, transpersonal psychology researcher, and self-proclaimed monk in the world leading programs online and in the Philippines

Melinda Thomas Headshot

Melinda Thomas is the Program Coordinator for Abbey of the Arts and author of Sacred Balance: Aligning Body and Spirit Through Yoga and the Benedictine Way

Richard OB loose

Richard Bruxvoort Colligan is a Psalmist, spiritual director, freelance musician, and frequent contributor to Abbey programs

Simon de Voil

Reverend Simon Ruth de Voil is an interfaith-interspiritual minister, sacred musician, spiritual counsellor, and chaplain

Praise for the Course

It's Easter Monday and I am sad to see the end of this Creative Flourishing retreat, but oh so grateful for the multi-layered experience. I made the decision to take this journey at the last minute, but with great conviction it would deepen my Christian life. I had no idea what it would be like. It was like nothing I have experienced before. Thank you to Christine for originating the idea and doing such a thoughtful and tender job of guiding us through this journey. My deepest joy was to reconnect with the artist within me. The art literally flowed from me. Like living water. A well-spring fed by Christ himself.
Laurie Wagner
I'll be stepping into the season of Easter and spring with more ease, joy and awake from having prayed with, reflected on, moved with and daily witnessing of the mandalas during the past five and one half weeks. Thank you Christine for your vision, knowledge, design and guidance throughout this Lenten season; Hildegard of Bingen is now a living Saint for me. Betsey, i've become more embodied, through participating in your interpretations of Hildegard in dance and chant. This spiritual community has filled my heart with divine blessings. I will pass these blessings on.
Beatrice Randall
I'm so grateful for this retreat. It has been the most amazing experience of learning and growth, spiritually, artistically, and emotionally. Most of which I was not expecting when I signed up. Christine, I want to thank you again for this amazing Lent retreat. It was a joy, honor and privilege to attend. This has been an experience I won't soon forget. I've learned so much about myself and this process of healing through artistic expression. I look forward to doing more with you
Tamara Mapp
Thank you, Christine, for the best retreat I've ever experienced. I'm hooked on Hildegard! She will ever be part of my spirituality as she has added both depth and richness to my faith.
Evelyn Jackson
Sincere and grateful thanks for this marvelous retreat. Your guidance and song will live in my heart. Hildegard's presence has been a source of light and love. Your ministry is much appreciated. We are greener!
Mary Mason
This has been a very rich retreat. I have loved creating, singing, breathing, moving, reading and praying with you. Thank you.
Judith Bryan
My heart is so full. This has been the best retreat in my life.
Louise Thigpen
The gifts from this experience will endure through time - consciously or unconsciously.
John Doe
Designer

Praise for the Course

"The gifts from this experience will endure through time - consciously or unconsciously."
Debra Krummel, PhD, Spiritual Director
"I feel as if a hand has been reached out to me (many hands actually) saying “come on. Let’s go!”. There is a definite knowing deep inside that I am being led."
Christine S. MN, USA
"I am so grateful for this retreat and all the practices, experiences, and wisdom shared by each of the leaders, facilitators . . . You have all blessed me beyond words!"
Trish Tallakson
"My word invited me to dance. I agreed tentatively but the invitation was so compelling and irresistible. It was so spontaneous and free."
Jose Albaniel
"A time for peace. Thank you all for a life changing experience."
Peter Gunther

Registration

Your registration constitutes an agreement with our online program Terms and Conditions below.

All prices displayed in USD.

$120

Registration Fee

If you need a different payment plan or a scholarship to make this program accessible, please get in touch with us.

Terms and Conditions

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