Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist
A 12-Week Companion Retreat to the Book "The Artist's Rule"
with Christine and John Valters Paintner, Betsey Beckman, Claudia Love Mair, Jamie Marich, Jo-ed Tome, Melinda Thomas, and Melissa Layer
Forum facilitators Amber Andreasen and Polly Paton-Brown
January 12 – April 5, 2026
Weekly live Zoom sessions on Mondays
3:30-4:30pm Ireland
10:30-11:30am Eastern
7:30-8:30am Pacific
** Please note: Due the difference in start days of Daylight Savings Time, for our UK participants the gatherings on March, 9th, 16th, and 23rd begins at 2:30pm.
Would you be nourished by a twelve-week commitment to exploring the place where contemplative practice and creative expression support and nourish each other?
Are you an artist or writer seeking more grounding for your creativity in ancient spiritual traditions?
Do you find yourself drawn to contemplative ways of being including silence, solitude, wonder, and presence?
Do you have a hunger to discover what emerges from being a contemplative artist and a creative monk?
Program Description
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 retreat 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 12-week online program 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.
Our primary text for this program 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. It is not included in the program fee.
You have lifetime access to all online programs.
What's Included and Weekly Rhythm of Content
Monday: Live session with Christine including teaching and meditation (includes 5 bonus meditations not in the book)
Tuesday: Scripture reflection from John Valters Paintner (text) + Guided lectio divina practice with Christine (audio + text)
Wednesday: Audio guidance from Christine and guest teachers for the visual exploration (includes 3 bonus visual explorations not in the book)
Thursday: Audio guidance from Christine for writing explorations (includes 2 bonus writing explorations not in the book)
Friday: Video movement practices from guest teachers (includes 9 bonus movement practices not in the book)
Saturday: Closing reflection and integration of the week
Sunday: Sabbath (time to rest and integrate)
Weekly Themes
Week 1: Establishing a Creative, Contemplative Practice
Week 2:
Exploring Your Inner Monk and Inner Artist
We begin to delve into what it means to be a “new monk” and “new artist” and where those callings intersect. In addition to cultivating the contemplative practices that were introduced in the first week, the monk and the artist are both called to welcome holy curiosity, live in the transformative border spaces of thresholds, and commit to embracing the unknown and serving the great mysteries of life.
Week 3:
Sacred Tools and Sacred Space
Week 4:
Sacred Rhythms for Creative Renewal
The rhythms of nature shown to us in the seasons and the hours of the day mirror the rhythms of our own souls. When we listen for the balance between the artist’s outward expression and the monk’s inward contemplation, we honor these cycles and can embrace the wisdom of both fruitfulness and fallowness.
Week 5:
Obedience, Stability, and Conversion: Commitment to the Creative Life
For the monk and the artist, committing to obedience, stability, and conversion are respectively committing to listen and respond for the call in our lives, committing to remain present amidst struggle, and committing to continual growth and expansion of heart. These principles invite us as artists and monks to deepen our relationship with the world, ourselves, our creative and contemplative practices, and God.
Week 6:
Humility~ Embracing Your Imperfections and Limitations
When we commit to both nurturing our unique gifts and honoring our limitations, we are practicing life-giving humility which roots and grounds us while at the same time liberates and frees us. The practice of humility leads us to a spirituality of radical newness and reversal by inviting us to view challenges as doorways into deeper understanding and to eliminate facades by embracing vulnerability.
Week 7:
Inner Hospitality and Welcoming the Stranger
Inner hospitality is the practice of staying fully present to the often challenging and painful dynamics that happen within us and the practice of inviting compassion and curiosity as a witness to observe with loving tenderness. We can engage with what we fear through meditation, art, and journaling and learn to make space within ourselves for the voices that disturb us, trusting that on the other side of that discomfort we will find a window to sacred presence and the gift of wisdom.
Week 8:
Creative Community
As contemplatives, we are called to extend our practice of inner hospitality to the practice of outer hospitality and acknowledge that we are dependent on the wisdom of others, including the community of creation and the communion of saints. Healthy community celebrates together, supports one another, welcomes dissonance, and speaks truth into each other’s lives.
Week 9:
Nature as Source of Revelation and Inspiration
This week we focus on nature as a source of revelation and as a community which supports us on our paths as monks and artists. Claiming our inner monk means remembering that we are children of the earth, and claiming our inner artist means remembering that nature is the primary expression of divine artistry and committing to create in kinship with the world around us.
Week 10:
Simplicity~ Creative Asceticism and Learning When to Let Go
Simplicity calls us to live more intentionally, opens us to the process of letting go that which drains energy from our hearts’ true desires, and allows us to be fully present to the graces of each moment. Healthy asceticism is the practice of creating more internal freedom by first discerning when to say “no” in order to be able to respond with a holy “yes” to our callings.
Week 11:
Creative Work as Vocation and Holy Service
In a monastic approach to work, we are called to extend sacred awareness to everything we do, including our labors, and in doing so, our daily work can become a place of transformation. When we acknowledge our vocation as not necessarily a particular path or task but an invitation to live into the fullness of our deepest identity, we are freed and compelled to co-create with the Divine Worker to usher in the unfolding of God’s reign among us.
Week 12:
Creating an Artist’s Rule of Life
This week is an act of integration of all that has been previously discussed and a way to name and claim the practices that grant us freedom through structure in our creative and contemplative journey. Since creating is one of the ways in which we reflect the Creator, a rule of life that nurtures our creativity will also help us grow spiritually and thus strengthen us to offer our gifts in service to the world.
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.
Christine Valters Paintner
What's Included
- Six days each week you receive an email with a link to the day’s content. The 7th day is a time for rest and integration. The materials are in written, video, and/or audio format which you can view and listen to at any time.
- A lovingly facilitated forum is also included in this live version of the retreat. Feel free to share what you are discovering with a community of kindred souls.
- We will turn on closed captioning during the live Zoom sessions (which you are able to turn off in your settings if you find distracting) as well as provide a video recording with closed captioning available and a text transcript of the session. Captions and a transcript are available for all video material.
- The program will be recorded for those who pre-register but are unable to attend at the scheduled time or who want to view again. You will be sent a notification when this is ready to view.
- You have lifetime access to all online programs.
Your Guides for the Journey
Christine Valters Paintner
Christine Valters Paintner is the online Abbess and director of AbbeyoftheArts.com, a virtual monastery exploring contemplative practice, creative expression, and ways to nourish an earth-cherishing consciousness. She is a spiritual director, teacher, pilgrimage guide, Benedictine oblate, and author of numerous books on spirituality and the arts. Her deepest belief is that the earth is the original monastery–a wisdom guide and mentor in living a soulful and vibrant life. Visit the “About Christine” page for more information.
John Valters Paintner
John Valters Paintner studied education and earned a teaching certificate in his home state of California. John later went on to earn a Masters in Theological Studies at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley. After working in parish ministry for several years, John returned to the classroom, teaching high school religion for twelve years. He now works as Prior of the Abbey of the Arts alongside his wife of thirty years, Abbess Christine. Visit the “About John” page for more information.
Betsey Beckman
Betsey Beckman, MM is nationally acclaimed as a spirited dancer, storyteller, teacher of SpiritPlay and dancing Spiritual Director. With her extensive repertory of sacred storydances, she is regularly featured as artist/presenter at national conventions as well as local churches. She earned her Masters in Ministry degree from Seattle University, her certificate in Movement Therapy from the Institute for Transformational Movement, and is a certified InterPlay leader. As dancer, choreographer, author, mother, wife, teacher and spiritual director, she is passionate about living life fully and fostering creativity in all those with whom she shares life and ministry. Betsey’s publications include books (she is co-author ofAwakening the Creative Spirit: Bringing the Expressive Arts to Spiritual Direction), recordings – including producing the Abbey of the Arts CD collections, and The Dancing Word series of DVDs on embodied prayer, many of which companion the Abbey CDs. She offers the gift of playful improvisation whenever possible. Visit Betsey’s website here.
Claudia Love Mair
Claudia Love Mair, MFA is a writer, artist, and Ringmistress of the Beautiful Soul Circus, a private Facebook group for creatives, queers, and tender souls. She’s an Inspirationalista who, when she’s not creating something herself, helps other creatives tap into their deepest intuition and longings through writing and painting. Claudia is the author of the God Alone is Enough, the critically acclaimed novel, Zora and Nicky, and her memoir, Don’t You Fall Now. She is a Certified Intuitive Painting and Expressive Arts Facilitator and the Coordinator for the Kentucky Black Writers Collaborative. Claudia lives in Lexington, with two of her adult children, and three cats, including one who thinks he’s a dog.
Jamie Marich
Jamie Marich, Ph.D., LPCC-S, REAT, RYT-500, RMT travels internationally speaking on topics related to EMDR therapy, trauma, addiction, expressive arts, LGBTQ issues, spirituality and mindfulness while maintaining a private practice in her home base of Northeast Ohio. Jamie is also the developer of the Dancing Mindfulness expressive arts practice. Jamie is the author of several books including Dancing Mindfulness: A Creative Path to Healing and Transformation (2015, with foreword by Christine Valters Paintner) and Process Not Perfection: Expressive Arts Solutions for Trauma Recovery released in 2019, heavily influenced by the growth she has experienced through her study with Abbey of the Arts! Now primarily a North Atlantic Book author, she has recently released Trauma and the 12 Steps: An Inclusive Guide to Recovery (2020), Transforming Trauma with Jiu-Jitsu (2022), and Dissociation Made Simple: A Stigma-Free Guide to Embracing Your Dissociative Mind and Navigating Life (2023). Their newest book is You Lied to Me About God: A Memoir (2024). Visit Jamie’s website here.
Jo-ed Tome
Melinda Thomas
Melinda Thomas, E-RYT 500 is the Program Coordinator for Abbey of the Arts providing program and logistical support, forum facilitation, and yoga. She also offer prayers and other content contributions to the Prayer Cycles and retreats. Melinda is an experienced yoga teacher and has been studying and practicing yoga for more than twenty-five years. In each of her classes and workshops Melinda weaves spiritual and contemplative themes into accessible, alignment based movement practice. Her aim is to honor the spiritual foundation of yoga in conversation with monastic and contemplative wisdom that offers participants a safe, inclusive, and integrated experience. Melinda is a writer and the author of Sacred Balance: Aligning Body and Spirit Through Yoga and the Benedictine Way. She lives in North Carolina with her son and their cat. She writes The Journal of Elements and Seasons on Substack. Visit her website.
Melissa Layer
Melissa Layer, MA, LMHC honors the unfolding journeys of our wild and precious lives as compelling invitations for creative, integrative meaning-making in BodyMindSpirit. Her sacred calling and formal training as a psychospiritual therapist, hospice grief counselor, and spiritual director have taught her about the potency of thin places in thresholds and dark nights of the soul. Cultivating curiosity, Melissa offers expressive exploration of the Great Mystery through journaling, collaging, poem-making, dreamwork, visio and lectio divina, creation of rituals and altars, and engaged encounters with nature. Like the honeybee for which she is named, she claims her role as “a bee of the invisible…passionately plundering the honey of the visible in order to gather it in the great golden hive of the invisible” (Rilke). Melissa offers a compassionate, attuned presence and deep listening with the ear of her heart from the Pacific Northwest in Washington, where the Salish sea meets the evergreen forest. MelissaLayer.com
Forum Facilitators
Amber Andreasen
Amber Andreasen is a contemplative, ever desiring to deepen into and dance the rhythms of monk and artist. She has trained as a spiritual director, receiving her M.A. in Spiritual Formation and Soul Care from The Institute of Spiritual Formation at Talbot School of Theology. She has her B.S. and M.S. in Kinesiology and a Ph.D. in Holistic Nutrition. She has also done training in BioSpiritual Focusing as a holistic approach to spiritual growth. Wherever she finds herself, she desires to nurture a compassionate space where others can be listened, beheld and loved into fuller being by the Beloved. She is continually awed by the body as sacred storyholder and storyteller and by dance and movement as conduits of deep interior silence, stillness and joy. Her heart beats loudly for the weaving together of creativity and spirituality in the discovering of what it means to live an embodied, fully human life in all its mystery and wonder.
Polly Paton-Brown
Polly Paton-Brown MA UKCP worked for many years as a psychotherapist and trainer in the field of trauma. More recently, Polly’s focus has been on helping people explore their spirituality and prayer, using creativity and connection with nature. Polly has a particular passion for creating healing dolls as a portal to transformation.
Always a lover of nature, horses and creativity Polly now integrates all of these into her practice. She has trained in Nature Based Practice and Eco-pychology, Environmental Arts, Expressive Arts and Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy. She is a licenced facilitator of Chakradance, The Art of Allowing , Creative Awakenings and the Wild Soul Woman Programme. With roots in the contemplative and monastic traditions, Polly also draws wisdom from other spiritual paths such as Druidry and Sufism. She is passionate to help those wounded by the institutional church restore their image of God and themselves. Visit Polly’s website here.
Rev. Anna Blaedel (they/them) is a co-founder and co-director of enfleshed where they tend to the theopoetic intersections of spiritual, academic, and activist engagement
Betsey Beckman, MM is nationally acclaimed as a spirited dancer, storyteller, teacher of SpiritPlay and dancing Spiritual Director.
Carmen Acevedo Butcher is an award winning author and translator of The Could of Unknowing and Practice of the Presence
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 Ní Chinnéide is a musician, psychotherapist, spiritual director, and workshop facilitator
The space within which you dwell and the container for your creative expression can each become the holy site of struggle and freedom. Whatever you encounter in prayer and art making is a microcosm of the macrocosm of your life.
Christine Valters Paintner
Registration
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$180
Reduced fee
- Includes partial scholarship
- Select this only if you require financial assistance
$220
Standard fee
- The standard fee for the program
- Keeps our programs sustainable
or
4 monthly payments of $55
$260
sponsorship fee
- Includes added donation to support scholarships
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Purchase the Companion Book
The book is not included in the registration fee. You may purchase the book at the links below or at your local book seller. Thank you for your support!
Terms and Conditions
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