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Silence as the Union of Opposites

Read my latest Seasons of the Soul column at Patheos: God turns you from one feeling to another and teaches you by means of opposites, so that you will have two wings to fly—not one. ~ Rumi Last spring my husband and I decided to embark on a midlife adventure. He quit his teaching career of twelve years, the one he was ready for a break from. Together we sold our home, car, and most of our belongings. In some ways, our plans came together very quickly—we would move to Austria for a year where I had recently acquired dual

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September 13, 2012

Monk in the World Video Meditation: Silence

A deep bow of gratitude again to everyone who participated in last week’s Photo Party. I was so moved by the visual expressions of silence I decided to create a short visual meditation. First, my apologies that I couldn’t include everyone’s photos. There were so many amazing ones.  I wanted the video to be under five minutes and have long enough to linger on each image so as to have a contemplative feeling to it, therefore I was limited in the number. I will be doing this again, so know that I hope to include more of you in the future. 

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September 9, 2012

the winner of this week’s Photo Party is. . .

. . . Gayle Sommerfeld!  Congratulations Gayle!  Send me your snail mail address and I will get a copy of Desert Mothers and Fathers: Early Christian Wisdom Sayings — Annotated & Explained sent to you straight from SkyLight Paths. If you haven’t yet had a chance to stop by the Photo Party, you can see the photo pool here.  Thank you to everyone who participated, what a gift it was to receive everyone’s images and be immersed in a visual ode to silence.  This was such a delightful experience we will definitely be continuing them monthly. A week from Monday,

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September 7, 2012

This is Not Photography (by Joanna Paterson)

This is not photography. This is flower watching in sweet, soft September sunshine. This is the smell of the lavender filling my senses. This is the sound of the river rushing past, and the buzz of the bees going mad with abundance in the herbs. This is earth time before office time. This is stolen time. This is me time. This is all time falls away and nothing else matters. This is the way the light falls on the petals of the flower on this softest, sweetest September morning. This is silence. This is all love to the flower all

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September 6, 2012

What Shimmers from the Silence?

There is something spectacular about the grace of silence.   Starting this month, September, the Abbey is going to feature a monthly theme (click over to the Abbey blog to see the beautiful icon).  This month we are exploring silence, the first principle of the Monk Manifesto: “I commit to finding moments each day for silence and solitude, to make space for another voice to be heard, and to resist a culture of noise and constant stimulation.” Each month for the next seven months, we will take one of the Monk Manifesto themes for the entire month and it will shape

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September 6, 2012

Invitation to Photography: Silence

Welcome to the Abbey Photo Party! This is a (somewhat) new experiment and sort of a twist on the regular Poetry Parties.  Instead of my selecting a theme and image and inviting you to respond with words, I select a theme and invite you to respond with images. Our theme here at Abbey of the Arts for September is silence, so I invite you to reflect visually on what silence looks like for you. Since you can’t post images directly in the comments section here, I invite you to add them to the Flickr Group I have created (when you go to the

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September 2, 2012

September Theme: Silence

Here at the Abbey, we work to offer you resources to support you in contemplative practice and creative arts.  One of the core expressions of what we believe is important to nurture life as a monk in the world is the Monk Manifesto. Each month for the next seven months, we will take one of the Monk Manifesto themes for the entire month and it will shape our Poetry Parties, (the return of) Photo Parties, and other reflections. Monk Manifesto Principle #1: I commit to finding moments each day for silence and solitude, to make space for another voice to be

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September 2, 2012

Drink freely from the life you have been given

I ask for the gift of a moment to sit by Your side The work that I have in hand I can finish afterwards. Now it is time to sit quiet alone with You and to Sing a re-dedication of my life in this Silent and overflowing joy. —Rabindranath Tagore I have been away on a silent retreat this past week at a small retreat house in lower Austria called Die Quelle (meaning “The Source.”)  I went for a number of reasons: spending time in deep silence is integral to my spiritual life and my call to ministry; I wanted

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August 28, 2012

The Call of Retreat: Silence (the Abbess is away until August 25th)

This week I follow the call to sink into the silence and stillness. Solitude calls my name and shows me my reflection as a sacred offering.  In this place the forest will ask me to embrace my truth once again. The hummingbird will invite me to sip holy nectar, the egret to stretch out my wings, the sparrows to remember my flock. Each pine cone contains an epiphany, each smooth stone offers a revelation. I will watch and witness as the sun slowly makes her long arc across the sky and discover my own rising and falling. The moon will sing of quiet miracles – like those which reveal and

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August 18, 2012

Ancestral Pilgrimage

My newest Seasons of the Soul column is up at Patheos: As we grow older we have more and more people to remember, people who have died before us. It is very important to remember those who have loved us and those we have loved. Remembering them means letting their spirits inspire us in our daily lives. They can become part of our spiritual communities and gently help us as we make decisions on our journeys. Parents, spouses, children, and friends can become true spiritual companions after they have died. Sometimes they can become even more intimate to us after

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August 18, 2012