Visit the Abbey of the Arts online retreat platform to access your programs:

Login Here

Reflections

Filter

Sacred Stories

“All the great voyagers return Homeward as on an arc of thought; Home like a ruby beacon burns As they crest wind, scale wave, soar air; All the great voyagers return…” – from “The Homecoming,” by Barbara Howes Thank you dear readers for the many warm comments and emails I have received as a welcome home.  I am truly blessed to have such a supportive virtual community.  A special thank you to Laure who shared the above quote in her comment on my previous post.  She wrote that she imagined me on the other side of an arc of thought.  These words provided

Read More
August 17, 2008

Returning Home

I am home once again from my month of travels, glad to be back among familiar things, my own bed, and most of all with my sweet Tune.  It was an amazing trip through Austria, Latvia, Germany, and Belgium. I have much to unpack, both literally and metaphorically. My heart is very full, there is so much stirring within me. Plus over 5000 photos to sort through! The jet lag has hit me hard and so this weekend I will be resting and recuperating, trying to reconnect with this space and time back home. But I am eager to return here

Read More
August 15, 2008

Article on Contemplation (bonus post)

My article on “The Practice of Contemplation as Witness and Resistance” has been published in the October 2007 issue of The Way (a journal of contemporary spirituality published by the British Jesuits).  They have been behind in their production because of the editor’s illness, but the issue is now available.  Click on the link above to read the article. I also just ran across one of my absolute favorites of the Peanuts comics — it was very tempting to follow Charlie Brown’s lead during those long years in graduate school and it still holds lots of appeal!  I think Tune would embrace this

Read More
July 9, 2008

Abbey Bookshelf: Pilgrimage

And it was then that in the depths of sleep Someone breathed to me: “You alone can do it, Come immediately.” -Jules Superveille, from ‘The Call” You cannot travel the path until you have become the path. -Gautama Buddha Wayfarer, the only way is your footsteps, there is no other. Wayfarer, there is no way, you make the way by walking. As you go, you make the way and stopping to look behind, you see the path that your feet will never travel again. Wayfarer, there is no way – Only foam trails to the sea. -Antonio Machado I have written here

Read More
July 2, 2008

Invitation to Poetry: Closing Doors

Our Twenty-First Poetry Party!  I select an image and suggest a title and invite you to respond with your poems, words, reflections, quotes, song lyrics, etc. Leave them in the comments or email me and I’ll add them to the body of the post as they come in along with a link back to your blog if you have one (not required to participate!) I’ll add your contributions all week and then I will draw a name at random on Friday from everyone who participates and will send the winner a copy of my newest zine Season by the Sea:

Read More
June 30, 2008

Visual Meditation: “I was called for this”

“At the entrance, my bare feet on the dirt floor, Here, gusts of heat; at my back, white clouds. I stare and stare. It seems I was called for this: To glorify things just because they are.” -Czeslaw Milosz (most of these photos have appeared on this blog before, but the quote inspired me to group them together)  -Christine Valters Paintner @ Abbey of the Arts ** Come back on Monday for our 21st Poetry Party  **

Read More
June 27, 2008

Sacred Artist Interview: Marcy Hall

I first encountered Marcy Hall‘s work through her partner’s blog blisschick who comments here very thoughtfully from time to time.  I was delighted to follow the links that landed me at Marcy’s website because I discovered an artist with a wonderful sense of playfulness to her work, while at the same time exploring very sacred themes. I also adore her use of animals in her imagery that speak to me of the sacred power our connections to creatures have.  Each animal in her work seems to occupy its own world of peace and play, while also inviting the person gazing upon

Read More
June 25, 2008

Landscapes, Maps, and Pilgrimages

Tomorrow is my birthday and lately I have been longing for some retreat time.  I was wise enough to block off the next few days to rest in some stillness at home while my dear husband is away.  This time of retreat is partly in preparation for a much larger pilgrimage I will be taking in just a couple of weeks and partly because I find birthdays invite reflection as I celebrate the anniversary of my own birth and sit in vigil waiting for what needs to be revealed for this next phase of my journey. This past week I wrote about the need to be willing to

Read More
June 22, 2008

Radical Hospitality

This being human is a guest house. Every morning is a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honorably. [S]he may be clearing you out for some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond. -Rumi I am very grateful

Read More
June 17, 2008

Wonder and Despair

I have come to recognize a deep despair that resides in the shadow part of myself, the shadow being of course those things about ourselves we don’t want to embrace.  And yet the journey toward our own wholeness is precisely about naming our shadows, welcoming them into the inner rooms of our being, and listening for what they have to say to us. Those of you who have been reading along here for a while know that I am engaging in some family systems work as a part of my spiritual journey.  My father was someone who let despair consume him,

Read More
June 15, 2008