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Earth as Original Monastery

Earth Monastery Virtual Book & Album Launch

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] EARTH DAY: Wednesday, April 22, 2020 at 12 noon Eastern (9 am Pacific/5 pm Ireland/UK) Christine Valters Paintner will be joined by Abbey of the Arts Wisdom Council members Betsey Beckman, Simon de Voil, and Richard Bruxvoort Colligan for this free hour-long event. Christine will introduce and share a meditation from the book Earth, Our Original Monastery, Simon and Richard will share songs from the album, Betsey will lead us in embodied prayers, and Christine will read poems from her forthcoming collection this fall, The Wisdom of Wild Grace. Celebrate with us these important resources for our times! There

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Monk in the World Guest Post: Marilyn Freeman

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on Marilyn Freeman’s reflection “Cinema Divina: Another Way of Seeing Seeing.” This is an excerpt from her new book The Illuminated Space: A Personal Theory & Contemplative Practice of Media Art published by The 3rd Thing Press, 2020. I go out shooting video regularly, not necessarily every day, but sometimes multiple times in a day. When I’m shooting, I’m guided by four words: read, reflect, respond, rest. The fact they each start with the letter “r” helps when I want to

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Love Note, Gratitude, and the Soul of a Pilgrim ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dear monks, artists, and pilgrims, It is safe to say John and I never imagined the final quarter of our sabbatical year would be spent in quarantine and compassionate retreating during a pandemic. Of course, what makes this so unsettling for many of us is how quickly it has spread and all of a sudden our lives are disrupted in ways we hadn’t even imagined a few weeks ago. None of us ever knows what is coming in the next moment. All we can do is practice presence and prepare ourselves to become steady and resilient in the face of

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A Different Kind of Fast: Part Six – Embrace Organic Unfolding

Dear monks, artists and pilgrims, * This is the sixth part of a seven-part series we will publish weekly during this Lenten season. It was said of Abba Agathon that for three years he lived with a stone in his mouth, until he had learnt to keep silence. (Agathon 15) The silence of the desert elders is called hesychia, which means stillness, silence, inner quiet. However, it is much deeper than just an external quiet. A person can live alone and still experience much noise within and a person can live in the midst of a crowd and have a true sense

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Monk in the World: Sabbath 5 – Suggestions for Practice ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, During this Jubilee year of sabbatical we are revisiting our Monk Manifesto by moving slowly through the Monk in the World retreat materials together every Sunday. Each week will offer new reflections on the theme and every six weeks will introduce a new principle. Principle 6: I commit to rhythms of rest and renewal through the regular practice of Sabbath and resist a culture of busyness that measures my worth by what I do. Suggestions for Practice See if you can block out one day in the coming week for honoring Sabbath and renewing your spirit.  If not a day, then begin with a

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Soul of a Pilgrim Online Retreat in Community

with Christine & John Valters Paintner, and Jamie Marich Facilitated by Melissa Layer and Amber Andreasen April 13-June 7, 2020 You are also warmly invited to join us for The Soul of a Pilgrim, an online retreat in community starting April 13 for 8 weeks. We will deepen into our exploration of what it means to be a pilgrim in these challenging times and what wisdom the pilgrim way has to offer us and our world. Christine will be doing a weekly live session and our forum will be lovingly facilitated. Lots of creative practices as well. There is a

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Monk in the World Guest Post: Michael Moore

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Wisdom Council member Michale Moore’s reflection, “The Contemplative Life in the time of COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus.” This has been a season of concern, fear, frustration, and exhaustion for my wife Denise and me as we guide the congregation which I serve through this time of difficulty. To be honest, I have had to limit my intake of 24/7 news in much the same way I had to while I was serving as a Chaplain in the US

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Earth, Our Original Monastery Album

We have a brand new album out now with 14 beautiful songs to cultivate our intimacy with Earth. So grateful to our musicians Richard Bruxvoort Colligan, Simon de Voil, Betsey Beckman, Lorraine Bayes, and Peter Mayer for sharing their gifts with Abbey of the Arts. The album accompanies Christine’s newest book and soon there will be dances to accompany all the songs as well!  The album is available as a CD or a digital download. Special discount if you purchase the digital download of all three of our albums.  Order the album as digital download or CD here>>  

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Love Note, Novena, and Praise Song for the Pandemic ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, This is a special love note because these are special times. During this Jubilee year we have been sharing our Monk in the World retreat content in this space and you will find this week’s below. But I felt moved to write to you directly. The global disruption happening demands that our usual patterns and rhythms be disrupted as well. We are experiencing an event unlike anything any of us has ever gone through before. There is much unknowing about the road ahead and where it will take us. We know that there will be

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Monk in the World: Sabbath 4 – Guided Meditation by Christine + Audio

Dear monks, artists and pilgrims, During this Jubilee year of sabbatical we are revisiting our Monk Manifesto by moving slowly through the Monk in the World retreat materials together every Sunday. Each week will offer new reflections on the theme and every six weeks will introduce a new principle. Principle 6: I commit to rhythms of rest and renewal through the regular practice of Sabbath and resist a culture of busyness that measures my worth by what I do. Listen to the audio version below.   To create your own Sabbath practice begin by reflecting on the best day of the week. Sabbath may not happen on the traditional

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