Your Online Monastery for Your Spiritual Practice

A Different Kind of Fast: Part Seven – Embrace Mystery

Dear monks, artists and pilgrims, Let mystery have its place in you; do not be always turning up your whole soil with the plowshare of self-examination, but leave a little fallow corner in your heart ready for any seed the winds may bring, and reserve a nook of shadow for the passing bird; keep a place in your heart for the unexpected guests, an altar for an unknown God. — from Amiel’s Journal, translated by Mrs. Humphrey Ward John Cassian, one of the ancient desert fathers, describes three renunciations he says are required of all of us on the spiritual journey.

April 4, 2020

Celtic Practice of Thresholds Webinar

We have collectively entered into a time and space of threshold, when the old has fallen away and the new has not yet come into being. In the Celtic imagination, thresholds were places where the veil between heaven and earth was especially thin and so we had access to a deeper connection with the spiritual wisdom of the divine, of the saints and mystics, and of our ancestors. Paraclete Press invited Christine Valters Paintner to speak about Celtic wisdom for the times we are in. Below is the recording of the session which includes teaching, meditation, and poetry. This is

April 3, 2020

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

April 1, 2020

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

April 1, 2020

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

March 28, 2020

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

March 28, 2020

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

March 27, 2020

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

March 26, 2020

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

March 25, 2020

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>>

March 24, 2020

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A Different Kind of Fast: Part Seven – Embrace Mystery

Celtic Practice of Thresholds Webinar

Earth Monastery Virtual Book & Album Launch

Monk in the World Guest Post: Marilyn Freeman

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

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

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

Soul of a Pilgrim Online Retreat in Community

Monk in the World Guest Post: Michael Moore

Earth, Our Original Monastery Album

Upcoming Programs

Recent Reflections

New Prayer Cycle Launch and 20th anniversary celebration! ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Monk in the World Guest Post: Rochelle Rawson Naylor

Easter and the Journey to Joy! ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Monk in the World Guest Post: Lori DiPrete Brown

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