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Monk Manifesto

Sign the manifesto!

Want to join us in starting a monk revolution?

For a PDF version of the Monk Manifesto click the link to download a printable file.

The Monk Manifesto is also available in Spanish, German, and Norwegian translations.  Click here for PDFs of Manifesto del Monje, Mönchs Manifest, and Munkemanifestet.

We invite you to. . .

  • Sign the Monk Manifesto below (scroll all the way to the bottom for the comment box). State your solidarity with others who want to express their inner monk in everyday life.
  • Subscribe to the Abbey email newsletter and receive regular soul nourishment.
  • Watch the visual meditation version.
  • Share the monk love with others by sharing this page with others.
  • Join the Holy Disorder of Dancing Monks!

Monk: from the Greek monachos meaning single or solitary, a monk in the world does not live apart but immersed in the everyday with a single-hearted and undivided presence, always striving for greater wholeness and integrity

Manifesto: from the Latin for clear, means a public declaration of principles and intentions.

Monk Manifesto: A public expression of your commitment to live a compassionate, contemplative, and creative life.

  1. 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.
  2. I commit to radical acts of hospitality by welcoming the stranger both without and within. I recognize that when I make space inside my heart for the unclaimed parts of myself, I cultivate compassion and the ability to accept those places in others.
  3. I commit to cultivating community by finding kindred spirits along the path, soul friends with whom I can share my deepest longings, and mentors who can offer guidance and wisdom for the journey.
  4. I commit to cultivating awareness of my kinship with creation and a healthy asceticism by discerning my use of energy and things, letting go of what does not help nature to flourish.
  5. I commit to bringing myself fully present to the work I do, whether paid or unpaid, holding a heart of gratitude for the ability to express my gifts in the world in meaningful ways.
  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.
  7. I commit to a lifetime of ongoing conversion and transformation, recognizing that I am always on a journey with both gifts and limitations.
  8. I commit to being a dancing monk, cultivating creative joy and letting my body and “heart overflow with the inexpressible delights of love.”*

*quote is from the Prologue of the Rule of Benedict

 

1,603 Responses

  1. A Journey of dancing fools, silence, laughter, delight in ordinary/extraordinary beauty, rooted in nature, unbreakable connection and bondedness with all that is. Amen and Awomen!

    Reply

  2. I am so grateful to have found this site through a friend. Blessings upon everyone who is led here, and all who minister to one another and to creation and creator in love.

    Reply

  3. Rather being a ‘dancing monk’, often longing for solitude and searching for an ongoing lifetime conversion, here now I am finding the Abbey of the Arts – something I’ve ever longed for and often missed. Blessings to you all!

    Reply

  7. I have been searching for so long to find an expression for my spirituality, having been in the wilderness and almost losing my faith. Golly when I came across your website it blew me away. Everything about the manifesto sings to me, it was like balm for the soul. This I can do it feels so natural.

    Reply

  9. I am delighted to learn about your Abbey of the Arts! I would love to become as involved as possible – not only with online classes but also, hopefully, in-person retreats. I found out about your Abbey through one of my favorite books, “Earth, Our Original Monastery” by Christine Valters Paintner and look forward to reading more of her books. Another favorite book of mine is “When the Trees Say Nothing” by Thomas Merton.

    Reply

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