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

Monk 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.

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I commit to a lifetime of ongoing conversion and transformation, recognizing that I am always on a journey with both gifts and limitations.
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

1,669 Responses

Linda says:

January 1, 2015 at 9:29 am

This community and this Manifesto are exactly what I have been yearning for. I normally wait for a word or phrase to appear to guide my new year, the wait is over.

Reply
Cindy says:

December 22, 2014 at 7:43 pm

I commit to the Monk Manifesto in all its delight and challenge

Reply
Sandra Zarembski says:

December 20, 2014 at 9:51 pm

I am committed to the intentions in the manifesto

Reply
Carol says:

December 20, 2014 at 5:55 am

thank you for bringing likeminded monks together. Count me in.

Reply
Rhonda says:

December 19, 2014 at 4:04 pm

Thank you for this wonderful manifesto

Reply
Helen Jelfs says:

December 10, 2014 at 3:06 am

I want to express my commitment to living with the intentions expressed in this manifesto.

Reply
Darla Seward-Halpern says:

December 7, 2014 at 11:19 am

My heart and soul feel so peaceful in my commitment to this community and manifesto. This is a way of life that I have been guided to forever. All Love and Blessings…

Reply
Maitri Libellule says:

November 27, 2014 at 2:41 pm

I commit publicly to a life lived according to the manifesto. This is a life I have long ago chosen and daily lived but as a solitary. The importance of community in this beautiful ministry touches me deeply and I feel I have finally found a home here in these teachings. Blessings to all and as I have written for decades, “Each one, reach one, and love, always love.”

Reply
aletheia mystea says:

November 23, 2014 at 2:40 pm

Hi I’m trying to sign up and don’t know if I did this right! I live the Monk Manifesto so that’s not an issue! My creeds are on my FB page, Green Theology Ministries:Earth Rites, Animal Rites, Human Rites. I also have Heartistry in MotionLLC and The Heartistry Hub which is going to be my blog communion page. In the meantime all of it is happening on FB. I feel a great kinship with The Abbey and look forward to visiting! Thanks Alethiea M. Mystea MA: monk, Celtic Christian mystic, minister, priestess, medicine woman.

Reply
ghislaine salter says:

November 20, 2014 at 7:54 pm

Thank you for this wonderful opportunity. I feel very privileged. I commit to the manifesto publicly. Looking forward to the discovery.

Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply