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

Login Here
Back to all

Visual Meditation: The Sun

-Christine Valters Paintner @ Abbey of the Arts

(photos taken at Golden Gardens in Seattle)

You might also enjoy

Monk in the World Guest Post: PattiJoy Posan

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for PattiJoy’s reflection and poem Introduction to Stillness. The poems in my Book of Hours trace the subtle movements of the day —

Read More »
September 16, 2026

Mourning Pages: The Write Way to Grieve

Dearest dancing monks, artists, and pilgrims, This Friday, September 18th, we are pleased to welcome Wisdom Council member and Lift Every Voice Book Club conversation partner Claudia Love Mair to lead us in the retreat Mourning Pages: The Write Way to Grieve. Below is a note

Read More »
September 13, 2026

Monk in the World Guest Post: Richard Bruxvoort Colligan

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for an excerpt from Wisdom Council member Richard Bruxvoort Colligan’s book Dangerous Songs: The Psalms and a Gloriously Disrupted Life. Ready or Not:

Read More »
September 9, 2026

6 Responses

  3. steadily and with all the honesty our language can barely hope to express ms. oliver invites the joining of our self-centered orbit to a greater one … leading ever so simply yet deftly to ten breathtaking, mirror reflecting words …

    “or have you too
    gone crazy
    for power,
    for things?”

    this is why i love mary oliver! again and again, hers is a voice innocent and profoundly wise.

    thank you for sharing how you see, christine. what you see and how you see it is beautiful. so very beautiful!

  4. Thank you for posting this poem by Mary Oliver and your beautiful photos. Such wonderful inspirations.

    Mary explains it so well….” and have you ever felt for anything such wild love “.

  5. Oh, Chrstine. What a wonderful beginning to my day. Fantastic poems…stunning pictures.
    You and Mary both ROCK!