Abbey of the Arts

Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts

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      Cultivating Wonder and Gratitude through Intimacy with Nature
    • Dreaming of Stones: Poems
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      12 Celtic Practices for Seeking the Sacred
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      A Contemplative Journey to Wholeness for Women
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      Embracing the Wisdom of Monks and Mystics
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      Eight Practices for the Journey Within
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      Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice
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    • Lectio Divina–The Sacred Art: Transforming Words and Images into Heart-Centered Prayer
    • Water, Wind, Earth & Fire: The Christian Practice of Praying with the Elements
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      Bringing the Arts to Spiritual Direction
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      • Jubilee Year Community Retreat:
        Exploring Sacred Rhythms of Time
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        An Archetypal Journey through the Scriptures
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        Photography as Contemplative Practice
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        Online Retreat for the Season of Remembrance
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        The Sacred Art of Reading the World
      • A Midwinter God:
        Making a Conscious Underworld Journey
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        A Yearlong Journey through the Celtic Wheel of the Year
      • The Soul of a Pilgrim:
        Eight Practices for the Journey Within
        (a companion retreat to the book)
      • The Soul's Slow Ripening: 12 Celtic Practices for Seekers of the Sacred (a companion retreat to the book)
      • Water, Wind, Earth & Fire
      • Watershed Moments
        in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures
      • Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist:
        A 12-Week Companion Retreat to The Artist's Rule
      • The Wisdom of the Body:
        A 10-Week Online Companion Retreat to the Book
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Spirituality

Summertime Slowness

It's summertime which means an invitation to indulge in some of summer's pleasures.  Despite the fact that I have been hard at work writing a second book and preparing to teach, I still take breaks for some of summer's finer gifts.  Let's celebrate slowness.  Some things that should be done s-l-o-w-l-y:

  • Taking a long swim in the open water, feeling the stretch of your muscles.
  • Eating fresh sweet berries and juicy peaches.
  • Cooking a meal with complete loving attention to each chop, sprinkle, and stir.
  • Napping in a patch of sunlight.
  • Hiking deep in the emerald woods.
  • Listening to the rhythms of the ocean until you discover your own heartbeat hidden there.
  • Rubbing a dog's belly.
  • Letting a beautiful piece of music wash over you and knit itself into your being.
  • Listening. To a friend, a spouse, a stranger. To silence, to the holy presence.
  • Making love.  Treasuring the gift of skin next to skin.
  • Gazing upon a work of art or a sunset and really seeing it.  Gazing upon a loved one and really seeing them.
  • Transformation: The long slow process of becoming who we really are.
  • Breathing.
  • Grieving. Experiencing the fullness of sorrow and loss.
  • Basking in gratitude for the simple joys of each day.

What are the things that you take time to enjoy slowly? What are the things worth savoring? What might happen if you slowed down enough to hear deeply the God who speaks in sheer silence? What is being whispered to you there?

Feel free to make your own additions to the list either below or at your own blog. . .

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15 Comments July 20, 2009

Upcoming Programs

Jubilee Year Community Retreat:
Exploring Sacred Rhythms of Time
(ONLINE)

June 2019-June 2020
with Christine & John Valters Paintner and Wisdom Council members

The Wisdom of Mary and the Sacred Feminine:
A 30-day self-study retreat
(Use code Mary20 for 20% off in December)
with Christine & John Valters Paintner, Betsey Beckman, Jamie Marich, and Sibyl Dana Reynolds

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