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September Theme: Silence

Here at the Abbey, we work to offer you resources to support you in contemplative practice and creative arts.  One of the core expressions of what we believe is important to nurture life as a monk in the world is the Monk Manifesto.

Each month for the next seven months, we will take one of the Monk Manifesto themes for the entire month and it will shape our Poetry Parties, (the return of) Photo Parties, and other reflections.

Monk Manifesto Principle #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.

What are some ways you seek out silence in the midst of the world’s busyness?

What do you discover in that landscape of stillness?


Visit this month’s Photo Party here (and share your photos for a chance to win a free book!)


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3 Responses

  1. Silence: At first I held my hands over my ears to drown out all noise and distraction. Then someone noted that “silent” and “listen” have the very same letters, so I took my hands from my ears and with focused listening heard the presence of God and of all creation in my very core. In their silence they spoke to mine.

  2. Today I began my moments of morning silence and holding a yoga pose. I hope this will become a healing, stilling, awakening space of time each morning . Thank you for the encouragement in your suggestions and this Monk Manifesto #1 guide.

  3. The first icon I wrote for myself was Holy Silence. I tried to paste a picture of it here but it didn’t work.
    For me, it captures the contempltive relationship.