Abbey of the Arts

Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts

  • Welcome
    • Prayer Cycle
    • About the Abbey
    • About Christine Valters Paintner
    • About John Valters Paintner
    • About the Wisdom Council
    • Monk Manifesto
    • Join the Holy Disorder of Dancing Monks
    • Subscribe to Our Love Notes
    • Website privacy notice
  • Books
    • Breath Prayer:
      An Ancient Practice for the Everyday Sacred
    • Sacred Time:
      Embracing an Intentional Way of Life
    • The Wisdom of Wild Grace: Poems
    • Earth, Our Original Monastery:
      Cultivating Wonder and Gratitude through Intimacy with Nature
    • Dreaming of Stones: Poems
    • The Soul's Slow Ripening:
      12 Celtic Practices for Seeking the Sacred
    • The Wisdom of the Body:
      A Contemplative Journey to Wholeness for Women
    • Illuminating the Way:
      Embracing the Wisdom of Monks and Mystics
    • The Soul of a Pilgrim:
      Eight Practices for the Journey Within
    • Eyes of the Heart:
      Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice
    • The Artist's Rule: Nurturing Your Creative Soul with Monastic Wisdom
    • Desert Mothers and Fathers: Early Christian Wisdom Sayings Annotated & Explained
    • 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
    • Awakening the Creative Spirit:
      Bringing the Arts to Spiritual Direction
    • Lectio Divina: Contemplative Awakening & Awareness
  • Poetry | Art | Music
    • Music + DVD
    • Poetry by Christine Valters Paintner
    • Poetry Videos
    • Dancing Monk Icons
    • Other Art Collaborations
      • Monk in the World art series by Kristin Noelle
      • Saints & Animals art series by David Hollington
      • Sacred Time art series by Alexi Francis
      • Mary block print art series by Kreg Yingst
  • Programs
    • Lift Every Voice: Contemplative Writers of Color Book Club
    • Community Online Retreats
      • Harriet Tubman and Howard Thurman-on Being Free
      • Writing Into Bloom
        with Christine Valters Paintner
      • Revelations: The Mysticism of Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe
      • The Wisdom of Wild Grace: A Weekend Retreat Online
      • The Spiral Way:
        Celtic Spirituality and the Creative Imagination
      • Sacred Balance:
        Aligning Body and Spirit Through
        Yoga and the Benedictine Way
    • Self-Study Online Spiritual Retreats
      • Creative Flourishing in the Heart of the Desert:
        An Online Retreat with St. Hildegard of Bingen
      • Dreaming of the Sea:
        A women’s discernment journey through the story of the Selkie
      • Earth, Our Original Monastery
        A Companion Retreat to the Book (SELF-STUDY)
      • Exile and Coming Home:
        An Archetypal Journey through the Scriptures
      • Eyes of the Heart:
        Photography as Contemplative Practice
        (Companion retreat to the book)
      • Journey with the Desert Mothers and Fathers
        (SELF-STUDY)
      • Honoring Saints and Ancestors:
        Online Retreat for the Season of Remembrance
      • Lectio Divina:
        The Sacred Art of Reading the World
      • A Midwinter God:
        Making a Conscious Underworld Journey (SELF-STUDY)
      • Sacred Rhythms of Sky, Sun, Sea & Stone:
        A Creative Retreat with the Elements (SELF-STUDY)
      • Sacred Seasons:
        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
      • The Wisdom of Mary and the Sacred Feminine
    • Live Programs: Pilgrimage & Retreats
      • Writing on the Wild Edges (Ireland)
      • Hildegard of Bingen (Germany)
      • Awakening the Creative Spirit: Experiential Education for Spiritual Directors in the Expressive Arts (Northwest)
  • Calendar
  • Reflections
  • Contact

Monk in the World Guest Post Series

Wisdom Council: Guest Post from Roy DeLeon

Time for another guest post from one of our amazing Wisdom Council members!  This week we have Roy DeLeon sharing his reflections with us on being a monk in the world.  I first met Roy at St. Placid Priory about ten years ago, where we are both Benedictine oblates. Roy is also a yoga teacher with a true monk's heart. We collaborated on a retreat several years ago on praying the Hours through yoga. Read on for Roy's reflections:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOpen Heart in Hell

A Buddhist teacher said, “The practice is about keeping the heart open in hell.” Somehow, this statement stuck with me. As a yoga instructor, I tell my students that the arms and hands are part of the heart chakra. Then I suggest that the arms and hands are messengers of the heart. In anger, our hands turn into fists. But before that happens, the heart, the same size as our fist, tightens, hardens, and shuts down. The breath shortens. The blood thickens. Oxygen supply to the brain slows down. Clear and compassionate thinking gasps for air. Violence grabs the chance to wreak havoc.

But Jesus looks at us with Love. With an open heart. His arms spread, as he did on the cross. Then once the noise dies down, once the heart softens and opens, his voice comes home again. And I hear the sweet words, ‘I Am here.’

That is my go-to image when I feel a storm threaten. But what do you do when you are blindsided, surprised by events you least expect? It’s never too late to remember to open the heart to avoid further damage and prevent future suffering.

So how does one practice opening the heart? There are several yoga postures where you can do the Jesus-on-the-cross arm pose. You can do it while standing, or in tree pose (one foot pressed against the inner thigh) and meditating on the image of Jesus nailed on the tree. The warrior pose too, with one foot in front of the other, can be modified by spreading the arms and reciting ‘My heart is ready. I shall not fear.’

This seated meditation practice can prepare you before you enter a space of conflict: Seated quietly, breathing smoothly, hands flat on the chest, on the exhale, open the arms as you softly say ‘Ye/shu/a,’ lengthening each syllable. Another chant is ‘Ma/ra/na/tha.’

For a heart-opening restorative pose (after a difficult or tense conversation, for example), tightly roll a blanket or a towel, place it on the floor, then lie down on it with the blanket under your spine. Make sure your head is supported and your neck is not strained. Spread your arms on the floor and surrender your shoulders and hips to gravity. Focus on lengthening the exhale as you say ‘hahhhhh.’

As a monk in the world, one of my commitments as an oblate of St Benedict is ‘continuous conversion of the heart.’ I think it’s similar to the practice of keeping the heart open in hell. Gives a twist to the phrase ‘See you in hell,’ doesn’t it? I imagine the Divine One saying it, for the psalmist said ‘even in hell, there you are.’

And as an artist, I am blessed to have been given the opportunity to share my love of praying with the body through my book, workshops, blog posts and YouTube/Vimeo postings.

Be ready. Stay open.

Roy has a number of wonderful body prayer videos available to view here>>

«
»

2 Comments July 29, 2013

Upcoming Programs

  • Writing Into Bloom with Christine Valters Paintner
    • May 1, 2021
  • Revelations: The Mysticism of Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe
    • May 13, 2021
  • The Wisdom of Wild Grace: A Weekend Retreat Online
    • May 15, 2021 - May 16, 2021
  • View All Upcoming Programs

Recent Reflections

  • A mini-poetry reading from Christine plus other publishing news
  • St. Kevin Holds Open His Hand and Radical Hospitality ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess
  • Monk in the World Guest Post: Greta Kopec
  • Monk in the World Podcast + Harriet Tubman Mysticism ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess
  • Lift Every Voice: Contemplative Writers of Color – April Video Discussion and Book Group Materials Now Available

Connect with the Abbey

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
JOIN THE HOLY DISORDER OF DANCING MONKS
SIGN UP FOR UPDATES
DONATE TO SUPPORT OUR MINISTRY

Copyright © 2021 BY ABBEY OF THE ARTS · WEBSITE PRIVACY NOTICE

Copyright © 2021 · Flourish Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in