Abbey of the Arts

Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts

  • Welcome
    • Prayer Cycle
      • Introduction to the Earth Monastery Prayer Cycle
      • Day 1 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Cathedral
      • Day 2 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Scriptures
      • Day 3 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Saints
      • Day 4 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Spiritual Directors
      • Day 5 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Icon
      • Day 6 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Sacrament
      • Day 7 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Liturgy
      • Prayer Cycle Leader Resources
    • 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
    • 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
    • Walk the Ancient Paths: Pilgrimage
      • Monk in the World (Ireland)
      • Writing on the Wild Edges (Ireland)
      • Poetry and the Sacred Garden of the World (Ireland)
      • Vienna Monk in the World (Austria)
      • Hildegard of Bingen (Germany)
    • Live Programs and Spiritual Retreats
      • Awakening the Creative Spirit: Experiential Education for Spiritual Directors in the Expressive Arts (Northwest)
    • Community Online Retreats
      • Lift Every Voice: Contemplative Writers of Color
      • The Way of the Hermit:
        A Spiritual Survival Guide for Dark Times
        with Kayleen Asbo, PhD
      • The Spiral Way:
        Celtic Spirituality and the Creative Imagination
      • Journey with the Desert Mothers and Fathers (Lent 2021)
      • Sacred Time: Embracing an Intentional Way of Life (Spring 2021)
    • 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)
      • 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
      • 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
  • 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>>

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2 Comments July 29, 2013

Upcoming Programs

The Way of the Hermit:
A Spiritual Survival Guide for Dark Times

January 22-24, 2021
with Kayleen Asbo, PhD

The Spiral Way:
Celtic Spirituality and the Creative Imagination

Hosted by the Rowe Center
February 1-21, 2021
with Christine Valters Paintner, PhD

Recent Reflections

  • Humility + Join us today for live prayer! ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess
  • Hildy Tales 2: Tús maith leath na hoibre – by John Valters Paintner
  • New Book Club for 2021: Lift Every Voice ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess
  • Hildy Tales One: Dia dhuit, is mise Hildy! by John Valters Paintner, Your Online Prior
  • Celebrate the Earth Monastery Prayer Cycle podcast with us!

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