Abbey of the Arts

Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts

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  • 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
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    • 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)
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Uncategorized

"Lovingly Fitted" (a love note from your online Abbess)

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King Solomon made himself an enclosed litter
of wood from Lebanon.
He made its columns of silver,
its roof of gold,
Its seat of purple cloth,
its interior lovingly fitted.

—Song of Songs 3:9-10

Dearest monks and artists,

I have mentioned before that my husband and I practice lectio divina together and we have slowly been working our way through the Song of Songs together, praying with just a couple of verses at a time in a practice of lectio continua.

Several weeks ago we were praying with the passage above and the words "lovingly fitted" shimmered forth for me from the text.

The theme for me this summer, as I have had a sabbatical from teaching, has been sustainability.  How do I continue to nourish this work I am doing and flourish in the process?  What are the things to say "no" to, so that I might have more space for the fullness of blossoming? What are the essential practices which cultivate joyfulness in this work?

When I read the words "lovingly fitted" I had to take pause. In the passage it is referring to King Solomon's litter, which is a kind of seat or throne. But as I prayed with the words and let them stir my imagination, I found myself invited to ponder the ways God wants my life "lovingly fitted" for me. What I think this means, in part, is not living someone else's life or another person's expectations of what I think I "should" be doing.

"Lovingly fitted" speaks to me of taking great time and care to craft something that fits a person just so.  How might I craft my days with such joy, attentiveness, reverence, and love for my own abundant gifts?  What if each day were a throne, a royal seat, a holy tabernacle?

And it is not just me doing the fitting.  I do it by listening to the Source of all wisdom within. I listen for the thrumming beat of love and what makes my heart pound more loudly.
How do I "lovingly fit" my days? How do I craft my book of days so that generosity can be poured forth?

There is such depth to this image for me right now, especially as I listen for the call to sustainability, for how not to bottleneck my gifts by getting stuck in the burden of administrative details or things which don't truly nourish me or further my deep longings arising from the deep heart of God within.

Hand in hand with these questions, begs the question of all the ways we sabotage our own best efforts, when we take on things to please others, or not disappoint them, or we continue doing what has brought us joy in the past without realizing that things have gently shifted, and our souls are ready and hungry for new nourishment and challenges.

In my own life I am listening to the many new invitations – the Wisdom Council, the Earth Monastery Project, the Holy Disorder of Dancing Monks, and the great hunger for pilgrimage and meaningful journeys to sacred places. This past year has been such a powerful threshold to newness which has brought me to the western edge of Ireland and here I listen for new invitations. I hear the call to shed my previous expectations.

As I write these words I am preparing to travel to the land of St. Hildegard of Bingen to help steward a pilgrimage with my beloved teaching partner Betsey Beckman. By the time you read this 30 pilgrims will be gathering together with a shared longing – to listen to Hildegard's wisdom shimmering across time and in the process to listen to their own hearts more deeply.

For Hildegard, a fundamental principle of discernment was viriditas – or the greening power of God.  We are to seek out what most deeply nourishes us in both body and soul. What contributes to our flourishing is holy. What depletes us is not, so we can stop worshipping at the altar of busyness for the sake of appearing important or productive.

We can pause and ask ourselves, what would it mean to live as if my life were "lovingly fitted" for me? To believe that God does not demand us to contort our spirits into other people's versions of us, but to recognize our life task as living what is uniquely given to us.

My own heart is so eager and excited to return to the verdant landscape of the Rhineland. I know my heart will also be broken open in new ways on this journey. I will discover new ways God is calling me to reverence who I am.

I ask for your prayers during this time of pilgrimage, for myself and my co-leaders, and for the beautiful pilgrims making this journey.

May we encounter the greening of our souls in profound new ways, so as to bring that kind of vitality back to the world. May you find an abundance of greening moments revealed each day.

With great and growing love,

Christine

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Leave a Comment September 11, 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

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