Share your Word for 2014
In ancient times, wise men and women fled out into the desert to find a place where they could be fully present to God and to their own inner struggles at work within them. The desert became a place to enter into the refiner’s fire and be stripped down to one’s holy essence. The desert was a threshold place where you emerged different than when you entered.
Many people followed these ammas and abbas, seeking their wisdom and guidance for a meaningful life. One tradition was to ask for a word – this word or phrase would be something on which to ponder for many days, weeks, months, sometimes a whole lifetime. This practice is connected to lectio divina, where we approach the sacred texts with the same request – “give me a word” we ask – something to nourish me, challenge me, a word I can wrestle with and grow into. The word which chooses us has the potential to transform us.
- What is your word for the year ahead? A word which contains within it a seed of invitation to cross a new threshold in your life?
Share your word in the comments section below by Monday, January 6, 2014 and you are automatically entered for the prize drawing (prizes listed below). Last year we had 840 people share!
A free 12-day online mini-retreat to help your word choose you. . .
This year I am offering all Abbey newsletter subscribers a gift: a free 12-day online mini-retreat with a suggested practice for each day to help your word choose you and to deepen into your word once it has found you.
Sign up here and you can start your mini-retreat today. Once you subscribe you will receive a confirmation email with access to the mini-retreat content (and you are free to unsubscribe at any time). If you are already a subscriber, the invitation will be in this week’s email newsletter.
Win a Prize – Random Drawing Giveaway on January 6th!
I am delighted to offer some wonderful gifts from the Abbey:
- 4 people will win a signed copy of Eyes of the Heart: Photography as Christian Contemplative Practice (mailed directly from me in Ireland to you, anywhere in the world)
- 4 people will win a copy of Naked and You Clothed Me: Homilies and Reflections for Cycle A with two reflections by Christine, plus also Richard Rohr, Rob Bell, Jan Richardson, Fr. James Martin, SJ, and many more!
- 4 people will win their choice of self-study online classes from following: Creative Flourishing in the Heart of the Desert: A Self-Study Online Retreat with St. Hildegard of Bingen, Soul of a Pilgrim: An Online Art Retreat, Seasons of the Soul, Lectio Divina: The Sacred Art of Reading the World, or Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Contemplative Practice.
So please share your word (and it would be wonderful to include a sentence about what it means for you) with us below. Subscribe to the Abbey newsletter for your free gift. Share the love with others and invite them to participate. Then stay tuned – on January 6th I will announce the prize winners!
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680 Responses
I have been sitting with many words waiting for the one for this time. In the middle of the night, last night, it came to me with clarity. My new practice word is “light.” Sacred light, shedding light, light within, keeping it light, etc. “Color is the language of light.” John O’Donohue
I look forward to the unfolding that this word will bring.
Thank you Christine for the opportunity.
I chose “Windhorse” as my word and theme for 2014. Tibetan in origin, it represents the winds of spirit that fill us and work through us. Raising Windhorse is the Tibetan concept of consciously living in aware presence as that is where the winds of spirit dwell. I bought a beautiful image of Windhorse and now it hangs in my cottage reminding me to allow myself to be filled, to receive the dynamic energy of windhorse as my source of sustenance, guidance and delight this year….just who is Windhorse? —god’s breath? — YES!
The word that has chosen me is “beauty”. What a great word for me. It comes to me during an early winter filled with lots and lots and lots of snow! Seeing the beauty of this snow is wondrous. I also am aware that since this word has come to “light” my gaze looks to life, people, all around. It reminds me to “look” … to “see”. I know part of the invitation of this word is to see the beauty of “me” . I am thankful to have the year for this!
Oh my – that certainly is a beautiful scene you have captured there.
“Envelope”
This word reminds me that I am surrounded by love and care, and that I can also do the same for others.
free!
I actually fought this word for a few days. It did not seem “interesting” enough. But it kept popping up and it IS what I truly desire — to be free in body, mind, and spirit. Free from all the many things that bind and restrict me from being my truest self (mostly my own negative beliefs and habits); and free to explore, create, dance, sing, & fly!!
Listening deeply are the words I have chosen for 2014. More than listening to what is going on around me, I want to incorporate an intuitive listening to source and what is inside me.
My word is balance for my body, mind,sole,and spirit
LISTEN
My word for 2014, listen, has continued to nudge me from different sources during my “Give Me A Word” meditation. As a Spiritual Director, I am trained in “holy listening” in the companionship of others on their spiritual journeys. Yet, I often fall short in listening to my own calling, for the whispered voice of God offering guidance for my journey, and for the voice of Wisdom in my personal family relationships. Listening is the first step in honoring self and others, and a necessary practice as I move forward to this new year 2014 that is filled with changes, challenges, promise and opportunities for transformation.
My word is “true.” Thank you for the 12-day mini-retreat that helped me discern the word that was looking for me.
My word is ‘Unlocking’.