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
    • 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
      • Embodied Spirits: Stories of Spiritual Directors of Color (Book Club – March 2021)
      • God Alone is Enough: A Spirited Journey with Teresa of Avila (Book Club – February 2021)
    • 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)
      • 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
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Uncategorized

Monks, Mystics, Archetypes and SoulCollage® (guest post from Kayce Stevens Hughlett)

For the last several months, we have been embarking on an exciting creative project and collaboration.  It started with choosing 12 dancing monks to be a part of the original Dancing Monk Icon series painted by Marcy Hall.  These icons were meant to depict some beloved monks and mystics in a joyful and colorful way, reminding us of our call to dance through this life.

We had the inspiration to feature a dancing monk for each week of our Advent/Christmas and Epiphany/New Year's online retreats. My wonderful teaching partner Kayce Hughlett, is a trained SoulCollage® facilitator and will be offering this gift as a part of our creative experience and shares below about what this process means for her.

If you would like to join us for these online retreats you can find the registration info here:

  • Birthing the Holy: Advent & Christmas Online Retreat with Monks, Mystics, and Archetypes
  • Illuminating the Way: Epiphany & New Year's Online Retreat with Monks, Mystics, and Archetypes

From Kayce: Opening into the threshold of this new day and season, I awaken for the second or possibly third time from a restless and jet-lagged sleep. In this moment, the sun is making lace-like patterns on the shades of my bedroom window. Aslan, my golden muse, is draped across my side, his feline paw gently touching my face. It is morning. Time to arise.

Today I’ve set aside time to write and be creative. I feel dry as a bone. I can’t even imagine writing this piece I’ve promised to Abbey of the Arts. Edging toward frustration, I close my eyes and listen to the sounds around me. A foghorn echoes in the distance. Aslan rolls off my lap. The clock clicks over to 8:00 a.m. Something inside me shifts as I sink into the images floating through my mind.

My memory turns to the rugged west coast of Ireland from where I’ve recently returned. Together with other pilgrims, I stood on sacred ground in the world of ancestors and saints. In my mind, I see our Inismor guide, Dara Malloy, speaking of saints and signs, dreams and symbols. He mentions Carl Jung and I smile as I recall the magic of SoulCollage®. I think about Advent and the upcoming journey with Hildegard, Brigid, Mary, and more. I am honored that I have the privilege of sharing this journey and the SoulCollage® creative process with seekers around the world.

SoulCollage® is a process for accessing intuition and creating incredible cards with deep personal meaning that help the creators explore life's questions and transitions. Images speak to us in ways that words cannot. By dropping into image, we step through a portal in the mind. We find new ways of seeing and finding meaning for topics and areas of our life we may be pondering. In the Abbey’s upcoming online classes, we will be exploring Advent and the New Year through monks, mystics, and archetypes.

I didn’t grow up with monks, liturgical seasons, or even much creativity. My journey with the mystics and saints is being pieced together like images in a collage. Perhaps yours is too. This makes SoulCollage® a perfect companion for our journey. I’m looking forward to seeing what we create together.

During the Advent and Christmas retreat as well as the New Year journey, SoulCollage® will help us listen and learn in creative ways. The invitation will be for each of us to step intuitively into what we need to hear, see, and learn. There is no right or wrong way to create collaged cards, but following the simple guidelines I’ll provide will help give shape to your own intuitive process.

Each week I’ll provide a brief commentary on our featured monk, mystic, and archetype followed by an invitation to create your own SoulCollage® card. We will begin with basic guidelines and information on creating cards then move into ways of exploring more deeply what you’ve created. Finally, we can share and talk about our creations on the class forum. It’s going to be great!

If you haven’t already signed up for the retreat(s), I hope you will today. Start gathering magazines, catalogues, and photographs. Get your glue sticks and scissors ready. You’ll also want 5” x 8” cardboard bases for your collaged cards. Cut your own, have your local frame shop do it for you, or order pre-cut cards from www.soulcollage.com.


Kayce-Hughlett-199x300Kayce Stevens Hughlett, MA LMHC is a soulful and spirited woman. In her roles as ponderer extraordinaire, spiritual director, life muse, author, creative coach, and speaker, she invites us to playfully and fearlessly cross the thresholds toward authentic living. A strong proponent of compassionate care in the world, Kayce's live and online work focuses on the principle that we must live it to give it.

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Leave a Comment November 17, 2014

Upcoming Programs

  • The Two HT’s Harriet Tubman and Howard Thurman on Being Free with Therese Taylor-Stinson
    • Apr 17, 2021
  • Writing Into Bloom with Christine Valters Paintner
    • May 1, 2021
  • Revelations: The Mysticism of Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe
    • May 13, 2021
  • View All Upcoming Programs

Recent Reflections

  • 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
  • Hildy Tails 12: Is ait an mac an saol ~ by John Valters Paintner
  • Easter Blessings + An Elemental Journey ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

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