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
    • Live Programs: Pilgrimage & Retreats
      • Monk in the World (Ireland)
      • Writing on the Wild Edges (Ireland)
      • Vienna Monk in the World (Austria)
      • Hildegard of Bingen (Germany)
      • Awakening the Creative Spirit: Experiential Education for Spiritual Directors in the Expressive Arts (Northwest)
    • Lift Every Voice: Contemplative Writers of Color Book Club
    • Community Online Retreats
      • The Spiral Way:
        Celtic Spirituality and the Creative Imagination
      • Journey with the Desert Mothers and Fathers (Lent 2021)
      • Dancing with Fear in Troubled Times
      • Novena for Times of Unraveling
      • The Two HT’s-Harriet Tubman and Howard Thurman-on Being Free
      • Writing Into Bloom
        with Christine Valters Paintner
      • Sacred Time: Embracing an Intentional Way of Life (Spring 2021)
      • Poetry and the Sacred Garden of the World:
        An Online Writing Retreat
    • 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

Monk in the World guest post: Barb Morris

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Barb Morris' reflection on The Way of No Way:

"I hate not knowing — now knowing how to do something, not knowing where I am, not knowing what’s going to happen. Like many of us, I’m attached to competence and control.

My spiritual focus these days is being in “not-knowing” and being okay with that. I find this difficult. Is it easy for anyone?

On the Meseta smallerIn the spring of 2014, my husband and I walked the Camino Francés, an ancient pilgrimage route from southern France to Santiago de Compostela in northeastern Spain, popularized in the 2011 movie “The Way.”

The Camino was physically difficult for me. Walking 500 miles in 37 days was hard on my feet and on my psyche. It required mental toughness, perseverance, and lots of forgiveness – of my husband, of my fellow pilgrims, and of myself.

The Camino is rigorous and demanding in many ways and fabulously simple in other ways. We had a defined end point, a clear route through often beautiful landscapes, and lots of help along the Way. Camino infrastructure is designed to support pilgrims – albergues, hostels, bars, cafes, ATMs, waymarkers, foot specialists, and helpful Spaniards abound. (The exception to this rule is the Spanish siesta, which means that churches, grocery stores, and pharmacies are shuttered from 2 to 5 pm, prime pilgrim visiting and shopping time.) All we had to do was get up, walk, go to bed, and then do it over again the next day.

The Camino was also deeply rewarding spiritually. Somehow, in ways I do not understand, because I was simply putting one often-hurting foot after the other for hours at a time, I got out of my own way. My mind quieted. I could hear my heart speak, and I could hear God speak, which is, I believe, the same voice. I didn’t have any visions. What I did have, though, were occasional moments of deep clarity, understanding, and connection. In one of these moments I knew that it was time to start consistently making art. In fact, that’s what I wrote down as my occupation at the pilgrim office in Santiago at the end of our journey. This was very surprising to me, as I’ve only ever dabbled as an artist. I have no formal art training whatsoever.

So, how do I follow my artist calling? I live in a culture that’s addicted to control, competence, and consumption. I resist change and I hate feeling incompetent.  Yet here I am. This is where not-knowing comes in. To be true to my commitment to “a lifetime of ongoing conversion and transformation” (Monk Manifesto #7), I must submit to not knowing how to do this thing and to doing it anyway. I must allow myself to be at the mercy of God.

Here are a few practices I’m finding supportive as I learn to rest in not-knowing:

  • Being in my body. For me this means sweaty work, walking (and lately running), yoga, and body-focused meditations.
  • Spending time in nature.
  • Contemplative prayer, Lectio Divina, and meditation.
  • Eucharist.
  • Reframing my artistic endeavors as “messing around.”
  • Committing to one or several particular practices or disciplines, such as drawing or writing, for 30 days.
  • Sharing my journey, asking for help, and staying connected.

We can’t know what is going to happen. We’re not in charge of what’s going to happen. For me, faith right now this minute means choosing to walk in a world where God is in charge, and following this call to an unknown destination because I trust that the Caller will provide.

Rather than walking an ancient way to Santiago, trodden by millions for more than a millennium, I’m following The Way of No Way, knowing what I know and taking the next step in this holy roadless place where life and growth and transformation truly happen.

 


Head shotBarb Morris is a contemplative artist(!), writer, and life coach living in Bend, Oregon with her Episcopal priest husband. You can read more Camino reflections, see some of her art, and read her blog at www.barbmorris.com.

 

 

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2 Comments March 2, 2016

Upcoming Programs

The Spiral Way:
Celtic Spirituality and the Creative Imagination

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

Journey with the Desert Mothers and Fathers
Retreat for Lent 2021

February 17-April 1, 2021
with Christine & John Valters Paintner and Betsey Beckman

Recent Reflections

  • Celtic Spirituality and the Spiral Way ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess
  • Hildy Tales 3: Ní heolas go haontíos ~ by John Valters Paintner
  • 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

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