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)
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Abbess love notes, Illuminating the Way

Embrace your inner sovereign ~ A love note from your online abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims,

Illuminating the Way: Embracing the Wisdom of Monks and Mystics will be released very soon! I am very excited to share this work exploring twelve monks and mystics and the archetypes they embody and invite us to live more fully into. This week I share another excerpt from the book, this time on the archetype of the sovereign from the chapter on King David:

There is a story about Sir Gawain and Lady Ragnell which expresses the heart of sovereignty well. Sir Gawain must decide whether he wants Lady Ragnell to remain beautiful by day and ugly by night, or the other way around.  He finally decides to leave the choice up to her and thereby grants her sovereignty over herself and she remains beautiful all the time.

Sovereignty is about being centered in your own power and taking full responsibility for meeting your needs.  Sovereignty sounds so archaic in some ways, and yet it is one of the archetypal energies we find within us.  The reason so many myths and fairy tales speak of kings and queens is that these figures reflect back something of ourselves.

Sovereignty is in many ways a midlife word.  We don’t really begin to live into our own power until we have grown wise enough to recognize our limitations as well.  In her book Queen of Myself: Stepping Into Sovereignty at Midlife, Donna Henes suggests that the traditional stages of maiden, mother, and crone for women is incomplete as women’s lifespans get longer.  She suggests the addition of the queen or sovereign archetype between mother and crone as a time to really live into a sense of your own power.  In the book King, Warrior, Magician, and Lover, author Robert Moore describes the King as a primal energy in men’s spirituality as well.

The sovereign is not a victim of life. Another favorite story is that of Persephone who was abducted into the Underworld by Hades. She eats the pomegranate seeds which will end up requiring her to stay there for part of the year. She becomes Queen, a movement from her victim role to stepping into her own power and fullness.

The sovereign accepts full responsibility for his or her choices in life.  One of our central questions in life is “what is my task in this world?”  Living into what that is may take a lifetime, but the sovereign helps us to claim the call that is our birthright and step into life with confidence.  That gift is then offered with joy as a blessing to the world.  No apologies need to be made for offering this essential contribution. Our inner Sovereign knows that the world will not be complete without our part of the greater vision.  We participate in the co-creation of a more just and beautiful future each in our own unique way. We manifest the sovereign’s energy through centeredness, confidence, and calmness.

When I live from my inner Sovereign, I act out of a sense of agency which is a willingness to take action on my own behalf for the benefit of others, to exert my power or influence.  This is not what we think we should be doing for others, but emerges from the very deep and wise place within us.  My task is never determined by “shoulds” or shame.  I take full responsibility for choosing this path and there is a sacramental quality to this path as it is a response to a holy calling.

When we are living fully from our inner Sovereign, we embody a calm and assertive energy.  It manifests as strength, centeredness, security, stability, vitality, and joy.  It is the part of us that overcomes the disorder and chaos of life, allowing creativity to arise from places that feel difficult or challenging.  Sovereigns rule from their true self, the deepest and wisest parts of their being.  There they listen to the holy stirrings within already.  The sovereign calls us to fully claim our path in ways that are not anxious, but steady and sure.

A true sovereign blesses others by his or her presence.  When we live into our own power in healthy and life-giving ways, we witness to a different way of being that empowers those around us.  When we encounter someone who is deeply in touch with their sovereign, it does not matter their wealth or status in the world, we listen because they are in touch with their own wisdom and are not afraid to speak it aloud.  Sovereigns create safe and healthy spaces for others to grow and develop their gifts and are never threatened by others living into their own power as well.  Our world needs people of maturity, centeredness, wisdom, and peace to help us move into the next phase of our evolution together.

Of course Jesus embodies the sovereign as he enters into Jerusalem, claiming what he needs, and fitting the prophecies of royalty. To become fully mature monks in the world, we would do well to welcome our own inner sovereign as well.

Stop by Patheos to read the next reflection in my series on Practicing Resurrection and the call to wander for the love of God.

With great and growing love,

Christine

Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE

Photo © Christine Valters Paintner

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Leave a Comment April 17, 2016

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

  • 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
  • Hildy Tails 12: Is ait an mac an saol ~ by John Valters Paintner

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