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
    • Walk the Ancient Paths: Pilgrimage
      • Monk in the World (Ireland)
      • Writing on the Wild Edges (Ireland)
      • Poetry and the Sacred Garden of the World (Ireland)
      • Vienna Monk in the World (Austria)
      • Hildegard of Bingen (Germany)
    • Live Programs and Spiritual Retreats
      • Awakening the Creative Spirit: Experiential Education for Spiritual Directors in the Expressive Arts (Northwest)
    • Community Online Retreats
      • Lift Every Voice: Contemplative Writers of Color
      • The Way of the Hermit:
        A Spiritual Survival Guide for Dark Times
        with Kayleen Asbo, PhD
      • The Spiral Way:
        Celtic Spirituality and the Creative Imagination
      • Journey with the Desert Mothers and Fathers (Lent 2021)
      • Sacred Time: Embracing an Intentional Way of Life (Spring 2021)
    • 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: Anne Knorr

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Anne Knorr's reflection on reconnecting with the cycles of the Earth.

The other night my husband and I hiked up to one of our favorite spots in the foothills of Boulder, Colorado we affectionately call the Moon Rock.  Our neighbors joined us on the 45-minute trek up the hill with picnic dinners and headlamps in tow.  Hiking to watch the moonrise is a ritual we happened onto several years ago when the full moon coincided with my birthday and my husband thought it would be a delightfully fun and unique way to celebrate.  It just so happened that this evening was a blue moon, the rare occurrence of a second full moon in the same month.  As we sat peering across the horizon, a soft glow appeared just above the horizon, the precursor to the arrival of the moon.  We were completely mesmerized as the first sliver of light crept into view and the golden globe began to rise into the evening sky.  The sight of the full moon took me back to a time on our boat near the Northwest coast of British Columbia where our every move was tightly linked to the cycles of the earth.  I hadn’t realized until that moment how much I missed the profound calm that accompanies being so in sync with nature.

Tides and currents are deeply connected to the cycles of the moon and its gravitational pull.  Water ebbs and flows depending on whether the moon is moving towards fullness or fading away.  Spring tides (the greatest flow of water) happen on a full moon with water levels changing by as much as twelve feet.  Navigating to our chosen destination was closely timed with the ebb and flow of the tides, always striving to have the currents run with us and not against us. Slack tides also played into our decisions when going through narrow passages requiring us to adapt to the ocean’s timing.   Falling into this rhythm felt natural, almost like coming home to a place I’ve always known but had forgotten.  The earth’s cycles remind me that life is constantly expanding and contracting, growing into fullness then releasing into something new. Indigenous people carry this wisdom, as do farmers, and fishermen, and anyone whose livelihood is linked to the earth.  Black Elk, a Native American, described it this way, You have noticed everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the power of the world always works in circles…even the seasons form a great circle in their changing and always come back again to where they were…

About a month after the blue moon experience, a lunar eclipse occurred while I was staying at the Jesuit retreat center near Sedalia, Colorado.  Grassy hills surround the property in this rural setting and I was able to walk to a ridge nearby that allowed me to watch the sun set in the west then turn 180 degrees and watch the moon rise in the east.  The actual eclipse took hours to come into fullness so I walked back to the retreat house where a hammock offered the perfect place to sit and wait.  In the dusk of the evening I could make out the silhouettes of other retreatants scattered across the lawn, each of us silently and reverently watching the moon, as if it held some magical power that captivated us all – we knew it was unlikely we would see this event again in our lifetime.  To wait, to watch, and to notice as the cosmic dance unfolded felt like a prayer. Nothing else was required other than to acknowledge the wonder.

It also felt like an invitation to wait, to watch, and to notice the subtle daily, monthly, and yearly cycles that surround me.  Being a monk it the world can be as simple as reconnecting with the cycles of the earth and honoring them with my attention – gazing out my window as the sun rises in the morning, savoring the rich colors of fall leaves as I drive across town, listening to the hoot of the owl as I take my morning walk.  Right now I am particularly drawn to the lunar cycle and the subtle yet powerful way it influences the dynamics of the ocean, the fish, the magnetic field, and even childbirth. I am reminded that my life is cyclical as well and follows a larger and universal pattern that is constantly moving and changing.  It calms me down as I navigate the new seasons of my life and helps me to trust that letting go is a natural part of the circle and energy of life as it comes into fullness, then fades away, then returns once again full circle.


akAnne Knorr is an architect, spiritual director and author of the book, Sacred Space at Home, Architecture with Soul. She has written and lectured about the connection between architecture and spirituality, and continues her practice as a residential architect and spiritual director. Anne lives in Boulder, Colorado.

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Leave a Comment May 4, 2016

Upcoming Programs

The Way of the Hermit:
A Spiritual Survival Guide for Dark Times

January 22-24, 2021
with Kayleen Asbo, PhD

The Spiral Way:
Celtic Spirituality and the Creative Imagination

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

Recent Reflections

  • 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
  • Hildy Tales One: Dia dhuit, is mise Hildy! by John Valters Paintner, Your Online Prior
  • Celebrate the Earth Monastery Prayer Cycle podcast with us!

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