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: Jessica Curtis

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Jessica Curtis' reflection Metaphors as Messages.

Poetry has long been part of my spiritual practice. I especially love metaphors and have begun noticing places where they show up in my life other than poetry.

At church recently, the minister was talking about the idea that we come into this world with an inheritance. He referred to this inheritance as taking the form of a “blessing bundle” and a “burden bundle.” The goal over the course of a lifetime is to lessen the burden bundle and augment the blessing bundle.

I carried this metaphor around in my mind all week. I imagined myself walking down a path carrying two satchels – one filled with heavy stones (burdens) and the other filled with feathers (blessings). I imagined how one would be digging into my shoulder and slowing me down while the other would be barely noticeable.  Noticing the burdens rather than the blessings – this felt like a message for me.

I began to play with the metaphor. What if our inheritance is only one bundle? What if burdens and blessings are one and the same?

Perhaps it’s in framing our inheritance within the constructs of good and bad that we feel weighed down.

So, I turned my image into a single bundle. I did not want a bundle of feathers that might blow away on the wind. Instead, I pictured a backpack full of stones – with weight and texture and volume.

My practice for the week became visualizing that backpack of rocks with appreciation, carrying it on my journey as a valuable inheritance, not a burden.

I imagined how I might take some out of my bag to build a cairn, marking a place on the path that I want to remember or come back to. Perhaps I will use a few to help me cross a stream without getting too wet. I imagine those rocks in my bag, rubbing against each other on the journey, perhaps smoothing some of the rougher surfaces and polishing each other along the way. I might give some away as a token of gratitude. But most of all, I want to feel the weight of my inheritance as I walk along, letting it anchor me to myself.

When metaphors show up in my life, I have learned to pay attention. When the car broke down at the end of an especially busy week, I recognized my need to slow down. When I lost my voice the day after a significant conflict, I paused to ask myself what I wasn’t giving voice to.

In this way, metaphors can be a beautiful modality for understanding our inner lives and journeys. They can be a very useful tool in developing self-awareness. But where does the rubber meet the road? How do I apply these metaphors to the practicalities of my life?

One of the gifts of metaphor is its ability to help me bypass the intellect. I can apply my learning through the body and the intuition, and perhaps from there begin to impact the workings of the mind.

For example, I now have an image of a backpack of rocks and stones that I carry on my journey through life. I call up this image and experience it in the moment; my body imagines the constant weight upon my shoulders, I notice the strength in my legs and the steadiness of my feet planted on the floor. I am aware of the power in my body. I feel strong, and I appreciate this bundle that I am carrying.

In a different moment, I might be feeling weighed down by an experience, by a pattern of behavior in myself that I’m re-visiting or by a familiar voice of criticism in my head. Again, I bring awareness to that backpack of my inheritance. I can see myself opening it and finding that rock – the one that is not serving me any longer. I watch myself take that rock out of my backpack and put it down. I can choose to leave it behind.

Down the road, I may hear the same critical voice again. I can remind myself that I have chosen to leave that rock behind. I can imagine myself revisiting the place where I put it down and deciding it needs to be rolled down the hill where I’m standing. In my mind’s eye, I give it a push and watch it roll, end over end, picking up speed as it goes, getting farther and farther away until it is no longer in view.

This kind of visualization has become an ongoing intentional practice for me. I feel it building my muscles of awareness. I feel less anxious, learning to trust the messages – the metaphors – that show up in my life.


Jessica Curtis, M.Ed., CPCC, ACC, works with people seeking growth and fulfillment in their lives. A professional coach, Jessica helps people cultivate intention and live a spiritually-centered life. She lives in Massachusetts with her family and a flock of chickens. You can learn more about Jessica and her work at: www.jscurtiscoaching.com

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4 Comments March 29, 2017

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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