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
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      • 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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Monk in the World Guest Post Series

Monk in the World Guest Post: Kathy Roy

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World Guest Post series from the community. Read on for Kathy Roy's reflection, "The Gifts of Silent Retreat."

Every year, I go on a silent retreat as part of my commitment to living the contemplative path.  I always choose a place that is secluded and nestled into nature.  This year, I rented a home in Peggy’s Cove with beautiful walking trails and views of the Atlantic Ocean.

I was entering the silence to prepare myself for crossing the threshold into ministry.  I had been studying the mystical heart of the world’s wisdom traditions for the past two years and was about to be ordained as an Interfaith/Interspiritual minister.

There was a question that I carried with me into the silence:  How then shall I live?  This question had been echoing in my heart as ordination approached and I yearned for this time of silence and reflection.

The day I arrived at the retreat, I parked in the driveway and was about to get out of my car when I saw a rustling in the trees in front of me.  The face of a deer emerged from behind the branches.  This beautiful animal was having its dinner and when it saw me, it stopped and stared.  It must have determined that I wasn’t much of a threat because it soon went back to munching leaves and I was able to sit and watch it.  I have always had an affinity for deer and having this one so close was a gift.  I sat there feeling a need to hush in awe, thus started my entry into silence.

It didn’t take me long to discover that this house I was nestling into was, first and foremost, the home of the deer.  The house was surrounded by windows and I could watch the deer, five in all, come wandering out of the woods at the back of the house, slowly munching on leaves as they meandered to the front where there were tender bushes to dine on.  The deer brought with them a reminder of gentleness and compassion.  When they were close enough, I was able to see their eyes and could feel the gentleness of their spirit.  Yet these deer were not skittish.  When I went out on the deck to watch them, the youngest one turned to me, stamped its front hoof firmly on the ground as if to say ‘This is mine’.  It was easy to agree.  This was the deer’s land.  They knew it inside and out and I was but a guest.

This feeling of being the guest of nature stayed with me throughout my retreat.  One morning, I woke very early and watched the sun rise over the water.  I went out for a walk and sat on the rocks by the sea.  A duck was also up to greet the day and swam a few feet from me, periodically diving under the water to feed.  Over to the right of me, a heron stood perfectly still, he too was watching for his morning meal.  Ripples formed around the duck as it slowly paddled away from me.  Small circles expanding ever outward. My heart seemed to echo the movement and to grow inside my chest.  The communion I felt in this place was softening me, helping me breathe easier and feel more peace.

My final morning, I made myself a cup of coffee and stood at the window looking out over the beauty of the land and ocean.  I had enjoyed my time here.  I felt fed and nourished by nature, by my meditation and by rest.

The words, You know what to do, were the only response I had received to my question:  how then shall I live?  I was a little perplexed by this, because my intellect wanted a more directive answer.  Suddenly, as I stood in front of the window gazing outward, I felt a deep outpouring from my heart.  It was like my heart poured out over the land, the water, the animals and the people to hold it all in an embrace.  A deep welling up and pouring forth that was accompanied by the words from deep within – ‘I want to care for this.’

Months later, I am still affected by those words.  This is how I am to live.  With deep and abiding care for all of creation.  I have always had a love for nature, but something shifted during that retreat.  My love for this earth expanded, deepened, transformed . . . I don’t have the exact word to describe it . . . the moment was a humble outpouring, while at the same time a deep filling up took place.  I felt awash with love for it all.

The gifts that arise out of these times of silent retreat are always deeply soul nourishing.  Entering the silence is an invitation to dance with God.  I find this dedicated time of silence is my willingness and consent to be ‘done unto’ and surrender my role of being the doer.  I like this place of sweet surrender.  My soul yearns for it.

I returned home from my retreat to write my vow for ordination.  The words formed themselves: I vow to show up with my heart and to live in service to Love.  This is how I shall live.


Kathy Roy is an Interfaith/Interspiritual Minister and a Spiritual Director trained in the Contemplative path.  She can often be found walking local beaches where she draws inspiration from nature.  She shares her reflections about the Contemplative on her blog KathyRoy.com.

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2 Comments November 1, 2017

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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