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: Jamie Marich

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read of for Jamie Marich's reflection "Jerusalem."

I can fit the old city
In the palm of my hand
From where I stand
On the Mt. of Olives

Oh, Jerusalem—
The vision of what
Spirituality could be
And yet religion divides you

Religion causes war
Religion tears people to shreds
Because everyone believes
Their word to be the holiest

Yet as I hold Jerusalem
In the palm of my hand
I know that the Holy of Holies
Lives inside of me

All of this beauty will not last
And if the last war destroys the last building
True holiness remains
In the hearts of those left to bear witness

During my first trip to Israel in June 2018, I had the privilege of meeting two individuals who shared key insights with me. The first was Alexandra Cohen, a Jewish woman I met through common friends of ours in a yoga community to which we both belong. Alexandra (Arti) is a teacher and a writer who lives in Israel. In a riveting conversation that took place on a Saturday night in Haifa, she shared this magnificent reflection about the Holy of Holies as something that exists within us. Her teaching on the Holy of Holies corresponds with a core truth of yoga, specifically emphasized in the lineage in which we study. As she observes in her teaching, so much of the conflict and bloodshed is about where the external expression of the Holy calls home.

Is bloodshed and conflict among peoples inevitable unless we recognize that the Divine is within us? Does fear drive us to do insane things to each other because we somehow fear that we’re missing out on something? Something magical, mystical, special, and chosen? As I travelled to Jerusalem and toured through the sacred city the following day, the questions prompted by Alexandra’s insights stirred within me. I hope that my new friend continues to share her ideas on this with the world because in them, I believe, exists a pathway to greater peace and enlightenment.

The next evening at sunset, a Palestinian taxi driver named “Jimmy” offered to take me up to the Mt. of Olives, the famous place where Jesus prayed on Holy Thursday before he was arrested. Jimmy told me, “It’s the best view in all of Jerusalem. You can really hold the whole city in the palm of your hand.” And when I got out of the cab to take in the view shown in my pictures, I was amazed. I extended my hand and discovered that the entirety of the Old City rested on my palm. I was so glad I accepted this offer to take in the view. Experiencing Jerusalem in the palm of my hand is an experience I can never forget. As I engaged in that practice, I savored a wild sense of integration about what Jimmy taught me and what Alexandra taught me. I am a Catholic-Christian by heritage and in meeting both Israeli and Palestinian people on my journey, so many of the dots about my spiritual journey connected. What I learned was so overwhelming I found it difficult to put into an essay or any more substantive discourse. I hope that this poem and these pictures offer you a glimpse into my internal process of engaging with the Holy Land, its complexities, its perils, and its wonders. How you engage with Jerusalem may teach you more about yourself than you ever realized.


Jamie Marich, Ph.D., LPCC-S, LICDC-CS, REAT, RMT travels internationally speaking on topics related to EMDR therapy, trauma, addiction, expressive arts and mindfulness while maintaining a private practice in her home base of Warren, OH. She is the developer of the Dancing Mindfulness practice (www.dancingmindfulness.com). Jamie is the author of four books, including the popular EMDR Made Simple. She is co-author with Dr. Stephen Dansiger on her most recent book, EMDR Therapy and Mindfulness for Trauma Focused Care.

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Leave a Comment October 24, 2018

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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