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
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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
    • 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)
      • Journey with the Desert Mothers and Fathers
        (SELF-STUDY)
      • 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: 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

  • 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

  • A mini-poetry reading from Christine plus other publishing news
  • 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

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