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
    • 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
    • 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)
  • Calendar
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Monk in the World Guest Post Series

Monk in the World Guest Post: Christine Aroney-Sine

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Christine Aroney-Sine's reflection, "Enter the Re-Wonderment of the World."

This year has been an amazing awe and wonder springtime on America’s west coast. In California the spectacular blooming of the desert brought thousands of people out to relish the brilliant oranges, yellows and purples of the flowers whose seeds lie dormant, sometimes for years waiting for rain. In Oregon brilliant purple lupines waved their heads across the mountainsides and here in Seattle, smiling daffodils gave way to tulips and azaleas and rhododendrons in blazing displays of red and pink, white and yellow.

Did you know that a daily dose of awe makes us more caring people? Nature walks boost our immune system and make us healthier and more emotionally stable people. They enrich our contemplative core and expand our horizons to explore new aspects of our world and of our God.

Unfortunately many of us don’t have time for God’s awe and wonder world. As Robert Macfarlane says in his wonderful book Landmarks: “we have stunned the world out of wonder”. We are too busy and too distracted to notice. We have replaced the mystery and majesty of our world and our God with mastery and desire for control.

It’s not just natural landscapes that open us to awe either. “Awe softens us for the thunder glance of God and then enables us to glance at others in just the same way.” says Father Greg Boyle an important homeless advocate in Los Angeles. Awe begets awe. Recognizing it in the natural world expands our vision to see God’s glory in the faces of friends and stranger alike.

So how do we open ourselves to a daily dose of awe and wonder? It doesn’t begin with a hurried walk through the neighbourhood though. It is a little like taking lectio divina out into the world, opening our minds, hearts and souls to the mystery of God’s presence in everything we see and experience.

First we must slow down and take notice. Most of us hurry through our neighborhoods, intent on where we are going rather than where we are. Slowing down and giving ourselves permission to savour everything we see, hear and touch is an important step towards appreciating its awe. Suddenly we notice not just the magnificent trees in our local parks but also the gardens in broken pavement and the beauty of dandelions in an abandoned lot. Then our eyes shift to the faces of strangers who pass us in the street. They too make us gasp in awe as we catch glimpses of the image of God in them.

Awe and wonder is rooted in silence. We don’t just hurry, we also go noisily through life constantly making noise or listening to it. On my daily lakeside walks I am amazed at how many fellow walkers are listening to music or talking to friends. They walk not for enjoyment but for exercise and hardly notice the beauty around them. Taking time to enter the silence in which God can speak to us about where we live and reveal the intricate details we need to notice is hard, yet necessary if we really want to see our surroundings as God does.

Third we need to take notice of the small and beautiful things. Awe can be triggered by an unexpected smile, a helping hand on the bus, graffiti on the wall. Giving ourselves permission to stop, notice and appreciate the inspiration of these things is a rare and precious gift. 

Fourth awe and wonder are enhanced when we seek out what gives us goosebumps. I recently walked around Beacon New York where my husband’s family live. I have always enjoyed walking the streets but this time looked with fresh awe and wonder eyes. I love the murals – from the famous “man with no face” to the mermaid/Hudson River image, their beauty and the story they tell never ceases to inspire me. This year there were new ones that caught my attention and filled me with awe.

Fifth awe and wonder helps us see the world differently. It changes our perspectives of what is beautiful and what is worthy of notice. Walk around your neighborhood with a houseless person, with someone from another culture or with a child. They will notice things you never see and have perspectives very different from your own. They will open your eyes to marvel at aspects of your community that you take for granted.

I encourage you to take time this week to enter into the wonder not just of God’s created world but also of the communities in which you live. Take your camera and a companion. What do you notice? What inspires you? Journal about your responses. Enjoy the re-wonderment of God’s world.


Contemplative activist, passionate gardener, author, and liturgist, Christine Aroney-Sine loves messing with spiritual traditions and inspiring followers of Jesus to develop creative approaches to spirituality that intertwine the sacred through all of life.  She is the founder and facilitator for the popular contemplative blog GodSpaceLight.com.   Her most recent book is The Gift of Wonder: Creative Practices for Delighting in God. (IVP 2019)

You can connect with her on

twitter https://twitter.com/ChristineSine 

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/christine.sine

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christine.sine/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/christinesine/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Christinesine

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Leave a Comment June 19, 2019

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

  • Monk in the World Guest Post: Reverend Deb Goldman
  • 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

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