Abbey of the Arts

Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts

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    • About John Valters Paintner
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  • Books
    • 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
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  • Programs
    • Walk the Ancient Paths: Pilgrimage
      • Monk in the World (Ireland)
      • Writing on the Wild Edges (Ireland)
      • Honoring Saints and Ancestors (Iona)
      • Vienna Monk in the World (Austria)
      • Hildegard of Bingen (Germany)
      • Sacred Rhythms of Sky, Sun, Sea, and Stone:
        An Embodied Writing and Voice Retreat (Ireland)
      • The Soul's Slow Ripening (Ireland)
    • Live Programs and Spiritual Retreats
      • Awakening the Creative Spirit: Experiential Education for Spiritual Directors in the Expressive Arts (Northwest)
      • Earth Monastery Intensive:
        Nourishing Intimacy with Nature for Soul Care Practitioners (Scotland)
    • Community Online Retreats
      • Jubilee Year Community Retreat:
        Exploring Sacred Rhythms of Time
    • Self-Study Spirituality Online Classes
      • 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
      • 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 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
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Abbess love notes, Monk in the World

Monk in the World: Reflection Questions and Blessing (Silence and Solitude) ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims,

During this Jubilee year of sabbatical we are revisiting our Monk Manifesto by moving slowly through the Monk in the World retreat materials together every Sunday. Each week will offer new reflections on the theme and every six weeks will introduce a new principle.

Principle One: I commit to finding moments each day for silence and solitude, to make space for another voice to be heard, and to resist a culture of noise and constant stimulation.

Spend some time in quiet reflection on the following questions. You might take out your journal and pen and free-write in response to see what you discover.

What is one thing in your life you could let go of for the next few days to make space for the grace of silence?

In what ways do you experience silence as a presence and fullness in your life rather than the mere absence of noise?

Closing Blessing from Christine

Holy Giver of Silence
Sustain me in these sacred spaces
and embrace me with your presence.
I pause each day to listen to your whisperings
which call me to a deepened way of being.
I enter the quiet and ask for the courage to respond
to what I discover in that tabernacle of time.

With great and growing love,

Christine

Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE

Photo © Christine Valters Paintner

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Leave a Comment September 1, 2019

Upcoming Programs

Jubilee Year Community Retreat:
Exploring Sacred Rhythms of Time
(ONLINE)

June 2019-June 2020
with Christine & John Valters Paintner and Wisdom Council members

The Wisdom of Mary and the Sacred Feminine:
A 30-day self-study retreat
(Use code Mary20 for 20% off in December)
with Christine & John Valters Paintner, Betsey Beckman, Jamie Marich, and Sibyl Dana Reynolds

Recent Reflections

  • Monk in the World Guest Post: Jen Arendt
  • Monk in the World: Kinship with Creation 2 – Scripture Reflection by John ~ A Note from your Online Abbot
  • Featured Poet: Mary C. Earle
  • Monk in the World: Kinship with Creation 1 ~ Reflection by Christine
  • Dancing Monk Icons on Sale!

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