A Blessing for Creativity*
Spirit of Holy Imagination,
we ask you to bless our vision
with the wisdom to see what is possible.
Help us trust our desire to create
through color, word, shape, gesture, and song.
When our fingers tremble
at picking up a pen or marker,
connect us to the joy of playing
on the white page,
drawing, doodling, dabbling, dreaming,
letting our lives
be a canvas for expression.
When judgments arise
and the inner critic yells,
guide us to hear our intuitions
whispering the way ahead
with quiet confidence.
When our feet feel restless,
inspire us to play music
and dance freely
until peace descends again.
Connect us to the freedom
of making something
for the love of it.
Speak to us in dreams
of what you desire
to create together with us,
making the world
a great work of art.
Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims.
New Year blessings to each and every one of you. I pray that your holiday season brought many moments of richness and connection.
I am delighted that we are offering a reprise of Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist, the 12-week companion retreat to The Artist’s Rule with loads more resources and practices for you. Hard to believe that this book was published 15 years ago now and that we last offered the community version of this program over 5 years ago. We are long overdue to bring it back and help to nourish our inner monks and artists together.
Here is the foreword of The Artist’s Rule which Benedictine Sister Macrina Wiederkehr, who has since passed away, wrote so graciously in support of this work. She had participated in one of the early versions of the online retreats and it was a delight to have her presence.
________
And don’t we all, with fierce hunger, crave a cave of solitude,
a space of deep listening—full of quiet darkness and stars,
until finally we hear a syllable of God
echoing in the cave of our hearts?
—Macrina Wiederkehr
When Benedict of Nursia abandoned his studies in Rome, he found his way to a cave in the hills of Subiaco. This cave would become his sacro speco (sacred space), for it was there that Benedict devoted three years of his life to search for God. Out of his deep listening in the cave of solitude was born one of the most loved rules of all ages—The Rule of St. Benedict.
The Artist’s Rule has the potential of becoming your own sacro speco. Just as Benedict spent three years of solitude in a cave, this inspiring work invites you to spend twelve weeks in the cave of your heart, nurturing your creative soul and sitting at the feet of your inner monk.
The monk, a universal archetype of the search for the divine, represents everything in you that leans toward the sacred, all that reaches for what is eternal. The monk represents everything within you that is drawn to seek with unwavering love, to wait for the Holy One with reverential awe, to praise, bow and adore.
The artist speaks to that part of you which yearns for beauty and creativity. Your inner artist invites you to participate in the great work of healing the world by lifting out of your senses creative images, words and actions that inspire others to live lives of wonder and surprise.
Christine Valters Paintner’s joyous spirit and love for the monastic way shines through her teaching as she describes the various ways the tools of the monk can become tools for the artist. The Benedictine vows of stability, conversion, and obedience can become a staff of support, leading you to a greater faithfulness to your creative soul.
Both the monk and the artist have fundamental voices that are needed for the transformation of our world.
Although many writers have tried to help us open the door to our creativity, The Artist’s Rule seems unique in revealing to us a special kinship between the monk and the artist. The threads of monastic wisdom woven through these pages can serve as an “endowment fund.” Dip into this sacred reservoir when you need the discipline to align your heart’s desires with your actions.
Having had the good fortune of being a participant in Christine’s online course, “Way of the Monk; Path of the Artist,” I know experientially that the artist and monk cannot be hurried. An artist who hurries has lost his original integrity. A monk who hurries has lost a little of her soul. Both monk and artist are teachers of the contemplative way.
This jewel of a book will help you tap the eternal in your deep soul. Let the monk and the artist, who have always been your silent companions, lead you to your inner monastery and to your inner art studio. Christine will be your trustworthy guide.
________
Please join us for the 12-week journey in community which begins January 12th! With all kinds of added content from the last time we offered this program including additional creative practices and guest teacher conversations, it will be a rich experience for all monks and artists!
Also, tomorrow, Simon and I will be joined by Richard Bruxvoort Colligan for our monthly contemplative prayer service on the theme of epiphany!
With great and growing love,
Christine
Christine Valters Paintner, OblSB, PhD, REACE
*Blessing is from Christine’s forthcoming book A Book of Everyday Blessings: 100 Prayers for Dancing Monks, Artists, and Pilgrims (Ave Maria Press)
