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Reflections

Category: Monk in the World Guest Post Series

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Monk in the World Guest Post: Rachel Grandey

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to our Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Rachel Grandey’s reflection on bringing the heart of contemplative practice to research and opening to the questions. In 2023 I left my job of ten years as a teacher in South East Asia, to start the new adventure of a PhD back in my passport country. As I reflect on the past two years, I realise that the practice of persevering in being present to my studies is teaching me just as much about vocation as being

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Monk in the World Guest Post: Teresa Calpino

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Teresa Calpino’s reflection on wisdom from Mary Magdalene as the apostle and prophet of grief “I know why we try to keep the dead alive: we try to keep them alive, to keep them with us. I also know that if we are to live ourselves there comes a point at which we must relinquish the dead, let them go.”― Joan Didion, The Year of Magical Thinking Joan Didion is one of our prophets of grief. She testifies that

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Monk in the World Guest Post: Anne Marie Cribbin

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Anne Marie Cribbin’s reflection Embracing Celtic Rhythms through Sobriety. In a world that spins with relentless speed, I have found my sanctuary in the gentle rhythms of the Celtic calendar. Sobriety, an anchor in my life, has opened a door to a monastic way of being—a life steeped in mindfulness, simplicity, and sacred connection to the earth’s cycles. This journey is not just about abstaining from alcohol but about embracing a life that is intentional, reflective, and

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Monk in the World Guest Post: Jo-ed Tome

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to our Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Wisdom Council member Jo-ed Tome’s reflection Slower. Softer. Simpler. I did not exactly set out to become a monk. If someone had told my younger self that “monk” would one day be part of my self-description, I probably would have laughed and then quickly apologized because I was raised to be polite. But over the years, this monk-in-the-world identity has slowly revealed itself, not through lightning bolts or desert visions, but through the gentle rhythm of days

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Monk in the World Guest Post Call for Submissions

We welcome you to submit your reflection for possible publication in our Monk in the World guest post series. It is a gift to read how ordinary people are living lives of depth and meaning in the midst of the challenges of real life. There are so many talented writers and artists in this Abbey community, so this is a chance to share your perspective. The link to the reflection will be included in our weekly newsletter which goes out to thousands of subscribers. Submit your own post from one of the following categories on the general theme of “How do I live

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Monk in the World Guest Post: Kiki McGrath

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Kiki McGrath’s reflection and visual art essay Contemplative and Creative Practice. For the past year I have been drawing and painting in a copy of Revelations of Divine Love, responding to this visionary text with graphite, oil pastel, and watercolor paint. Inspired by Julian of Norwich’s mystical experiences, I find her medieval life equally compelling: for more than twenty years she lived alone in an anchorhold—a room attached to a church—and wrote what is now the earliest surviving

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Monk in the World Guest Post: Jamie Alm

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Jamie Alm’s reflection on contemplative presence and family life. How do I live as a monk in the world? How do I bring contemplative presence to my work and/or family? In my early days of motherhood, I would jealously read about monks with endless hours to contemplate beauty, goodness and truth in the silence of their cloistered lives. I envied their uninterrupted life. It looked so pure, so impenetrable. They lived in a spiritual fortress that could

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