I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Amy Oden’s reflection “Christian Mindfulness Practice.” It started with the hunger I heard around me for more authentic, rooted, present lives. Seminary students and church folks, directees and retreat participants, all longing to be present in their actual lives instead of rushing from one thing to the next. They were hungry for lives less curated and edited and more authentic and real. I began to trace two thousand years of Christian mindfulness practice as a doorway into

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Janeen Adil’s reflection on the holiness of food. Farmland surrounded the small Midwestern towns where my parents grew up. Families there typically had a vegetable garden, including the Victory Gardens of the Second World War era. When my parents married, moved to Connecticut, and began raising a family, a large garden out back became a permanent fixture. Dad tended the plot, Mom tended what it produced, and we kids helped when and where needed. We were living

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Paula Frazier’s reflection “Savoring the And Ten.” Hospitality is a family legacy. There was always room for one more at the table. There was always space for someone who needed a place. My aunts reminisced about my grandfather feeding potato pancakes to all the neighborhood children. When I married, my husband and I continued to open our home to others. We hosted weekly fellowships with food and music. We housed friends in need. Our doors were always

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Wisdom Council member and long time Abbey contributor Richard Bruxvoort Colligan’s reflection Work and Presence. Show of hands: Who else slows down in winter time? I used to resist it. Maybe I felt like integrity meant being productive all the time. Maybe good, responsible grown-ups should push through anything, including Midwestern blizzard season!  During the pandemic lockdown, I noticed I was learning a thing I thought I had learned before: to notice my body, notice the pace

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Rev. Roger Butts’ reflection “This Realm of Love.” Jesus’ Sermon on the Mountain impacts me deeply. His beatitudes bring me fresh inspiration to face the day and find my way. Blessed are the peacemakers. Blessed are those who mourn. I love the rhythm. I love the aspiration. I love the vision. On a gorgeous, sunny, blue autumn day, I noticed how the sun washed all things in beauty. I thought of all the blessings I encountered. I