I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World Guest post series from the community. Read on for Jo-Ellen’s reflection adapted from her book, Journaling as a Spiritual Path: A Journey to Your True Self  and the Divine (Wild Ginger Press, 2022). Journaling is Primarily a Labor of Self-Love  Journaling is a way to stay close to myself and to the God of my understanding. It is loving  myself enough to want to engage in the deep mystery and truth of my own self, not only things  of the past, but in the here and

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Almut Furchert’s reflection, “Contemplating the Poignancy of Motherhood: A Mother’s Day Reflection.” Some experiences are universally shared, like the pain and joy of understanding yourself.  Others are reserved only for some to experience. For instance the odd feeling when new life first stirs in your womb. Before, I only listened to mothers’ stories of having born, tended to, worried about or lost a child. But only when it happened to me could I walk into those feelings. Now I

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. Please follow these instructions carefully: Please click this link to read a selection of the posts

I’m delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Vanessa’s Caruso’s reflection and poem. I’d heard of The Artist’s Rule a few times before I finally ordered a copy. Covid lockdowns had begun and four other friends found their way to the book, and we gathered on Zoom to share our work. The exercise that had captured my imagination was writing a poem after Edward Hirsch’s I’m Going To Start Living Like a Mystic. I was becoming a novice in a neo-monastic community and followed the chapter’s prompts by writing about