I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Peter Nagle’s reflection on retiring to the edge. My life partner Joy and I are from New Hampshire and Ct. We’ve been married 20 years coming up and worked together in our former business: A Private Financial Advisory Firm. It was a 38 year career for me. I always considered what I did a ministry. But both of us longed to find a quieter, more simple life. That opportunity presented itself 3 years ago when, out of

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Susan Fish’s reflection “Stilling the Whirlwind.” “I begin to understand why the saints were rarely married women,” wrote Anne Morrow Lindbergh in her classic book, A Gift from the Sea. “I am convinced it has nothing inherently to do, as I once supposed, with chastity or children. It has to do primarily with distractions. The bearing, rearing, feeding and educating of children; the running of a house with its thousand details; human relationships with their myriad pulls—woman’s

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for LeAnne Nesbitt’s reflection “A Circuitous Journey:  Reflections on Two Years of Mandala Making.” A little over two years ago I was facilitating a SoulCollage® workshop at a women’s retreat and serving as event photographer when I made my way over to take pictures of a mandala workshop also being offered that weekend.  After some basic instruction on the mandala form, participants were asked to go out on the grounds in pairs and work together in silence to

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Melinda Thomas’ reflection “The Season of Many Hats.” The other day I was reading through Christine’s latest book The Soul’s Slow Ripening: 12 Celtic Practices for Seeking the Sacred and pulling quotes for the daily emails when I came across this gem. “Out of all the many things calling for attention: Which one is it the season for?” In the season before I had a child my days were long, open spaces for contemplative practice. I journaled and

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Tara Shepersky’s reflection “Anxiety & Radical Hospitality.” I’m alone this weekend, on retreat above the Pacific. Sitting beneath a fuchsia hedge, the loudest sound is the vrzzzzz! of the bright-green hummingbirds, who’ve grown used to my presence. I heard something very faint half a minute ago, and it took me these thirty seconds to parse it as the musical approach of geese. If you value silence, as I do – cultivating it within, and breathing relief at

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Michele Chung’s reflection “Finding New Friends In My Journey.” Being a Monk in the World has been quite an exciting adventure. However, what I didn’t expect was that when I went on my journey, I had to leave my friends and old support groups behind. It didn’t happen right away, but in the span of a year, my small inner circle of friends had mostly moved out of town for personal reasons.  Over the next few years,

At the end of August, 17 creative souls gathered with us for our retreat on Inismor – Writing on the Wild Edges of the World. We had a wonderful group with participants from all over the U.S., Canada, Singapore, and Australia. I am delighted to share some of their poems over these next few weeks. Pour a cup of tea, imagine yourself on a windswept limestone island in the Atlantic, and savor for a while. These haiku were written by Mike Philley:  ancient beehive hut— grayed stones etched with gold prayers of lichen   winged peregrine soaring above the sea