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 and get a feel for the

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to our Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Michele Chung’s reflection, “Always We Begin Again.” I first learned about this phrase “begin again” right here on Abbey of the Arts. It is the best piece of wisdom for a recovering perfectionist like me. The idea to “begin again” gave me permission to stop the incessant self-criticism and this obsession to dwell on my latest “failed” attempts. It reminded me to focus on moving forward in my journey. Growth is often a dance that takes three

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Amanda K. Berg’s reflection Surrender and Gratitude. “Surrender and Gratitude”  – St. Therese Lisieux As the wheels of the plane touched ground in Los Angeles, that place in the deepest part of my gut awakened.  You know that place too. It is the place that comes alive when you experience a sense of loss, like losing a loved one or ending a relationship. It comes alive when you realize that you are lost, like a child in the

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Johanneke Strydom’s reflection “Wasting Time. . .” I have this fear of wasting time…  Not to do something worthwhile.  Not to be able to show something for my time spent.  Not to produce…I measure the success of my day in the things done to make the world a better place.  Things produced…  Beauty created. And the hours in between as wasted.  Wasted with things like cooking and washing and reading and relaxing.  The mundane.  Nothing to show.  What

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Sophia Diehl’s reflection A Dance of Stillness.  Sometimes I go to a contact improvisation class to pray. As a dance student, trained to speak through the language of the body, contact improvisation allows me to enter into an intimate conversation with another person. Developed along with the rise of modern dance in the 1960s, this movement form requires a sharing of weight, a spontaneous giving and receiving with a dance partner.  In my prayer life, I find myself

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series. Read on for David LaBelle’s reflection “A Visual Love Letter.” For 50 years, I have dreamed about photographing God. In the past, I even kidded that when I died, I wanted my family to place a Nikon F camera loaded with 100 ASA film in the casket with me. I figure I won’t need a fast film with a high ISO because there will be plenty of light, and I’d sure like to be the first to photograph heaven. Indirectly, from the first

We are thrilled and delighted to be releasing a brand new compilation of songs, curated from some wonderful musicians we know and love. These are songs for Celtic seekers as they are inspired by the tradition of pilgrimage in Ireland and accompany Christine’s newest book which will be released in September 2018 from Ave Maria Press – The Soul’s Slow Ripening: 12 Celtic Practices for Seekers of the Sacred. For six weeks we will be featuring the musicians from this album who so generously agreed to share their beautiful music with our community for this project. Next up is Margaret