I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Beth Booram‘s reflections about the spiritual practice of hospitality: Hospitality and Hugs I was hugging someone goodbye recently when she commented, “Oooh, you’re a good hugger. Thank you!” Her comment seemed genuine and encouraged me because of my awareness that this “good hug” was given with intention. It’s part of what it means for me to offer hospitality. Ever since my husband, David, and I moved into our retreat center and home and began welcoming guests, we’ve been students of

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Stephanie Jenkins‘ reflections about spiritual direction and the contemplative life: Disrobe The wide expanse of sky echoes your heart’s desire and you glimpse for a clear moment the wings of your own soul soaring. It is time to stop tinkering with borrowed dreams that you wear like an ill-fitting dress— stiff-collared, pleated skirt, your arms limited by taffeta sleeves. It is time to shed the layers and slip into your own luminous skin. Tentatively, at first, you begin to disrobe.

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for June Mears Driedger’s reflections about spiritual direction and the contemplative life: Following the call of being a monk in the world through spiritual direction. I enter the room for spiritual direction. My director, J. is there, lighting a candle and smiling as she greets me. I meet with her about every four-six weeks, depending on our schedules. This is a discipline I practice to deepen my relationship with God and enables me to be a monk in the world. With

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Carmen Brown’s poetic wisdom on living as a monk in the world: During a particularly difficult loss in my life, I discovered the path of the contemplative.  This dark night of the soul caught me unexpected, unaware—grasping  and gasping for relief and answers.  Divinely, I met Christine Valters Paintner through her website and later her books.  For the first time in my life, I felt home — a place where the expression of my soul found a voice, resonance, and

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Dianne Jones’ wisdom on living as a monk in the world: Stop Breathe Believe – A Beginning to a New Way of Being Several years ago I began PrairieFire, a three-year program of spiritual formation, to learn to walk alongside others in the process of slowing down and discovering the heart of their spirituality.  My classmates and I often called ourselves the Monkettes.  We learned together, we cried together, we dared greatly together, we shared deeply with one another, we listened

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Lance Baker’s reflections about cultivation as a metaphor for our spiritual life and practice: A Life of Cultivation A certain form of existential paralysis has shadowed my inner life in the past. I’ve had so many questions, dreams, longings, and have been exposed to a range of paradigm-shifting experiences in a relatively short period of time. As a result, I spent a number of years paralyzed by indecision and lacked discernment on how to operate the world with meaning, purpose, and

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Kate Kennington Steer’s wisdom on living as a monk in the world through illness: powerlessness and infinite possibility What if we knew that within our very cells is a God-given energy, a source of light that possesses the secret of God’s beautiful and complex design? (Paula D’Arcy) In 2008, when I was experiencing acute depression, I was sitting in a group therapy session attempting to describe how I felt. Getting to these sessions early in the morning was a huge trial