I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Patricia Turner’s wisdom: My Practice of Being a Monk in the World: Photo Lectio – The Image as Icon Already I am being brought into a world where significant things are shown as images, and insight comes from shapes and patterns, from the visual rather than from the written word.   – Esther de Waal    To live as a monk in the world for me begins with spending as much time as possible in silent and solitary reflection.  I carve out

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community (you can read the call for submissions here). Read on for David Norling‘s wisdom about mindfulness and cultivating non-judgmental awareness: The Second Naïveté Judgment limits awareness, awareness limits judgment. I went through a phase in college where, in addition to Birkenstocks, I wore very simple clothing: cotton, loose fitting, monochromatic. There was a girl in one of my classes who asked if I was some kind of a monk. Without thinking, I said, “Yes.” The idea must have appealed to me. To imagine

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from Anneclaire LeRoyer (you can read the call for submissions here). She has been involved in the Abbey for several years and even joined us for our Vienna pilgrimage last year.  Read on for Anneclaire’s wisdom: A Monk and Artist in the World I am an aspiring monk and artist and I am on the best possible of adventures. There’s always room to grow! I am blessed to be part of Abbey of the Arts. For several years now I have gratefully drunk in

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community (you can read the call for submissions here). Jennifer has been involved with the Abbey for the last couple of years through various online courses and is studying to become a spiritual director.  Read on for Jennifer Trently’s wisdom: When I first began my journey of being a monk in the world in January 2012, I really had no idea what it would mean for me.   At first I thought, it would mean living a highly disciplined life and adopting

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community (you can read the call for submissions here). Read on for Peg’s wisdom: Trusting the Path We vacationed at a lake resort in northern Minnesota for several years nearly a decade ago, and enthusiastic fellow guests introduced us to the joys of hunting for agates, which are distinctive red-orange gemstones formed a billion years ago and transported to that area by glaciers. Particularly after a rain, an agate’s vivid opalescence stands out against the sand on a beach or a dirt

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community (you can read the call for submissions here). I got to meet fellow monk and artist/poet Laurie Klein this past fall when she attended the Sacred Rhythms Writing & Movement Retreat. It was a delight to get to know her soulful spirit. Read on for her wisdom: Romancing the Senses Blue as Devotion  Try to love this world, like a secret, a promise, a sacred tease: five hundred shades of blue—sea glass or sky, sapphire, jade, lapis lazuli. Cool hues play the rogue,

I am delighted to share our first submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community (you can read the call for submissions here). Teresa Knipper attended our Awakening the Creative Spirit intensive this past fall and it was a delight to get to know her playful spirit and her passion for butterflies. Read on for her wisdom: Waiting for God in the Deep Midwinter Recently I was watering my indoor plants and inspecting a late summer acquisition from the bargain rack of my local nursery. I cannot resist rescuing these orphans and trying my hand