I am so delighted to be starting a weekly series of guest posts from each of the Wisdom Council members, with their reflections on what being a monk in the world and an artist in everyday life means for them, in the context of their own work and ministries. It is with great pleasure that I host Dana Reynolds of Sacred Life Arts for our first installment.  I have worked with Dana as both a participant in Abbey retreats, as well as a collaborator and co-creator of Abbey programs (she helped to create the Advent 2011 retreat and the wonderful Women on the Threshold program. 

I am delighted to share this guest post from Nancy Wiens about being a monk in the world through wilderness rites of passage.  Nancy and I were in the doctoral program at the Graduate Theological Union together many years ago and shared much kinship in our passions then, as well as now.  Back when I was studying Hildegard of Bingen and viriditas, Nancy was exploring discernment within the context of the natural world.  Read on for more of her insights: I am not a monk in the classical sense and thus do not live in a traditional monastery.  But very often