Our next post in the Monk in the World series is from Claire Bangasser, whom I have known for several years now in the virtual world of writing on faith and spirituality. She makes regular pilgrimages on the Compostelle and the subtitle of her blog is “I re-imagine a Church engaged in dialogue with people at the margins,” a wonderful mission indeed.  She writes about justice and peace, women’s spirituality, and here shares about returning to her roots to encounter Godde*: A Spiritual Being Having a Human Experience “Not all are called to be artists in the specific sense of the

This week’s Monk in the World reflection come from Claudia Mair who blogs at Ragamuffin Diva and is the author of God Alone is Enough: A Spirited Journey with Teresa of Avila (as well as many novels including the Amanda Bell Brown Mystery Series). I’ve been online friends with Claudia for several years and always am moved by the honesty of her writing. She has the heart of a monk: willing to embrace humility and speak truth. If the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, mine has fallen into disrepair, which is why I surprised myself when I decided to

We continue our Monk in the World series of guest posts with a reflection from Carl McColman.  Carl has written some beautiful books about mysticism, introducing lay people to the term and inviting them to embrace its gifts for their own lives. I am pleased to welcome his (somewhat contrary) voice into this space: Living in the World (Whether or Not You’re a Monk) Ten years ago Wayne Teasdale wrote a book called A Monk in the World.  It’s based on an idea he received from Bede Griffiths, the Benedictine monk who founded a Christian ashram in India. The idea is

This summer I invited the 12 members of the Wisdom Council to each write a reflection on being a monk in the world. They were so well-received by the Abbey community, I decided to continue the series this fall by asking some fellow authors and bloggers I know to also write about living contemplatively in daily life. I am delighted to have such a lovely line up for you, beginning with Tara Owens, who I got to know initially through Spiritual Directors International and have grown to love her spirit and perspective on things. So I bring you some of her wisdom: To

This week brings us to our final guest post from Wisdom Council members!  And a wonderful way to finish is with my dear friend and teaching partner Betsey Beckman. Betsey and I met soon after I moved to Seattle over ten years ago. We discovered we made a beautiful partnership in bringing the gifts of the arts to others and created Awakening the Creative Spirit: Experiential Education in the Expressive Arts together, our 5-day residential intensive for soul care practitioners which is now in its 8th year (and later wrote a book together as well)!  Over the years we have partnered in

I am excited to share another Wisdom Council guest post, this time from Trish Bruxvoort Colligan. I met Trish first virtually several years ago when she was blogging and felt immediate kinship to her presence and spirit, not to mention her beautiful music which I often use in retreat settings and in several online courses. It was a gift to finally meet her at the Spiritual Directors International conference in San Francisco where she and her husband Richard were offering their musical gifts. Trish is working on a new album called Wild Acre, which I know is going to be gorgeous because I