Abbey of the Arts

Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts

  • About
    • About the Abbey
    • About Christine Valters Paintner
    • About John Valters Paintner
    • About the Wisdom Council
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  • Books
    • Earth, Our Original Monastery:
      Cultivating Wonder and Gratitude through Intimacy with Nature
    • Dreaming of Stones: Poems
    • The Soul's Slow Ripening:
      12 Celtic Practices for Seeking the Sacred
    • The Wisdom of the Body:
      A Contemplative Journey to Wholeness for Women
    • Illuminating the Way:
      Embracing the Wisdom of Monks and Mystics
    • The Soul of a Pilgrim:
      Eight Practices for the Journey Within
    • Eyes of the Heart:
      Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice
    • The Artist's Rule: Nurturing Your Creative Soul with Monastic Wisdom
    • Desert Mothers and Fathers: Early Christian Wisdom Sayings Annotated & Explained
    • Lectio Divina–The Sacred Art: Transforming Words and Images into Heart-Centered Prayer
    • Water, Wind, Earth & Fire: The Christian Practice of Praying with the Elements
    • Awakening the Creative Spirit:
      Bringing the Arts to Spiritual Direction
    • Lectio Divina: Contemplative Awakening & Awareness
  • Icons
  • Music & DVD
  • Videos
  • Programs
    • Walk the Ancient Paths: Pilgrimage
      • Monk in the World (Ireland)
      • Writing on the Wild Edges (Ireland)
      • Honoring Saints and Ancestors (Iona)
      • Vienna Monk in the World (Austria)
      • Hildegard of Bingen (Germany)
      • Sacred Rhythms of Sky, Sun, Sea, and Stone:
        An Embodied Writing and Voice Retreat (Ireland)
      • The Soul's Slow Ripening (Ireland)
    • Live Programs and Spiritual Retreats
      • Awakening the Creative Spirit: Experiential Education for Spiritual Directors in the Expressive Arts (Northwest)
      • Earth Monastery Intensive:
        Nourishing Intimacy with Nature for Soul Care Practitioners (Scotland)
    • Community Online Retreats
      • Jubilee Year Community Retreat:
        Exploring Sacred Rhythms of Time
    • Self-Study Spirituality Online Classes
      • Creative Flourishing in the Heart of the Desert:
        An Online Retreat with St. Hildegard of Bingen
      • Dreaming of the Sea:
        A women's discernment journey through the story of the Selkie
      • Exile and Coming Home:
        An Archetypal Journey through the Scriptures
      • Eyes of the Heart:
        Photography as Contemplative Practice
        (Companion retreat to the book)
      • Honoring Saints and Ancestors:
        Online Retreat for the Season of Remembrance
      • Lectio Divina:
        The Sacred Art of Reading the World
      • A Midwinter God:
        Making a Conscious Underworld Journey
      • Sacred Seasons:
        A Yearlong Journey through the Celtic Wheel of the Year
      • The Soul of a Pilgrim:
        Eight Practices for the Journey Within
        (a companion retreat to the book)
      • The Soul's Slow Ripening: 12 Celtic Practices for Seekers of the Sacred (a companion retreat to the book)
      • Water, Wind, Earth & Fire
      • Watershed Moments
        in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures
      • Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist:
        A 12-Week Companion Retreat to The Artist's Rule
      • The Wisdom of the Body:
        A 10-Week Online Companion Retreat to the Book
      • The Wisdom of Mary and the Sacred Feminine
  • Calendar
  • Reflections
  • Contact

Abbess love notes, Creativity, Lenten Online Retreat, Nature, Online Retreats

Creativity and Social Transformation

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, Last week I shared that 2016 marks the 10th anniversary of Abbey of the Arts’ existence as a virtual monastery. I will be reflecting back on some of my reflections from the Archives and tracing the development of the Abbey this year.  From the beginning, my ... read more

Leave a Comment January 24, 2016

Cycles and Seasons, Nature, Retreats

The Elements as Wise Guides and Companions | January 29, 2016

10.00am - 4.30pm | Arrupe Room, Milltown, Ranelagh, Dublin 6 Join me in Dublin for a day of retreat with the AISGA (All Ireland Spiritual Guidance Association, non-members welcome to register). As we approach the feast of Imbolc and St Brigid, we will gather together to pause and listen for ... read more

Leave a Comment January 4, 2016

Earth Monastery Project, Nature

Earth Monastery Project Grant Winners

The Earth Monastery Project is a small grant project we administer to help encourage projects which nourish an earth-cherishing consciousness through contemplative practice and creative expression. We were delighted with our batch of applications and have selected the following four to receive a ... read more

Leave a Comment October 23, 2015

Nature

Everything is holy now

Betsey Beckman and I led the Friday evening plenary session for the Spiritual Directors International conference in Atlanta on "Cultivating the Elements of a Compassionate Heart" where we explored the four sacred elements of water, wind, earth, and fire through visual art, writing, movement, and ... read more

14 Comments June 6, 2011

Nature

The Gifts of Winter

Meet Amma Winter.  Amma is the title given to those sage women who lived in the desert in the 3rd century offering their wisdom to seekers.  They lived in harsh and barren landscapes and so were intimate with the wilderness of the soul.  Winter is a rescue, she entered our lives last week and has ... read more

13 Comments January 17, 2011

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Upcoming Programs

Jubilee Year Community Retreat:
Exploring Sacred Rhythms of Time
(ONLINE)

June 2019-June 2020
with Christine & John Valters Paintner and Wisdom Council members

The Wisdom of Mary and the Sacred Feminine:
A 30-day self-study retreat
(Use code Mary20 for 20% off in December)
with Christine & John Valters Paintner, Betsey Beckman, Jamie Marich, and Sibyl Dana Reynolds

Recent Reflections

  • Featured Poet: Mary C. Earle
  • Monk in the World: Kinship with Creation 1 ~ Reflection by Christine
  • Dancing Monk Icons on Sale!
  • Give Me a Word 2020
  • Monk in the World Guest Post: Linda Parrington

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