with Christine & John Valters Paintner, and Jamie Marich Facilitated by Melissa Layer and Amber Andreasen April 13-June 7, 2020 You are also warmly invited to join us for The Soul of a Pilgrim, an online retreat in community starting April 13 for 8 weeks. We will deepen into our ... read more
Join us for Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist ~ A love note from your online abbess
Dearest monks and artists, Be. Here. This Moment Now is all there is, don’t go seeking another. Discover the sacred in your artist’s tools, they are the vessels of the altar of your own unfolding. Look at this cup of holy water, washing clean the brushes. See the blank page, awaiting your ... read more
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
Sacred Time: An Online Retreat for Advent & Christmas
Advent invites us into the holy practice of waiting and attending the birth that is coming. Christmas calls us to celebrate that birth with wonder and awe. Our culture tells us the season should be filled with shopping and rushing. The wisdom of ancient monastic practices tells us that this is ... read more
Honoring Saints and Ancestors
Dearest monks and artists, We are approaching the Celtic feast of Samhain, the great doorway into the dark half of the year in the northern hemisphere and a time when the veil is considered especially thin. This is my favorite time of year, when I feel the most energized and my heart comes alive ... read more
The Call to Savor + Join us for Coming Home to Your Body ~ A love note from your online abbess
Dearest monks and artists, Our upcoming online retreat for women Coming Home to Your Body starts on Monday, September 21st. I have been offering you very brief excerpts to ponder your own ways of contemplative embodiment. Here is the last installment: Only by welcoming uncertainty from the ... read more
Featured Self-Study for September: Hildegard of Bingen
To celebrate the feast of St Hildegard of Bingen we are offering a $10 discount off the cost of the Creative Flourishing in the Desert self-study retreat. It includes rich reflections from Christine on Hildegard’s spirituality for today, daily invitations to draw mandalas, links to her music, and ... read more