I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Michael Schoenhofer’s reflection “Awe.” Awe: It’s a key to well-being “an overwhelming feeling of  reverence, admiration, wonder produced by that which is grand, sublime, powerful. . .” (Dictionary.com ). Joshua Tree National Park My wife Mary and I traveled out west for a little sunshine and warmth during the last week of January. Our aim was to walk the trails in Joshua Tree National Park near Palm Springs, California. We flew to Las Vegas, rented a car,

We have collectively entered into a time and space of threshold, when the old has fallen away and the new has not yet come into being. In the Celtic imagination, thresholds were places where the veil between heaven and earth was especially thin and so we had access to a deeper connection with the spiritual wisdom of the divine, of the saints and mystics, and of our ancestors. Paraclete Press invited Christine Valters Paintner to speak about Celtic wisdom for the times we are in. Below is the recording of the session which includes teaching, meditation, and poetry. This is

We have a brand new album out now with 14 beautiful songs to cultivate our intimacy with Earth. So grateful to our musicians Richard Bruxvoort Colligan, Simon de Voil, Betsey Beckman, Lorraine Bayes, and Peter Mayer for sharing their gifts with Abbey of the Arts. The album accompanies Christine’s newest book and soon there will be dances to accompany all the songs as well!  The album is available as a CD or a digital download. Special discount if you purchase the digital download of all three of our albums.  Order the album as digital download or CD here>>  

Ave Maria Press is having a huge sale on their e-book versions of their titles including 7 of the 8 books Christine Valters Paintner has published with them (AND this includes her newest one coming on April 3rd). Sale goes until April 15th! Earth, Our Original Monastery is $8.99 The Soul’s Slow Ripening is $4.99 The Wisdom of the Body is $2.99 Illuminating the Way is $2.99 The Soul of a Pilgrim is 99 cents! The Artist’s Rule is 99 cents! Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire is 99 cents! Visit Amazon, B&N, Kobo, and GooglePlay to purchase! Note: Eyes of

Praise be the nurses and doctors, every medical staff bent over flesh to offer care, for lives saved and lives lost, for showing up either way, Praise for the farmers, tilling soil, planting seeds so food can grow, an act of hope if ever there was, Praise be the janitors and garbage collectors, the grocery store clerks, and the truck drivers barreling through long quiet nights, Give thanks for bus drivers, delivery persons, postal workers, and all those keeping an eye on water, gas, and electricity, Blessings on our leaders, making hard choices for the common good, offering words of

Dear monks, artists, and pilgrims, During this Jubilee year of sabbatical we are revisiting our Monk Manifesto by moving slowly through the Monk in the World retreat materials together every Sunday. Each week will offer new reflections on the theme and every six weeks will introduce a new principle. Principle 6: I commit to rhythms of rest and renewal through the regular practice of Sabbath and resist a culture of busyness that measures my worth by what I do. Exodus 20:1-11 The Ten Commandments Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house

I am really delighted to have four poems published at the online journal impspired! You can read them at this link  – “Wittgenstein in Connemara,” “Love Letter,” “Nocturne,” and “Poetry on Four Paws.” The editor also let me know that the last time they published my poems back in August, it was the most read page on their website and I am the second most read author on their site since starting. What all that means is I have an amazing and wonderfully supportive community of readers which is all a writer can dream of. A deep bow of gratitude to