For the last several months, we have been embarking on an exciting creative project and collaboration.  It started with choosing 12 dancing monks to be a part of the original Dancing Monk Icon series painted by Marcy Hall.  These icons were meant to depict some beloved monks and mystics in a joyful and colorful way, reminding us of our call to dance through this life. We had the inspiration to feature a dancing monk for each week of our Advent/Christmas and Epiphany/New Year’s online retreats. My wonderful teaching partner Kayce Hughlett, is a trained SoulCollage® facilitator and will be offering this gift

For the last several months, we have been embarking on an exciting creative project and collaboration.  It started with choosing 12 dancing monks to be a part of the original Dancing Monk Icon series painted by Marcy Hall.  These icons were meant to depict some beloved monks and mystics in a joyful and colorful way, reminding us of our call to dance through this life. I have been following with a series of poems I am slowly writing about each of these wondrous figures, choosing moments in their stories to illuminate. Then we had the inspiration to feature a dancing monk for each

In September, I traveled to beautiful Cape May, NJ to lead one of my favorite retreats: Sacred Rhythms Writing and Movement Retreat (I need to work on scheduling another one soon, perhaps in Ireland!)  An amazing group of 18 dancing monks gathered and we had a time full of joy, depth, and beauty together. We followed the monastic hours of the day with time for yoga, dance, and writing, so that we could explore what happens to our writing when we move into a more embodied place. What unfolds and flowers is always powerful! Several dancing monks were willing to share

I am so delighted to announce that Marcy Hall of Rabbit Room Arts has made all 12 of the dancing monk icons available to order as prints. The prints are 5.5 x 10 inches and the mat is 11×14. The dancing monk series includes: Benedict of Nursia, Hildegard of Bingen, Brigid of Kildare, Brendan the Navigator, Francis of Assisi, Mary, King David, Prophet Miriam, Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Amma Syncletica. Discounts on multiple prints and part of the proceeds goes to support the Earth Monastery Project. If you place your order by October 31, 2014, the

We are offering the occasional review of some of our favorite books on the contemplative life. This review of Prayer in the Cave of the Heart* by Cyprian Consiglio is written by long-time fellow monk in the world Edith O’Nuallain: Cyprian Consiglio , a Camaldolese monk, wrote his book Prayer in the Cave of the Heart as an introduction to contemplative prayer. The sub-title says it all,  ‘universal call to contemplation’, a phrase penned by contemplative monk, Fr Bede Griffith, whose life’s work bore witness to the belief that contemplation is available to everyone, not just cloistered monastics. Consiglio believes that eastern traditions

We are so delighted to be bringing you this Novena of Resurrection, a nine-day prayer experience with the theme of Earth as Our Original Monastery. To be a monk in the world means to recognize the vibrancy and wisdom of creation for our own spiritual unfolding. Thomas Merton believed the central role of a monk was to attend to the beauty of nature: How necessary it is for monks to work in the fields, in the rain, in the sun, in the mud, in the clay, in the wind: these are our spiritual directors and our novice-masters. They form our

Our wonderful artist-in-residence Marcy Hall, the creativity behind our amazing series of dancing monks, has completed the second four in the series of dancing monks. You can stop by her website to order a beautiful print reproduction of Francis of Assisi, Brendan the Navigator, King David or Prophet Miriam. Please note: orders must be placed by the end of August and shipping will take place at the end of September. 50% of the purchase price goes to support the Earth Monastery Project and the Abbey scholarship fund. There are four more icons coming in this initial series: Thomas Merton, Rainer