June 12 – August 6, 2011 This summer I will be taking a sabbatical from teaching, but the Abbey is delighted to offer this class with Judy Smoot, a fellow Benedictine oblate, to explore monastic wisdom for living with illness. Course Description This 8-week online course facilitated by Judy Smoot, OblSB , offers participants an opportunity to share with others who live with chronic disease or who support someone with chronic disease. Some illnesses bring little long-term disruption to life.  We may feel that our network of support is sufficient, our way of connecting with God remains unchanged, and there is little

The lovely Edith O’Nuallain posted this great review of Water, Wind, Earth & Fire: The Christian Practice of Praying with the Elements to Story Circle Network: In her book Water, Wind, Earth and Fire, author and contemplative artist Christine Valters Paintner explores the four natural elements named in the title and traditionally associated with ancient philosophies and nature-based religions. Paintner examines each element in turn as a metaphor for the myriad ways spiritual seekers can learn to connect with the divine matrix and unfathomable mysteries which fill the earth we walk upon. Hence, this book is primarily about learning to

Last year I offered the invitation to my readers to consider a word shimmering for them that might carry them throughout the year.  There were 140 beautiful postings and I later created a Wordle from the entries as a celebration of the prayers gathered.  I offer the same invitation this year and again some prizes to give away: In ancient times, wise men and women fled out into the desert to find a place where they could be fully present to God and to their own inner struggles at work within them.  The desert became a place to enter into

I was very honored to find out yesterday that Water, Wind, Earth, & Fire: The Christian Practice of Praying with the Elements was included on Spirituality and Practice’s list of Best Spiritual Books of 2010 (scroll down to Nature category).  Their website says: Every year from the more than 300 books we review on this website, we choose 50 “best spiritual books.” These are the titles that have most impressed and inspired us, and since we only review books that we want to recommend to you for your spiritual journey, this selection actually represents the best of the best. Our full

Registration for the Spiritual Directors International 2011 Conference on Cultivating Compassion in Atlanta April 28-May 1, 2011 is now available! There are always lots of wonderful reasons to attend.  This year Betsey Beckman and I will be presenting the Friday night Plenary Session on Cultivating the Elements of a Compassionate Heart: The elements of earth, wind, fire and water have long been celebrated by sacred traditions as expressions of the divine. Join Betsey Beckman, MM, and Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, to actively participate in a variety of hands-on expressive arts experiences—both reflective and playful!—such as movement, song, image, story, and

Spiritual Directors Fall Seminar Shalom Prayer Center, Queen of Angels Monastery, Mt Angel, Oregon Friday, October 29, 2010, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire: Bringing Encounters with Nature to Spiritual Direction & Soul Care When we consider the spiritual direction relationship we often think about the director, the directee, and the Spirit. This workshop will invite us to enlarge our vision of spiritual direction to include the matrix of creation within which our lives are supported and our becoming is nurtured. Join us for an experiential seminar exploring ways to integrate awareness of, and encounters with,