Abbey of the Arts

Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts

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    • About John Valters Paintner
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  • Books
    • Breath Prayer:
      An Ancient Practice for the Everyday Sacred
    • Sacred Time:
      Embracing an Intentional Way of Life
    • The Wisdom of Wild Grace: Poems
    • 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
  • Poetry | Art | Music
    • Music + DVD
    • Poetry by Christine Valters Paintner
    • Poetry Videos
    • Dancing Monk Icons
    • Other Art Collaborations
      • Monk in the World art series by Kristin Noelle
      • Saints & Animals art series by David Hollington
      • Sacred Time art series by Alexi Francis
      • Mary block print art series by Kreg Yingst
  • Programs
    • Lift Every Voice: Contemplative Writers of Color Book Club
      • Embodied Spirits: Stories of Spiritual Directors of Color (Book Club – March 2021)
      • God Alone is Enough: A Spirited Journey with Teresa of Avila (Book Club – February 2021)
    • Community Online Retreats
      • Harriet Tubman and Howard Thurman-on Being Free
      • Writing Into Bloom
        with Christine Valters Paintner
      • Revelations: The Mysticism of Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe
      • The Wisdom of Wild Grace: A Weekend Retreat Online
      • The Spiral Way:
        Celtic Spirituality and the Creative Imagination
      • Sacred Balance:
        Aligning Body and Spirit Through
        Yoga and the Benedictine Way
    • Self-Study Online Spiritual Retreats
      • 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
      • Earth, Our Original Monastery
        A Companion Retreat to the Book (SELF-STUDY)
      • 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 (SELF-STUDY)
      • Sacred Rhythms of Sky, Sun, Sea & Stone:
        A Creative Retreat with the Elements (SELF-STUDY)
      • 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
    • Live Programs: Pilgrimage & Retreats
      • Writing on the Wild Edges (Ireland)
      • Hildegard of Bingen (Germany)
      • Awakening the Creative Spirit: Experiential Education for Spiritual Directors in the Expressive Arts (Northwest)
  • Calendar
  • Reflections
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Illuminating the Way:
Embracing the Wisdom of Monks and Mystics

by Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE, OblSB

Ave Maria Press 2016

Description

Popular author of eight books and abbess of the online retreat center Abbey of the Arts, Christine Valters Paintner explores how the lives and spirituality of twelve monks and mystics offer distinct patterns of thought that will lead you to a deeper understanding of your strengths and areas of growth and will guide you on the path to your true spiritual identity.

In Illuminating the Way, Christine Valters Paintner takes you on a journey through your inner life accompanied by twelve great monks and mystics from the Christian tradition. Each figure invites you to discover the energy and potential of a particular archetype—the inner sage in Benedict; the inner visionary in Hildegard of Bingen; and the inner orphan in Dorothy Day. From the prophet Miriam of the Hebrew scriptures to twentieth century monk Thomas Merton, Paintner offers an array of challenging and enlivening models to explore.

Paintner is beloved by readers for her creative practices, guided meditations, and beautiful prayers and poems, and she has included all of these elements in her new book to further explore the image associated with each mystic. Her insightful reflections on key selections of each mystic’s writings will help you gain greater self-knowledge and experience a deeper encounter with God.

Each chapter also includes a full-color painting of each monk or mystic by Marcy Hall with commentary by Paintner and scripture passages and mediations by Paintner’s husband, John.

Supplemental materials, including a CD with music, a DVD with movement prayers, and a book that includes images, poems, and music notations are available on Paintner’s website AbbeyoftheArts.com.

Order Details

To order from Bookshop.org click here>>
Order from Ave Maria Press
Order from Amazon.com
Order from Barnes and Noble
Order the companion CD & DVD

When you purchase books through the links to Bookshop.org or Amazon.com, Abbey of the Arts is provided with a very small percentage of your purchase price at no extra cost to you. We apply these funds toward scholarships for our online programs. Thank you for your support!

Supplemental Materials

Download full-sized coloring mandalas
Listen to Welcoming the Mystics to Be Our Teachers on Unity FM's Soul-Directed Life

Praise for the Book

In this creative work Christine Valters Paintner offers us a pilgrimage through the lives of sages, healers, mystics, visionaries, and more—inviting us to feast on their wisdom and explore how their gift of life can illuminate the way for us. This is a wonderful resource and I joyfully recommend it."  -Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB, Author of Seven Sacred Pauses

Illuminating the Way combines meditation, poetry, art, and more to reveal the singing heart of our tradition’s great wisdom keepers. Jesus has been called the 'Lord of the Dance' — this sumptuous book calls us to join the circle."  -Carl McColman, Author of Befriending Silence

Christine Valters Paintner is a vibrant green path—a path I love to walk. In Illuminating the Way she invites saints and mystics to join us. Rilke and Merton step out of their books, walk beside us, and do, indeed, illumine the path." -Janet Conner, author of Writing Down Your Soul, Soul Vows and The Soul Discovery Coloring Book

Illuminating the Way generously offers myriad pathways to discover and explore the multiple selves that dwell within each of us. It’s a book that will expand you, a real treasure that you will return to again and again." -Colette Lafia, author of Seeking Surrender

Given her experience in guiding retreats and workshops, there’s a welcome practicality to this book that casts familiar practices in a new light. Valters-Paintner’s experience with practices like Lectio Divina practically drips through the pages. In the appendix, there is a fresh framing and an invitation to practice Lectio Divina that is very useful and goes beyond most instructions to the practice. . . To read this book is to spend a little time in the presence of a warm spiritual guide full of wisdom both in reframing the ongoing journey and for practical tools for everyday use! . . . engaging, enriching, and spiritually aligning. Some books have the effect of bringing us into attunement because they manifest and connect us with a deep wisdom through the act of reading it. This is one of these books." -a review at Contemplative Light

Upcoming Programs

  • The Two HT’s Harriet Tubman and Howard Thurman on Being Free with Therese Taylor-Stinson
    • Apr 17, 2021
  • Writing Into Bloom with Christine Valters Paintner
    • May 1, 2021
  • Revelations: The Mysticism of Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe
    • May 13, 2021
  • View All Upcoming Programs

Recent Reflections

  • Monk in the World Guest Post: Greta Kopec
  • Monk in the World Podcast + Harriet Tubman Mysticism ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess
  • Lift Every Voice: Contemplative Writers of Color – April Video Discussion and Book Group Materials Now Available
  • Hildy Tails 12: Is ait an mac an saol ~ by John Valters Paintner
  • Easter Blessings + An Elemental Journey ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

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