A Different Kind of Fast Lenten Retreat
- Online retreat
- Self-study, start anytime
- Move at your own pace, in your own place
- Lifetime access
Registration Fee: $150 USD
What are the things you hunger for?
What is nourishing, life-giving, joy-bringing, peace-arising, purpose-revealing?
What if you could feed those true hungers?
Program Description
Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
-Isaiah 58:6-7 (NRSV)
Fasting is an ancient religious practice of abstaining from food for a limited period of time for greater clarity and focus which can bring a deeper intimacy with the divine. It was an essential dimension of the practice of the desert mothers and fathers as well as many of the mystics throughout the ages. When Jesus went out into the desert for 40 days fasting was part of his practice. This time of retreat is the model for our own Lenten retreat.
There are many different things we can fast from. The ancients advised not just abstaining from food but other things like unnecessary speech or unkindness. During this retreat you will be invited to consider and explore six other fasts:
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- Fast from multitasking and inattention (Embrace full presence to the moment)
- Fast from anxiety over scarcity (Embrace radical trust in abundance)
- Fast from speed and rushing (Embrace slowness and pausing)
- Fast from strength and holding it all together (Embrace tenderness and vulnerability)
- Fast from planning and deadlines (Embrace unfolding and ripening)
- Fast from certainty (Embrace mystery and waiting)
These are fasts from certain ways of being in the world which can deplete us and increase our anxiety and suffering. We don’t just abstain from them, but also embrace their antidote which lead us to identify our true hungers. In this retreat you will live more fully into a vibrant state of being so that you are resourced to bring your unique creative gifts into the world.
You will need to order a copy of A Different Kind of Fast: Feeding Our True Hungers in Lent in addition to registering for the program.
You have immediate, lifetime access to all the material in this online retreat.
What's Included
The book this retreat companions has daily meditations. Included in this program will be audio versions from Christine each day so you can be led in the practices. In addition, there is some other content to enrich your retreat experience.
Upon registration you will have immediate access to all of the following material:
- Opening webinar recorded on Ash Wednesday during the live version of the retreat
- 7 Lectio Divina practices with audio guidance from Christine + a scripture reflection from John Valters Paintner
- 7 Breath Prayer meditations with audio guidance from Christine
- 7 Visio Divina meditations with audio guidance from Christine
- 7 Art Reflection videos from Amanda Dillon
- 7 Mindful Movement videos from Jamie Marich
- 6 Meditations with the Desert Elders with audio guidance from Christine
- 6 Contemplative Walk meditations with audio guidance from Christine
- 6 Imaginative Prayer meditations with audio guidance from Christine
- 7 Creative Rituals with audio guidance from Christine
- 7 Closing Blessing audio recordings from Christine
- Closed captioning and transcripts
- Lifetime access to all online programs.
The invitation from the desert elders here is, first and foremost, to fully live.
What's Included
Weekly Themes
Week 0:
Introduction
Starting with Ash Wednesday week, these opening days are a time to prepare yourself and your heart for this journey. When you embark on a pilgrimage there are certain things you need to do before you can take those first steps. You are invited to prepare the time and space needed to enter these practices and to set an intention for this time of retreat.
Week 1:
Fast from Multitasking and Inattention
Embrace Full Presence to the Moment
In our attempts to do many things, none are done well, and none as a result nourish us. The practice you will look at instead will be a beholding of each thing, each person, each moment, as you respond to that hunger for presence.
Week 2:
Fast from Scarcity Anxiety
Embrace Radical Trust in Abundance
Rather than anxiety and the endless torrent of thoughts that paralyze you with fear for the future, you'll enter into radical trust in the abundance at the heart of things. You'll have the opportunity to listen to the hunger for contentment in the moment and to cultivate hope in the fullness of life.
Week 3:
Fast from Speed and Rushing
Embrace Slowness and Pausing
Our culture worships productivity, and in its pursuit, many of us are depleted from exhaustion and hunger for ease. Rather than moving at a frantic pace and rushing through your life, you will be invited to slow down and enter a holy pause to see the grace shimmering in the present moment.
Week 4:
Fast from Holding It All Together
Embrace Tenderness and Vulnerability
There is a profound grace that comes through vulnerability and tenderness, as you allow a great softening within this season. You'll explore your hunger for the ability to reveal your wounded places and have them seen with love by another.
Week 5:
Fast from Planning and Deadlines
Embrace Unfolding and Ripening
We hunger to release our own plans, our attempts to add more to our lists, adding to the overwhelm of everything in our lives, and behold what is actually emerging. You will be invited to enter into the quiet as you listen for what is ripening and unfolding, what is ready to be born.
Week 6:
Fast from Certainty
Embrace Mystery and Waiting
While it may seem like we hunger for assurance and conviction about what will happen, when we can welcome in the beauty of the unknown, we can be nourished by new possibilities. Through fasting from attempts to control the outcome of things, you will grow in trust in the great mystery of life.
Weekly Rhythm of Content
The retreat is structured on a weekly basis. Upon registration you have full access to all the material and can move through the explorations at your own pace.
Day 1: Lectio Divina audio guidance from Christine + Scripture reflection from John Valters Paintner
Day 2: Breath Prayer audio meditation from Christine
Day 3: Visio Divina audio guidance from Christine + Art Reflection with Amanda Dillon
Day 4: Guided Audio Meditation with the Desert Elders from Christine
Day 5: Contemplative Walk audio guidance from Christine + Mindful Movement with Jamie Marich
Day 6: Imaginative Prayer audio guidance with Christine
Day 7: Closing Ritual and Blessing from Christine
Your Guides for the Journey
Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE
Christine is the director of AbbeyoftheArts.com, a virtual monastery exploring contemplative practice, creative expression, and ways to nourish an earth-cherishing consciousness. She is a spiritual director, teacher, pilgrimage guide, and author of numerous books on spirituality and the arts. Her deepest belief is that the earth is the original monastery—a wisdom guide and mentor in living a soulful and vibrant life. Visit the “About Christine” page for more information.
John Valters Paintner, MTS
John Valters Paintner is the online prior for Abbey of the Arts, where he assists his wife Christine in ministering to global community both online and through in-person programs. John was a youth minister and pastoral associate for four years before becoming a high school religion teacher for twelve years. He has a Masters of Theological Studies from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley. His love for the Bible, particularly the Hebrew Scriptures, emerged when he taught the “Old Testament” at an all-boys high school. John is also a lover of the art of story-telling and has written dozens of short stories, one-act plays, and short films in a variety of genres. Visit the “About John” page for more information.
Amanda Dillon, PhD
Amanda’s research specialisation is Biblical Reception History with a particular focus on the New Testament. Her research interests include: Biblical Reception, Visual Exegesis, Multimodal Analysis, Hermeneutics, Theology and the Visual Arts. Female characters in the New Testament and their afterlives are another significant dimension of her current research and teaching. Amanda has published on the reception of the Bible in: 21st century lectionaries; contemporary Graphic Design; the art of Marc Chagall; Manga Bibles; Urban and Street Art.
Jamie Marich, PhD
Jamie Marich, Ph.D., LPCC-S, REAT, RYT-500, RMT (she/they) travels internationally speaking on topics related to EMDR therapy, trauma, addiction, expressive arts, LGBTQ issues, spirituality and mindfulness while maintaining a private practice in her home base of Northeast Ohio. Jamie is also the developer of the Dancing Mindfulness expressive arts practice. Jamie is the author of several books including Dancing Mindfulness: A Creative Path to Healing and Transformation (2015, with foreword by Christine Valters Paintner) and Process Not Perfection: Expressive Arts Solutions for Trauma Recovery released in 2019, heavily influenced by the growth she has experienced through her study with Abbey of the Arts! Now primarily a North Atlantic Book author, she has recently released Trauma and the 12 Steps: An Inclusive Guide to Recovery (2020), Transforming Trauma with Jiu-Jitsu (2022), Dissociation Made Simple: A Stigma-Free Guide to Embracing Your Dissociative Mind and Navigating Life(2023), and You Lied to Me About God: A Memoir (2024). Visit Jamie’s website at JamieMarich.com.
Richard Bruxvoort Colligan
Dr. Richard Bruxvoort Colligan is a spiritual director, musician, and lover of laughter. To this retreat, he brings his passion for lifelong spiritual formation and the arts, along with enthralled curiosity for the Great Mystery we are in together. His ongoing project is composing congregational songs at PsalmImmersion.com. He is the author of Dangerous Songs: The Psalms and a Gloriously Disrupted Life (Broadleaf Books). Richard serves as Director of Spiritual Formation at Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Rochester, MN and lives in Strawberry Point, Iowa USA with his wife Trish and dogs Winifred and Jack. Visit Richard online at Worldmaking.net and Patreon.com/RichardBC
Fasting is an act of letting go, of making more internal space to listen to the sacred whispers of our lives.
Praise for the Course
Registration
$150
Registration Fee
Purchase the Companion Book
The book is not included in the registration fee. You may purchase the book at the links below or at your local book seller. Thank you for your support!
Terms and Conditions
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