The “great hands of your heart”
Excerpt I am praying again, Awesome One. You hear me again, as words from the depths of me rush toward you in the wind. . . It’s here in all the pieces of my shame that now I find myself again. I yearn to belong to something, to be contained in an all-embracing mind that […]
Invitation to Poetry: Silence
Welcome to the Abbey’s Poetry Party No. 60! I select an image and suggest a theme/title and invite you to respond with your own poem. Scroll down and add it in the comments section below. Feel free to take your poem in any direction and then post the image and invitation on your blog (if you […]
This is Not Photography (by Joanna Paterson)
This is not photography. This is flower watching in sweet, soft September sunshine. This is the smell of the lavender filling my senses. This is the sound of the river rushing past, and the buzz of the bees going mad with abundance in the herbs. This is earth time before office time. This is stolen […]
What Shimmers from the Silence?
There is something spectacular about the grace of silence. Starting this month, September, the Abbey is going to feature a monthly theme (click over to the Abbey blog to see the beautiful icon). This month we are exploring silence, the first principle of the Monk Manifesto: “I commit to finding moments each day for silence […]
September Theme: Silence
Here at the Abbey, we work to offer you resources to support you in contemplative practice and creative arts. One of the core expressions of what we believe is important to nurture life as a monk in the world is the Monk Manifesto. Each month for the next seven months, we will take one of […]
Drink freely from the life you have been given
I ask for the gift of a moment to sit by Your side The work that I have in hand I can finish afterwards. Now it is time to sit quiet alone with You and to Sing a re-dedication of my life in this Silent and overflowing joy. —Rabindranath Tagore I have been away on […]
Thresholds: “Infinitely Enlarge Your Life”
And you wait, you wait for that one thing that will infinitely enlarge your life; the gigantic, the stupendous, the awakening of stones, depths turned round toward you. The volumes bound in rust and gold flicker dimly on the shelves; and you think of lands traveled across, of paintings, of the clothes of women found […]