“Surge like an ocean, don’t scatter yourself like a storm”
Search the Darkness Sit with your friends, don’t go back to sleep. Don’t sink like a fish to the bottom of the sea. Surge like an ocean, don’t scatter yourself like a storm. Life’s waters flow from darkness. Search the darkness, don’t run from it. Night travelers are full of light, and you are too: […]
Autumn’s Call
Today is the Autumn Equinox and we enter my favorite half of the year. These days have been marked by a heaviness here at the Abbey though. My mother-in-law who has Alzheimer’s has been declining rapidly as of late. And in the last couple of weeks our sweet old dog Tune has developed canine cognitive dysfunction, which essentially leads to increased […]
Postcard from the Abbey: Shine
Sending you blessings of illumination during these late summer days. Where in your life do you feel luminous and radiant? Make sure to stop by this week’s Poetry Party and read the wondrous words about being a monk in the world. Submit your own poem to join the fun and for a chance to win a prize! […]
Postcard from the Abbey: Soar
Sending blessings and love to you this day – may your heart experience at least one moment of wide-open freedom today – may you breathe in possibility and breathe out hope. Have you joined with over 200 240 monks and signed the Monk Manifesto (and downloaded the printable PDF version)? Did you sign up yet for the free […]
Abbey Newsletter
Abbey of the Arts is a virtual monastery and vibrant global community offering online programs & retreats, reflections, and resources which integrate contemplative practice and creative expression. Subscribe to receive regular Abbey soul nourishment by email and join thousands of fellow monks and artists around the world receiving regular reflections on the integration of contemplative practice, […]
About Christine Valters Paintner
Christine Valters Paintner Table of Contents There are three identities I currently hold dear Poet: I look beneath the surface to find beauty in all things and then offer that back to others. I seek to cultivate this kind of presence in the midst of ordinary life, finding poems everywhere. Hermit: Silence nourishes me deeply […]
Welcome!
Welcome to Abbey of the Arts! A virtual monastery and global community The Abbey is a virtual global online monastery offering online programs & retreats, reflections, and resources which integrate contemplative practice and creative expression. We support you in becoming a monk in the world and an artist in everyday life. We believe in nourishing an earth-cherishing consciousness. Continue 3 […]