Embracing Mystery in the New Year: Ten Essential Practices
Let mystery have its place in you; do not be always turning up your whole soil with the plowshare of self-examination, but leave a little fallow corner in your heart ready for any seed the winds may bring, and reserve a nook of shadow for the passing bird; keep a place in your heart for […]
Invitation to Photography: Give Me a Word 2013
Welcome to the Abbey Photo Party! I select a theme and invite you to respond with images. We are taking a break this January from our monthly Monk Manifesto themes to invite you into some creative exploration with the words which have chosen you for this year. (Make sure to share yours here if you […]
The River of Grief and the Well of Love (a love note)
To receive this love note from your online Abbess direct to your email in-box each week subscribe here: “So don’t be frightened, dear friend, if a sadness confronts you larger than any you have ever known, casting its shadow over all you do. You must think that something is happening within you, and remember that […]
Hope: A CinemaDivina Prayer Offering
The theme for November here at the Abbey is community based on the third principle of the Monk Manifesto: 3. I commit to cultivating community by finding kindred spirits along the path, soul friends with whom I can share my deepest longings, and mentors who can offer guidance and wisdom for the journey. In September I introduced the […]
Welcoming in Zeal:
A CinemaDivina Prayer Offering
The theme for October here at the Abbey is hospitality based on the second principle of the Monk Manifesto: 2. I commit to radical acts of hospitality by welcoming the stranger both without and within. I recognize that when I make space inside my heart for the unclaimed parts of myself, I cultivate compassion and the ability to […]
Hospitality, Trust Tending, and Soul Nourishment
This month’s theme at the Abbey is hospitality. You can find more reflections here, here and here. There are lots of wondrous resources to share and upcoming classes to consider in support of your own journey of inner hospitality: Live it to Give it If you are a soul care practitioner in need of some support in […]
New Review of Desert Fathers and Mothers (and Living Spiritual Teachers Project)
I am really honored by Spirituality and Practice‘s review of my latest book Desert Mothers and Fathers: Early Christian Wisdom Sayings — Annotated & Explained: In her absolutely brilliant introduction to the desert fathers and mothers, Paintner does a wonderful job explaining the desert as a place of deep encounter; the significant figures in this […]