New Dancing Monk Icons (a love note from your online Abbess)
Dearest monks and artists, I am just back in Ireland now after almost three weeks traveling in the U.S. for teaching and visiting family. It was a magical time away. I led two retreats – the Sacred Rhythms Writing and Movement Retreat in Cape May, NJ where 18 amazing dancing monks joined to dive deep into […]
The Soul’s Migration: Where Will You Fly? (latest Patheos column)
Fin and feather, flesh, blood and bone: the earth calls its creatures to leave the familiar, turn again into the unknown; to move steadily and continuously and at great risk toward an invisible goal, expending great energy with the possibility of failure… —Marianne Worcester I write these words from the shores of Cape May, NJ […]
Earth Monastery Project – Final reports from the first round!
Abbey of the Arts is delighted to share the results of our first round of grantmaking through the Earth Monastery Project. Last fall we awarded three projects funds to help them serve the community by helping to cultivate an earth-cherishing consciousness. Rainier Beach Community Garden | Terri Stewart We, the youth and chaplains of the […]
Embracing a Surplus (a love note from your online Abbess)
Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, I was delighted to receive the image above the other day from fellow dancing monk and artist Karen Newe. The text comes from my book The Artist’s Rule, specifically the fourth chapter, which is one of my favorites on the importance of sacred rhythms for creative renewal. Seeing my words appear in […]
Happy Feast of St. Benedict (a love note from your online Abbess)
St. Benedict and the Rainstorm Early February evening. Benedict and his twin sister Scholastica, talk for hours about dealing with wayward monks, childhood memories, regrets, and how they sometimes steal away to the forest to dance. The beeswax candle extinguished, she went to fetch another, dinner plates pushed aside with drips of grease left from […]
Solstice Blessings + How to Be a Pilgrim (a love note from your online Abbess)
To receive this love note straight to your in-box, subscribe here (and also receive gifts!) How to Be a Pilgrim Air travel is like ancient pilgrims walking on their knees, flight delays and narrow seats offer their own kind of penance. You jettison excess baggage, leaving behind the heavy makeup case, knowing the rain will wash you […]
Aligning with the Season of My Soul (a love note from your online Abbess)
Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, I am relishing the slower rhythms of summer, time for unstructured schedules when I can follow my own inclinations, noticing what my body and spirit need in a given moment. I have much work to do on my manuscript to have it ready by August, but what nourishes the writing process […]