Christine Valters Paintner's Blog, page 118

Fasting from Anxiety + Radical Hospitality ~ A love note from your online abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims,

I have two reflections and two poems for you this week. Read on for more goodness from the Abbey. . .

I continue my Lenten series at Patheos this week on A Different Kind of Fast. This week I explore fasting from anxiety and entering into a radical stance of trust through the practice of Sabbath-keeping. Click here to read the article>>

I also have a guest post this week at the wonderful website Monasteries of the Heart on the practice of radical hospitality and inviting in holy disruption. Click here read the article>>

I am also delighted to have two poems published at the Galway Review website: “Holy Mountain” which is inspired by St. Patrick and “Last night I dreamt I was. . .” which is a love poem. You can read both poems here>>

With great and growing love,

Christine

Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE

Photo © Christine Valters Paintner

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Invitation to Poetry: Return to Me with Your Whole Heart

Welcome to our Poetry Party!

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 or join our Holy Disorder of Dancing Monks Facebook group and post there.

Feel free to take your poem in any direction and then post the image and invitation on your blog (if you have one), Facebook, or Twitter, and encourage others to come join the party!  (If you repost the photo, please make sure to include the credit link and link back to this post inviting others to join us).

We began this month with a Community Lectio Divina practice with a passage from the Ash Wednesday reading from the Prophet Joel and followed up with our Photo Party.  We continue this theme in our Poetry Party this month. What does the image above evoke for you? Express this through poetry.

You can post your poem either in the comment section below*or you can join our Holy Disorder of Dancing Monks Facebook group and post there.

*Note: If this is your first time posting, or includes a link, your comment will need to be moderated before it appears. This is to prevent spam and should be approved within 24 hours.

 

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Monk in the World guest post: Meg Watson

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Meg Watson's reflection initiation & ritual:

After 72 years of life, I am finally beginning to understand how important it is to have rites of initiation.  I wrote before about two of the rituals I perform each day, i.e. making my bed and washing dishes.  But as I was remembering a conversation I had with a friend today, I suddenly began to understand what rites of initiation are really about: they are meant to make life sacred.

I was thinking about how I was raised, not with rituals but with tasks, and how I resented the tasks.  They were burdensome.  I made my children feel the same way.  There were beds to be made and rooms to be cleaned and other household chores to be done.  Get that? Chores!  How uninspired the word!

What if, as I heard a mother tell me long ago, some "chores" became rituals of accomplishment, recognition that the person had achieved the level of accountability and respect that meant they were allowed to perform some rituals on their own.  For example, this mother told me that the first stage of initiation for a child entering school was to learn to pack his/her own lunch.  This was a sign of a certain independence and maturity.  For me, when I was growing up, my mother packed my lunch as well as my brother's and sister's.  We would never have conceived it a part of our maturity to be allowed to pack our own lunches.  My children were the same; naturally, I carried this same responsibility down from my mother.  This was my job as a mom.  What I didn't realize until most of the children had grown and I was working full time was that it should have been a badge of honor to be allowed to pack their own lunches.  So when I didn't have the time to do it for them any more or they didn't care if I did or not, the job fell to them after all and they didn't really know how to do it, at least not well and not with any sense of accomplishment.  It never had acquired the status of sacredness or privilege that it could have had.

So many other parts of life could be made sacred in the same way.  Suppose I want my child to learn to make her bed and do it out of a sense of joy.  I say to her, "Come, let's go make your bed together."  Then she and I perform this ritual together, she learns the skill and we have the joy of sharing this time together. We make this a ritual that we do every day. Then one day I say to her, "Well, my dear one, I think you are big enough to make your bed all by yourself.  Would you like that?"   I leave her to do it and when she is finished she runs to me to show me what she has done.  I look at it and marvel at her accomplishment, no judgment in me at all, simply the joy of what she has done.  This becomes a ritual that is right for her age, one which has instilled within her the feeling first of having shared it with me, of doing it together, and then of doing it herself as an independent activity.  It becomes a part of her day, one that flows naturally out of her own experience.

In this way I as a parent can begin to help my child find the joy of ritual in the mundane stuff of everyday life because that is where true joy lives.  And in this way, we come to share the sacredness of daily life.  Chores and tasks no longer exist.  But before I can teach this to my child, I must own it for myself.  I must reorient my being towards a vision of the sacredness of my own life.  Surely I cannot teach my child what I do not recognize and practice myself.

So I must begin now to train myself to see each ritual that keeps me grounded in reality and that fills me with the joy of life.  And that takes practice and thoughtfulness, or as the latest buzzword says, mindfulness.  This means slowing down; if I intend to teach myself these rituals, I cannot rush through them helter-skelter.  I must center my attention on them and cherish them, and that goes against everything our modern culture holds as valuable.  So maybe I have to give up a lot of what modern culture values.  Hmmmm . . . not a bad idea!

 

 

Meg Watson is retired, living in Colorado in domestic tranquility, with plenty of time for the contemplative life.  She is a spiritual director and mentor who is delighted to share whatever truth comes her way and to listen to whatever truth others have found.

 

 

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Feast of St Gobnait and a Celebration of Love ~ A love note from your online abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims,

On the 11th of February this past week was the Feast of St. Gobnait.  I only learned about St. Gobnait after moving to Ireland. She is a 5th-6th century monk who fled her home in County Clare and headed first for the island of Insheer. It is not clear why she fled, only that she was seeking refuge on the Aran Islands. Click here to read my reflection on her at Patheos>>

I am delighted to have a poem about St. Gobnait published in the online journal Headstuff here. 

Gobnait features in our upcoming online retreat The Soul’s Slow Ripening: Celtic Wisdom for Discernment (April 4-May 29, 2016).  Consider joining us to soak in the wisdom of those ancient Irish monks and entering into the practices which guided them to new thresholds.

I am also continuing my 7-part Lenten series at Patheos on A Different Kind of Fast. This week I explore fasting from the need to always be strong and allow a great softening. You can read that here>>

And last, but not least, Happy Valentine’s Day dear monks! Here are two reflections from the Abbey Archives on alternative ways to experience this day: Body Words of Love and Love and Hospitality

With great and growing love,

Christine

Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE

St. Gobnait dancing monk icon © Marcy Hall at Rabbit Room Arts

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Call for Submissions: Monk in the World Guest Post Series

We welcome you to submit your reflection for possible publication in our Monk in the World guest post series. It is a gift to read how ordinary people are living lives of depth and meaning in the midst of the challenges of real life.

There are so many talented writers and artists in this Abbey community, so this is a chance to share your perspective. The reflection will be included in our weekly newsletter which goes out to more than 10,000 subscribers.

Please follow these instructions carefully:

Details:

Please click this link to read a selection of the posts and get a feel for the tone and quality.
Submit your own post of 750-1000 words on the general theme of "How do I live as a monk in the world? How do I bring contemplative presence to my work and/or family?" It works best if you focus your reflection on one aspect of your life or a practice you have, or you might reflect on how someone from the monastic tradition has inspired you. We invite reflections on the  practice  of living contemplatively.
Please include a head shot and brief bio (50 words max). You are welcome to include 1-2 additional images if they help to illustrate your reflection in meaningful ways.  All images should be your own.  Please make sure the file size of each the images is smaller than 1MB. You can resize your image for free here – choose the "small size" option and a maximum width of 500).
We will be accepting submissions between now and March 21st for publication sometime in the spring/summer of 2016.  We reserve the right to make edits to the content as needed (or to request you to make edits) and submitting your reflection does not guarantee publication on the Abbey blog, but we will do our best to include as many of you as possible.
Email Christine by March 21st with your submission and include the reflection pasted into the body of your email and attach your photo(s).
We will be back in touch with you by the middle of April to let you know if your post is accepted, if edits are needed, and/or when we have scheduled your post to appear.

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Invitation to Photography: Return to Me with Your Whole Heart

Welcome to this month's Abbey Photo Party!

I select a theme and invite you to respond with images.

We began this month with a Community Lectio Divina practice with our reflection on the first reading for Ash Wednesday.

I invite you for this month's Photo Party to hold these words in your heart as you go out in the world to receive images in response. As you walk be ready to see what is revealed to you as a visual expression of your prayer.

You can share images you already have which illuminate the theme, but I encourage you also to go for a walk with the theme in mind and see what you discover.

You are also welcome to post photos of any other art you create inspired by the theme.  See what stirs your imagination!

How to participate:

You can post your photo either in the comment section below* (there is now an option to upload a file with your comment – your file size must be smaller than 1MB – you can re-size your image for free here – choose the "small size" option and a maximum width of 500).

You can also join our Holy Disorder of Dancing Monks Facebook group and post there. Feel free to share a few words about the process of receiving this image and how it speaks of the harvest for you.

*Note: If this is your first time posting, or includes a link, your comment will need to be moderated before it appears. This is to prevent spam and should be approved within 24 hours.

The post Invitation to Photography: Return to Me with Your Whole Heart appeared first on Abbey of the Arts.

Invitation to Photography: Return to me with your whole heart

Welcome to this month's Abbey Photo Party!

I select a theme and invite you to respond with images.

We began this month with a Community Lectio Divina practice with our reflection on the first reading for Ash Wednesday.

I invite you for this month's Photo Party to hold these words in your heart as you go out in the world to receive images in response. As you walk be ready to see what is revealed to you as a visual expression of your prayer.

You can share images you already have which illuminate the theme, but I encourage you also to go for a walk with the theme in mind and see what you discover.

You are also welcome to post photos of any other art you create inspired by the theme.  See what stirs your imagination!

How to participate:

You can post your photo either in the comment section below* (there is now an option to upload a file with your comment – your file size must be smaller than 1MB – you can re-size your image for free here – choose the "small size" option and a maximum width of 500).

You can also join our Holy Disorder of Dancing Monks Facebook group and post there. Feel free to share a few words about the process of receiving this image and how it speaks of the harvest for you.

*Note: If this is your first time posting, or includes a link, your comment will need to be moderated before it appears. This is to prevent spam and should be approved within 24 hours.

The post Invitation to Photography: Return to me with your whole heart appeared first on Abbey of the Arts.

Monk in the World guest post: Jenneth Graser

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Jenneth Graser's reflection the unfolding process:

The deep down longing of my heart in this life for the longest time has been to know God and be known by God.  Over the past 8 or so years, this has taken on a completely different flavour as our family has grown.  Going back in time to around 2002, my life twisted in an unexpected way when I came back home to South Africa after attending a Ministry School in Toronto, only to have a break down from a traumatic relationship I had whilst there.  And then within a few months of my return, my brother died leaving my family reeling in shock and disbelief.  From thinking that I would be entering full time ministry in Canada, I found myself rather learning the deepest relationship with God I had ever experienced was going to be in the school of (largely) isolation from others, grief, pain and in-depth counseling sessions.  A year into being home, I began working for an Anglican lay minister and was introduced to new ways of being with and experiencing God.

This began a journey of searching for God in different expressions, slowly, gently and then over the last few years, with increasing fascination as I have felt invited into ever increasing prayer explorations .  The break down I had, taught me to embrace process.  So living as a monk in the world as my family has grown with each new addition, has been a process of adaptation.  I have welcomed mentors in books, both Saints and mystics among other wonderful people.  I have heard for the first time what makes my heart ring: The Cloud of Unknowing, Practicing the presence of God, soaking music, Ignatian contemplation, Lectio Divina, on and on . . .

Until the day Karl and I felt called to start a contemplative group and call it Free Flow.  We wanted to foster and encourage a place where anyone could come and just be in the presence of God without judgement or expectation.  A place to laugh, chat, receive prayer, commune in silence with God while listening to music, and to allow much space to follow the nudges of Holy Spirit.  So our gatherings have these various elements in them, but each time looks different as God does something unique.  We want to approach these times as children, hungry to learn, hungry to grow and to share our growing times with whoever wants to come along for the ride.  Out of these times, I began recording some contemplative, mostly spontaneous songs and recently started sharing them on a podcast.  This has become part of my prayer adventure, as well as Mystic Prayers on Facebook, a prayer community I started to express my visual prayer journey with God and others, as I take the quotes of mystics, scripture and saints and put them together with photographs which convey my feelings.

Life is greatly busy as a Mom.  I feel expended some of the time in such a way that I feel tempted to go on a long term retreat in an Abbey somewhere, by myself that is!  This not being a possibility has forced me to live as a monk in this season in a largely flexible way.  The wonderfully appealing consistent, dependable rhythm of the day in a monastery needs to look different for me, as I go about my day to day doings, comings and goings.  My vigils are more about learning to love myself as I am in this space, that prayer is not systematic but rather organic – a practicing of the presence as I draw myself towards myself while hanging washing on the line, or in the times of recovering from the tiredness of meeting the continuous needs of others while listening to the Pray as you Go podcast.  Sporadic journaling to catch up with my heart, or trying to be more aware of my night time dreams in order to listen to their messages.  Snippets of time collected in art appreciation, a photograph, a quote and a phrase, playing the piano and singing what flows.  I write poetry, I breathe, I observe, I forgive myself.  I am learning to be.  To listen.  To humble myself and find the glory in the ordinary.  To lean back into grace with each mistake I make and receive prayer in the birds and springtime wakening of the garden.

I am trying to slow down and live in the moment and embrace the creation of each new day, whatever it looks like.  Including what is shaped in me as I meet the reality of being molded as a wife and mother.  I am trying to suspend my feelings of what life should have looked like by now, now that I am turning 40 in January, and still holding onto un-realised dreams and desires.  I am learning that Free Flow begins at home, in the temple of my heart, and as I orientate myself to the grounding of that home of God inside of me, the vast expanse of timeless space that is there will begin to outwork itself in, not a mid-life crisis, but rather, a deepening awareness of being loved, receiving love, giving love.  Learning the grace of contemplative life does not have to look the “out-of-my-grasp” kind of way, but rather a “let’s find out where this goes today God and let me learn who you are today”, in the sun shining through a leaf, or the whispers of God in my thoughts, or the smiles and cries of the family I love so much that it pains my heart.  I will continue to figure out what it looks like for me to live as a monk in this world, and that is what makes it such a joy.  The very un-definable discovery of myself in prayer with God in the adventure of what life holds for me, is happening in the here and now.

Jenneth Suzanne Graser has just approached her 40th year, wife to Karl Graser and mother to three girls, Abigail (7), Sophia (4) & Joelle (3).  She lives in Cape Town, South Africa where she has lived for most of her life, other than North Vancouver, British Columbia when her family immigrated there in the 80’s and also Toronto, Canada.  Jenneth has a degree in Library and Information Studies, and is currently a stay home Mom who has started homeschooling her daughters this year.  She and her husband facilitate a contemplative soaking prayer group called Free Flow.  Jenneth is the author of “Catching the Light: a Devotional”.

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Grow in intimacy with the Earth Monastery this Lent ~ A love note from your online abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims,

The season of Lent begins this Wednesday and we are offering an online retreat experience for this holy time which extends through the first week of Easter. We invite you into a contemplation of the Earth as Original Monastery and to nourish an earth-cherishing consciousness. Jesus begins his own ministry with a time out in the wilderness, seeking the ways that creation can challenge us and nourish us and reveal new directions. Imagine spending 40 days yourself listening for the wisdom of wilderness.

The monk here and now is supposed to be living the life of the new creation in which the right relation to all the rest of God's creatures is fully restored. Hence Desert Father stories about tame lions and all that jazz."

–Thomas Merton

At the Abbey our focus is on contemplative practice in the midst of daily life. To be a monk in the world means to live in a way that is deeply attentive and present to life’s unfolding. Merton’s quote is a keen reminder of our call as monks, to live the new creation now, not later at another time. As monks we nurture our capacity to see the holy active right here in this moment. We discover that the “kin-dom” is among us now and we live as if this were true.

The Canadian Catholic Bishops wrote a beautiful letter about our relationship to the environment and they expressed three primary responses we should cultivate:

When we engage the contemplative response we gaze upon the world with eyes of wonder and love rather than with an imperialist, utilitarian stare. We allow ourselves to be astonished by nature and stand in awe of the mystery of both life and death. The contemplative gaze sees the world as sacramental. Sacramental theology has always taught that simple earthy things—bread, wine, water, oil, the embodied sexual relationship of marriage—can be bearers of divine grace. This is because the earth is the primordial sacrament.

When we engage the ascetic response we practice discipline in using the things of Earth. A healthy asceticism has always been a call to conversion and about removing what gets in the way of awareness of God’s movements in our lives. Recovering our relationship with the earth means embracing both the gifts of radical simplicity and celebrating the wisdom of our bodies together in one practice as an earth-sensuous asceticism. We live in a rampantly consumer culture, so this journey requires that we examine our patterns closely.

When we engage a prophetic response we are moved to action on behalf of justice for the earth. Because the earth is sacramental, we recognize that our destruction of earth’s systems is an act of sinfulness and wounding which demands repentance and reconciliation. We must measure our individual and collective choices in terms of the sustainability for the whole earth community.

In our time together exploring Earth as Original Monastery we will focus primarily on the contemplative dimension, because I believe that when we begin by cultivating our contemplative response to life and the world it infuses our prophetic and ascetic responses and grounds them from a place of relationship and intimacy.

This month we also return to our weekly invitations to contemplation and creativity. We begin with Community Lectio Divina with the first reading for Ash Wednesday from the Prophet Joel. We invite you to pray with the text (see details at this link)and share your responses with our community.

With great and growing love,

Christine

Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE

Photo © Christine Valters Paintner

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The Soul of a Pilgrim is named one of the best spiritual books of 2015!

The wonderful folks at the Spirituality and Practice website have named Christine Valters Paintner’s book The Soul of a Pilgrim: Eight Practices for the Journey Within a best spiritual book of 2015!

From the book: "Pilgrimage calls us to be attentive to the divine at work in our lives through deep listening, patience, opening ourselves to the gifts that arise in the midst of discomfort, and going out to our own inner wild edges to explore new frontiers."

Click here to see the list of all 50 best spiritual books>>

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