Christine Valters Paintner's Blog, page 123
October 17, 2015
Honoring Saints and Ancestors
Dearest monks and artists,
We are approaching the Celtic feast of Samhain, the great doorway into the dark half of the year in the northern hemisphere and a time when the veil is considered especially thin. This is my favorite time of year, when I feel the most energized and my heart comes alive to the wisdom of those who have walked before me. I share with you a short excerpt from our Honoring Saints and Ancestors online self-study retreat:
Psychologist Carl Jung wrote extensively about the collective unconscious which is this vast pool of ancestral memory within each of us, it is a kind of deposit of ancestral experience. He believed it comprises the psychic life of our ancestors right back to the earliest beginnings, nothing is lost, all of the stories, struggles, and wisdom are available to us. Each of us is an unconscious carrier of this ancestral experience and part of our journey is to bring this to consciousness in our lives.
He even believed it comprises our animal ancestry which existed longer in time than our human existence. It is the place where archetypes emerge – those symbols and experiences that appear across time and cultures. The stories of our ancestors are woven into the fabric of our very being. As the poet May Sarton writes: “Now the dead move through all of us still glowing. . . What has been plaited cannot be unplaited. . . and memory makes kings and queens of us.”
Jung wrote:
I became aware of the fateful links between me and my ancestors. I feel very strongly that I am under the influence of things or questions which were left incomplete or unanswered by my parents and grandparents and more distant ancestors. It often seems as if there were an impersonal karma within a family, which is passed on from parents to children. It has always seemed to me that I had to answer questions which fate had posed to my forefathers, and which had not yet been answered, or as if I had to complete, or perhaps continue, things which previous ages had left unfinished.
The invitation for this season ahead is to remember and honor these stories which live inside of us, many of them unfinished or incomplete. We let the “lost human voices speak through us” and perhaps discover our own deepest longings are woven together with theirs. Consider spending some time in your journal holding this image of offering space for the lost human voices of your ancestors to speak. What stories might they tell? What wisdom might they offer?
With great and growing love,
CHRISTINE
Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE
www.AbbeyoftheArts.com
Photo: © Christine Valters Paintner on Inchgoaill island in Ireland
The post Honoring Saints and Ancestors appeared first on Abbey of the Arts.
October 14, 2015
Monk in the World guest post: Keren Dibbens-Wyatt
I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Keren Dibbens-Wyatt's reflection on singing your song.
Every morning I practice centering prayer and I commune with the divine, and I usually get interrupted at some point by three hard of hearing old ladies who stand outside cackling and shrieking with laughter, whilst they completely fail to control the Jack Russell that belongs to one of them. This goes on for at least half an hour. The dog drives me mad with its incessant yapping, the women with their nails-on-blackboard voices. This is their gossip time and it happens rain or shine, but at unpredictable moments so that I cannot plan around it.
Photo by Jeannie Kendall and used with permission
One minute I’m feeling whole and at peace, the next I am face to face with my shadow side as I find myself harbouring a desire to own a bazooka. The world seems to always knock us back down to earth when we are trying to make the spiritual life a priority. So how do we deal with it?
Well, one helpful perception the Lord gave me is the idea that everyone is singing their own song, whether they are a Jack Russell, a sparrow, a cantankerous writer or a bilious old lady. Sometimes it’s not the one he’d have chosen for them, but it is their own, and they are entitled to sing it, just as I’m entitled to sing my own song of meaningful silence. The fact that one encroaches on another is just the way it is. In this imperfect world, dancers step on each other’s toes, singers sing without consideration of harmony.
Not everyone sings their song in tune. Some screech, some are so busy trying to sing someone else’s song that they never find their own. Still others try to sing the song that they think they are supposed to be singing, the one that will please others, conditioned by the rules and pressures and ill-fitting melodies of the world, so that barely a note in ten is their own.
To know your own song requires a lot of listening and a willingness to learn the tune. Often, it requires silence. The notes may come quietly, like a tinkling of bottle tops in a tree, a lullaby that rises from deep inside your soul. Or they may come thick and fast like raindrops in a thunderstorm, Wagnerian and powerful.
Whatever it sounds like, your song will sit happily in your soul and start proclaiming its right not only to be there and be welcomed, but to be sung.
So we start out tentatively, a few notes at first. Maybe we clap our hands over our mouths at the strangeness of the sounds, or at the shock of hearing truth emanating from our inner selves. Perhaps someone else might tell us to shut up. More often than not those naysaying fears will come from inside of us, from that inner critic that insists on appraising everything instantly for merit, usually impatiently and in error, like a bread inspector constantly pulling the loaves out of the oven whilst they are trying to rise and bake.
But, if we persevere, the sounds will come. The notes will become less wobbly and more buoyant with confidence, and because they feel and sound so right to the ears of our listening hearts, that long lost stardust music will make its way onto canvas, onto blank pages, into pulpits and pianos and classrooms, it will mark clay and wood, iron and gold, and sing your true self all over your friendships, your interests, your knowledge, relationships and your life.
Whatever we are made to do, from inside there is holy music rising to help us on our way, and we shall come to life as we learn to sing it, acknowledging that the sledgehammer, the robin, the car alarm and the world’s gossipy old ladies all have their songs to sing as well. At these times of interruption and frustration, we can feel whacked out of kilter and dissonant, and we must allow those shadow feelings to birth compassion and the giving of space to others. There must be an acceptance and a waiting for this too to pass, and a stilling till we can let our song swell again.
Such moments are perhaps geared to bring forth a generosity of spirit, a hospitality in our surroundings and sound waves, the very air a harbour of welcome. But I’m not quite there yet and at times the bazooka urge is fearsomely great. I want my quiet and I want it now! So I will practice what I preach and sit across from my sulking inner contemplative, and smile at her, and hold her hands whilst we both breathe deep and admit our desire for the tide to hurry, laughing at our own stupidity and hugging our own humanity, and hearing more notes to sing.
Keren Dibbens-Wyatt is a writer and contemplative with a passion for prayer and the edification of women. She longs to draw others into deeper relationships with the Lord. Keren is the author of Positive Sisterhood, a handbook for living out Christian feminism, and you can connect with her at www.kerendibbenswyatt.com
The post Monk in the World guest post: Keren Dibbens-Wyatt appeared first on Abbey of the Arts.
October 11, 2015
Vienna Monk in the World Pilgrimage – November 12-20, 2016
Join us in the beautiful city of Vienna, Austria where we will stay in a Benedictine guesthouse right in the city center. The Advent markets will be going up around town, illuminating Vienna with a festive atmosphere. We will make journeys out to see other beautiful monasteries as well including Cistercian, Augustinian, and Benedictine. This is a city to make both the monk and artist’s hearts delight!
Click here for more details and to register>>
We offer pilgrimages to Ireland, Germany, and Austria. You can visit our calendar to see other dates and if a program is full, email us to be added to the waiting list.
The post Vienna Monk in the World Pilgrimage – November 12-20, 2016 appeared first on Abbey of the Arts.
October 10, 2015
Abbey of the Arts has a new website! ~ A love note from your online abbess.
Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims,
This love note is more of an update on what is happening around the Abbey as we are celebrating many good things!
First, we have a brand new website up, thanks to the stellar work of Lacy Clark Ellman who is a Wisdom Council member and spiritual director, along with star graphic designer. Stop by our new site, and take a look to see what you think. The feedback has already been great about how fresh, spacious, and easy to navigate it is. If you find any broken links or odd formatting on pages we would be most grateful if you could let us know!
We have some new graphics to go with the website as well. First is a beautiful infographic version of the Monk Manifesto and also some great new buttons you can post to your website or blog: Monk in the World and I am a dancing monk. You can find them here for download.
Remember that we offer a free 8-week online retreat on becoming a Monk in the World. You can access that here. If you love the newsletter and the free retreat, let your friends know about the Abbey and invite them to sign up. Our work grows through word of mouth as we do very little advertising.
We are absolutely thrilled to report that six out of seven pilgrimage dates for 2016 are now officially full, including all of the Ireland dates. We do have a few spaces left for Vienna November 12–20, 2016, a magical time to be there as the Christmas markets start to appear. We also keep waiting lists for all dates and do get cancellations, so be in touch if there are some dates you want to join but are currently full.
I shared last week that my next (and ninth!) book is due out in the spring of 2016. You can pre-order Illuminating the Way: Embracing the Wisdom of Monks and Mystics here, and you can read a short excerpt from last week’s reflection here.
Next week I will be back with more reflections on the contemplative and creative life. For now I am savoring all of the gifts this work brings, the most significant of which is a connection with you. You help make up our thriving global community. You bring me hope and joy to know that others are committed to a path of slowness and beauty.
In the meantime, here are some articles by Christine you may have missed:
Writing as a Spiritual Practice
Monk Manifesto at On Being
Webinar on Pilgrimage at Ave Maria Press
Hard to believe but in 2016 Abbey of the Arts will be celebrating 10 years of online presence. We have some lovely offerings in store!
With great and growing love,
Christine
Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE
www.AbbeyoftheArts.com
Monk Manifesto Infographic © Abbey of the Arts
The post Abbey of the Arts has a new website! ~ A love note from your online abbess. appeared first on Abbey of the Arts.
October 7, 2015
Monk in the World guest post: Monty Peregrine
I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Monty Peregrine's reflection on listening into silence.
My path as a monk in the world has literally taken me out into the world. I’m called by God and blessed to travel internationally several times a year, praying for and with the overlooked and neglected people of our world. I’ve provided basic eye care for rural campesinos in a one-room, dirt-floored school in Honduras, shared a midnight meal of freshly slaughtered goat, local cheese, yogurt, and melons with nomadic herders high in the Fann Mountains of Tajikistan, prayed with an Ethiopian family in their round mud hut as the matriarch slowly roasted, hand-ground and then brewed coffee from family grown beans, shared early morning yak butter tea with Tibetan monks in their Himalayan monastery, listened to Bosniak Muslims share the heart-rending stories of violence and death during the siege of Sarajevo.
One aspect of my call is specifically to pray with and for people who live in areas that have been ravaged by war. To slowly, meditatively walk among them praying for peace and reconciliation. To bring healing words and prayers to deep, festering emotional and spiritual wounds. To see the real results of our wars, not the ‘talking heads’ version on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, BBC or whichever slant you prefer. Some of these are old battlefields like the Walk of Peace trail in the Slovenian Alps where over one million men were killed in World War I. Many are from conflicts during my lifetime – the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Vietnam and Laos, the Sandinista-Contra conflict during the 1980s in Central America, the violent, bloody struggle for control of Tajikistan after the Soviet breakup. My pilgrimage into the world has also taken me into areas of current conflicts in Central Asia and the Middle East.
A few months ago my calling led me to hike a portion of Abraham’s Path through the country of Jordan. This pilgrimage was especially significant to me since Abraham is considered the father of my religion as well as the Jewish and Muslim faiths. Although we are all ‘people of the Book’ sharing a common patriarch, like jealous siblings, our enmity fuels much of the violence in the world today. The birthplace of these three religions seemed a good place to walk and pray for peace within the family. The blue United Nations tent camps of the Syrian refugees flooding into Jordan were a constant reminder of my call to prayer.
For several days we walked the same Jordanian foot paths that Abraham is reported to have walked thousands of years ago. We saw the very same mountains and deserts that he saw in millennia long past. Relatively little has changed for many of these people. We shared tea and prayers with Bedouin nomads who still live in goat hair tents driving their camels and goats from oasis to oasis. We visited ancient stone dwellings which have housed the same families for century after century. Of all the unique experiences my friends and I shared that week one stands out above them all.
On this day our hike led us to some ancient Nabatean ruins in the remote Dana Nature Reserve. We had spent the last few hours pondering 2000-year-old high cliff waterworks and ritual sacrifice sites. I actually sat and prayed in the small caves of Nabatean hermits and monks. But the highlight of this whole experience came, as they often do, with a casual comment from Saleh, our Muslim guide who claims descent from the Nabateans. As we walked along one of the ancient footpaths Saleh abruptly stopped, motioning for us to be quiet and still. I assumed he had spotted some elusive wildlife he wanted us to see, possibly a Syrian Serin or maybe a Nubian Ibex. Or possibly a poisonous snake we needed to avoid! As we stood there silent and still for what seemed like an eternity Saleh finally turned to us smiling with joy and whispered, “Listen into this silence”.
Saleh’s simple observation and statement cut through all the gibberish going through my mind. It brought me back to the present. It brought me back to an awareness of the presence of God and the awesome wonder of his creation, to the center of my being and my calling to live this silence. It brought me back to my calling to live as a monk in the world listening into this silence and praying the peace of this silence into the lives of those I meet.
Monty Peregrine is a wandering pilgrim-monk whom Christ has called to pray among the nations. He serves as a team leader and staff writer for Extreme Missionary Adventures (XMA) where he has led over 160 volunteer teams serving in 34 countries around our world. You can find more of Monty’s musings at www.monasteryofthesoul.com.
The post Monk in the World guest post: Monty Peregrine appeared first on Abbey of the Arts.
New Monk Buttons to Share!
Fellow dancing monk, spiritual director, and graphic designer Lacy Clark Ellman of A Sacred Journey has recently helped Abbey of the Arts create a new website. In addition, she created these wonderful buttons you can share with the world to express your commitment! Also stop by the Monk Manifesto page where we have a beautiful new graphic version of those principles you can print out and post as a reminder!
The post New Monk Buttons to Share! appeared first on Abbey of the Arts.
October 5, 2015
Illuminating the Way: Embracing the Wisdom of Monks and Mystics available for pre-order
Christine’s 9th book will be released next spring 2016 through Ave Maria Press and is an exploration of 12 monks and mystics through the lens of various archetypes including Artist, Monk, Warrior, Healer, and more. The cover beautifully brings the dancing monk icon figures created by Marcy Hall to life. It is now available for pre-order on Amazon. When you use our links, a small percentage of the purchase price comes back to us at no additional cost to you, which helps support our scholarship fund.
The post Illuminating the Way: Embracing the Wisdom of Monks and Mystics available for pre-order appeared first on Abbey of the Arts.
October 3, 2015
Embrace your inner fool with Francis of Assisi ~ A love note from your online abbess
Dearest monks and artists,
In spring of 2016 my ninth book will be published through Ave Maria Press titled Illuminating the Way: Embracing the Wisdom of Monks and Mystics. I am very excited to offer this set of reflections on the 12 dancing monks that have become the patron saints of our Abbey and connect each of them to an archetypal energy we can discover within ourselves.
Today is the Feast of St. Francis, beloved by many for his passion for creation, his commitment to service and the poor, and his embrace of the inner Fool – that part of himself that turns the world on its head.
Here is a brief excerpt from my forthcoming book exploring the Fool in relationship to Francis:
“We are fools for the sake of Christ” (1 Cor. 4:10)
There are many aspects of Francis’ foolishness, from stripping his clothing publicly, appearing naked in the church, renouncing his wealth, befriending all creatures, and calling his community of brothers “fools for Christ” reflecting the words of St. Paul above. He tames a wolf and during the Crusades he walks unarmed across the Egyptian desert into the Sultan’s camp where he had every reason to expect his own death, a foolish act indeed.
We are always being called to new revelation and to see the world from another perspective. The inner Fool is the one who helps us to see things anew and to dismantle the accepted wisdom of our times. Paul also writes “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” (1 Cor. 1:20b) Productivity, striving, consumption, and speed are some of the false gods of our western culture. A life committed to following the Divine path is one which makes the world’s wisdom seem foolish, but conversely, the world looks upon those with spiritual commitment often as the ones who are “fools.”
This can be a challenging archetype for some of us as we often try to do everything possible so as not to look foolish. However, this archetype is the one which helps to subvert the dominant paradigm of acceptable ways of thinking and living. The author GK Chesterton, in his book about Francis of Assisi, explores the idea of Francis seeing the world upside down, which is really seeing it right side up, because we get a totally new perspective. There is a subversive act of truth-telling through the Fool’s humor and playfulness.
The Fool risks mockery by stepping out of socially acceptable roles and asks where are you willing to look foolish? Through the fool we find vicarious release for much we have repressed in ourselves. If we have always lived according to the “rules” or been overly concerned with how things look, the Fool invites us to break open and play. The Fool encourages us to laugh at ourselves, reminding us that humor and humility have the same root as humus, which means earthiness.
We activate the fool when we do something that others have a hard time understanding or accepting. I remember when John and I first began our move to Europe and we sold off or gave away our possessions, various family members and friends couldn’t understand different things we had let go of – how could we release our library of treasured books? How could I burn years of journals? How could John quit his secure job? To some, our choices appeared “foolish” because they didn’t fit their way of thinking about how you move through life. To others, they seemed liberating precisely because it was a different path chosen.
How does Francis call you to your own path of holy foolishness? What have you been longing to do but afraid of looking “foolish” to others?
With great and growing love,
Christine
Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE
Dancing Monk Icon © Marcy Hall (order prints here)
The post Embrace your inner fool with Francis of Assisi ~ A love note from your online abbess appeared first on Abbey of the Arts.
September 30, 2015
Monk in the World guest post: Ally Markotich
I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Ally Markotich's reflection on recovering a creative practice.
I’m not sure when it began. Possibly winning third place in a community-wide art contest for the local Fire Hall in fourth grade. Or, maybe when friends and family would “ooh” and “aah” over recently created artwork. However, early on, I believed myself an artist. This label both delighted and concerned me. On my best days, time suspended as I created in the moment and on my worst days, I compared my art to others, insecurities running rampant.
Many days of my childhood were spent in my bedroom, a safe haven from the broken world lurking beyond. Drawing, reading and journaling – these were my friends. They were my sideline companions who let me be myself. Early on, I became aware of how art turned the corners of mouths, smiles rising. My artwork became my gift to others. I waited expectantly for large appreciation. When I was fawned and praised over, I gleamed. When the smile was not all I dreamed it would be, my being was wounded, a part of myself given never to be gotten back.I never wavered in my love and focus of art, and upon high school graduation, I packed up my room and headed to art school. But, four years of art school and countless critiques only left me doubting my artistic abilities. The smiles I yearned for upon gifting my art as a child became the approval I sought from fellow peers and professors in college. My worth became wrapped up in a wily world of overachievement and artwork made to please others. My expression of self folded and the flame I carried for art dwindled. I left college working in several lackluster environments with little creative freedom. I distanced myself from the term “artist”, not believing myself much of anything. I disengaged from the longing to create. Graphic design became a paycheck and not much else. I had entered the desert.
Three years ago, I found myself on an adventure I hadn’t planned. I was aching to know God better, and found myself sitting in an ‘Introduction to Spiritual Formation’ class. These three days away changed my course. While there, a stirring deep within began. I took another class. And another. These classes have expanded my way of being in the world. These times of retreat and learning have nudged me to explore my God-connection creatively. My soul was being awoken after thirteen years of wandering.
Arising from a sound sleep, the recognition of my longing to create began to surface. I gingerly bought a new sketchbook and some inks, fully intending to draw until my heart was content. As I made space in my days for this creating time, I found myself unable to stop pouring words into the sketchbook. Poems, prayers and writings sprawled. This surprised me, but led me to recall the many moments of journaling throughout my life. Journaling has always been my safe haven to express my inner life for noone else’s eyes. This sacred space often begins with anger and usually turns into prayer. With art, I’ve longed for smiles. With writing, I’ve longed to be me.
Nowadays, I’m exploring both art and writing. I’m allowing myself a place to create from within – some days drawing, some days writing. My art is colors and lines; whimsy and expression. There are days when I pick up watercolors or colored pencils, but, honestly, I have a long way to go with healing my former artistic self. I am more apt to write.
When I write, I often look back surprised at what I wrote. I won’t remember writing words, yet it speaks of my truth. This is my space to connect with God. To heal. To grow. To explore new concepts. When I write, I empty all the thoughts in my head and heart and pour out. In ways, it was obvious writing would bring healing – I have long been a writer when I’m struggling with life. Yet, writing feels a luxury to me; I’ve often withheld giving myself the space to write and explore. Now, I’m tending to my life by exploring journaling as a daily spiritual practice. This is giving me time and space to listen where I am each day.
Where I currently sit is pondering how to weave faith and creativity in the tiny corner of the world where I live. I am taking small steps to share this new road I walk. I recently finished facilitating a small group weaving art, lectio divina and Scripture together. When we ended our group, we had bonded as friends, grown as creators and completed an individual 100-square mosaic based on our gleanings of light. In June, I began a website offering ideas for living faith creatively, a section of poetry, and a blog. Blogging has allowed me to expand my vulnerabilty and invite others to reflect on their lives. In addition, blogging about faith and creativity is freeing me from living divided. No longer can I claim to be pleasing anyone other than the one who created me. This is stretching me, releasing me from labels and the need to please.
As I travel the road, I am taking one step at a time. I am unsure where the road will lead, but I am committed to living as I am called. My simple hope as a monk in the world is to embrace my creativity so I can move forth encouraging others to creatively engage their life.
Ally Markotich is a creative contemplative on a search for the sacred in the ordinary. She is currently enrolled in the Spiritual Formation program at Columbia Theological Seminary in Georgia. You can find more of her ponderings at www.allymarkotich.com
The post Monk in the World guest post: Ally Markotich appeared first on Abbey of the Arts.
September 26, 2015
Celebrate the Feast of St. Michael and Autumn Equinox ~ A love note from your online abbess
Dearest monks and artists,
Included in your love note today is a short excerpt from our current Sacred Seasons mini-retreat for the Autumn Equinox and the Feast of Michaelmas (register here to receive materials all year long to celebrate the turning of the seasons) written by your online Prior John Valters Paintner:
“Do not fear, Daniel,” the Archangel Michael continued; “from the first day you made up your mind to acquire understanding and humble yourself before God, your prayer was heard.”
~ Daniel 10:12a
The Book of Daniel, named after the hero and not the author of the story, is set during the early days of the Babylonian Exile. It is more an Apocalyptic text than truly Prophetic work. The book itself was written during the Greek occupation of Judea and a time of great persecution (far more so than what the Jewish exiles in Babylon would have suffered). Placing the story in an earlier time and different place allowed the unknown author to avoid trouble with the authorities, but the original audience would have read past the ‘code’ to see themselves in the story of Daniel. (A similar style of writing was used in the Book of Revelation to avoid directly or overtly criticizing the Roman occupation and subsequent persecution.)
The message is one of hope in the midst of what appears to be total defeat. The idea is that since their ancestors survived the Babylonian Exile, the Jews under Hellenistic rule will also survive and one day be restored. The Book of Daniel is arguably the first true revelation about a life-after-death, a great judgment in the life to come.
The Feast of Michaelmas is located in the season of autumn, a time when the warmth and bloom of summer fade. The days are growing shorter and colder . . . and winter is still yet to come. Not only have things taken on a gloomier hue, if you suffer from any kind of seasonal affective disorder, the worst is yet to come.
This must have been how the Jews under the increasingly oppressive reign of the Greeks must have felt. Their ancestors had faced hard times, but perhaps none as hard as this. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to imagine, let alone see the light at the end of that tunnel. They were in more need of God’s loving embrace than ever.
And so the Archangel Michael, the captain of an army of angels, the defeater of Lucifer, the defender of heaven itself, comes to Daniel – to each of them – and tells them not only not to fear, but that their prayers have already been heard and answered. He becomes an archetype of hope and invitation to surrender into trust.
How do you find courage to endure when times are dark?
A concluding note from Christine:
Autumn Equinox coincides with the Feast of St. Michael on September 29th. In general I am not particularly drawn to angels. Perhaps it is the way some are depicted. Often the sweetness of cherubs is a bit too cloying for me. They feel disconnected from my own experience.
But I do often find myself drawn to statues of St. Michael. Usually he is depicted as this strong presence with a sword and shield. He offers a sense of protection against the forces that threaten to overwhelm us. He invites us to invoke our own inner warrior to provide boundaries on our energy and commitments. I used to resist the idea of warrior, preferring nonviolence and peaceful solutions. But the warrior is an essential ally for us.
This feels a bit like autumn’s invitation as well, the call to remember our own limits as we move into the season of release. How does Michael call you to say no in the days ahead? How might a sacred no offer you the grace of renewal and replenishment?
With great and growing love,
Christine
Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE
Photo: ©
The post Celebrate the Feast of St. Michael and Autumn Equinox ~ A love note from your online abbess appeared first on Abbey of the Arts.
