Christine Valters Paintner's Blog, page 39

Sabbath Rest for Abbey of the Arts ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims,

Every summer we try to step back from this wonderful work and take a bit of time off for planning, dreaming, and resting. Sabbath is one of the profound gifts of a generous and abundant divine presence who says that work is good and rest is necessary.

We are so grateful for all the ways this community supports our work in the world and we are eager to listen more deeply in the coming weeks to what new things want to be birthed through the Abbey in the coming year.

We will be taking a break from our weekly love notes and daily quotes and questions starting tomorrow and will return on Sunday, July 31st with more Abbey goodness. You are still welcome to email us (or register for programs) we might just be a bit slower to respond than usual.

Theologian Walter Brueggemann has a brilliant little book titled Sabbath as Resistance. He describes the origins of the practice of Sabbath in the story of the Exodus in which the Israelites are freed from endless productivity and relentless labor into a way of being where rest is essential and we reject our slavery to perpetual doing. 

The God who is revealed in this story is completely unlike any they have known before, a God committed to relationship and rest. It is worth imagining for a moment the revolutionary power of this revelation and how strange the Israelites seemed to other cultures in their radical commitment to a day of rest each week as an act of resistance to the endless systems of anxiety. Everyone rested, no matter what gender or social class, because God saw that as very good. 

It is worth further imagining the ways that each of us is enslaved by the current culture and system of perpetual overwork and exhaustion, of busyness and relentless doing. We may have our freedom on some levels, but how many of us choose to exercise that in favor of our own nourishment and replenishment? 

I love that after their escape from slavery, Miriam and the other women dance in celebration because a new story has emerged. In the scripture text one of my favorite details is that they carried their tambourines with them in their flight from Egypt. In the mad rush to flee death and destruction, one of the essentials they carried with them were their musical instruments, what allows them to revel and dance. 

We are sharing one of our newest dance videos above for the song “Holy Holy Holy” by Karen Drucker. My dear friend and teaching partner Betsey Beckman was inspired by the song to film this piece at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco with two other beautiful dancers. The video was originally created for our Lent retreat on Honoring Angels, Saints, and Ancestors but we felt inspired to share the joy with you here. Our longer-term vision is that the song will be on our next album (yes, we are already working away on it!) and be part of a fourth week of our Prayer Cycle series. 

St. Gregory of Nyssa church has their own set of dancing monk icons encircling their community and accompanied by the power of the dancers the song comes to life in new ways. “I am/You are/We are holy, holy holy. Spirit Divine, come to me, feeling love, healing me. Open my heart, allow me to see, beauty and love, that lives in me.”

Part of how we do this is to set down our tasks, our deadlines, our notifications, our meetings, all of our doing. We embrace the spaciousness and lavish gift of rest in a culture that prefers to have us exhausted. We celebrate that we were made for this and in our restoration we live fully into the holiness we already embody. 

Consider taking five minutes for a holy pause, a time of sacred rest, and breathe into the images offered in this song and dance. As the “holy, holy, holy” repeats see all parts of yourself saying yes to the sacredness of your being. That you need do nothing to be worthy, you are already a radiant light breaking through. Create space to shine brightly. 

May the gift of Sabbath rest be yours in the days ahead.

With great and growing love,

Christine

Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE

Video © The Dancing Word

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Monk in the World Guest Post: Natalie Salminen

I am delighted to share a beautiful submission to our Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Natalie Salminen’s reflection on creativity, faith, and painting the liturgy of the hours.

I was exhausted in every sense of the word. As a mother to three, foster parent, visual artist, pastor’s wife, school volunteer, and small business owner, I was struggling to keep up with life’s daily demands. In the midst of this busy season, I longed to be true to my artistic practice,  knowing well the power of creativity to heal and align. My husband and I decided to open up a brick and mortar art studio and poetry showroom, naming it Studio Haiku. Though this felt like the right decision, at the time there was no denying I was dwelling in a very weary place. 

 Unfortunately my artistic practice had become a series of what I had deemed “difficult births.” The creative energy was present, but the joy and celebration in the arrival of completed work had been waning. I felt relief and a deep gratitude for a fleeting moment, but soon the labor pains began again with the next project. I had not scheduled any downtime or intentional rest between deadlines. So many labor pains, and less and less energy to draw from as time went on.  I cried out to the Spirit for relief, but would inevitably press forward without pause. Another project, another body of work…and so the cycle continued. I longed for rest. 

In an effort to paint without the pressure of performance or outcome, I arranged a painting trip to Mexico in the fall of 2018. I thought this might be a path towards the rest I was seeking. I had been working with a gallery in the Baja peninsula in the southern town of San José del Cabo since 2014, and over the years had planned each trip around a solo show or a workshop that I would be teaching. This time however, I wanted the trip to be about painting for the joy of it – no deadlines, no expectations. Nothing required of me. I imagined myself painting, relaxing, and enjoying the beauty of Mexico. I would later deliver whatever paintings I had completed to the gallery. It sounded simple to me, restful. No grueling labor pains or difficult births required.

That did not happen. 

Much of my work centers around encaustic, a beeswax and damar resin medium, which entails painting layers upon layers of pigmented beeswax medium on a birch panel in an effort to build up the surface of the painting. So to prepare for my easy-going week of painting in Mexico, I readied and primed seven large panels with many, many layers of encaustic medium in an effort to finish what can be for me the most time consuming component of the encaustic process. After I had completed most of the under painting, I had the panels shipped to Mexico, where I would later bring the paintings to completion.  

Upon my Baja arrival, I met the gallery owner to discuss what I would be delivering to her at the end of my ten day trip. She excitedly told me that the timing of my visit could not have been more perfect, as many of her gallery clients were currently in the area. She immediately asked if I would be open to having a formal solo show. I knew that meant producing a cohesive body of work, having a formal opening, presenting my work with an accompanied artist’s talk, all by opening night.  As she laid out her plan, I felt a “yes” rise up from within me. What was happening? In an out-of-body moment, I agreed to do the show.

Back at the studio, I quickly condemned myself for agreeing to what seemed to be the stark opposite of what I had come to Mexico for in the first place. Frustrated with myself and my weak constitution, I had nothing to do but begin painting.  I painted day and night, nearly eighteen hours a day. As I continued to build up the layers of paint, I trusted that something thematic would emerge, as my usual process rarely includes contriving an image beforehand. The pressure was mounting as I reminded myself that I had just committed to showing a cohesive body of work in ten days time. I wasn’t sure how everything would to tie together, and of course my artist’s talk would derive from the theme, so working on that element would also have to wait. I prayed, I prayed, I prayed. Painting and praying. Painting and praying. Praying and soon enough, tears.  

It was just three days before opening night and still no theme, no central subject. No cohesive imagery that I could see. I had been translating the Japanese sewing art of sashiko into many of the paintings through a drawing process, but pursuing the subject of Japanese pattern work as the theme did not settle with me, as much as I tried. I began to feel intense panic and fear settle into my being. I cried out to God, “Why is this happening to me? Why did I say yes to this? I thought I would be able to finally rest! To paint without pressure. Now I’m so tired and anxious and my back is against the wall. Why did I say yes to this??” I berated myself. What was I to do now?

I had finished five paintings. I could see no common thread between them apart from each painting containing natural elements of the Baja landscape. Five paintings were not enough for a full show and I knew it. But how could I pull them together and add more work in just a few days? How would I talk about them? Where was my theme? All I could think about was how scared I felt with the threat of failure and embarrassment looming near, and how physically tired I was from all the late nights. My thinking was clouded by the stress and shame.

All I wanted to do was rest. I wanted to lay my tired body and heart down and not get up. In an effort to refocus, I walked out of the studio with my books and journal, found a chair in the sun overlooking the Sea of Cortez and crumpled into a teary ball. I was so frustrated with myself. I opened a book I was working through, entitled The Artist’s Rule, by Christine Valters Paintner. I turned to the chapter “Sacred Rhythms for Creative Renewal” which began with a quote from Linda Leonard, reading, 

“A major obstacle to creativity is in wanting to be in the peak season of growth and generation at all times…but if we see the soul’s journey as cyclical, like the seasons…then we can accept the reality that periods of despair or fallowness are like winter – a resting time that offers us a period of creative hibernation, purification and regeneration that prepares us for the births of spring.”

The words stung. The chapter was all about creating space for rest and renewal. I rolled my eyes bitterly and thought, “This isn’t helping me right now! I don’t have time to rest. I already know I need it, but I am in panic mode!” 

I read on and a quote from J. Phillip Newell became another uncomfortable exposure of my weakened heart.

 “If we fail to establish regular practices of stillness and rest, our creativity will be either exhausted or shallow. Our countenance, instead of reflecting a vitality of fresh creative energy that is sustained by the restorative depths of stillness, will be listless or frenetic. This is as true collectively as it is individually, and applies as much to human creativity as it does to the earth’s fruitfulness. Creativity without rest, and productivity without renewal, leads to an exhaustion of our inner resources.”

 I cringed as I read. Oh, how I could relate. The chapter expounded on prescriptives for resting in God and creating space for pause throughout the day. One such recommendation by Valters Paintner was, “…the ancient tradition of praying the Liturgy of the Hours, with its seven holy pauses.” I read on to understand that this ancient call to pray and praise seven times throughout the day is based on Psalms 119:164. The Liturgy of the Hours begins in the pre-dark dawn and ends in the dark of night. It is a rhythm of pausing, connection and a gratuitous invitation to rest in God’s presence throughout the day. 

 My mind was contemplating the invitation, but still threatened by my immediate circumstances. I continued to read from the author’s wisdom, “Creativity depends on waning times for restoration…In cultivating our creativity, times of rest are essential. Pushing ourselves to the edge of exhaustion does not nurture the creative process in the long run.”  

“Very funny!” I said angrily to God. “I’ve been telling you how tired I am, and now you’re again inviting me to rest and that’s the last thing I have time for right now! Why did I say yes to this?? I am up against the wall, I am panicking, I have no idea how to pull this all together, and I I have two days to do it in. I NEED YOU. I need you to show up for me right now. I know I need to rest and be still, but I don’t know how to actually do that right now.” I was conflicted. I was blaming myself for getting into a tight spot once again, a bad habit for which I didn’t know how to break. But I still had enough hope and belief in God’s goodness to ask Him to make a way for me. He had shown up for me before, and I believed he would do it again. I tried to push aside the crippling worry and continued to pray for a way to be made.

 I walked back into my studio and surveyed the five paintings I had thus far completed. What I saw before me brought me to my knees. Unseen by me until that very moment, each painting was of a different time of day. I was undone. I’m not exactly sure how to communicate what transpired in my heart at that moment, but I quickly realized that I was on pure and holy ground. The scales fell. God had been there all along, supporting me in my deep unrest.Immanuel. Unbeknownst to me, we had been painting The Liturgy of the Hours together.

There before me was Vigils:Pre-Dawn. a painting of a dark and starry sky, with just enough light to see a field of green grasses beginning to awaken beneath it. There was Lauds:Dawn with it’s sunrise pink sky being pierced by a sliver of gold-leafed sun, rising over the Sea of Cortez. Sext: Noon stood finished as well, donning a beautiful Japanese-red sun, hanging high-noon and full over the bright and active sea. The piece that would become Vespers: Evening had a twilight sky already painted in, complete with a glimpse of the moon at the top of the painting and a small, matching slice of sun at the bottom. This magical in-between time had been painted so particularly that I gasped. I also had finished what would become Compline:Night. A starscape and a warm, glowing moon rose quietly above the lush flora of Mexico. It met my eyes with growing astonishment. Each of the five completed 

paintings fit perfectly into the set times for the Liturgy of the Hours. Before I had read about the Liturgy of the Hours, these five paintings had come to completion.

 The two other times for prayer, None: Afternoon and Terce: Morning, were left for me complete. Although I would need to pull an all-nighter in order to complete the series, I went forward to paint with the most exuberant and holy glee anyone could ever imagine. I would no longer be creating out of exhaustion and anxiousness, but from a place of miracle. I could rest, knowing God was at my creative helm. My panic was replaced by amazement, as I leaned into the co-creation I had just witnessed. The God of the Universe had met me. Met me in my need. Met me in my weakness. He had soothed my anxious heart in the most tangible way, with the most miraculous and generous gift.

The show’s theme was clearly Liturgy of the Hours – seven large paintings to reflect the seven holy pauses. The experience made the most extraordinary artist talk on opening night, as I told the gallery attendants just exactly what had happened. On a warm Baja night, the invitation to rest was before each of us – profound and holy, a visible manifestation of the miraculous power of a loving God, who meets us generously in our time of need. 

Four years later and I am often tempted to forget this extravagant miracle. (I understand the Israelites of old now more than ever). For me, the “exhaustion of inner resources” comes quickly when I draw from my own strength, create out of my own silo of being or dwell in false shame. Since that experience in the Baja, I discover daily that rest is trust. I can trust that I am co-creating with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Rest is knowing that truly, my weaknesses make room for God’s glory.  I have learned that my weakness makes space for a miracle. That is a hard one to believe, but it is true. When I’m in the studio I remind myself that We are making things together and I can trust that. This postures me towards a restful spirit, because trust is rest; the doorway into true creative partnership with the Godhead.

This encounter also opened up the door for me to accept that my very own winter season was coming. God made a way and in the spring of 2020, just as the pandemic was unfurling, I closed my brick and mortar studio. It was a bittersweet necessity. I would take the next year off. I could “see the soul’s journey as cyclical, like the seasons” and was given much courage to embrace the fallowness that would soon arrive. Just before God would ask me to close the studio, I created a series of encaustic and Japanese paper vases that held dried winter flora, entitled Nature at Rest. It was a prophetic co-creation that made the closing of the studio less painful. I knew from those small sculptures that a fallow season was an essential part of life and quite beautiful in its own way.

 Here we are now in the spring of 2022 and this story continues to unfold. We’ve navigated two full years of pandemic living, and none has gone unscathed. Violence, tragedy, and the spirit of division lounge boastfully in our town squares. A nebulous unrest simmers, incessantly knocking at the door of our innermost being. We want this all to be over. We want a break. We want to rest. The scriptures tell us that Christ gives rest to those who are labored and weary. Is that not us? In my Mexican sea-side studio, God did not immediately give me the thing I thought I wanted. He instead turned my face to see His. It was the Who of rest, not the how. Once I saw that Christ was with me, in my humanness, in my weakness, deeply steeped in my particularities, rest ceased to be such a bitter struggle. My calendars and commitments look different now, as I desire to live under His banner of rest and nearness – powerful truths to  to ground our flailing hearts. Today, amidst the darkness of our times, that same Rest, which does not discriminate, is being offered to us. We need only turn our gaze.

View the Liturgy of the Hours Series.

Born in Duluth, Minnesota, Natalie Salminen Rude credits her years of travel, a deep appreciation for the natural world around her, esteem for community, and a genuine wonder threaded with intense curiosity for all that life holds – for having laid the foundation for a rich zest for life and the artistic process. In 2003 she received a BFA with honors from the University of Wisconsin, Superior. Although graduating with a concentration in painting, she also studied extensively in ceramics, textiles and sculpture. In 2004, she began working in encaustic. Encaustic has become for her a valued medium as it allows for physicality, creative mixed media additions, use of poetic text and ultimately a powerful employment of color; each being vital components of her personal aesthetic and process.

Natalie now resides near the shores of Lake Superior in Duluth after time spent in Europe, South America, the Middle East, Mexico and lastly Ontario, Canada, where she, her husband, and three children called home for four years. Working professionally in the arts since 2004, she maintains a studio, teaches encaustic workshops both locally and internationally, exhibits and facilitates discussions on spirituality and what it means to live as an artist within the context of commitment.

NatalieSalminen.com

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Prayer Cycle Day 7 Morning and Evening Prayer ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims,

We conclude our release of the Birthing the Holy Prayer Cycle with an excerpt from Day 7 Evening Prayer honoring Mary, as Mirror of Justice. The video above is for the beautiful song Magnificat which we commissioned from our dear friend Simon de Voil. He created such a moving sung prayer. You are invited to pray with it in the audio podcast of the Prayer Cycle or with the images in the video above. Let this be a time of meditation on Mary’s desire and longing for justice in the world and how we might be empowered by her. 

We share the opening prayer and closing blessing from this prayer service to inspire you to connect with Mary as the Mirror of Justice, welcoming in the wisdom she has to offer to you this day. 

Opening Prayer

Mirror of Justice, you lift up all those on the margins; reflect the justice of Christ who redistributes power structures and gives amplification to the most vulnerable. You call us to solidarity with those who are in need and to remember that our own liberation is intimately entwined with the liberation of the whole human community and the whole natural world. With cries of lament for this hurting world we ask you, Mary, that in the midst of our holy birthing we too can be midwives of a new vision and new way of being that allows all beings to be nourished and to thrive.

Closing Blessing:

Holy Mary, Mirror of Justice,
you reflect back to us what is possible
in a world of corruption and suffering.
You hold the vision of a new creation,
your very being magnifies the Divine
and reveals a pathway of justice
where each person and being
is well nourished and loved.
Where everyone has more than enough,
an abundance for flourishing.
Where each one is cherished
for exactly who they are.
You call on us to care for those
who dwell on the edges,
to bring them to the center of our care.
You empower us to resist violence
in all its forms and to shower
this world with care and kindness.

You can listen to the audio podcasts for Day 7 Morning and Evening Prayer here. Morning Prayer honours Madonna Protectress.

I invite you to read a reflection celebrating the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere or the Winter Solstice in the Summer Hemisphere. 

Join Melinda this Thursday for a yoga class fostering community.

With great and growing love,

Christine

Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE

Opening Prayer written by Christine Valters Paintner, arranged by Melinda Thomas

Closing Blessing written by Christine Valters Paintner from Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and  Renewal used with permission from Ave Maria Press

Video © Abbey of the Arts and Morgan Creative

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Christine Interviewed on Catholic Faith Network Live

Christine was interviewed about her book Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and Renewal on Catholic Faith Network Live.

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Monk in the World Guest Post: Lita Quimson

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Wisdom Council member Lita Quimson’s reflection “Dispositioning: Entering the Holy of Holies” which she offers as preparatory guidance for retreats.

We are entering into the veil where the Arc of the Covenant (The tabernacle of the Ancient temple of Jerusalem)resides.

Disposition

The predominant or prevailing tendency of one’s spirits; natural mental and emotional outlook or mood; characteristic attitude: A state of mind regarding something -dictionary.com

A day or two before the start of our retreat, we are encouraged to prepare and disposition ourselves. Entering into a retreat in silence is a serious undertaking. Preparing ourselves for this also tells God that I am committed to this meeting, and I want to prepare myself to be in God’s presence just like I prepare myself for a work meeting or for an exam. My take on this Lord is that being with you and hearing from you is something I do yearly or bi-annually, and I want to do it well, I am taking this meeting seriously, and I don’t want to miss any message you have for me. Therefore, I do not want to be distracted by anything. I want to be in the right disposition, not frazzled, anxious, angry, fearful. I want to be quiet, in peace, anticipating, focused, and ready to receive. 

In view of this, I am setting aside time not only for the retreat, but I also want to prepare myself, my disposition, my personhood, my well being, my boundaries, and my space. Because I am going to spend some quality time with someone I dearly love, I do not want to be distracted by the noise of the world. 

When I am with my grandchildren or my children, I do not want them to feel that other matters are more important than my time with them. Therefore, I put my phone to silent and gesture that I will deal with you when I have spent some quality time with my first love. 

I have named this as the entering into the holy of holies because the reverence involved in meeting with Yahweh is the same reverence that dispositioning involves from the person’s point of view. God is always waiting for us. Therefore, to give God our time and to give Him our all in all, we begin to prepare for this significant and serious meeting. Like the high priest who prepares and follows the rituals to mark the preparation, we, too, have practices in some ways.  

The mini separation of our hearts allows us to choose not to engage in things that bring us stress or confusion. Shedding some responsibilities as we come closer to our retreat is another way of being like a high priest who starts putting on his garments of linen. Turning it over to someone else and starting to have less to do so that you can honor your soul and body.  

The shedding can be akin to cleansing and washing because the shedding makes space as we empty ourselves. We make space for the spirit of God to enter into us more freely. 

These are what it entailed for the high priest who was going to meet God had to do:

Entering into the tent on the day of atonement once a yearThe washing of the bodies with pure waterGiving offerings of animals without blemish (i.e. their best) Putting on of the Garments, the dressing of linen clothes, the tying of the sashesStages of entry from one curtain to the next Entering into the center where the Arc of the Covenant resides where God was present: the final veil

Another feature is the curtains, the stages of entering going from the distracting ways to the next curtain of the less distracting ways, stage by stage. And then into the next curtain, where one can focus on the coming activity. That is even becoming more prepared for the practice of the presence of God. 

We care for the temple of God in our bodies, for God’s spirit dwells in us, we glorify God in our body by preparing ourselves.

Scripture readings:

1 Cor 6:20 

1 Cor 3:16-17

Hebrews 10:19 

Leviticus 16:1-5

Lita Quimson is an experienced spiritual director trained in various local and international institutions such as the CenterQuest School of Spiritual Direction, Center for Ignatian Spirituality, and Emmaus Center for Psycho-Spiritual Formation. She holds a master’s degree in ministry major in spiritual formation and certificates in spiritual direction and formation. Lita designed formation programs and continues to design programs that are relevant to today’s world. She spearheads the development of innovative ways to reach more seekers, considering retreats and accompaniment online.

Lita is the founder of Cherimoya Eco-Spirituality & Retreat Center in the Philippines designed to provide space for people to rest in nature and be able to encounter god. She is also the founder and executive director of On the Third Day Renewal and Formation Center.

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Prayer Cycle Day 6 Morning and Evening Prayer ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims,

We are delighted to share Day 6 of our Birthing the Holy Prayer Cycle with you which honors Mary as Theotokos (God-Bearer/ morning prayer) and Mystical Rose (evening prayer).

The video above is another one created by our filmmaking friends in Galway, Morgan Creative, to bring this beautiful song to life. We invite you to pause for a meditative moment. If you have any rose tea on hand (either rose hips or rose petals or both!) consider brewing a cup to inhale and sip slowly while contemplating the images. 

The song itself is based on an old traditional German folk song and speaks to Mary as the rose that blooms among the thorns. Similar to Mary as the Greenest Branch from last week’s reflection (and Day 5 of the Prayer Cycle), her greening fruitfulness blossoms into the world. In herbal medicine the rose is the healer of the heart. 

Here is the closing blessing for Day 6 Evening Prayer honoring Mary as Mystical Rose.*

CLOSING BLESSING

Blessed Mary, Mystical Rose,
you unfold your petals slowly
revealing your mysteries one by one.
The color of passion,
the fragrance of bliss soft like a warm embrace,
reveal to us our own soul’s flowering.
Abide with us as we wait on the buds to open
a journey from holding everything
close to our hearts to the fullness
of opening and offering our gifts to the world.
Rose is medicine for the heart,
tender of traumas, healer of wounds,
a place for grief to soften.
Be our medicine, bring our hearts alive again.
Steady us as we learn to breathe
more deeply and to dance
like petals blowing in the breeze
releasing the perfume of kindness
out into the world.

The companion album Birthing the Holy: Singing with Mary and the Sacred Feminine is available for streaming or download. 

With great and growing love,

Christine

Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE

*Closing Blessing written by Christine Valters Paintner from Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and  Renewal used with permission from Ave Maria Press

Video credit: Abbey of the Arts and Morgan Creative

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Monk in the World Guest Post: Anne Buck – Awakening the Creative Spirit

I am delighted to share this beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read for Anne Buck’s reflection on finding her creative voice at the Awakening the Creative Spirit retreat. This retreat is being offered live October 31-Nov 4, 2022 in the Pacific Northwest with Kayce Stevens Hughlett and Betsey Beckman as facilitators.

Thirteen years ago I attended my first Awakening The Creative Spirit at St Andrew’s Retreat Center on the Hood Canal. I was following an interest that began with a couple of on-line courses at Abbey of the Arts with Christine Valters Paintner. At the time, I was in full time ministry as a hospital chaplain and had a practice in Spiritual Direction. 

At that time, part of me knew that I was artistic but I would never, ever have identified as an artist. Many people have been injured in some way, often in grade school, leading them to hold a belief they are not artistic. How many times do you hear words like, “I can’t even draw within the lines” or “I only draw stick people” or “I can’t sing” or “I’m not a poet/writer!” I was one of those people, so much so that I could encourage others but did not understand the process of being creative was, in fact, the learning, the invitation for growth. 

I studied art, I loved and appreciated art and I was creative with patients, providing coloring pages, hand labyrinths and music and I offered artistic expression protocols for my directees, but I did not fully implement creative expression as part of our time together. I was offering care from my knowledge and education, not necessity from my own felt experience. 

My time at Awakening the Creative Spirit was just that – a felt experience and a simple yet profound awakening. It offered me a set apart, designated time for just me to integrate creativity into my own spiritual practice and I began to see the growing edges of both my spiritual journey, and the way in which I was creative in the world around me. 

I return to Awakening the Creative Spirit as a helper now to take care of logistics and preparation and to support Kayce and Betsey as they facilitate. The container of this retreat is both brilliant and nurturing. The setting is breathtaking in its beauty, both outdoors with its view of the Olympic Mountains and inside with log walls and a rock fireplace, perfect for gathering in a circle. The food is all locally sourced and St. Andrews welcomes us warmly. Everything is taken care of so participants are able to leave their jobs and responsibilities and roles somewhere else and show up to explore their own creative exxpression. 

I go back each year to be a part of a creative and transformational process that always unfolds. I learn about my own creativity, my own growth and my own abilities to show up and be present. I return for the reminders that show up: I am a Creative Spirit. I have a voice and I am passionate about Awakening the Creative Spirit.

Anne Buck is a retired Board Certified Chaplain, a Spiritual Director, a Massage Therapist and a Certified Veriditas Labyrinth Facilitator and a long time volunteer with The Dougy Center for Grieving Children supporting families who have had a significant family member die. 

Anne is currently a caregiver for her husband and her mother after their strokes and diagnosis of dementia, learning first hand that the spirit or inner being that we are born with never dies.  The longing for connection and purpose and meaning is the spiritual journey of all people and by being present with others towards the end of life there is always depth and ongoing growth.

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Monk in the World Guest Post: Elise Ritter

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Elise Ritter’s luminous artworks of angels, saints, and ancestors were featured in our Lent retreat, The Love of Thousands. In this reflection she shares a bit of her process and inspiration in painting. 

Luminous Grace:  Why I paint the way I do

There are two lessons that I learned throughout my years of painting:

Do not give up on your dreams and be open to experimentation.

The study of painting, under the right teacher, opened up my world.   I began to see details that I had previously overlooked.  I appreciated the glint of light on a flower petal, the ripples in a pond, the yellow leaf among a background of evergreen trees.  It was a time of great discovery and falling in love, actually.  And it was a time of encountering everyday miracles.  As Thich Nhat Hanh said, “Every day we are engaged in a miracle that we don’t even recognize:  a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the back, curious eyes of a child.  All is a miracle.” 

Communion of Saints © Elise Ritter

I started intuitive painting, where instead of planning out a painting by transferring a sketch onto a piece of paper, and carefully adhering to rules of perspective, I stood in front of a blank canvas with my favorite colors, and painted “in the moment” what appeared intuitively on the page.

A technique I used was gently pouring a small amount of concentrated paint on the page, as a background “wash” and after it dried, looking for folds that connected to each other, as in the folds of robes that were indicative of a community of spirits or angels.   I had to gaze in soft focus to make them appear to me—but they were usually there, and it was interesting to see the natural composition they formed. They were all connected in a type of community and were in relationship with one another–as we humans are, as well.

“For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.” –Psalm 91:11

“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unaware.”—Hebrews 13:2.

And these are the images that are unveiled in my art.  One time I had labored over a large canvas for hours.  My brush, full of acrylic paint, just didn’t seem to know what to do, and the result was, quite honestly, a mess.   It was time to take a break, and wonder if I should proceed with the painting, or just give up.  After I returned to the easel, it was almost as if an invisible force moved my arm, and with bold gestures, I painted figures and gold symbols on the canvas, and created a finished painting in only about 15 minutes.  Its title is “Communion of Saints.”  That painting has since been published in a catechism in Portugal, a spiritual magazine in Canada, and about 100 different covers of religious publications and bulletins in churches throughout the United States.   

“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.” –Colossians 1:12

Messengers © Elise Ritter

A part of yourself and your background comes out in your art.  Creating art is a way to set your subconscious free. The creative process reveals your individuality.  My influences include the love of stained glass in the many cathedrals and churches I’ve visited; fascination with mosaics; and the time I spent in Vienna, Austria, seeing the exuberant and mystical paintings of Gustav Klimt, with symbols, gold accents, and cubist images of intense color.  These paintings moved my soul. 

I read widely and researched Near Death Experiences and read first-person accounts of people who had passed over but returned to earth. All of which made me believe that there is indeed an afterlife, a heaven, a place where we return after we die; a place of wondrous love created by God –the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit Trinity—and Mother Mary and the Communion of Saints.  I believe that there are spirits all around us—including angels, saints, and our ancestors, to guide us and help us, if we asked for their help. 

“The contemplative mind refuses to objectify.  It grants similarity, subject to subject relationship, likeness, symbolism, communion, connection, meaning.  We can use whatever words or images are helpful, but suddenly we live in an alive universe where we can never be lonely again.” –Richard Rohr

Mary, Mary © Elise Ritter

Speaking of angels, saints and ancestors, I am especially moved by and proud of various ancestors I’ve been privileged to have.  During these last several years of political turmoil and worldwide pandemics, my ancestors’ courage and forbearance helps me continue onward.  I think of a 14-year-old boy, who with his older sister, sailed from Sweden across the Atlantic.  They landed in Baltimore, where he went to live with an immigrant society, alone and speaking no English (his sister went on to Minnesota).   I think of a 4-year-old boy in Nova Scotia who became an orphan when his mother died of smallpox and his father drowned, in the same year.  This boy was shunted around to relatives and only found happiness when he became an adult and married.  What they had to endure; what spirit and resilience they had; what strength they showed; and how they persevered! The descendants of these boys became American doctors, dentists, lawyers, military officers, architects, editors, photographers and artists. 

“Our senses ground us and orient us in the world AND in a world behind this world.  This is the truth that any mystical tradition seeks to convey.  …We are not called to choose between physical or spiritual but rather to see them as magnificently woven together; we can see beneath the surface of things as our senses become the gateway to a deeper layer everywhere we look.  Ordinary tasks become luminous with grace.”  (Page 13, Breath Prayer, Christine Valters Paintner)

Elise Ritter is an award-winning watercolor and mixed media artist. She is a juried member of the Potomac Valley Watercolorists, a group of top watercolor artists in the Washington DC region. 

Elise’s paintings are in Gallery Underground and Gallery Clarendon in Arlington, VA, and by Masterpieces Gallery, in Kerikeri, New Zealand. Her work is in private collections throughout he United States, China, Germany, Canada, New Zealand, and Puerto Rico. Her artwork has been published in books and magazines in London, Ontario, Brussels and Lisbon.

Elise’s artwork was juried into the 2016 Best Virginia Artists juried exhibition. “Luminous Grace” was the title of her 30-piece solo show from Jan.-April 2016, in Washington, DC.

She has been a member of the Virginia Watercolor Society, and her paintings have been selected for several statewide shows. She also had a one-person show at the State Capitol in Richmond, as well as 2 solo shows at private galleries nearby. Visit Elise online.

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Prayer Cycle Day 5: Morning and Evening Prayer

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims,

We continue to share the release of our 7-Day Prayer Cycle to honor Mary and the sacred feminine with Day 5 which focuses on Mother of Sorrows and Greenest Branch. 

The first reading for Morning Prayer on Mary as Mother of Sorrows is from Clarissa Pinkola Estes:

Even yet in the midst of all our bandages and broken spirit-bones, [Mary] calls us to stop mis-thinking that we stand alone in our challenges, when in fact, she ever stands with us. We ought ever flee to her side, ever hide under her shoulder, ever shelter under her inviolate mantle, ever be guided by her wisdom so hard-won—for she too bore miracles, menacings, and sufferings in her life. She too lost everything precious to her soul in the darkened world of human fools, foibles, and frailties of spirit.

Mary knows the absolute heartbreak of living in this world, her own son tortured and murdered before her eyes, holding the weight of his adult body in her arms. She grieves with us for all the places where we have lost our humanity and compassion. In times of war, pandemic, and civic unrest, Mary embraces us and stays with us through our own grief and unknowing. 

The song we are sharing in the video link above is Requiem, written by Eliza Gilkyson and recorded by Simon de Voil. It is the opening song for this morning prayer and we asked our friends at Morgan Creative to create a video for it to enrich your experience of the song. Gilkyson wrote it after the tsunami in Asia in 2004 as a vehicle for grieving so much loss. Simon sings: “Oh Mother Mary come and carry us in your embrace that our sorrows may be faced.” Mary calls us to the powerful and necessary work of lament. 

To support this work in community we are hosting a Grief in Poetry, Prose, and Song event this Friday, June 10th where I will be joined by Claudia Love Mair (my book club co-host and beautiful writer herself) and Simon de Voil. 

The evening prayer service for Day 5 celebrates a name for Mary given to her by St. Hildegard of Bingen, the 12th century German Benedictine Abbess: Greenest Branch. For Hildegard, viriditas or the greening power of God was the primal life force infusing and animating all physical and spiritual life. Mary’s own fruitfulness and willing to birth the holy into the world also makes her a conduit for this greening power in the world. She is the greenest branch, and as the northern hemisphere approaches summer, we are witness to viriditas at work in the world. 

To celebrate summer’s greening power and fruitfulness, I am leading a writing workshop online for St. Placid Priory this Saturday, June 11 on Writing Summer’s Abundance.

It is also my great joy to announce the Birthing the Holy: Singing with Mary and the Sacred Feminine album is now available for streaming or digital download! This album is a companion to the Birthing the Holy Prayer Cycle and my book Birthing the Holy. The 17 songs celebrate the names of Mary offered during the prayer cycle, and includes two litanys and the prayer cycle responses. 

I was also interviewed about Birthing the Holy on the podcast How They Love Mary. Listen to the podcast here.

And finally, please join Simon de Voil and me tomorrow – Monday, June 6th – for our Contemplative Prayer Service. St. Columba’s (St. Colmcille in Ireland) feast day is Thursday and we will be celebrating his wisdom and guidance in following our calls in the world and the challenges we sometimes face.  

We will then be taking a break from the services in July, August, and September, and will return in October.

With great and growing love,

Christine

Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE

PS Simon de Voil created a delightful, behind the scenes of the prayer cycle video that you can watch here.

Video © Abbey of the Arts

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Christine Interviewed on the Podcast “How They Love Mary”

Christine Valters Paintner was recently interviewed about her latest book Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and Renewal on the podcast How They Love Mary.

Listen to the podcast here.

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