Christine Valters Paintner's Blog, page 60

The Wisdom of Wild Grace Book Launch

If you missed the virtual launch of The Wisdom of Wild Grace: Poems written by Christine Valters Paintner, hosted by Paraclete Press, and moderated by Mark Burrows, you can watch the replay below. It was a wonderful hour-long conversation where Christine shared many of her poems and some of the inspiration behind them and the book.

Monk in the World Guest Post: CJ Shelton

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for CJ Shelton's reflection, "A Prayer for All of Creation."

Living the quiet and contemplative life of an artist and “monk in the world” in Ontario, Canada, I am blessed to have each distinct and seasonal quarter turn of Nature’s Wheel influence both my art and my prayers.

In the winter months, those prayers are often for the birds, animals and trees that must endure the harshness of our Canadian sub-zero temperatures and snowy storms. This winter though, it was another country, Australia, and the devastating loss of habitat and animal life from wildfires that became my focus.

My spiritual practices are a blend of the Celtic/Anglo Saxon traditions of my British ancestors and the Algonquin tradition of eastern Ontario I am aligned with through shamanic Medicine Rites. Seeing the natural world as sacred is a fundamental feature of both Celtic and First Nations spirituality, so a love of nature is literally coded into my DNA.

As I watched helplessly in the face of Australia’s unfolding tragedy, I realized I could take action through my art by creating a special collaborative mandala for the winter festival at the arts centre where my studio is located. In both my art and work as an educator and facilitator, I use the circular format known as a mandala. Knowing a mandala acts as both a container and an amplifier of whatever is placed within it, at the very centre of the piece I painted our planet earth. I then “ghosted” images around it of Australian animals such as koala bears and kangaroos, as well as other creatures being impacted by environmental disasters. Finally, during the festival, I invited anyone who visited my studio to contribute their own thoughts and prayers by writing them directly on the radiating concentric circles drawn around the earth.

Prayers for the Planet is still a work-in-progress as my intent is to keep adding to it, expanding its circle of prayer to include not only the land down under, but all areas struggling because of climate change and other human-caused indignities. Prayer is powerful and I know the effects of such an intentional process can ripple outwards in incredible ways.

The ancient Celts recognized this power when they used the “circling” form of prayer known as caim, a concept I was introduced to through one of Abbey of the Arts daily emails. On doing more research, I learned that caim is Gaelic for “protection” or “sanctuary” and is derived from the root word meaning to “circle”, bend or turn. In essence, a caim is an invisible circle of protection that is created or drawn symbolically around the body to encircle the one who is praying, as well as anyone, or anything, they wish to include. The power of this prayer-form is that all who are placed within its sacred space can feel safe and loved, even in the darkest of times.

As I created this painting, I recognized I am praying a caim whenever I open Sacred Space and call in the Seven Great Directions of the Algonquin Medicine Wheel:  East, South, West, North and the directions of Above, Below and Centre. And I often extend that space beyond my personal circle to the community in which I live and to the world at large, both natural and human. By encircling a space much larger than myself I am including the entire vast and diverse web of life – the plants, trees, rocks, birds and other wildlife – of which I know I am fundamentally a part, as are all humans.

Such an invitation also pays homage to the numinous in nature – that which is mysterious, spiritual and, at times, even supernatural. It acknowledges that I am just one of many interwoven threads within our planet’s much larger web of wonders. Casting such an encircling prayer also creates a space and an atmosphere of expectation, a knowing that mystery and magic can, and will happen, because the whole of Creation is now a part of my caim circle. In this way, my caim becomes an eco-centric (not ego) way of praying that includes All My Relations.

Creating sacred space in this way is empowering and tangible. It is a way of acting intentionally in the face of the relentless bad news being constantly filtered through the media. It is a way of focusing energy through speaking aloud about that which I wish to see change. Having these words witnessed by Spirit solidifies them, making it more likely I will follow through with my own conscious actions in the physical realm to help manifest these changes … because thoughts become reality and when said prayerfully, their power cannot be underestimated. Belief PLUS action is the key to healing our world.

Given the times we are living in, I will continue to say a caim each season as it comes around and offer my prayer of protection for all of Creation. And each time I do, I will feel the waves of concentric circles rippling out from my own little sacred circle to merge with the prayers of others and, eventually with the greater Sacred Hoop of our planet, and beyond. By doing so, I am quietly doing my part as a monk in the world. Even though that part feels small, I know every prayer counts. And, most of all, I know that Creation will respond.

CJ Shelton is an Artist/Educator who inspires and guides others on their creative and spiritual journeys. Through her art, photography, writing and shamanic practice, CJ opens others up to the meaning, magic and mystery of the Great Wheel of Life. You can view The Art of CJ Shelton at DancingMoonDesigns.ca

Poetry Book Launch + Prayer Cycle Podcast ~ Love Note From Your Online Abbess

Earth Monastery Prayer Cycle: Day 1 Evening Prayer from Abbey of the Arts on Vimeo.

Click Here to listen to the Audio Podcast

Dearest monks and artists,

Celebrate with me!

In addition to our Earth Monastery Prayer Cycle being released this fall, I am delighted that my second poetry collection – The Wisdom of Wild Grace – is also  launching with an online event hosted by Paraclete Press tomorrow on October 12th. (Register here) I would be most grateful if you would consider writing a review on Amazon or Good Reads. Every review and recommendation helps the work spread.

Read an excerpt from the introduction to the book:

When I long for expansiveness and connection to something far greater than my own daily concerns and struggles, a walk by the sea or in the forest expands me.

We live in a time when Earth is threatened on so many fronts by human development. Slowly we seem to be awakening to the truth that our personal well-being is intimately woven together with the well-being of all creatures and plants. Many of us might have been taught by our religious traditions that humans have dominion over nature or that animals don’t feel pain or have souls.

The more we cultivate our own intimacy with the wild, the more we open to different truth. Wildness doesn’t mean we have to go out into the forest or travel long ways, the wild is a place within us.

Each poem here is a doorway into this inner wilderness, a call to sit and be present to what we discover beyond the borders of our neatly controlled worlds. Wildness is vulnerable, risky, spacious, and full of possibility. And this is where I invite you to sit and rest awhile dwell with me…

We also have the second audio and video podcast from our Earth Monastery Prayer Cycle series ready for you! The links are above to Day 1 Evening Prayer. Thank you for the many kind words of support and the donations to help sustain this work and allow us to continue producing these kinds of resources. Your generosity humbles us.

With great and growing love,

Christine

Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE

Monk in the World Guest Post: Melinda Emily Thomas

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. This one comes from Melinda Emily Thomas, Administrative Assistant for Abbey of the Arts, whose new book, Sacred Balance: Aligning Body and Spirit Through Yoga and the Benedictine Way, published by Broadleaf Books will be released October 13th. Studded with illustrations of basic yoga poses and ideas for wellness, prayers, and meditations, this book offers principles and practices that guide us toward peace and wholeness.

“In the earliest days of grade school we learn our primary colors: red, yellow, blue. Then the secondary colors: green, violet, orange. Next we learn that the primary and secondary colors complement each other: red and green, yellow and violet, blue and orange. Placed next to each other, complementary colors each enhance the hue of the other, creating a sense of equanimity. Color is waves of light. Modern physics has shown that light is both a particle and a wave—steadiness and movement. The equanimity we feel when complementary colors are next to each other is the resonance of particles and waves in harmonious action.

We often envision balance in terms of a balance beam scale—one of those old-time scales with the single horizontal beam from which two trays hang. When the objects in each tray are of equal weight, the scale is in balance. While this may be true for purposes of measurement, it is unhelpful and perhaps even harmful to think of balanced living in terms of a scale. When we conceptualize balance in this way, we risk stasis and perfectionism. Life is not static. We are always growing and changing in response to circumstances and relationships. Perfection is an insidious and unattainable goal, defined by subjective externals, rather than an enthusiastic exploration of the fullness of our humanity.

Instead, I prefer to think of balance in terms of color theory. Harmony and wellbeing is found when the particles and waves—the steadiness and the motion—of our lives amplify or counteract each other. Balanced living is not found in the mere elimination of one color or the addition of another. Balanced living is found in the conversation between the color that is already there. It is the dialogue that matters.

When we feel overexcited, overworked, worn down, or depleted, we know something is out of whack. Some part of our daily routine is dominating the conversation. All too often the stresses of life—the demands of work and family, the bombardment of media, the countless messages about being more successful or productive—drown out the quieting voice of the heart longing to be heard. Sacred balance is restored through practices that promote an interior and exterior orientation toward God—the Ground of Being from which health and wellness springs. The interior orientation includes our priorities, attitudes, and values, which drive our external actions. Our external actions nurture and grow our healthy inner selves. We cannot have one without the other.

I see Benedictine spirituality and yoga as complementary colors, each with its own hue and vibrance.”

You can learn more and pre-order the book here >>

Inspired by Christine's book events, Melinda will be holding a virtual launch on Saturday, October 17th from 10-11am via Zoom. Register for the launch here. (Space is limited.) Cultivate balance through a lovely asana and meditation practice inspired by the book, followed by discussion and Q & A. If you’re willing, she'd love for you to briefly share how you practice balance.

Melinda Emily Thomas is the Administrative Assistant for Abbey of the Arts. She is a writer and yoga instructor living in North Carolina. Her first book, Sacred Balance: Aligning Body and Spirit Through Yoga and the Benedictine Way, will be released October 13th. Visit her at TheHouseHoldersPath.com

Prayer Cycle Video & Audio Podcast Launch ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Earth Monastery Prayer Cycle: Day 1 Morning Prayer from Abbey of the Arts on Vimeo.

Dearest monks and artists,

Happy Feast of St. Francis! It is an especially appropriate day to announce that today we are launching a series of audio & video podcasts for our Earth Monastery Prayer Cycle. It has long been a dream of mine to create a series of morning and evening prayers for the Abbey of the Arts community, prayers that were inclusive and poetic, that celebrated our kinship to all of creation, that encouraged us to sing and dance.

This Prayer Cycle really came together because of three extraordinary people in my life who all happen to be Wisdom Council members. The first is Betsey Beckman, my dear and much loved friend in Seattle who is a liturgical dancer and dancing spiritual director. She is also married to a musician and has the technical gifts of knowing how to put an album of songs together. Abbey of the Arts now has three song albums produced which companion various books I have written. She is also a gifted dancer and has created a series of DVDs with gesture prayers and dances that accompany all of the songs on our albums. (She just released the most recent DVD of dances for Earth, Our Original Monastery!) Working with Betsey is always a great joy for me and I love her gifts of song and spirited movement that she brings to this creative community.

Second is Richard Bruxvoort Colligan, a talented and soulful musician based in Iowa. Richard’s passion is creating contemporary sung versions of the psalms, which as a monk in the world makes my heart sing. We have worked with Richard for many years now, bringing his music into our retreats and onto our albums, and often commissioning him for a song on a particular theme. I love that I can write to him with a scripture passage, or for the purpose of our new Prayer Cycle, asking him to create a sung introduction to the psalm and a doxology and within a couple of weeks he has produced something beautiful for us.

Third is Simon de Voil, another fabulous musician and minister who spent time living on Iona and now lives in Vermont. I found out about Simon’s music on a trip to Scotland a couple of years ago and ordered from his website directly. I got a lovely email saying he had checked out our website and felt we were kindred spirits which is indeed the case. Simon also has really beautiful and soulful songs and we have commissioned several pieces from him as well including a version of the Canticle of Creation (St. Francis’ prayer) and two adaptations of my own poems into songs.

This dream team did not hesitate to say yes when I invited them to work with me on this project. I did most of the writing and gathering of other people’s writings (special thanks to Polly Burns and Valerie Allen for the beautiful prayers they wrote for this series and to Rev. Christine Robinson who allowed us use of her wonderful psalm interpretations). Our planning team gathered several times on Zoom – connecting Seattle, Iowa, Vermont, and Ireland together – to create this gift for our beloved community.

I also want to acknowledge Simon’s wonderful work creating these audio podcasts (I am sure you will love hearing Simon’s Scottish accent on some of the readings) and Betsey in creating the video podcasts and the way they help guide you through the prayer experiences in such rich and meaningful ways. You might play the audio version to drop inward and pray contemplatively with these materials. You might play the video version to move into a more expressive and embodied place and dance along with Betsey’s gestures and movement prayers. The morning prayers will also all conclude with a beautiful video of my closing blessings created by Travis Reed at The Work of the People (he has so many amazing visual resources) and was the person behind the wonderful video created for my Praise Song for the Pandemic.

Our plan for now is to release one audio and video podcast a week for each of the morning and evening prayers in the 7-day cycle. So for the next 14 weeks you will be receiving these materials as gifts to uplift you and help connect you to Abbey of the Arts in even more meaningful ways.

The audio podcast will be available at Abbey of the Arts as well as on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and TuneIn. The video podcast will be available at Abbey of the Arts as well as on Vimeo.

This is the gateway page for all of our Prayer Cycle resources. You will find the written versions there as well. If you are able to support this work with a donation we would be most grateful! We hope to create more weeks to the prayer cycle in the future and your funds will help us to make that happen in ways that are financially sustainable for all of the artists involved.

We also have developed a Leader’s Resource which is for those of you who would like to use these materials in groups. We do ask that if you are sharing with groups that you help support us by registering for these additional resources. This includes all the teaching videos for Betsey’s dances, all of the blessing videos as stand alone videos in versions both with text and without, the song sheets in case you want to learn the music, and some behind the scenes commentary from Betsey, Richard, Simon, and me.

Please share this free resource with others. Abbey of the Arts grows through word of mouth. We have a vibrant global community of over 10,000 dancing monks and artists because people like you love what we offer and want others to share the experience.

For more on St. Francis, including our dancing monk icon, a poem of mine, and a reflection on the archetype of holy fool, please visit this post from our archives>>

With great and growing love,

Christine

Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE

Video Podcast © Christine Valters Paintner

Monk in the World Guest Post: Liz Hill

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Liz Hill's reflection, "Who Needs A Church?"

For many years, I was an active member of a Unitarian Universalist congregation, a denomination known for its non-creedal spirituality and its long history of social justice work. Whenever I talked to friends or co-workers about my church, there was curiosity. What did we believe? What kinds of people attend? How do you join?

More than once, the conversation ended with the other person concluding, “If I needed a church, I’d go to yours.”

I’d smile and assure them they’d be welcome if they chose to come, but I never expected to see them. They were good, honest people who led good, honest, very busy lives. They simply did not “need” a church, and that was fine with me.

I liked my church, but I didn’t think I actually “needed” it either.  In fact, there were times when I felt tired and burned out from all my church activities. As a pastor’s wife, we’d sometimes arrive before 9 and leave around 3, and that was just on Sunday. Weekdays were a constant stream of phone calls and emails, potlucks and committee meetings, and they were not always pleasant. A friend once correctly defined life in community as “a constant act of forgiveness,” and she was right. It’s a challenge to navigate the strife and conflicts of normal congregational life.

A few years ago when our circumstances changed and we relocated to a new town, I relished the idea of taking a break from church. Although the Monk Manifesto asks us to “commit to cultivating community,” finding “kindred spirits and soul friends” to share the journey, nowhere does it suggest a formal gathering at a specific day or time. For a while I reveled in my independence. I took long walks in the woods on Sunday mornings, or lingered with the newspaper and a cup of tea. I was church-free. It felt a lot like summer in elementary school, that barefoot-in-the-grass freedom from bells and books, the gift of open space of time to fill as I pleased.

But something tugged at me. Gently at first, but persistent. One Sunday I visited a Buddhist Sangha, and though I had plenty of silence at home, my throat tightened with emotion as I sat silently with other seekers. Visiting a local Christian congregation, tears sprang when the organ rattled the rafters and the choir swelled in harmony. I kept visiting, careful to slip out quietly after the service, as if fearful that words exchanged with anyone would activate a giant Hoover, mercilessly sucking me in.

Finally, one Sunday morning it dawned on me: I need a church.

I need a place to focus my faith. I need to stand shoulder-to-shoulder, week after week, with people who state – no, who sing– their commitment to love and justice. Who promise to work for it in spite of –no, because of— their human imperfections and petty disagreements. Their presence reminds me that I am not a lonely island of anger or fear; I am a link in a chain, part of an atoll of deep love and connection.

It’s not about the building, the roof, the steeple, the pews or the cushions. The gathered body is the rock upon which all of it is built, and it is that rock which helps me find my center and become my best self.

I have great love and respect for monks who pray alone in their cells. Their work is important. But for me to be a monk in the world, companions are required.

Liz Hill is a writer and spiritual director who has led workshops in creative process, discovering authentic voice, and un-journaling. She is co-author (with Ruthie Rosauer) of Singing Meditation: Together in Song and Silence, and co-founder of a literary arts non-profit in Youngstown, Ohio. She lives in western North Carolina. See LizHill.net

What She Does Not Know Poetry Video ~ A Love Note From Your Online Abbess

What She Does Not Know – Poem Video from Abbey of the Arts on Vimeo.

What She Does Not Know

(for unsuspecting Selkies everywhere)

She does not know there is a reason

she always feels out of place

her life rigid and small, like living in a doll's house

a marriage more trap than longing

and when she chokes on courtesy and convention

the salt which burns her throat is not just tears.

She does not know that when she stands

on the sea’s wild edge and can finally

breathe, dream, weep,

her body strains forward

seawater in her veins, barnacles behind her knees

waves lap her ankles, thighs, torso, her cold breasts.

She does not know that when she swims

in that wide expanse and the swell

pulls her under, she does not need to struggle,

the sea has been longing for her as well –

everyone onshore aghast –

her daughter will grieve and wail and awaken

from dreams of the deep dark water

calling her name also.

—Christine Valters Paintner, The Wisdom of Wild Grace

Dearest monks and artists,

Last week’s poem explored the fairy tale of “The Handless Maiden” and this week’s explores the myth of the Selkie, my other favorite archetypal story. While the handless maiden finds her healing and restoration in the forest, the Selkie is always called back to the sea for her healing. (We have a whole self-study retreat on the Selkie story for anyone interested).

What these stories have in common is a reclaiming of the sacred feminine dimension (and we all have both feminine and masculine energies within us) and a return to wild places to facilitate the healing that we seek for old wounds and things that hold us back. The woods and the ocean call to us to make the journey into them letting go of old maps. It is in this yielding to their mysteries that we discover something true about ourselves. These wild archetypal landscapes have always been a place of healing and renewal. The ancient monks seeking out the desert as a place of radical encounter with the divine, the Celtic monks following their inspiration and seeking out their own wild edges in forests and seas. This time of pandemic has thrust us into the wilderness, we can resist it or let it transform us.

This is the final poem video in our current series inspired by my forthcoming poetry collection. I hope you have enjoyed viewing them as much as I have enjoyed sharing them.

I am leading an online retreat next weekend October 3-4, hosted by Mercy by the Sea retreat center, to explore these themes of seeking The Wisdom of Wild Grace in our lives. It is the feast of St. Francis next Sunday and we will draw inspiration from his intimacy with creatures and the natural world, along with other saints and mystics to ask ourselves how we long to bring more wildness into our lives. Each session will take its inspiration from one of the saint and animal poems I have written.

I crave a wide sea of wordless moments that allow me to express myself in another language, one more ancient and primal. I want to become a disciple of silence and hear in that shimmering soundlessness the voice of the One who whispers in stillness, whose singing vibrates in stones, who out of the silence calls forth a radical commitment of which I do not yet know the shape.

If those words shimmer for you, consider joining a community of kindred spirits over two days together of poetry, music, gentle movement, creative exercises, and time for sharing. Give yourself the gift of sanctuary time, time apart to renew and restore your inner wildness. I would love to see you there with me.

With great and growing love,

Christine

Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE

Video credit: Luke Morgan at Morgan Creative

Monk in the World Guest Post: Tara L. Eastman

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Pastor Tara L. Eastman's reflection "Car Wash Prayer By."

Recently, when heading to my local gas station to fill up my car, the cashier swiped my “discount card” and said, “Hey there, you have points for a free car wash.” So, with gas tank filled, my reusable coffee mug re-filled and my “Free Car Wash" points in hand – I pulled around to the back of the store. There were lots of things on my mind and lots of places I could have run off too; but the “Free Car Wash” points and my slushy, salt covered car beaconed for a moment of pause. And while I didn’t know it a first, that free car wash could not have come at a better time – for me and for my winter weary car.

Truth be told, I have a thing for automatic car washes. I love the sound of water whooshing, the juicy-fruit smell of the soap, colorful stripes of bubbles streaming down my windshield and how my car is gently pulled through the car wash bay. The multi-sensory experience and the clean car was something I needed.

First, I pulled up to the car wash bay to find two workers waiting to attack the dirty exterior of my car.  They brushed, scrubbed and sprayed away the excess dirt, ice and buildup away. Slowly, by their direction, I pulled into the car wash bay, carefully lined up my wheels to rest on the tracking belt to lead my car through the wash process. Next, I was told to place my car in neutral and release the brake.

As directed, I shifted gears. Nothing happened. The worker tapped on my window, and emphasized the word, “NEUTRAL”.

I looked down and to my great embarrassment and surprise. Yes, I was in gear but the gear I was in was not “NEUTRAL”, but reverse. To the frustration of the car wash staff and my flushed face – I was beginning to wonder if this free car wash was worth it. Stuck in reverse, my car strained against the tracking belt and no one was going anywhere. 

I took a deep breath. Then looked down to the gear shift, placed it in neutral, and held my foot on the brake until the car wash staff gave me the go ahead to let go.

The track pulled my car into the automated full sensory experience of the automatic car wash. I took another deep breath and I reminded of how prayer, rest and being in a heart, mind and body posture of “NEUTRAL” sets the stage for contemplation. Neutral, is necessary, to enter the sacred space of prayer. 

As the water whooshed, the pulley pulled, and the bubbles did their work; I closed my tearful eyes and prayed. I prayed for God to lead me in my decisions, for the help to shift into neutral, when I'm in reverse or drive, to allow for the washing away of things that need to go. Neutral, it turns out is necessary for forward motion in automated car washes, and life. In that free car wash, I experienced a sacred space of worship and release. In the free car wash, I was reminded of my baptism and received God's love.

It turned out that my car wasn't the only thing going through a transformation inside the car wash bay. In the car wash prayer, I was reminded that my life can be trusted in God's hands, that the debris that gunk’s things up can be washed away, and if I'm willing to shift into a “NEUTRAL” stance – prayer can change things. 

A free car wash taught me, that prayer changes me.

If you ever have the chance to redeem points for a free car wash at your local gas station; I hope you are quick to pull around the side of the store and get ready to place your gear into “NEUTRAL’.  Not only will your car be clean and shiny – but your heart will be invited to a sacred, every day, space for peace and prayer.

Prayer:

Dear God – Don't allow me see prayer as a routine task to be completed. Move me to prayer, so it can be the vehicle to process every part of life. Through prayer, help me to shift out of reverse or drive and into the neutral space where you can work in and through me. Amen

1 Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice always; 17 pray without ceasing; 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman has been writing, drawing and painting since she was old enough to hold a pencil. Tara’s writing has been published by Sparkhouse (a division of Augsburg Fortress). Pastor Eastman, is currently serving as a Pastor in the Upstate NY Synod, combines her love of ministry with her love of writing, music and visual arts in numerous projects locally in Western New York and nationally. She is a graduate of Wartburg Theological Seminary’s Theological Education for Emerging Ministry Program and the Youth and Theology Certificate Program at Princeton Seminary. She has served in various ministry roles over the last twenty-five years in the fields of ministry, writing, visual art and music. She was the Artist-in-Residence and member of the faculty at the 2013 Forums on Youth Ministry at Princeton Theological Seminary and the Artist-in-Residence and workshop presenter at the 2012 Inhabit Conference in Seattle, Washington. Her personal blog, Uphill Idealist, has been an ongoing source of expression of her theological and creative work for over ten years. She/her lives and serves in congregational ministry in  CNY.

Once Poetry Video + Autumn Equinox ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Once – Poem Video from Abbey of the Arts on Vimeo.

Once

my hands were made of silver,

delicate, refined, needing to be polished

daily, glinting on sun-heavy days

until I made my way into the woods

listened for long while, ear pressed to soft earth

thirsty for the song I heard

among roots and moss, rumors

that spring was coming, could even hear

the magnolia bud rumbling.

I stayed that way for years, prone,

breathing in scent of fur and feather

until everything silver fell away

until flesh rose back up my arms

pink covered me like the promise

of that song I heard, now I’m eager

for callouses and blisters,

to mottle my fingers with ink,

to touch the world as if for the first time.

—Christine Valters Paintner, The Wisdom of Wild Grace

Dearest monks and artists,

The poem above is inspired by the fairy tale “The Handless Maiden,” one of my favorites to work with as an archetype of the inner journey. It is a story on one level about how we allow artificial things to become substitutes for natural connection and how we all need to follow our call into the wild to become flesh and tenderness again.

(You can pre-order my book The Wisdom of Wild Grace at this link or through any bookstore.)

The autumn equinox falls officially on Tuesday in the northern hemisphere (click here if you are in the southern hemisphere welcoming spring)—a time when the sun rests above the equator, and day and night are divided equally. It heralds a season filled with change, celebrates the harvest, and ushers in the brilliant beauty of death. Autumn is a season of transition, of continual movement.

At the heart of autumn's gifts are these twin energies of relinquishing and harvesting. It is a season of paradox that invites us to consider what we are called to release and surrender, and at the same time it invites us to gather in the harvest, to name and celebrate the fruits of the seeds we planted months ago. In holding these two in tension we are reminded that in our letting go we also find abundance.

In the seas of the Northwest U.S. where I used to live, the salmon are responding to an ancient and ancestral call. They are returning from the oceans and making the hard and often battering journey up the rivers, to return to their birthplaces to lay eggs offering the gift of new life. This journey always ends in their own death. It is an amazing mystery as I imagine this deep longing for home the salmon must feel and the ultimate surrender they welcome while also offering a harvest of blessing for the next generation of salmon.

I love the beauty of autumn leaves releasing their hold. I have walked close to death many times in my life now, journeying with my own mother the last few days of her life in the ICU after a massive infection ravaged her body, then with John’s mother who let go after a very long journey with Alzheimer's and the great unravelling it causes. Fall thrusts us into the messiness of life and challenges us not to turn away. The season of autumn calls me to honor the full spectrum of human experience, to not push away the sorrow and grief, to not fill the waiting with distractions. I rest into the unknown, I stay present to the great sadness I sometimes feel.

As I walk each day, fall offers solace with her unbearable beauty. But some days, the wind gusts through and the trees are stripped bare. I weep at the ache I feel when I consider how everything I love in this world will one day die. The season calls me to let go of false assumptions, wrests my too-small images of God from me as I enter the Mystery of dying and rising. Autumn demands that I release what I think is important to do and returns me to the only thing which matters that I remember—to love and to allow love to sculpt me, even as it breaks my heart.

But equally, this season calls us to the harvest. Seeds planted long ago create a bounty and fullness in our lives. Autumn invites me to remember the places in my life where I had a dream that once felt tiny and has now grown and ripened into fullness. I savor these places where my life feels abundant. I relish the experience of being nourished by dreams into my own growing wholeness.

The poet Rilke writes of autumn: "Command the last fruits to be full; / give them just two more southern days, / urge them on to completion and chase / the last sweetness into the heavy wine." We move toward our own ripening and in that journey we let go of what no longer serves us. Fall urges us on to our own completion and sweetness.

We live in times when it often feels like everything is coming undone. This season reminds us that the journey of relinquishing all we hold dear is also the journey of harvesting. Somehow these two come together year after year. We are invited to rest into its mystery.

In the poetry video, the woman must let go of what she carries with her to embrace the newness promised to her. We all must embark on this journey.

What are you releasing that no longer energizes you?

What dreams do you want to harvest this season?

With great and growing love,

Christine

Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE

Image credit: Poetry Video by Morgan Creative

Earth, Our Original Monastery Journeys in Community!

During these coming months (Oct 2020 - April 2021) I am working with a group of dancing monks from our Abbey community who want to facilitate my book Earth, Our Original Monastery with their own small groups and retreat settings. Below I will be adding the details for those offerings which have open registration in case you'd like to join some folks local to you in making this journey together. Some programs will be entirely online, some a hybrid of live in-person (with social distancing outdoors) and online gatherings.

Franciscan Spiritual Center in Milwaukie, OR (outside of Portland) - ONLINE

Facilitated by Val Hornburg

Earth Our Original Monastery

Beginning in October and using Christine Valters Paintner's newest book, Earth, Our Original Monastery, Cultivation Wonder and Gratitude through Intimacy with Nature, we will meet for 2 hours each month via Zoom to prayerfully experience and discuss one of the chapters in this amazing resource. We will use an array of experiences that may include: visio divina, sacred poetry or journal writing, meditative walking or dance, visual expressions of the arts, SoulCollage®, finger labyrinths, creative photography, & more.

Please buy your own copy of the book to use throughout the series.

Session Dates: 2020 - October 8, November 12, December 10, 2021 - January 14, February 11, March 11, April 8.

All sessions meet from 10:00am-12:00pm Pacific time zone

Registration USD$150














St Bede’s Pastoral Centre in York UK - ONLINE

Facilitated by Linda Courage

Earth Our Original Monastery

A seven month journey through “Earth, Our Original Monastery” by Christine Valters Paintner.  Linda writes “this book helps us to find and know our rightful place in relationship with Earth. Each chapter engages our senses to penetrate, sink into, and rest in this finding and knowing.”

With time together, and individual space, we’ll explore and experience Earth as Cathedral, Scripture, Saints, Spiritual Directors, Icons, Sacraments, and Liturgy. Please buy your own copy of the book to use throughout the series.

Linda Courage is Coordinator of the Arts and Spirituality Special Interest Area of Living Spirituality Connections (www.livingspirit.org.uk), where she is a member of the Work and Discernment Group.  Her primary spiritual home is in the Abbey of the Arts.

Session Dates

10 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. on the following Fridays: 30 October; 27 November; 18 December; 29 January; 26 February; 26 March; 30 April

Email for Fee & Registration


Join Jennifer Trentley for an online small group series based out of Jackson, TN - ONLINE

Facilitated by Jennifer Trentley

Earth Our Original Monastery

This is a free class offered as a part of my participation in the Abbey of the Arts mentoring program. We will meet 2-3 times per month via Zoom over period of seven months. The only requirement is for you to purchase the book - written by Christine Valters Paintner Earth, Our Original Monastery: Cultivating Wonder and Gratitude Through Intimacy with Nature. The class will be conducted in a contemplative small group format and will be limited to 6 people.

Session Dates

The first meeting will be on Monday September 28th at 5 p.m. Central/3 p.m. Pacific.  I will be conducting the class as a contemplative small group which includes time for reflection, sharing and features one of the meditative or lectio practices from the chapter for that month.  At the first meeting we will finalize day and time for subsequent meetings.

Register here