Embracing Vulnerability + Self-Study Summer Sale!
Saint Francis at Yoga
Back row, brown shirt, bald spot, smile
which gets wider when the teacher calls
the eating body breath sheath, says inhale.
Body, breath, energy–he's at home with threes.
During inversions he laughs right out loud–
a whole new world to praise! And he's illumined
by Sun Salutation, brother to Brother.
No stranger to prostrations, he could go on
all day, exalting, bowing, palms together.
He's always called his body Brother Donkey,
so Cat, Cow, Eagle, Downward Facing Dog
are no stretch except to hamstrings taut
from long nights kneeling. He loves Happy Baby.
When the teacher chants in Hindi he thinks this must
be how Latin sounds to peasants, and when it ends
Peace. Peace. Peace. it's hard for him
not to answer Et cum spiritu tuo.
He excels at Corpse Pose, Savasana,
the lips of his stigmata chanting Om.
–Susan Blackwell Ramsey, from St. Peter's B-List: Contemporary Poems Inspired by the Saints (edited by Mary Ann B. Miller)
Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims,
I am delighted to introduce the latest in the dancing monk icon series above of St. Francis of Assisi. (I will let you know when prints become available.) The same day that artist Marcy Hall sent me this newest addition, I also stumbled across the poem above in a book I had been asked to review. I was also in the midst of teaching yoga each morning at the Spiritual Directors International conference in Santa Fe, NM. It was one of those happy confluences of events where different passions of mine came together.
Following Santa Fe, I flew on to Tulsa, OK, where Betsey Beckman and I were teaching our Awakening the Creative Spirit intensive and I came down with a virus causing me to spend much of the week in bed with a high fever and coughing. I hadn't been sick in several months and I had been pacing myself at the conference, not attending everything and preparing myself for the week of teaching. But sometimes, no matter how many herbal teas we drink nor how much rest we seek, our bodies succumb to something and force us to release our attachments to everything. The first couple of days I resisted, I didn't want to disappoint others, I didn't want to admit just how sick I was feeling, until my body didn't let me resist anymore and I had to yield in a radical way.
I spent many hours in a horizontal position that week, laying in my cabin surrounded by the quiet of the forest. Much like the poem of St. Francis in his inversions, this perspective offered me a different window onto the world. It was a liminal space where everything was in between and uncertain, and yet somehow also luminous and radiant.
Our group was amazing as always, and Betsey did a fantastic job leading them through the week. This program is always marked by a deep sense of community and I was so moved by my experience of being held in prayer by others. Barbara, one of our wonderful helpers, would check on me and bring me small meals. I felt cared for and nurtured on many levels.
The wisdom of illness for me always seems to come with the slowing down and staying present. I don't believe these experiences come to teach us "lessons" as if God were some great schoolmarm in the sky. But out of our radical vulnerability arises an invitation to ever greater gentleness, to tenderness to the needs of our bodies. This is inner hospitality at its most intimate.
I returned back to Ireland after my fever abated and have spent the last few days continuing in this gentle space of quiet, silence has extraordinary powers to heal. I had to let go of some commitments and postponed some others to just allow a deep entering into the place of surrender. I am grateful to be home again. I am savoring this space of quiet and restoration.
The path of the monk in the world means yielding to the truth of this moment, especially when it is not as we would have it, and allowing generous space when needed.
I have postponed the Novena of Resurrection until September 8-17, 2014. My apologies to those who are disappointed by this, but it seemed like a simple way to honor my body's needs right now and not push forward where it wasn't necessary. We are still offering a special when you register for both the Novena and for our summer scripture course Exile and Coming Home, you receive a free self-study online retreat (from the list of available titles on the registration page).
In addition, we are also offering a special self-study summer sale, register for any two self-study classes and receive a third of equal or lesser value for free. If you have purchases a self-study program in the last month and want to take advantage of this offer, just register for the second program and let me know your free choice. By taking advantage of either of these specials, you help support Abbey work to continue, while also getting an extra gift as a thank you.
Join us for a new Community Visio Divina with the latest dancing monk icon of St. Francis of Assisi, as well as a new Invitation to Photography. We also have two new and fabulous Monk in the World guest posts by fellow monks in the worldMelinda Thomas Hansen and Kate Kennington Steer.
With great and growing love,
Christine
Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE
www.AbbeyoftheArts.com
Art by Marcy Hall of Rabbit Room Arts
Summer Self-Study SALE!
Register for any TWO self-study online classes by June 16th and receive a THIRD class of equal or lesser value FREE! Just email Christine with your free choice and she will send you the link.
Make your selections from any of the self-study retreats available. If you purchased a self-study retreat recently, you may purchase a second one and still take advantage of this special offer.
This is a wonderful way to help support the Abbey through the summer, when Christine is taking some more time for rest and recovery, and completing her next manuscript. We are always grateful for your participation and support.
