Welcome to our “little cloister”
where we
EXPLORE MONASTIC WISDOM FOR EVERY DAY LIVING
Drs. Almut & Chuck with little one
Home of
+The Hildegard Seminar,
+Kierkegaard Masterclass,
+Bach Passionweek Consolations,
+The 12 Days of Christmas Contemplations &
+The “Little School” of Spiritual Formation
All tagged 12 Days of Christmas 2019
As it belongs to our human condition to rest in order to grow, the same is true for our spiritual life. On this second Sunday of our journey we invite you to a sacred pause.
The tale of three wise kings sounds too much like a fairytale from former times, but, on the second view, it may hide deep wisdom. Aren’t we all know of wannabe kings, who do not rest, until the world bows before them? Much rarer are the real kings who courageously humble themselves to bow before a higher truth. Therefore I like that the kings of Epiphany are supposed to be wise kings. How urgently we need wise leaders in this world, don’t you think?
Whether or not we have eyes to see, the Christ child is being born, God is with us, the Divine is seeking shelter, all around us. The holy birth is not reserved for Christmas Eve. It happens for us every time again, when we open our heart to a sacred encounter
My daughter has seduced me into learning again how to smile. I have always thought that my smile was a natural and winning one. It is shy, kind, and a bit mysterious and ironic. It is also completely useless when trying to communicate with a 9 month old baby…
Today we invite you to light a candle for your sorrows. If God Almighty had wanted to send a loud message to the world he could have stuck to Hallelujah choruses and angel choirs. Or a mighty king proclaiming the will of God. But instead God bends down deeply, silently, into the night of our sorrows, where we feel little and vulnerable just as a newborn child…
Today we invite you to take a New Year’s walk, and be gently and graciously aware of the gifts you carry. Cradle the beginning of the new year as it would be a baby child.
Like a door or hallway is the space between rooms, night stands as a transitional space between days. We step into it and the old is gone but the new is not quite there yet. Life is in suspension. Today, at the Eve of the new year, when the old is not yet gone and the new is not yet visible, we approach another important night…
Are you tired of bucket lists and New Year's resolutions? We would like to invite you for a time of recollection instead. You can do this by walking in silence, by looking back on the reflections of this journey so far, or by taking some time to look with kindness on your life using the practice we provide.
Little babies rest a lot. They do not care where they are or what is appropriate etiquette. They sleep when they need to. As it belongs to our human condition to rest in order to grow, the same is true for our spiritual life.
What if you, like the shepherds, kings, and other visitors long ago, were able to be there at the manger in Bethlehem? Today we invite you to walk into the story with child like curiosity…
What if Christmas isn’t a fuzzy feeling but a birthing process we must give in to? Today we invite you to see things with a “beginners mind,” like a child, like you see them for the first time.
On this Second Day of Christmas we invite you to become present to “God with us” and “within” us.
What I most long for at Christmas is silence. When the hustle and bustle fades, the people go home and the lights go off. Left alone before the flicker of a last candle, wondering, even doubting, what this is all about…
