Christine Valters Paintner, PhD , REACE is the online Abbess of Abbey of the Arts, a virtual monastery and global, ecumenical community integrating contemplative practice and creative expression. She is a Benedictine oblate living on the west coast of Ireland with her husband John. Together they lead pilgrimages and retreats in Ireland, Scotland, Germany, and Austria. Christine is the author Dreaming of Stones: Poems , and of twelve books on spirituality, monastic wisdom, creativity, and the arts including The Artist's Rule and The Soul's Slow Ripening . Her poems have been published in journals in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, and the UK.