Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice - Softcover

Paintner PhD Obl Osb Reace, Christine Valters

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1933495545 ISBN 13: 9781933495545

Publisher: Sorin Books, 2013

Synopsis

In this first book to explore photography as a spiritual practice from a Christian perspective, Christine Valters Paintner builds on the process of contemplative creativity she introduced online at Abbey of the Arts and in her book The Artist's Rule. She considers how a camera can help readers open "the eyes of the heart."

More than a book on photographic technique, Eyes of the Heart is about cultivating photography as a spiritual practice. Adapting the monastic practice of lectio divina (sacred reading) into a form of visio divina (sacred seeing), spiritual director and Benedictine oblate Christine Valters Paintner invites readers to a new way of viewing the world--through the lens of a camera. Paintner guides readers through six themes connecting the medium of photography with the Christian spiritual life. Each theme provides a photographic journey in which the reader does not simply take images, but receives images and learns to see with "the eyes of the heart" (Eph 1:18). Photos by the author are included.

About this title

About the Author

Christine Valters Paintner is the online abbess for Abbey of the Arts, a virtual monastery offering classes and resources on contemplative practice and creative expression. She earned a doctorate in Christian spirituality from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, and achieved professional status as a registered expressive arts consultant and educator from the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association.

Paintner is the author of ten books on monasticism and creativity, including The Eyes of the Heart; Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire; The Artist's Rule; The Soul of a Pilgrim; and Illuminating the Way. She leads pilgrimages in Ireland, Austria, and Germany and online retreats at her website, AbbeyoftheArts.com, living out her commitment as a Benedictine Oblate in Galway, Ireland, with her husband, John.

Review

"Opening Christine Paintner's Eyes of the Heart is like entering a garden in full bloom. It opens up all your senses so you see, smell, taste, and touch the world in a whole new way. Paintner has a gift for reuniting the transcendent and the immanent. She calls God home. She sees the Divine in the pebble on the path, hears its sound in the buzzing mosquito. This modern-day monk knows the essential secrets to sacred living and joyful being and she shares them freely." --Jan Phillips, Author of No Ordinary Time

"Christine Valters Paintner explores the eye as a window to the heart. Using scripture and observations from thinkers in all faiths she offers a spirituality of photography as writing with light. This monk, photographer-artist, and writer combines the art of image receiving with visio divina, taking us through a detailed program for the feeling, reflecting, and completion of our heart's vision." --Br. John J. O' Hara, S.A. , Graymoor Spiritual Life Center

"Eyes of the Heart is more than a celebration of God's presence in the world. It is itself an experience of receiving the Divine directly within. Paintner's insights and exercises lead the reader to a personal, intimate encounter with divinity. In the process, she also illuminates the way to self-understanding and creative serenity." --Anthony F. Chiffolo, Author of 100 Names of Mary

Edition details

• Publisher: Sorin Books
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1933495545
• ISBN 13: 9781933495545
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 4
• Number of pages: 143