Last week Patricia Turner at A Photographic Sage reviewed my new book and today I offer up a guest post at her blog on Quieting the Mind through Contemplative Photography:
Abba Poemen said: “A (person) may seem to be silent, but if his heart is condemning others he is babbling ceaselessly. But there may be another who talks from morning till night and yet he is truly silent; that is, he says nothing that is not profitable.” (Poemen 27)
Quieting the mind may be the biggest challenge we face as people desiring a more contemplative way of being. Finding external silence is the first step, but once we immerse ourselves in a quiet place, we may discover something unsettling – that our minds are full of chatter, our thoughts seem to be on a never-ending loop of criticism and commentary. We discover this in keen ways when we sit down to meditate, or try to create art from a place of stillness.
The early Christian monks of the desert, described the silence they would seek as hesychia, which means stillness, silence, a profound inner quiet. As Abba Poemen describes person can live alone and still experience much noise within and a person can live in the midst of a crowd and have a true sense of stillness in their heart. True inner silence offers us the gift of freedom from the endless stories we make up about the world.
Click here to purchase a copy of Eyes of the Heart>>
Previous Virtual Book Tour Stops:
- Book Review at GodSpace by Christine Sine
- Book Review at A Photographic Sage by Patricia Turner
- Book Review at Sense of the Faithful by Peg Conway
- “Contemplative Photography in a Time-Obsessed Culture” Guest post by Christine at Expressive Prayer
- “Planning a Personal Retreat” Guest post by Christine at A Sacred Journey
- Audio Interview at A Congruent Life
- “Bless the World with Your Eyes” Guest post by Christine at Consecrate the Day
- Interview at Catherine Anderson Studio
- “Learning to Trust What Shimmers” Guest post by Christine at Holy Ordinary
- “Seeing Ourselves with Eyes of the Heart” Guest post by Christine at Ronna Detrick
- Interview with Louise Gallagher at A Year of Rejoicing
- Interview with Tara Owens of Anam Cara
- Book Review at Holy Ordinary with Brent Bill
- Webinar on Cultivating Contemplation in Your Parish through Photography through Ave Maria Press
- Book Review at Melanged Magic with Evelyn Jackson
- “Practicing Resurrection through the Eyes of the Heart” Guest post by Christine at Anam Cara
