Virtual Book Tour: Review At Sense of the Faithful

Next stop on the Virtual Book Tour is a review by Peg Conway at Sense of the Faithful:

An inspiring new book by Christine Valters Paintner called Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice provides a transformative path for the digital age. Christine is the founder and abbess of the virtual Abbey of the Arts, where she offers online and in-person classes and other resources for contemplative living, with an emphasis on the expressive arts. From reading her blogs and newsletter and taking her free “monk in the world” e-course, I regarded Christine as a wise and compassionate teacher, and her new book more than lives up to this impression.

Eyes of the Heart is a rich and nourishing work; like a hearty soup or whole grain bread, it satisfies real hunger and is best when leisurely savored. The first two chapters introduce themes and practices that are carried through the rest. As someone who likes to write, I found it incredibly worthwhile to spend plenty of time here cultivating a visual awareness. This kind of seeing, as Christine presents it, is a deep work of the heart. A key practice is to begin “receiving” images rather than taking or making or shooting them. Such a shift of consciousness bears fruit not only with regard to photos but life in general.