The Patheos Book Club continues to feature Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice. New today is a visual guided meditation featured on the main page of the book club. Click here and scroll down to where it says Seeing with the Eyes of the Heart: A Guided Meditation with Images by Christine Valters Paintner and you can scroll through a series of my photos, with quotes from the book, as well as suggestions for reflection and pondering.
There is also a brand new and wonderful review by Craig Detweiler of Doc Hollywood, who is a professor of film:
Paintner points out how the language we bring to photography reflects skewed values. In “taking” or “shooting” pictures, we create an odd distance between our selves and the eternal moments around us. Shouldn’t we adopt an attitude of receiving a photograph as a gift? While we still polish our technical skills in preparation, when the moment arrives, we are receiving something strange, wonderful, perplexing or beautiful. To recognize it, to truly see what is happening, we must pause, focus, and frame, all key components of contemplative prayer. We may want to “capture” a moment, but aren’t we better allowing the moment to capture us?
Christine Valters Paintner challenges us to slow down, to adopt a more sacred approach to life. Eyes of the Heart is a thin book of thick ideas, meant to be savored rather than consumed. We are invited to work through each chapter at a measured pace. She includes practical photography assignments to graft contemplation into our daily routines. Or perhaps more appropriately, she challenges us to allow contemplation to break or enliven our routines.
Click here to read the entire review>>
