Book of the Heart: A personal history of seeing - Paperback

by Zoe White (Author)

Inspired by people who have taken journeys in search of the contemplative life, Zoe sets out on her own explorations. Early experience in a convent leads her to cross continents and learn new languages. Images from Egypt arise, ancient portraits, ruined temples, a wandering monk and meetings with Zen masters. Then clouds begin to gather: the loss of her job is followed by debilitating migraines and deaths in the family... Life seems to be falling apart and treatments are not working. Now there is only one choice left: to give up hoping for a cure and change her way of seeing.From the silence of the cloister to the queue in the supermarket, contemplation emerges through the Book of the Heart as multi-faceted and many-layered; less a practice or a state to be achieved and more a process of deepening intimacy with senses we already have.

Author Biography

Born and brought up in Enfield, North London, Zoe White began her working life as a medical secretary. She then served in the Women's Royal Naval Service for four years, after which she co-owned and managed an art gallery in North Yorkshire. As a mature student, she took her M.Theol. degree from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, and her M.Div. from the Earlham School of Religion, a Quaker seminary in the USA. She subsequently taught English as a Foreign Language in France and Belgium, where she also organized conferences and seminars for international management training companies. She has facilitated workshops, led retreats and given talks on the contemplative life in Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK. Zoe sees contemplation as a creative inquiry, which she enjoys exploring through meditation, writing and photography. She lives in the Netherlands.