A Different Kind of Fast by Christine Valters Paintner

A Different Kind of Fast by Christine Valters Paintner

Clarify your true hungers--and nourish your soul.

Fasting is not just the physical practice of giving up food. Fasting can also be a way to combat our culture of endless distractions and busyness. Fasting is an act of letting go, of making more internal space to listen to the sacred whispers of our lives. Join Christine Valters Paintner, online abbess of Abbey of the Arts, on a spiritual journey through seven different kinds of fasts, including fasting from control, from our attachments, from our grasping, and more. When we practice these fasts, we can discover unexpected spiritual gifts, as well as answers to deeper questions, leading us to ask: "What is my true hunger?"

Perfect for Lent, or any period when a deeper intention to clarify your true hunger is needed, A Different Kind of Fasthelps us enter our hearts, stripping away old patterns and habits. Featuring striking woodcuts from artist Kreg Yingst, the book draws on the wisdom of the desert elders, Paintner offers practical contemplative practices like lectio divina, breath prayer, visio divina, meditation with desert wisdom, contemplative walks, and creative rituals. As we fast from rushing, planning, being strong, holding it all together, seeking certainty, and control, we can softly reorient ourselves toward that which nourishes and fulfills us, for the reflective Lenten season and beyond.

Christine Valters Paintner is the online abbess of Abbey of the Arts, a virtual monastery that offers contemplative practice and creative expression workshops and tools. She graduated from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, with a PhD in Christian spirituality, and the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association certified her as a qualified expressive arts consultant and educator. She is also a spiritual director and supervisor who has received training. Earth, Our Original Monastery; The Soul's Slow Ripening; Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire; The Artist's Rule; The Soul of a Pilgrim; Lighting the Path; The Wisdom of the Body; and two collections of poetry are among Paintner's works on monasticism and creativity. She is a Benedictine oblate who lives with her husband, John, in Galway, Ireland. They lead literary retreats and pilgrimages together in Ireland, Scotland, Austria, and Germany, as well as online retreats at AbbeyoftheArts.com.