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L’icône par la porte du rêve (The icon by the door of dreams — in French only) is based on passionate interaction between a male and a female artist and a psychoanalyst philosopher concerning Biblical stories. This book is to be savoured in small sips. With others or by oneself, one takes a text, puts it down, takes  it up again. One allows oneself to be touched by the imagery, the poetry, one is challenged by the depth and the insight of the analysis and the beauty of the works of art presented. The luminosity of the icons, the gracefulness of the mosaics and the purity of the enamel give a feeling of pure bliss. One takes time. Meditation, observation, listening through one’s inner ear, profond respiration. The icon thus becomes a prayer of the moment and over time, emanating from the biblical writing it expresses. The transformation through an image is incarnation; light and presence of the Word, of the dialogue between God and the great figures of the Old and New Testaments: Noah, Moses, Jacob’s ladder, Ezekiel and Elijah, Ruth, Noemi, Peter, Mary Magdalen and Jesus….

Wiping away the frontier between art, psychoanalysis and spirituality, this book leads us to an intermediary world wherein the vulnerable and the heavenly aspects of each person are called to a new liberty, the freedom to chose life from instant to instant, reaching the point at which a human is capable of the impossible.

Bestselling author and biblical scholar Stephen J. Binz offers the first book to combine the ancient Western practice of lectio divina (sacred reading) with the lesser-known Eastern Orthodox tradition of visio divina (sacred seeing). Binz suggests a life-changing way to pray through twenty gospel readings paired with beautiful, never-before-published contemporary icons.

St. Benedict urged his followers to listen to God’s Word “with the ear of the heart.” Eastern Orthodox spiritual writers focused on gazing at icons, as St. Paul said, with “the eyes of the heart.” Binz draws on the richness of both traditions by combining lectio and visio divina.

Contemplation is more difficult than ever during this digital age and Binz offers a proven and profound way to cut through the noise and pray the gospels. He will walk you through six steps: reading, seeing, meditating, praying, contemplating, and acting. Binz also provides simple suggestions for self-reflection that can lead to practical changes in your everyday life.

The book’s twenty Bible passages–starting with the Annunciation and ending with Pentecost–are paired with full-color icons of each story. The original, never-before-published icons, written by Ruta and Kaspars Poikans, are displayed in the Unity Chapel at the Mary of Nazareth International Center in Israel.

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