Speaker
The Art Of Pausing: Contemplative Practices For Busy Professionals
April 2, 2019
Those of us in the workplace are surrounded by constant distractions that dilute our attention and prevent us from cultivating our true selves. There are simple practices that can slow us down, help us find more balance, and become more attuned to the world around us and to the voice of God speaking within us. Judith Valente worked as a staff writer for The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal was an on-air correspondent for PBS-TV and is a self-described recovering workaholic and over-achiever. She has spent considerable time in the last several years at monasteries learning about the contemplative life and will explore some of the ways we can practice the art of pausing and still be productive in our work.
Judith Valente is the author of four spirituality books on how to live a more contemplative life in the secular world, as well as two collections of poetry. She began her career at The Washington Post, then wrote for The Wall Street Journal in that paper’s Chicago and London Bureaus. She was twice a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in journalism and has won more than 20 broadcast awards. Her books include: How To Live: What The Rule of St. Benedict Teaches Us About Happiness, Meaning and Community; The Art of Pausing: Meditations for the Overworked and Overwhelmed; Atchison Blue: A Search for Silence, A Spiritual Home and A Living Faith; and the anthology Twenty Poems to Nourish Your Soul. Her poetic, yet easily accessible style has made her a sought-after speaker and retreat leader. Ms. Valente lives in Illinois and is a lay associate of the Benedictine monastery Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison, KS.
