Cynthia Bourgeault

Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening is a complete guidebook for all who wish to know the practice of Centering Prayer.

Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening

Edward is kind-hearted and always keen to help a friend in need. The small engines trust him to lend a listening ear and sympathetic advice. He is a hard worker too, and always does his best to finish a job.

Transforming Heart and Mind--A New Perspective on Christ and His Message

The Wisdom Jesus

Mary Magdalene is one of the most influential symbols in the history of Christianityandmdash;yet, if you look in the Bible, youandrsquo;ll find only a handful of verses that speak of her. How did she become such a compelling saint in the face of such paltry evidence? In her effort to answer that question, Cynthia Bourgeault examines the Bible, church tradition, art, legend, and newly discovered texts to see whatandrsquo;s there. She then applies her own reasoning and intuition, informed by the wisdom of the ages-old Christian contemplative tradition. What emerges is a radical view of Mary Magdalene as Jesusandrsquo;s most important disciple, the one he considered to understand his teaching best. That teaching was characterized by a nondualistic approach to the world and by a deep understanding of the value of the feminine. Cynthia shows how an understanding of Mary Magdalene can revitalize contemporary Christianity, how Christians and others can, through her, find their way to Jesusandrsquo;s original teachings and apply them to their modern lives.

Discovering the Woman at the Heart of Christianity

The Meaning of Mary Magdalene

Centering Prayer is the path to a wonderful and radical new way of seeing the world. It is not, as is sometimes thought, simply an act of devotional piety, nor is it a Christianized form of other meditation methods. Cynthia Bourgeault here cuts through the misconceptions to show that Centering Prayer is in fact a pioneering development within the Christian contemplative tradition. She provides a practical, complete course in the practice and then goes deeper to analyze what actually happens in Centering Prayer: the mind effectively switches to a new operating system that makes possible the perception of nonduality. With this understanding in place, she then takes us on a journey through one of the sources of the practice, the Christian contemplative classic The Cloud of Unknowing, revealing it to be among the earliest Christian explorations of the phenomenology of consciousness. Cynthia Bourgeault’s illumination of the Centering Prayer path provides compelling evidence of how important the practice has become in the half-century since it first arose among American Trappist monks, and of its maturation and refinement over the ensuing years of sincere study and practice. It will resonate with beginners on the Centering Prayer path as well as with seasoned practitioners.

Nondual Christianity in Theory and Practice

The Heart of Centering Prayer

The Mystical Union of Two Souls

Love Is Stronger Than Death

This groundbreaking book shares the evolution of Cynthia Bourgeault's spiritual journey and offers a new map to understanding energy and our collective reality. In Eye of the Heart, Cynthia Bourgeault investigates the imaginal realm--an energetic realm well known to the mystical traditions but often forgotten in our own times. It is invisible to the physical eye, but clearly perceptible through the eye of the heart. The imaginal realm has long been associated with the personal world of dreams, prophecy, and oracles, and it also points toward a higher vision of our human purpose that is both evolutionary and collective. Bourgeault explores both aspects of imaginal reality and shows readers how we can cooperate more fully with its guidance in our lives. Expertly blending her own lived experiences with research on the imaginal realm, Bourgeault explores how her personal relationships have helped to bring these teachings into sharper focus and the role this realm plays in Christian and other mystical traditions. She delves into the connections between our inner consciousness and what happens in the world, exploring the transformative energy and governing conventions that make the manifestation of this realm possible. Eye of the Heart presents Bourgeault's spiritual journey with the imaginal realm and encourages readers to attune their hearts for the well-being of the world.

A Spiritual Journey into the Imaginal Realm

Eye of the Heart

"Drawing on resources as diverse as Sufism, Benedictine Monasticism, the Gurdjieff Work, and the string theory of modern physics, Cynthia Bourgeault has crafted her own unique vision of the Wisdom way in this very accessible book, nicely balanced between concept and practice." —Gerald May, senior fellow, Shalem Institute, and author, Addiction and Grace and Will and Spirit "The spiritual wisdom and practical suggestions in this lively and beautiful book will be helpful to many who find themselves setting out on the interior journey." —Bruno Barnhart, a Camaldolese monk and author, Second Simplicity: The Inner Shape of Christianity "Cynthia Bourgeault's book is a valuable contribution to the much-needed reawakening of spiritual practice within a Christian context. Her sincerity, good sense, metaphysical depth, and broad experience make her a source to be trusted." —Kabir Helminski, Sufi Shaikh, the Threshold Society

Reclaiming An Ancient Tradition to Awaken the Heart

The Wisdom Way of Knowing

A new view of Jesus as a Buddha-like wisdom teacher who taught the transformation of consciousness—with traditional contemplative practices you can do yourself If you put aside what you think you know about Jesus and approach the Gospels as though for the first time, something remarkable happens: Jesus emerges as a teacher of the transformation of consciousness. The Wisdom Jesus provides a new perspective on Christ and an expansive interpretation of His message. Cynthia Bourgeault creates a masterful guide to Jesus's vision and the traditional contemplative practices you can use to experience the heart of his teachings for yourself.

In The Corner of Fourth and Nondual, a title inspired by Thomas Merton's moment of revelation 'at the corner of Fourth and Walnut' in his celebrated essay 'A Member of the Human Race', Cynthia Bourgeault--internationally renowned retreat leader, and a practitioner and teacher of centering prayer--describes the foundations of her theology: a cosmological seeing with the eye of the heart, and classic Benedictine daily rule informed and enlightened by wisdom from the Asian traditions. She explains the influence of the author of The Cloud of Unknowing, Teilhard de Chardin, Boehme, Barnhart, Keating, and Gurdjieff, among others in a philosophy built on the cornerstones of the Incarnation and the Paschal Mystery, tied by the Trinity as a cosmogonic principle, the fundamental generative mechanism through which all things came into being. In the My Theology series, the world's leading Christian thinkers explain some of the principal tenets of their theological beliefs in concise, pocket-sized books. There are sixteen titles total.

The Corner of Fourth and Nondual

Dieses wegweisende Buch beleuchtet das für viele Menschen schwer zu verstehende christliche Dogma der Dreifaltigkeit aus brillanten neuen Perspektiven. Auf Basis der visionären Einsichten der großen Mystiker Jakob Böhme und G.I. Gurdjieff entwickelt die Theologin, episkopale Priesterin und Kontemplationslehrerin Cynthia Bourgeault bahnbrechende Interpretationsmodelle für ein zeitgemäßes, non-duales und fruchtbares Verständnis der Trinität. Dabei erklärt sie das traditionelle Bild von »Vater, Sohn und Heiligem Geist« nicht etwa für obsolet, sondern erweitert es vielmehr grundlegend von einem erstarrten Standbild zu einem dynamischen Prozess der Transformation, in welchem die Göttliche Liebe sich unablässig entfaltet -- bis in den gegenwärtigen Augenblick und darüber hinaus. Mithilfe ihrer ternären Metaphysik beschreibt die Autorin eine Geschichte des Universums, die theologische und naturwissenschaftliche Erkenntnisse miteinander versöhnt, und schreckt auch nicht vor schwierigen Fragen zurück: Wie fing alles an, und was geschah davor? Handelt es sich bei Jesu »Himmelreich« möglicherweise um eine höhere Ebene des Bewusstseins? Wie führt eine neu verstandene Trinität zu einem intelligenten Gleichgewicht der Geschlechter? Welche Ausblicke eröffnet sie auf den individuellen Tod und auf die apokalyptische »Erfüllung der Zeiten« einer globalisierten Welt in der Krise? Cynthia Bourgeault entzündet einen Hoffnungsschimmer und wirft vielleicht sogar einen Rettungsring aus für ein aufgeklärtes Christentum im einundzwanzigsten Jahrhundert. »Die christliche Lehre der Dreifaltigkeit wird von den einen als doktrinärer Schutzwall verteidigt und von den anderen als unnötiger Ballast abgetan. Cynthia Bourgeault ergründet das Geheimnis der Trinität mit dem Herzen einer Mystikerin und dem Verstand einer Philosophin und entdeckt sie völlig neu als ein Kaleidoskop der Inspiration und als einen Schlüssel zum Verständnis... von allem. Eines der faszinierendsten, anregendsten und beeindruckendsten Bücher, die ich seit Jahren gelesen habe« -- BRIAN McLAREN, Autor von »Die geheime Botschaft von Jesus: Die Wahrheit, die alles verändern könnte«. »Die meisterhafte, aufschlussreiche Neubetrachtung einer Kernlehre des Christentums. Cynthia Bourgeault öffnet eine Tür für eine neue transchristliche Vision« -- JOHN SHELBY SPONG, Autor von »Was sich im Christentum ändern muss«.

Der Schlüssel zum Geheimnis des Christentums

Die Heilige Dreifaltigkeit und das Gesetz der Drei

When the global pandemic struck in the spring of 2020, spiritual teacher Cynthia Bourgeault sensed an invitation to go deeper than a continuous round of Zoom calls. She turned to Joseph Azize's newly published collection of spiritual exercises from the Gurdjieff teaching, exercises that for decades had been kept apart from the general public. She invited members of her Wisdom School Community to join her in a rigorous practice with six of these exercises. What emerged over a six-week collective journey was a remarkable series of revelations and reflections encompassing not only the Gurdjieff tradition but her own deep insights into the Christian mystical and wisdom traditions, together with sagacious tips on practice and a prophetic vision of a post-pandemic future. The fruit of that alchemy-presented here-is a profoundly renewed vision of Mystical Courage, a hope and strength emerging from beyond our own making that is available right now to guide our way.

Commentaries on Selected Contemplative Exercises by G.I. Gurdjieff, As Compiled by Joseph Azize

Mystical Courage

Just as she's done in her previous books, Cynthia Bourgeault asks us to take a look at an idea from traditional Christianity—this time the formula of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—as though we're looking at it for the first time. And as usual, she reveals it to be something we hadn't expected at all. She finds in the idea of the Holy Trinity a striking vision of the nature of reality. What she claims, in a nutshell, is that embedded within this theological formula that Christians recite mostly on autopilot lies a powerful metaphysical principle that could change our understanding of Christianity and give us the tools so long and so sorely needed to reunite our shattered cosmology, rekindle our visionary imagination, and cooperate consciously with the manifestation of Jesus's "Kingdom of Heaven" here on earth. She looks to the history of Christian theology, to her own years of contemplative practice, and to the ideas of G. I. Gurdjieff. Her tone is, as ever, as accessible as it is compelling, and it's a wild ride. "I will do my best to make the ride as smooth as possible," she says, "but in the end, my commitment is to getting there, because I know beyond all personal doubt that there is indeed a ham radio concealed inside this Trinitarian tea cupboard. And in the midst of this long winter of our Christian discontent, when spiritual imagination and boldness are at an all-time low and the church itself hovers at the edge of demise for lack of an animating vision, perhaps now more than ever the time is ripe to remove the packing boards from this tea cupboard and release its contents."

Discovering the Radical Truth at the Heart of Christianity

The Holy Trinity and the Law of Three

Wenn Sie das, was Sie über Jesus zu wissen glauben, beiseitelegen und die Evangelien lesen, als wäre es das erste Mal, geschieht etwas Bemerkenswertes: Jesus begegnet Ihnen als ein Meister der Weisheit, der eine Transformation von Herz und Bewusstsein lehrt, welche die Kraft hat, unser Leben vollständig zu verwandeln. Cynthia Bourgeault, episkopale anglikanische Priesterin und bekannte Kontemplationslehrerin, legt hier eine mystisch inspirierte und wissenschaftlich fundierte Neubetrachtung der Frohen Botschaft Christi vor. Dieses Buch ist eine exzellente Auslegung der glänzenden Vision des Jesus von Nazareth, die mutig aufräumt mit den überkommenen Dogmen einer patriarchalischen und paternalistischen Theologie und die innere Bedeutung der christlichen Mysterien frisch und intelligent beleuchtet. Unter Einbezug der jüngsten Erkenntnisse der Bibelforschung, neuer Quellen wie der Evangelien des Thomas und der Maria Magdalena sowie von spirituellen Einsichten auch aus anderen Weisheitstraditionen der Welt erklärt die Autorin mit viel Esprit und einer guten Prise Humor, wie wir die Worte und Gleichnisse Jesu über den Verstand in unser Herz bringen und sie in unserem Alltagsleben aufblühen lassen können. In einem großen Praxisteil gibt sie zusätzlich wertvolle Anleitungen aus ihrer jahrelangen Erfahrung mit Übungen wie dem zentrierenden Gebet oder dem Gebet der Sammlung, der Textmeditation der lectio Divina für Einzelne und für Gruppen sowie der »Willkommensübung« und dem Chanten oder Singen von heiligen Texten wie den Psalmen. »Ein Meisterwerk! Cynthia Bourgeault lädt uns ein, den Weg Jesu der selbstentäußernden Liebe zu gehen, und beschreibt Weisheitsübungen, die wir täglich nutzen können zur Verwandlung unseres Geistes, sodass auch wir mit den Augen Christi zu sehen vermögen« (JIM MARION, Autor von »Der Weg zum Christus-Bewusstsein«). »Nur wenige spirituelle Lehrer verschaffen uns wirklich neue Einsichten. Noch seltener geben sie uns Werkzeuge an die Hand, mit denen wir selbst zu diesen gelangen können. Cynthia Bourgeault tut beides -- und das tut sie sehr gut« (RICHARD ROHR, Autor von »Was die Bibel uns zu sagen hat« und »Werde, wer du bist«).

Was er wirklich lehrte über die Verwandlung unseres Herzens

Jesus: Meister der Weisheit

In this book-with-CD, Cynthia Bourgeault shows how chanting the Psalms - those 150 exquisite hymns of praise to God from the Bible - can become a meaningful form of meditation and prayer for laypeople, leading to contemplation, insight, and joy. The mindfulness produced by chanting can be tapped into by anyone regardless of musical skill or theological sophistication, and it can be done in community as well as privately. In Chanting the Psalms, Bourgeault provides a history of Christian psalm chanting (also called "psalmody") and demonstrates how it relates to other chanting traditions. She also shows how chanting can fit into an existing practice of contemplation and prayer, deepening and enriching it. But she also teaches you how to do it: you can literally sing along with Cynthia on the accompanying CD as she and her friends demonstrate the basic techniques and easy melodies that anyone can learn to make psalmody a personal meditative practice.

A Practical Guide with Instructional CD

Chanting the Psalms

In five interwoven meditations, Mystical Hope shows how to recognize hope in our own lives, where it comes from, how to deepen it through prayer, and how to carry it into the world as a source of strength and renewal.

Trusting in the Mercy of God

Mystical Hope

"Ablaze with passion for the one essential task of the monk: total inner transformation". —Brother David Stendl-Rast "Libraries offering titles on mysticism, inner transformation, or dealing with grief will find this a unique and welcome addition."—Library Journal This powerful book, written by an Episcopal priest, tells of her intense relationship with Brother Raphael Robin, a seventy-year-old Trappist monk and hermit. Both believed that a relationship can continue beyond this life, and here Cynthia Bourgeault describes her search for that connection before and after Robin's death. Bourgeault's previous books include The Wisdom Jesus and Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening.

Love is Stronger than Death

Mary Magdalene is one of the most influential symbols in the history of Christianity—yet, if you look in the Bible, you’ll find only a handful of verses that speak of her. How did she become such a compelling saint in the face of such paltry evidence? In her effort to answer that question, Cynthia Bourgeault examines the Bible, church tradition, art, legend, and newly discovered texts to see what’s there. She then applies her own reasoning and intuition, informed by the wisdom of the ages-old Christian contemplative tradition. What emerges is a radical view of Mary Magdalene as Jesus’s most important disciple, the one he considered to understand his teaching best. That teaching was characterized by a nondualistic approach to the world and by a deep understanding of the value of the feminine. Cynthia shows how an understanding of Mary Magdalene can revitalize contemporary Christianity, how Christians and others can, through her, find their way to Jesus’s original teachings and apply them to their modern lives.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In this formula that Christians recite as though on autopilot lie the secrets for healing our world, rekindling our visionary imagination, and manifesting the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. It’s an astonishing claim, but one that is supported by Cynthia Bourgeault’s exploration of Trinitarian theology—and by her bold work in further articulating the deep truth it contains. She looks to the ancient concept in light of the ideas of G. I. Gurdjieff and Jacob Boehme to reveal the Trinity as the "hidden driveshaft" within Christianity: the compassionate expression of the Uncreated Reality in creation.

Cynthia Bourgeault

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