Cynthia Bourgeault(b. 1947)

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

Chanting the psalms, or psalmody, is an ancient practice of vital importance in the Christian spiritual tradition. Today many think of it as a discipline that belongs only in monasteries—but psalmody is a spiritual treasure that is available to anyone who prays. You don’t need to be musical or a monk to do it, and it can be enjoyed in church liturgical worship, in groups, or even individually as part of a personal rule of prayer. Cynthia Bourgeault brings the practice into the twenty-first century, providing a history of Christian psalmody as well as an appreciation of its place in contemplative practice today. And she teaches you how to do it as you chant along with her on the accompanying audio program in which she demonstrates the basic techniques and easy melodies that anyone can learn. “Even if you can’t read music,” Cynthia says, “or if somewhere along the way you’ve absorbed the message that your voice is no good or you can’t sing on pitch, I’ll still hope to show you that chanting the psalms is accessible to nearly everyone.”

The modern-day mystic and beloved author of The Wisdom Jesus shares the evolution of her spiritual journey, offering a bold interpretation of Christian mysticism, 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 guidebook for all who are called to the path of conscious love. 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. Deeply enriched by Bourgeault's knowledge of the teachings of G.I. Gurdjieff and of Christian mysticism, their vibrant, provocative, beautifully written story adds a profound new dimension to our understanding of human love and the possibility of survival beyond the grave.

"Fue una mujer el discipulo mas importante de Jesus? A partir de esta pregunta, fundamental para entender la evolucion de la exegesis cristiana en los ultimos anos, Cynthia Bourgeault elabora un analisis meditado y provocativo de las pruebas disponibles que remiten a la posibilidad de que Maria Magdalena fuese una de las discipulas de Jesus y que el maestro tuviese una vision de lo femenino muy distinta a la que sostiene la Iglesia. A pesar de ser uno de los simbolos mas influyentes y sugerentes de la historia del cristianismo, las referencias a ella que encontramos en la Biblia son bastante reducidas, por lo que Bourgeault explora tambien tradiciones religiosas, obras de arte, leyendas y textos apocrifos para configurar un complejo retrato de una de las santas del catolicismo que mas devocion despierta y una de las figuras de referencia del gnosticismo cristiano."--Amazon.com

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.

Unsere Kultur thematisiert den Prozess des Älterwerdens zunehmend unter reinen Gesundheitsaspekten; entsprechend besorgt schauen die meisten Menschen dem Spätherbst ihres Lebens entgegen. Wer die Ziellinie möglichst besterhalten als Letzter überquert, hat gewonnen -- lautet das fragwürdige Versprechen des kollektiven Fitnesswahns. Dabei bietet ein bewusstes Altern die unschätzbare Chance einer tiefgreifenden inneren Wandlung und Erneuerung, wenn wir uns mit echtem Anfängergeist, mit hoffnungsvoller Neugier und der Bereitschaft, überkommene Selbstbilder abzulegen, darauf einlassen. In zwölf lehrreichen Lektionen zeigt die Theologin und Weisheitslehrerin Cynthia Bourgeault einfühlsam und anschaulich, wie wir auf Basis bewusster Entscheidung, vertrauensvollem Jasagen, aufrichtiger Selbstgewahrwerdung und Verantwortungsübernahme für unseren Geisteszustand die »aufsteigende Daseinskurve« unseres Lebens schwungvoll zu nehmen vermögen. In unterschiedlichen Begriffen (wie etwa »neuer Mensch«, »innerer oder zweiter Körper«, »Auferstehungsleib« oder auch »Hochzeitsgewand«) mahnen uns alle spirituellen Traditionen der Welt, uns bereits heute vorzubereiten für das ewige Leben nach unserem Erwachen. Wie wir das allerspätestens in unserer zweiten Lebenshälfte konkret anstellen und einüben können, sodass wir im bewussten Älterwerden unsere neuen Blüten aus der »Wurzel der Wurzel unserer selbst« entspringen lassen, davon handelt dieses ermutigende Buch voller Altersweisheit. »Altern ist tatsächlich eine Geisteshaltung. Mit einem Geist, der gelernt hat, in bedingungsloser Präsenz und völliger Unabhängigkeit von dem, was um uns herumwirbelt, seine »Gestalt« zu wahren, bleiben wir mit der Quelle verbunden, selbst wenn wir uns auf der »absteigenden Daseinskurve« befinden, auf der wir zu guter Letzt all jene anderen, belangloseren Merkmale unserer Handlungsfähigkeit verlieren werden. Das Licht dieser Verbindung wird durch uns hindurchscheinen, uns schon in diesem Leben den Mantel wahren »Ältestentums« verleihen und uns für alle Welten, die jenseits von dieser liegen mögen, mit einem bereits gut ausgebildeten Vermögen zum Unendlichen wappnen.«

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 best-selling author of The Wisdom Jesus and The Meaning of Mary Magdalene demystifies the popular Christian meditation method rooted in contemplative prayer 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 d

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.

The author of The Wisdom Jesus takes readers on a journey to discover the real Mary Magdalene—and finds a powerful, ancient model for 21st-century spirituality 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.

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.

"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

The first portrait of spiritual luminary Thomas Keating’s remarkable evolution, in the last decades of his life, into a fully realized modern-day Christian mystic. In the first four decades of his life as a Trappist monk, Thomas Keating created a comprehensive, unified psychospiritual pathway leading from healing to holiness and from contemporary psychological wellness to classic mystical sanctity and beatitude. As one of the key innovators of the meditative practice of Centering Prayer, he fashioned a powerful on-ramp to the Christian contemplative tradition. Yet, as beloved author and Keating disciple Cynthia Bourgeault shows, that was not the end of Keating’s story—his evolution as a spiritual thinker and mystic continued in ways few have explored in depth. In this unique blend of biography, personal experience, and close reading of his late works, Bourgeault illuminates Keating’s remarkable spiritual development from the late 1980s until his death in 2018. She explores: Keating’s increasing engagement with nondual spiritual practice His contributions to interspiritual dialogue The evolution of his early teaching on the movement from “false self” to “true self,” to that from “true self” to “no self” His final “dark night of the spirit” and passage through death New evidence that he never left Christianity but carried it with him to new places These profound final stages of Keating’s spiritual journey demonstrate how readers might find their own way as modern mystics, fundamentally at home and at peace in the universe.