The Contemplative Society


 

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The Contemplative Society

contemplative, silent prayer, centering prayer, cynthia bourgeault, benedictine


The Contemplative Society is an inclusive non-profit association that encourages a deepening of contemplative prayer based in the Christian Wisdom tradition while also welcoming and being supportive of other meditation traditions.


We offer a consistent and balanced path for spiritual growth and transformation rooted in prayer, silence, mindful work, and in the 1500-year-old wisdom of our Benedictine contemplative heritage.


The Society supports the work of Rev. Dr. Cynthia Bourgeault in her role of Principal Teacher and Advisor for The Contemplative Society and her vocation as a hermit and writer. We do so by sponsoring retreats, wisdom schools, and workshops led by Cynthia and other distinguished teachers of the Christian contemplative path, and through the sales of instructional and inspiration materials, in both textual and audio format, supportive of the contemplative life.


The Contemplative Society actively nurtures local teachers of the contemplative way and maintains an office to communicate with members and to provide a regular and balanced schedule of retreat, teaching, and workshop opportunities.



 

photo of Cynthia Bourgeault

 

A current schedule of upcoming

EVENTS with CYNTHIA BOURGEAULT

is available HERE

 

The most recent BLOG posting with Cynthia Bourgeault and other contemplative teachers and friends is available

HERE

 

 


 

THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS

e-COURSE WITH CYNTHIA BOURGEAULT, April 7 - May 11, 2013


Cynthia will provide an orientation to The Gospel of Thomas and instructions on reading a sacred text. Over the duration of this e-Course you will receive four weeks of daily emails, each with a saying from The Gospel of Thomas, a brief commentary by Cynthia on it, and some suggestions to help you work with it practically in your daily life. On the last day, May 11, Cynthia will be available via a one-hour teleconference to sum up what has been covered and to answer any lingering questions.

 

More details and registration for The Gospel of Thomas e-Course is available HERE.

 

Also available through Spirituality and Practice is Cynthia's archived e-Course on THE WISDOM JESUS.

 

 



Forthcoming from Shambhala Publications in July 2013:

 

The Holy Trinity and the Law of Three: Discovering the Radical Truth at the Heart of Christianity

 

Advance praise for The Holy Trinity and the Law of Three:

“The Christian Doctrine of the Trinity is upheld by some as a border checkpoint to restrict access, while it is disparaged by others as extra baggage to be left behind. Cynthia Bourgeault peers into it with the heart of a mystic and the mind of a philosopher and rediscovers it as a kaleidoscope of inspiration and a key to understanding … everything. One of the most fascinating, humbling, and awe-inspiring books I’ve read in years." ~ Brian D. McLaren, author/speaker/activist

 

 


 

 

Join Cynthia and other Master Teachers at the

LIVING SCHOOL for ACTION and CONTEMPLATION

 

Living School


Presented by The Center for Action and Contemplation - This is a two year program. The application period for the session starting in 2013 is now closed. The next application period for the 2014 class will open Summer 2013 . Full program details and admission criteria is available HERE.

 

As one of the Master Teachers, Cynthia will be joining Richard Rohr and James Finley at the Rohr Institute's Living School for Action and Contemplation course of study grounded in the Christian mystical tradition. Cultivating a contemplative mind through teachings and practices, students deepen their awareness of our common union with Divine Reality and all beings. Students emerge empowered to live out their sacred soul task in their homes, workplaces, and all relationships, within a more spacious stance that is at once critical, collaborative, and joyful. Read Cynthia's invitation and program description HERE.

 



FEATURED AUDIO RESOURCE:

 

Now available as instant MP3 download or 11 CD set:

 

THROUGH HOLY WEEK with MARY MAGDALENE


Through Holy Week with Mary Magdalene CD cover

Recorded LIVE at Poet’s Cove, Pender Island, BC Canada

March 18 - 22, 2011

 

Cynthia Bourgeault uses scripture and liturgy to present Mary Magdalene as “The Beloved Companion” who opens her heart to the transformation of finite to infinite love. As Mary stands by Jesus in his anointing, crucifixion, entombment, and resurrection she emerges as the first Apostle.   Cynthia invites us to follow Mary as we offer “our own stumbling attempts at relational fidelity and witnessing [to go] deeper…into the heart of the transformative mystery.”

 

 

 

Click HERE for our ordering page.

 

 



OTHER FEATURED RECORDINGS:

 

ASSISI PILGRIMAGE: Journey to the Heart of St. Francis & St. Clare (11 CD set) - live recording


Assisi Pilgrimage CD cover

Recorded at a Wisdom School in Assisi Italy, August 6-13, 2010

 

Cynthia Bourgeault is joined by Ward Bauman and Susanne Olin in an exploration of the lives of Saint Francis and Saint Clare. In this seven day Wisdom School held in Assisi Italy, Francis and Clare are presented as “models for conscious love.” An exploration of sacred artifacts and historical sites of Assisi, 'The City of God', is also included. The teaching explores surrender, embodiment, immolation, and salvation showing how they work together to create a sustained force of love in our lives. The teaching further explores the inner meaning of the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience as an embodiment of the Wisdom Way. As we come to know the true heart of Francis and Clare, new light is shed upon early Christian thought regarding our bodies, human sexuality, renunciation, and the natural world. Click HERE for our ordering page.

 

 

 

LETTING GO - HOW FAR CAN IT TAKE YOU? (3 CD set) - live recording


Letting Go - How far can it take you

Recorded LIVE 2007, Thetis Island BC Canada - Revised and re-released 2012

 

Letting go – how far can it take you? is the question Cynthia Bourgeault poses and explores in an analysis of the journey which we begin at birth and continue to the death of the body. Drawing particularly from Helen Luke’s book Old Age: Journey into Simplicity as well as John S. Donne’s Four Consents, Cynthia offers a transformative alternative to the North American obsession with staying young, fearing aging, and denying death. As we practice letting go of our attachments we discover that all is tenderly held in God’s love and in wholeness. The welcoming practice, another tool of transformation, is also discussed. Click HERE for our ordering page.

 

 


FEATURED PRESENTATIONS and INTERVIEWS:

 

Video Interview with Cynthia Bourgeault: Contemplation & Compassion

In this short video series, five great teachers discuss how the future of humanity lies at the intersection of
contemplation and compassion.
"… you are one undivided sphere of interchangeable consciousness in love … a concept which is really only accessible to the non-dual mind…” ~ Cynthia Bourgeault

(18 minutes). The five video interviews are available HERE.

 

Audio Interview with Patricia Albere and Cynthia Bourgeault: Love is Stronger than Death; The Mystical Union of Two Souls

“True love expresses the sacred promise that love is stronger than death.” Cynthia Bourgeault says in her book.  What kind of ‘soulwork’ can continue in a relationship that expresses ‘true love’?  Join author and Episcopal Priest Cynthia Bourgeault and Patricia Albere as they explore the reality of sacred union.

(55 minutes). The full recording of this interview can be accessed and downloaded HERE.

 

Audio Interview with Tami Simon and Cynthia Bourgeault: When Two Become One: Love Beyond Death

Sounds True founder Tami Simon and Cynthia speak about new insights on the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene, and the concept of the “abler soul”—when two souls come together to form something greater. (64 minutes). The full recording of this interview can be accessed and downloaded HERE.

 

Audio Interview with Terry Patten: Encountering the Integral Christ in Evolutionary Dialog

Beyond Awakening host, Terry Patten, also offers a blog post in appreciation of the wonderful dialog that unfolded, including a discussion of the Trinity as a transformational metaphor and “mystical mandala”, and a nuanced conversation about how radically non-dual consciousness expresses itself equally in deep contemplative silence, profound heart-devotion, and muscular, engaged activism and service in the world. The full recording of this interview can be accessed and downloaded HERE.

 

 

Audio Interview with Tami Simon: Encountering the Wisdom Jesus

Sounds True founder and interviewer Tami Simon recently spoke with Cynthia about kenosis and Jesus’ life understood as a sacrament, the Welcoming Practice, and a number of other enlightening topics.

Click HERE to listen or download this podcast or access the full transcription of this interview.

 

 

Listen to Cynthia's beautiful and bold sermon delivered on Palm Sunday:

As Cynthia starts her sermon she refers to the congregation having just heard the traditional reading of the passion narrative, and invites us to consider an alternative message - one that places the mystery of love at the center of the Easter story. (Recorded April 17, 2011 at Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver, BC Canada)

Click HERE to access this recorded sermon.

 

 

anointing image

"Being" Mary Magdalene - A young woman shares her profound and personal experience of being touched by the Magdalenic energy while "being Mary" at a recent anointing service with Cynthia:

"As the entire congregation chanted over and over in beautiful melody, it felt obvious that opening as love requires no knowledge of scripture, no baptism, no earning of anything, especially worthiness. It didn’t matter that I don’t know the full story of Mary Magdalene because I was not doing anything. All that was required of me was to open in love."

Click HERE to read the full posting by Chela Davison.

 

 

Listen to Cynthia's radio interview discussing The Meaning of Mary Magdalene:

Jean Feraca from Wisconsin Public Radio, interviews Cynthia about her newest book.

As Cynthia asserts in the conversation, "to reclaim Mary Magdalene is to reclaim Christianity." (Recorded April 27, 2011)

Click HERE to access this recorded interview.

 

 

Cynthia speaks on Mystics and Contemplatives as Visionaries and Prophets:

In this new percolation of the spirit that is often being called nowadays “The Emerging Church,” Cynthia suggests it is the mystics and contemplatives who will emerge as the prophets and visionaries— because their contemplative practice makes this evolution virtually inescapable. (Recorded at the Lenten Noon Forum at St. John the Divine in Victoria, BC Canada, March 23, 2011)

Click HERE to access this recorded presentation.

 

 

Listen to Cynthia's presentation on Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening: An Ancient Contemplative Practice for Our Own Time:

Listen to Rev. Dr. Cynthia Bourgeault speaking at Washington National Cathedral, May 2010 on the ancient path of Christian meditation, as it has been adapted for the twenty-first century. Click HERE to download or listen to this MP3 recorded presentation.

 

 

photo of Cynthia BourgeaultVideo interview with Cynthia Bourgeault discussing religion and spirituality:

 

 

Watch an interview from The Life Divine as Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault explores religion and spirituality, and specifically Christianity and the Christ as an awakened one, inspiring our own awakening.

Click HERE to view this video.

 

 

 

Audio interview with Ken Wilber:

Ken Wilber from Integral Life talks with Cynthia about her book The Meaning of Mary Magdalene.

Click HERE to listen to this audio interview.

 

 

photo of Cynthia Bourgeault

Gwyneth Paltrow interviews Cynthia for her newsletter:

Q: What is this book about?

A: Obviously, it’s about Mary Magdalene, but in her three interlocking roles as apostle, intimate friend of Jesus, and purveyor of sacred Wisdom. The point of my book is that you can’t separate these roles, as people have been trying to do for centuries. And when you put all the pieces back together into a single person, what emerges is not only an astonishing new portrait of Mary Magdalene, but an astonishing new portrait of Christianity as well: a portrait that promises healing and forgiveness for Christianity’s notorious wounds in the areas of human intimacy and relationships, and a bold new Christian vision of enlightened consciousness.

Click HERE to read this full interview.

 

 

Audio Interview with Cynthia Bourgeault and David Riordan:

Integral Life is exploring the Future of Christianity with a myriad of Progressive Christian teachers and philosophers including Ken Wilber, Thomas Keating, Cynthia Bourgeault, Richard Rohr and many more.

Click HERE to access this interview.

 

 

YouTube Rev. Dr. Cynthia Bourgeault on YouTube

 

 

 

 

photo of Cynthia Bourgeault

Centering Prayer and the Foundations of Non-dual Awareness

At the 2012 Science and Nonduality Conference, Cynthia Bourgeault speaks on Centering Prayer and the contribution it has to bring to the growing body of data confirming the neurological underpinnings of nondual consciousness. What Christian mystics have long known as the practice of surrender, powerfully encapsulated in Centering Prayer's distinctive method of meditation, proves itself to be a powerful foundation for the movement beyond the dualistic perception (with the subect/object dichotomy as its driveshaft) into a unified—i.e., nondual—field of perception.

 

Click HERE to access this YouTube video.

 

 

photo of Cynthia Bourgeault

“The Gate of Heaven Is Everywhere”

In this remarkable and well produced little thirteen minute video, Cynthia Bourgeault discusses how contemplative spiritual practice can be integrated into the contemporary educational program of young people in the Hong Kong International School. With clarity and insight, Cynthia presents principles that apply to many areas of life and illustrate the profound inter-face that can exist between spirituality and practical daily living.

 

Click HERE to access this YouTube video.

 

 

 

 

photo of Cynthia Bourgeault

The Ways of the Heart: Kenosis, Abundance, Singleness Recorded on September 3, 2011, at Second Congregational Church in Greenfield, MA. (Produced and edited by Robert A. Jonas, Ed.D., www.emptybell.org)

 

Part 1 - Overview of the foundations and method of Centering Prayer (51:24)

 

Part 2 - Attention of the heart (54:20)

 

Part 3 - Putting the mind in the heart (55:34)

 

Part 4 - A chant and Q&A (18:20)

 

 

Shalem Institute Director interviews Cynthia on The Meaning of Mary Magdalene

Carole Crumley, Shalem's Senior Program Director talks with Cynthia about Mary Magdalene in relation to her three primary roles as apostle, intimate friend of Jesus, and purveyor of wisdom.  When these three roles are put together the implications for Christianity are profound and transformative. (Recorded on November 14, 2010)

Click HERE to access this YouTube video.

 

 

photo of Cynthia Bourgeault

Seeking the Divine host interviews Cynthia on The Meaning of Mary Magdalene

Dr. Patricia Ann Hill from Seeking The Divine TV show interviews Cynthia on "The Meaning of Mary Magdalene: Discovering the Woman at the Heart of Christianity". Click HERE to access this YouTube video.

 

You can access the full hour-long interview HERE.

 

 

 

Seeking the Divine host interviews Cynthia on The Wisdom Way of Knowing

Dr. Patricia Ann Hill from Seeking The Divine TV show interviews Cynthia on "The Wisdom Way of Knowing". Cynthia discusses her understanding of the meaning of Wisdom, including the differences between information, knowledge and Wisdom, and Wisdom as an integration of mind, body, and spirit.

Click HERE to access this YouTube video.

 

You can access the full hour-long interview HERE.

 


 

 

 

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