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The Contemplative Society is an inclusive non-profit association that encourages a deepening of contemplative prayer based in the Christian 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 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.
New CD Set Available
Letting Go - How far can it take you?
 Letting go – How far can it take you? is the question Cynthia 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.
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Book Launch! - Cynthia's new book "The Wisdom Jesus" is now available from Shambhala.
 "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 radical wisdom and compassion, whose aim is nothing less than the transformation of human consciousness."
"Deepest gratitude to you, Cynthia for giving voice to the spirit of the Living Christ".
- Rita Marsh, Director of the Davi Nikent Center for Human Wellness, Aspen, Colorado.
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Letter from Cynthia
June 04, 2009
"A few words from Cynthia on her recent time in New Zealand"
Everybody, without a doubt, told me I would love this place. And the adjectives were so glowing that I came prepared to discount them by a hefty percentage. But no, every glowing word turned out to be an understatement. Take the incomparable rugged beauty of BC, the extraordinary sailing waters
of Maine, the sassy, "in-your-face spirit" of pioneer America...and throw in the incomparably haunting presence of the Maori culture, and it's all good. And that's before we even start talking about the
contemplative prayer work!
more >>
Read Christopher Page's blog on Cynthia's recent Christophany Retreat at Olympic Park, Washington
www.inaspaciousplace.blogspot.com/
The Flow of Love
Read Christopher's Notes on the Christophany retreat HERE
TCS Launches 3 NEW CD's
Relearning Surrender
 3 CD Set - Live Recording When we surrender and yield, we are putting ourselves in the company of Christ and
Mary and all those who modeled this for us in their lives. Cynthia Bourgeault guides
us to look deeply at Centering Prayer “the prayer of the experience of surrender,” as
well as other meditative prayer practices, to better understand surrender as a gesture
of love. By taking a fresh look at pain, pleasure, and personal boundaries, we
discover our interconnectedness with God and all human beings, accessible only
through spiritual surrender.
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From Healing to Wholeness  1 CD set - Live Recording In this CD, we learn to first identify and then move beyond ordinary
awareness to inner awareness by understanding the subtle yet important
differences between ancient spiritual psychology and present-day
modern psychology. Lectio divina, the four levels of scripture, and
contemplative psalmody are presented as essential to reclaiming
scripture as ‘The Living Word of God’. Along with Centering Prayer,
these reflective practices “nurture and feed the inner, true self.” Click on album cover to order
The Essentials of Benedictine Spirituality
5 CD set - live recording Cynthia Bourgeault reconstructs Benedictine Spirituality, with its creative rhythms, patterns, and musical emphasis, as a practical form of spirituality to be used by all. Learn the key difference between chanting and speaking the psalms and additional practices to achieve Benedictine balance and transformation in everyday life. Subjects include: The Three Vows of Benedictine Life, the Three Values of Benedictine Community, and Work and Prayer Life – Alone and with Others. Click on album cover to order
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