“I am so grateful for this labor of love by The Contemplative Society, which once again makes accessible Raimon Panikkar’s extraordinary teaching on the universal mysticism of Jesus Christ.”  ~ Cynthia Bourgeault   In addition to Cynthia’s encouraging words above, we also want to share Brian Mitchell’s wholehearted endorsement for our updated audio release of CHRISTOPHANY: Experiencing the Fullness of Christianity , a recorded teaching by Cynthia based on the 2004 book by Ra

The following is part 2 of a Holy Week reflection provided by Paula Pryce from Vancouver, Canada. Please make sure to reach the first part Absence: Forest of Longing on our blog .  I throw open the gate to rushing wind and creaking branches.  Not knowing what lies ahead, I step into the forest with my companions, fear, awe, and more hesitantly, joy.    Like many, perhaps even like Mary Magdalene, I have found myself increasingly worn by heavy times.  A veil of uneasiness and

The following is part 1 of a 2-part Holy Week reflection provided by Paula Pryce from Vancouver, Canada.   Absence mills around the body like a guard dog pacing the fence line.  Rigidly keeping off the night creatures, jealously defending its property.  I am within a picketed sphere of isolation.  Longing, despair, confusion at the memory of the banquet torn to pieces, guests fleeing, music stopped.  Not long ago the home was filled with shining lamps and food for all – now

What’s new with our Principal Teacher Cynthia Bourgeault? Recently we’ve heard from a number of you wondering  what Cynthia is up to   while in-person events and retreats are widely curtailed.   Well, unless you happen to spot her on the high seas, here are some opportunities to tune into Cynthia’s activities and catch some of her upcoming  appearances: CONVERSATIONS & BLOGS   New ICN Podcast:   From a Cosmic Nudge to an Integral Christianity – A Conversation with Cynthia Bou

Photo by Andy Vu  from Pex els In this potent and engaging conversation, Cynthia Bourgeault is hosted by Paul Smith (author of Integral Christianity ) and Luke Healy of the Integral Christian Network . Together they offer deep insights and personal experiences to illuminate the emerging scope and potential for Christianity. The dialogue is infused by their shared appreciation and revelations inspired by Jean Gebser’s seminal work Ever Present Origin .  As the conversation unf

If you’re considering the multiple online course opportunities with Cynthia that are coming up, she provides this message to the Wisdom community and offers some additional input for consideration. It occurred to me that people may want a little guidance as to how to pick and choose among the sudden embarrassment of riches of Cynthia Bourgeault online course options currently opening up for registration. Here’s a bit more information to help you make your selection(s).  Spiri

Dear contemplative friends, Rumi’s words are a reminder that in 2020 we’ve felt deep wounds in the body of the world. Just like we await the birth of the Christ light in this shadow time of year, the world is aching for healing Light amid its myriad wounds. The Light is manifested as radical hope in each of us and shines as divine love in all our global body. Cynthia Bourgeault reminds us:   “Hope’s home is at the innermost point in us, and in all things. It is a quality of a

Writing just after the November 2020 US election, Cynthia Bourgeault shares this:  “Well, the oasis of grace miraculously opened, and now it’s time to roll up our collective sleeves and get on with the healing work! I know that my own first assignment has something to do with helping to expose— and hopefully defuse— some of the reactivity and sanctimoniousness that boils just below the surface in my immediate peer group, the spiritual liberal intelligentsia.”   What unfolds i

Dear Friends and Members of the The Contemplative Society, Mercy . An old-fashioned word that conjures up so many contrasting images. Mercy is “a bond,” writes Cynthia Bourgeault in Mystical Hope , “an infallible link of love that holds the created and uncreated realms together.”  Far from condescension or political power, the origin of the word mercy points instead to a flow of connectedness, reciprocity, and exchange.       Mercy is the great weaver that binds us together.

The following reflection has been provided by Linda Coggin from Victoria BC.  Linda was one of 100 people who participated in the recent virtual event with Matthew Wright, where he offered his heartful and profound insights, teaching, and practices on the theme of “Julian of Norwich…A Voice for Our Times.” You cna now purchase a recording of this retreat in our store! Thank you so much Linda, for sharing your experience here! Julian of Norwich (window in Norwich Cathedral) f

The following reflection has been provided by Martha Keller from Victoria BC.  Martha was one of 100 people who participated in the recent virtual event with Matthew Wright, where he offered his heartful and profound insights, teaching, and practices on the theme of “Julian of Norwich…A Voice for Our Times," now available in our store! Thank you so much Martha, for sharing your experience, and Matthew for guiding the event so beautifully!   In August, with a global pandemic i

In 2001 Cynthia Bourgeault published a grace-filled guide for facing difficult times, offering insights and pointers in the small and powerful book entitled MYSTICAL HOPE: Trusting in the Mercy of God .  Many in Cynthia’s community and beyond are turning (or re-turning) to this book to navigate current concerns and challenges, and finding it a source of deep spiritual sustenance.  Over the coming months, Northeast Wisdom will be providing reflections and chapter summaries of

In the following podcasts and interviews Cynthia Bourgeault illuminates the Imaginal and some key insights offered in her groundbreaking new book EYE OF THE HEART: A Spiritual Journey into the Imaginal Realm :   ENCOUNTERING SILENCE: Silence and the Imaginal Realm (Audio: October 2020) In this two-part interview, Cynthia Bourgeault speaks with Encountering Silence hosts on her practice of silence, and thoughts on navigating through the particular challenges of our current tim

Dear Contemplative Friends,   This has been a year of momentous change and uncertainty!   Here at The Contemplative Society, we have been prayerfully discerning our future path through the challenges and opportunities during this tumultuous time.    The Board has made some difficult decisions to reduce administrative costs and bring expenses into alignment with income. We’ve had to change our usual way of operating and are exploring alternative and creative means to support t

NOW AVAILABLE: 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 w

From a fairly young age, Mary-Clare Carder has had mystical encounters with the spiritual world. In her late twenties, she developed Sjogren's syndrome – a painful, incurable condition which blunted her career and made her life very challenging. This challenging life led her to a deeper spiritual path and an enriched interior life. Along the way, she learned about the wisdom of silence, a form of meditation known as centring prayer, energy healing, and has had after-death com

My journey with the teacher named ‘covid’ began with odd symptoms that I did not connect and so for a couple of days worsened until the telltale cough put the lights on and my doctor sent me for a test. Soon I had night sweats, fever, nausea, diarrhoea, body aches, a ferocious headache upon waking in the morning and pain under my shoulders, and I couldn’t stay awake all day. My first reaction was denial quickly followed by waves of panic. My body has a history of over-reactio

The day before Islam’s holiest month Ramadan was set to begin, I received an email from The Contemplative Society. I was logistically and mentally preparing for my fourth decidedly non-traditional foray into this time of fasting and spiritual recommitment. While I am not Muslim myself, I occasionally take advantage of the opportunity to participate in a global joint effort to purify ourselves and reorient to what is truly important: community and charity through what I would

Posted on Facebook April 14, 2020 Going Forward…. For the past four weeks, as many of you know, I have been hanging out here on the edge of the known universe on Eagle Island, taking the time to renew my flagging hermit skills. What little technology I have access to on my two-panel, four-battery solar system huffs and puffs to keep up. On days like yesterday when I sat in the teeth of a gale for twelve stormy hours, the whole system went down by sunset. Surrounded by mostly

This meditation on the Stations of the Cross during the Pandemic has been provided by Rev. Dawne Taylor of Kamloops, British Columbia. We thank her for allowing us to share this beautiful teaching.  She suggests this Good Friday service at Kamloops United Church. GOOD FRIDAY STATIONS OF THE CROSS In the Roman Catholic traditions, churches mark Good Friday by walking the 14 Stations of the Cross with a prayer at each station. The stations take the Christian from the 1 st stat