About
This retreat was recorded live in 2003 on Thetis Island, BC, and revised and re-released in 2012. This purchase includes an MP3 audio download with a total running time of approximately 3 hours and 20 minutes. In this teaching, Cynthia Bourgeault poses the central question: how far can the path of letting go truly take us? Exploring the journey from birth through the death of the body, she offers a transformative alternative to the cultural fixation on staying young, resisting aging, and denying death. Drawing from Helen Luke’s Old Age: Journey into Simplicity and John S. Donne’s Four Consents, Cynthia shows how the practice of surrender gradually frees us from fear and reveals that all is tenderly held in God’s love. Key themes include dying before you die, surrendering ego and self-will, the interplay of neuroscience with classical spiritual teaching, the dynamics of conscious suffering, and the practice of consent. Cynthia also introduces the Welcoming Practice, a simple yet powerful tool for transformation that cultivates openness to each moment. By practicing letting go, we discover the wholeness of life held in divine embrace and learn to meet even aging and death as gestures of love. Cynthia Bourgeault is a modern-day mystic, Episcopal priest, and internationally known retreat leader. She is the author of numerous books, including The Wisdom Jesus and Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening, and is recognized for her pioneering work in integrating the Christian contemplative path with other global streams of wisdom.