5. Timeline

1947: Cynthia Bourgeault was born and grew up in the rolling countryside just west of Philadelphia

• ​Ph.D. in Medieval Studies, specializing in early music and liturgical drama

• Studied at the Philadelphia Divinity School

 

1979: Ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church

• Moved to Maine

 

1990: First visit to St. Benedict’s Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado, for a ten-day Centering prayer retreat led by Fr. Thomas Keating

 

1991: 3 Month residency at Snowmass in Colorado, working closely with Fr. Thomas Keating

• Met hermit monk Raphael Robin, who becomes her close friend and spiritual partner

 

1995: Accepted an invitation to move to Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, to help found The Contemplative Society

 

1998: Immigrated to Canada, to live at The Contemplative Society's hermitage "Fairacres" at  181 Fulford-Ganges Road, Salt Spring Island

 

1999: First Wisdom School hosted at "The Contemplative Centre" (The Contemplative Society)

 

2003: The Contemplative Society announces it does not have the funds to maintain Cynthia's hermitage, but will "continue to allocate a substantial portion of its annual budget to the ongoing support of [Cynthia's] ministry, both through direct underwriting of [her] time in solitude and through funding for two or three regular annual teaching residencies."

• Began to travel the world, teaching, and The Contemplative Society shifted as a platform to help promote her work, and host her for regular retreats in BC. 

 

2004: Various wisdom schools begin to form around the USA and the world, starting with The Aspen Wisdom School

 

2012: Wisdom student Helen Daly, bravely facing her impending death from cancer, left a generous bequest that launched the tiny New England Wisdom hub (then known as “Northeast Wisdom” which would later become Wisdom Northeast in 2014 and then Wisdom Waypoints in 2018) 

 

2013: Became a core faculty member of the Center for Action and Contemplation, in Albuquerque, New Mexico

 

2018: Wisdom Waypoints emerges to unify the various wisdom groups around the world, becoming the primary outlet for Cynthia's work since

 

2021: Cynthia was named by Watkins Review as one of the 100 most spiritually influential living people in 2021.

​