Learning Opportunities
Adults
Adults come to Trinity with a variety of backgrounds, experiences, understandings and questions. We welcome this diversity and look to learn from each other as we explore questions of faith, life, and spirituality. Online classes, along with Bible Studies, retreats and prayer groups provide opportunities for spiritual growth, intellectual development, deepening connection to God and living faithfully as disciples. Come join us!
For more information, contact the church office.
Adults come to Trinity with a variety of backgrounds, experiences, understandings and questions. We welcome this diversity and look to learn from each other as we explore questions of faith, life, and spirituality. Online classes, along with Bible Studies, retreats and prayer groups provide opportunities for spiritual growth, intellectual development, deepening connection to God and living faithfully as disciples. Come join us!
For more information, contact the church office.
Cynthia Bourgeault – A Mystic for Our Times
May 21, 2023
Led by Sue Roman
LIFE EVENTS:
Went to a Quaker School near Philadelphia as a child.
Earned a PhD in Medieval Studies, specializing in early music and liturgical drama.
Ordained an Episcopal priest in 1979 (first female ordinations were in 1977).
Went to St. Benedict’s Monastery in Snowmass in 1990 and studied with Fr. Thomas Keating. Befriended hermit monk Raphael Robin (Rafe).
Helped found The Contemplative Society in British Columbia in 1995.
Began teaching Wisdoms Schools in 1999.
Founded Wisdom Waypoints network with students in 2012.
Became a core faculty member at The Center for Action and Contemplation in 2013.
KEY INFLUENCES:
Fr. Thomas Keating (1923-2018)– a Trappist monk and priest who was her teacher and spiritual mentor. She worked with him as he developed Centering Prayer.
Rafe ( -1995) – a Trappist monk and hermit who was her close friend and spiritual partner at Snowmass. He taught her how to integrate the treasures of the Christian mystical and monastic paths with the mindfulness and self-inquiry practices in The Gurdjieff Work.
G.I. Gurdjieff (1866-1949) – an Armenian mystic and teacher. Gurdjieff taught that a person must expend considerable effort to effect the transformation that leads to awakening. The effort that is put into practice Gurdjieff referred to as "The Work" or "Work on oneself".
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955) -- was a French Jesuit priest, scientist, paleontologist, theologian, philosopher and teacher. Largely silenced in his time by the Vatican, he united in a single vision devotional fire, mystical depth, scientific and evolutionary thought, and Christian faith.
WEBSITES:
Cynthia Bourgeuault site - www.cynthiabourgeault.org
Wisdom Waypoints – wisdomwaypoints.org
The Contemplative Society - www.contemplative.org
CLASSES:
Being is Not Something You Are talk - https://youtu.be/5ALAgUlzxX0
Wisdom Waypoints - https://wisdomwaypoints.org/wisdom-waypoints-courses/
The Wisdom Way of Knowing - https://wisdomwayofknowing.org
The Center for Action and Contemplation - https://cac.org/online-education/
Spirituality and Practice - https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com
Shambhala - http://learn.shambhala.com/p/the-way-of-the-wisdom-jesus
SELECTED BOOKS:
Mystical Hope: Trusting in the Mercy of God (2001)
“The Bible introduces us to a kind of hope that has its source not in events but in the mercy of God, a lifeblood of compassion connecting our heart to God's heart and the heart of all creation. In five interwoven meditations, Mystical Hope shows how to recognize this hope in our own lives, where it comes from, how to deepen it through prayer, and how to carry it into the world as a source of strength and renewal.”
The Wisdom Way of Knowing: Reclaiming an Ancient Tradition to Awaken the Heart (2003)
“Drawing on resources as diverse as Sufism, Benedictine Monasticism, the Gurdjieff Work, and the string theory of modern physics, Cynthia Bourgeault has crafted her own unique vision of the Wisdom way in this very accessible book, nicely balanced between concept and practice."
The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind--A New Perspective on Christ and His Message (2008)
“Cynthia Bourgeault invites us to follow Jesus's path of self-emptying love, and she describes wisdom practices that we Christians can use every day to transform our own minds so that we too can see with the eyes of Christ."
The Meaning of Mary Magdalene: Discovering the Woman at the Heart of Christianity (2010)
“Cynthia Bourgeault examines the Bible, church tradition, art, legend, and newly discovered texts to see what's there. She then applies her own reasoning and intuition, informed by the wisdom of the ages-old Christian contemplative tradition… Cynthia shows how an understanding of Mary Magdalene can revitalize contemporary Christianity, how Christians and others can, through her, find their way to Jesus' original teachings and apply them to their modern lives.”
The Heart of Centering Prayer: Nondual Christianity in Theory and Practice (2016)
“She provides a practical, complete course in the practice and then goes deeper to analyze what actually happens in Centering Prayer: the mind effectively switches to a new operating system that makes possible the perception of nonduality. With this understanding in place, she then takes us on a journey through one of the sources of the practice, the Christian contemplative classic The Cloud of Unknowing, revealing it to be among the earliest Christian explorations of the phenomenology of consciousness.”
Eye of the Heart: A Spiritual Journey into the Imaginal Realm (2020)
“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 with the personal world of dreams, prophecy, and oracles, and it also points toward a higher vision of our human purpose that is both evolutionary and collective. Bourgeault explores both aspects of imaginal reality and shows readers how we can cooperate more fully with its guidance in our lives.”
Led by Sue Roman
LIFE EVENTS:
Went to a Quaker School near Philadelphia as a child.
Earned a PhD in Medieval Studies, specializing in early music and liturgical drama.
Ordained an Episcopal priest in 1979 (first female ordinations were in 1977).
Went to St. Benedict’s Monastery in Snowmass in 1990 and studied with Fr. Thomas Keating. Befriended hermit monk Raphael Robin (Rafe).
Helped found The Contemplative Society in British Columbia in 1995.
Began teaching Wisdoms Schools in 1999.
Founded Wisdom Waypoints network with students in 2012.
Became a core faculty member at The Center for Action and Contemplation in 2013.
KEY INFLUENCES:
Fr. Thomas Keating (1923-2018)– a Trappist monk and priest who was her teacher and spiritual mentor. She worked with him as he developed Centering Prayer.
Rafe ( -1995) – a Trappist monk and hermit who was her close friend and spiritual partner at Snowmass. He taught her how to integrate the treasures of the Christian mystical and monastic paths with the mindfulness and self-inquiry practices in The Gurdjieff Work.
G.I. Gurdjieff (1866-1949) – an Armenian mystic and teacher. Gurdjieff taught that a person must expend considerable effort to effect the transformation that leads to awakening. The effort that is put into practice Gurdjieff referred to as "The Work" or "Work on oneself".
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955) -- was a French Jesuit priest, scientist, paleontologist, theologian, philosopher and teacher. Largely silenced in his time by the Vatican, he united in a single vision devotional fire, mystical depth, scientific and evolutionary thought, and Christian faith.
WEBSITES:
Cynthia Bourgeuault site - www.cynthiabourgeault.org
Wisdom Waypoints – wisdomwaypoints.org
The Contemplative Society - www.contemplative.org
CLASSES:
Being is Not Something You Are talk - https://youtu.be/5ALAgUlzxX0
Wisdom Waypoints - https://wisdomwaypoints.org/wisdom-waypoints-courses/
The Wisdom Way of Knowing - https://wisdomwayofknowing.org
The Center for Action and Contemplation - https://cac.org/online-education/
Spirituality and Practice - https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com
Shambhala - http://learn.shambhala.com/p/the-way-of-the-wisdom-jesus
SELECTED BOOKS:
Mystical Hope: Trusting in the Mercy of God (2001)
“The Bible introduces us to a kind of hope that has its source not in events but in the mercy of God, a lifeblood of compassion connecting our heart to God's heart and the heart of all creation. In five interwoven meditations, Mystical Hope shows how to recognize this hope in our own lives, where it comes from, how to deepen it through prayer, and how to carry it into the world as a source of strength and renewal.”
The Wisdom Way of Knowing: Reclaiming an Ancient Tradition to Awaken the Heart (2003)
“Drawing on resources as diverse as Sufism, Benedictine Monasticism, the Gurdjieff Work, and the string theory of modern physics, Cynthia Bourgeault has crafted her own unique vision of the Wisdom way in this very accessible book, nicely balanced between concept and practice."
The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind--A New Perspective on Christ and His Message (2008)
“Cynthia Bourgeault invites us to follow Jesus's path of self-emptying love, and she describes wisdom practices that we Christians can use every day to transform our own minds so that we too can see with the eyes of Christ."
The Meaning of Mary Magdalene: Discovering the Woman at the Heart of Christianity (2010)
“Cynthia Bourgeault examines the Bible, church tradition, art, legend, and newly discovered texts to see what's there. She then applies her own reasoning and intuition, informed by the wisdom of the ages-old Christian contemplative tradition… Cynthia shows how an understanding of Mary Magdalene can revitalize contemporary Christianity, how Christians and others can, through her, find their way to Jesus' original teachings and apply them to their modern lives.”
The Heart of Centering Prayer: Nondual Christianity in Theory and Practice (2016)
“She provides a practical, complete course in the practice and then goes deeper to analyze what actually happens in Centering Prayer: the mind effectively switches to a new operating system that makes possible the perception of nonduality. With this understanding in place, she then takes us on a journey through one of the sources of the practice, the Christian contemplative classic The Cloud of Unknowing, revealing it to be among the earliest Christian explorations of the phenomenology of consciousness.”
Eye of the Heart: A Spiritual Journey into the Imaginal Realm (2020)
“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 with the personal world of dreams, prophecy, and oracles, and it also points toward a higher vision of our human purpose that is both evolutionary and collective. Bourgeault explores both aspects of imaginal reality and shows readers how we can cooperate more fully with its guidance in our lives.”