Cynthia Bourgeault – författare

Centrerande bön och inre uppvaknande är en komplett handbok för alla som vill lära sig att praktisera Centrerande bön. Cynthia Bourgeault går dock längre än att bara erbjuda en introduktion. Hon undersöker hur praktiken fö rhåller sig till klassisk kristen kontemplation, tittar på metodens distinkta nyanser och utforskar dess omvälvande potential att transformera det kristna livet. Boken uppmuntrar till dialog mellan de som är entusiastiska kring Centrerande bön och de klassiska institutionerna där kristendomen får sin näring – kyrkor och teologiska skolor – som ännu inte har accepterat att anta ett ägarskap för praktiken och dess potential.

”[Bourgealts] fokus i denna bok är den insats hon uppfattar att Centrerande bön kan göra för förnyandet och anpassningen av det kristna kontemplativa arvet till de förhållanden som råder i vår tid … Mitt särskilda och innerliga tack till Cynthia för hennes monumentala bidrag till att förbättra förståelsen av Centrerande böns praktik.” --- från Thomas Keatings förord

”Hjärtats språk – Centrerande bön och inre uppvaknande, är en storartad bok, en underbart tillgänglig introduktion till Centrerande bön och den roll den kan spela i din egen ”frälsning till evigheten”. Rekommenderas starkt till alla som är på en andlig väg av något slag.” --- Ken Wilber, författare, The Eye of Spirit

“Cynthia Bourgeaults bok måste läsas, inte bara av dem som praktiserar Centering prayer utan för alla som är intresserade av att leva ett sant kontemplativt liv. Hon talar till sinnet, men ännu viktigare till hjärtat. Hennes enkla och tydliga beskrivningar av den kontemplativa processen är så uppenbart förankrat i hennes egen erfarenhet och det återuppväckte min egen längtan att leva ett i grunden Guds-centrerat liv och förnyade mitt löfte att praktisera. Denna bok är förutbestämd att bli en klassiker.” --- Anne Simpkinson, medförfattare, Soul Work: A Field Guide for Spiritual Seekers

Cynthia Bourgeault har studerat och undervisat vid ett antal benediktinkloster i USA och Kanada. Som präst i Episkopalkyrkan i USA är hon en välkänd retreat-ledare och talare på olika konferenser, hon undervisar i bön och skriver om det andliga livet. Hon har skrivit ett fl ertal böcker, däribland The Wisdom Jesus.

The author of The Wisdom Jesus takes readers on a journey to discover the real Mary Magdalene—and finds a powerful, ancient model for 21st-century spirituality   Mary Magdalene is one of the most influential symbols in the history of Christianity—yet, if you look in the Bible, you’ll find only a handful of verses that speak of her. How did she become such a compelling saint in the face of such paltry evidence?   In her effort to answer that question, 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. What emerges is a radical view of Mary Magdalene as Jesus’s most important disciple, the one he considered to understand his teaching best. That teaching was characterized by a nondualistic approach to the world and by a deep understanding of the value of the feminine. Cynthia shows how an understanding of Mary Magdalene can revitalize contemporary Christianity, how Christians and others can, through her, find their way to Jesus’s original teachings and apply them to their modern lives.

"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."—Gerald May, senior fellow, Shalem Institute, and author, Addiction and Grace and Will and Spirit "The spiritual wisdom and practical suggestions in this lively and beautiful book will be helpful to many who find themselves setting out on the interior journey."—Bruno Barnhart, a Camaldolese monk and author, Second Simplicity: The Inner Shape of Christianity"Cynthia Bourgeault's book is a valuable contribution to the much-needed reawakening of spiritual practice within a Christian context. Her sincerity, good sense, metaphysical depth, and broad experience make her a source to be trusted."—Kabir Helminski, Sufi Shaikh, the Threshold Society

Mary Magdalene is one of the most influential symbols in the history of Christianity—yet, if you look in the Bible, you’ll find only a handful of verses that speak of her. How did she become such a compelling saint in the face of such paltry evidence? In her effort to answer that question, 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. What emerges is a radical view of Mary Magdalene as Jesus’s most important disciple, the one he considered to understand his teaching best. That teaching was characterized by a nondualistic approach to the world and by a deep understanding of the value of the feminine. Cynthia shows how an understanding of Mary Magdalene can revitalize contemporary Christianity, how Christians and others can, through her, find their way to Jesus’s original teachings and apply them to their modern lives.

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 the transformation of consciousness. Cynthia Bourgeault is a masterful guide to Jesus''s vision and to the traditional contemplative practices you can use to experience the heart of his teachings for yourself.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In this formula that Christians recite as though on autopilot lie the secrets for healing our world, rekindling our visionary imagination, and manifesting the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. It’s an astonishing claim, but one that is supported by Cynthia Bourgeault’s exploration of Trinitarian theology—and by her bold work in further articulating the deep truth it contains. She looks to the ancient concept in light of the ideas of G. I. Gurdjieff and Jacob Boehme to reveal the Trinity as the "hidden driveshaft" within Christianity: the compassionate expression of the Uncreated Reality in creation.

Centering Prayer is the path to a wonderful and radical new way of seeing the world. It is not, as is sometimes thought, simply an act of devotional piety, nor is it a Christianized form of other meditation methods. Cynthia Bourgeault here cuts through the misconceptions to show that Centering Prayer is in fact a pioneering development within the Christian contemplative tradition. 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.Cynthia Bourgeault’s illumination of the Centering Prayer path provides compelling evidence of how important the practice has become in the half-century since it first arose among American Trappist monks, and of its maturation and refinement over the ensuing years of sincere study and practice. It will resonate with beginners on the Centering Prayer path as well as with seasoned practitioners.

At a time when people are yearning for good news, Cynthia Bourgeault's new book invites us to find our way to the hope that does not disappoint or fail. In our usual way of looking at things, hope is tied to outcome: “I hope I get this job” or “I hope my mother gets well.” The Bible introduces us to a different 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.Mystical Hope is one of our series of Cowley Cloister Books: smaller format, gift edition books designed for meditative and devotional reading.

Practitioners of Centering Prayer are known for the great enthusiasm they bring to the practice of this ancient discipline. Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening is a complete guidebook for all who wish to know the practice of Centering Prayer. Cynthia Bourgeault goes further than offering an introduction, however. She examines how the practice is related to the classic tradition of Christian contemplation, looks at the distinct nuances of its method, and explores its revolutionary potential to transform Christian life. The book encourages dialogue between Centering Prayer enthusiasts and those classic institutions of Christian nurture—churches, seminaries, and schools of theology—that have yet to accept real ownership of the practice and its potential.

Practitioners of Centering Prayer are known for the great enthusiasm they bring to the practice of this ancient discipline. Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening is a complete guidebook for all who wish to know the practice of Centering Prayer. Cynthia Bourgeault goes further than offering an introduction, however. She examines how the practice is related to the classic tradition of Christian contemplation, looks at the distinct nuances of its method, and explores its revolutionary potential to transform Christian life. The book encourages dialogue between Centering Prayer enthusiasts and those classic institutions of Christian nurture-churches, seminaries, and schools of theology-that have yet to accept real ownership of the practice and its potential.

At a time when people are yearning for good news, Cynthia Bourgeault''s new book invites us to find our way to the hope that does not disappoint or fail. In our usual way of looking at things, hope is tied to outcome: “I hope I get this job” or “I hope my mother gets well.” The Bible introduces us to a different 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.Mystical Hope is one of our series of Cowley Cloister Books: smaller format, gift edition books designed for meditative and devotional reading.

In The Corner of Fourth and Nondual, a title inspired by Thomas Merton’s moment of revelation ‘at the Corner of Fourth and Walnut’ in his celebrated essay ‘A Member of the Human Race’, Cynthia Bourgeault – internationally-renowned retreat leader, practitioner and teacher of Centering Prayer – describes the foundations of her theology: a cosmological seeing with the eye of the heart, and classic Benedictine daily rule informed and enlightened by wisdom from the Asian traditions. She explains the influence of the author of The Cloud of Unknowing, Teilhard de Chardin, Boehme, Barnhart, Keating and Gurdjieff, among others in a philosophy built on the cornerstones of the Incarnation and the Paschal Mystery, tied by the Trinity as a cosmogonic principle, the fundamental generative mechanism through which all things came into being.

"Ablaze with passion for the one essential task of the monk: total inner transformation". —Brother David Stendl-Rast"Libraries offering titles on mysticism, inner transformation, or dealing with grief will find this a unique and welcome addition."—Library JournalThis powerful book, written by an Episcopal priest, tells of her intense relationship with Brother Raphael Robin, a seventy-year-old Trappist monk and hermit. Both believed that a relationship can continue beyond this life, and here Cynthia Bourgeault describes her search for that connection before and after Robin's death. Bourgeault's previous books include The Wisdom Jesus and Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening.