The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Bourgeault is an author, lecturer, hermit, priest, and scholar. In her ardent pursuit of a renewal of the Christian contemplative path, she has worked closely with Friars Thomas Keating and Bruno Barnhart and has studied Sufism, the teachings of G.I. Gurdjieff, and the inner traditions of Christianity. And when she isn't teaching Centering Prayer or giving lectures around the world, she spends half the year in the relative solitude of a Trappist hermitage in Snowmass, Colorado.
In this interview with EnlightenNext's Maura O'Connor and Jessica Roemischer, Bourgeault speaks eloquently and passionately about her understanding of the spiritual life as seen through Christian eyes. Her vivid interpretation of Eastern spiritual themes such as surrender, emptiness, enlightenment, and nonduality emerge as integral aspects of a distinctly Christian path. Traditional Christian concepts such as poverty and obedience are transformed into expressions of non-egoic relationship to self and other, and surrender to emptiness in the quest for union with God.
Like many modern spiritual pioneers, Bourgeault reaches far back into the core of a great tradition's contemplative and mystical heart in order to bring forth a renewed, relevant, and even evolutionary form of an ancient path. Indeed, perhaps it is only through the sincere efforts of such dedicated practitioners that the vital contributions of the past can shine through to the present and even help light the way to a brighter future.
This interview was underwritten by the Trust for the Meditation Process, a charitable foundation supporting contemplative practice among Christians and encouraging dialogue and cooperation among all contemplative traditions.
BIO
The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Bourgeault is the principal Teacher and Advisor to the Contemplative Society, an ecumenical, not-for-profit association that encourages a deepening of contemplative prayer based in the Christian tradition. She is a retreat and conference leader, teacher of prayer, writer on the spiritual life, and Episcopal priest. Cynthia is passionately committed to the recovery of the Christian contemplative path and has worked closely with Fr. Thomas Keating as a teacher of Centering Prayer, Fr. Bruno Barnhart, and other Christian contemplative masters, as well as in Sufism and the Christian inner traditions. She is the author of Mystical Hope, The Wisdom Way of Knowing, and Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening, and many articles on the contemplative life.
