The practice of inner freedom from emotional reactions and mechanical patterns of thought.
“Spiritual sacrifice means to make holy. Make holy means to make whole.” Cynthia Bourgeault Three Sacred Vows “It is a matter of sacrificing the three powers of the soul to heaven. This sacrifice is nothing other than the three traditional and universal...
“Spiritual humility is the capacity for the exchange with your environment. … it’s the capacity for creative exchange with the now.” Cynthia Bourgeault The Heart’s Humility “Organic humility … is not found in the head, but rather in the heart. Because it is...
A Wisdom poem from the teachings of Cynthia Bourgeault Benediction: Stand Still in the Light When you find yourself lost,off whatever trailyou were following,stand still in the dark. If the light of conscience comes,and it may,in the quiet hours,be still. Don’t grab,...
“God made you to be a precious cog in the wheel of enormous dynamism of compassion and mercy. You receive, you give.” Cynthia Bourgeault The Essential Nature of Compassion “The demand for compassion remains unbroken throughout the realms. But if your heart has no...
“Stand firm, do not bend, is exactly what the tradition is talking about when they say surrender.” Cynthia Bourgeault God’s Protection and Timing “You know, you’ll be undone by a revelation, but your Heavenly Father knows you’re inside and knows at this point that you...
"The passions divide the heart. They render it incapable of reflecting the cosmic heart.” Cynthia Bourgeault Attachment to matter gives birth to passion without an Image of itself because it is drawn from that which is contrary to its higher nature. The result is that...
"Identifying is the greatest enemy that we have to overcome. It is through being always identified that we are kept asleep.” G Gurdjieff quoted by Maurice Nicol The Nature of Identification "Inebriated, as the Gospel of Thomas says. What are we inebriated on? The...
He who aspires to authentic spiritual experience never confounds the intensity of the experience with the truth that is revealed. The Nature of True Spiritual Experience "An important rule of 'spiritual hygiene,' namely, that he who aspires to authentic spiritual...
The more that you have a truly humble spirit in the old monastic sense, the more you become free. “It's the gentle laying down of self, the humble work, the not asking for visions, the not asking for illuminations, not even caring if anybody notices that you exist....
“Attention in the heart, in the great tradition of Orthodox Hesychasm, praying from the heart.” Cynthia Bourgeault. “The unique characteristics of Centering Prayer, which can be felt as a distinct shift, a distinct, subtle, energetic transformation, I relate that...
Practice inner separation from life in order to see higher truths “As regards this isolation from life that I spoke about, Mr. Ospensky used to say that there are four things that help above all others to isolate us from the influences of life which tend to drag us...
Sit in your aliveness, consciously steward your atmosphere, being in the present. “Taking responsibility for our whole self and stewarding our atmosphere. This means we are responsible for our personality, egoic operating system, mental, emotional, spiritual, and...