Core principles of the perennial wisdom tradition across cultures and times.
“It's very, very good to be a hanged man vis-a-vis a spiritual discernment, because the head is going to be the last to catch on.” Cynthia Bourgeault The Nature of Spiritual Discernment "An exploration of Plato's Four Cardinal Virtues: wisdom (prudence, discernment),...
“It’s not the nature of the Divine providence to lay on us more than we're really willing to bear. You won't be able to hear what you're not yet able to live.” Cynthia Bourgeault The Nature of Revelation "No real truth in the world has ever been revealed apart from...
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. The Nature of...
Lectio Harmonia I offer the term ‘Lectio Harmonia’ to describe a contemplative practice of discovering resonance among Wisdom teachings. In Greek philosophy, Harmonia referred to the underlying order and unity of the cosmos—the patterns that connect apparently...
“Contemplation happens when silence morphs into presence.” Thomas Keating The Nature of Silence as Presence "Silence is the sign of real contact with the spiritual world and this contact, in turn, always engenders the influx of forces. This is the foundation of all...
Braiding Three Strands of Troubling the Water: a Chant, a Miracle, and a Logion "♪ ♪ The wellsprings of life are bubbling up anew each moment. So when the angel is troubling the waters, it is no time to stand on the bank and recite past wonders. The wellsprings of...
“What if attention is the new form of time in the fourth dimension? That time gets converted into attention, which yields Jean Gebser’s intensification of consciousness.” Cynthia Bourgeault The Nature of Intensification "One of the things that Gebser insists about as...
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...
Ora et Labora … no transformation without washed dishes! Ora et Labora: The Benedictine Foundation "It is humility alone, due to poverty, obedience and chastity—the three universal and eternal vows which renders us 'inspirable'. It cannot be helped…the spiritual world...
Those practicing lectio divina steep themselves in the words of a text, becoming one with them, lingering over them, taking them into the heart and mind deeply, repeatedly, slowly, meditatively, even memorizing the words. “Lectio Divina: That wonderful Christian,...
In the Wisdom way of service, “there isn't a my will and thy will. There is only one will, which you join.” Cynthia Bourgeault. In Service of Love "It's not love in the service of enlightenment. It's enlightenment in the service of love." Cynthia Bourgeault, Claymont...
“Attention. That’s the most immediate form of what we call psychic energy. And will and love.” Cynthia Bourgeault “Will is one of the most powerful psychic forces in the world. And you can name a lot of them, almost all of what we're going to call the imaginal...