Core principles of the perennial wisdom tradition across cultures and times.
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...
The great Eastern Orthodox hymn: The Thrice Holy. The thrice-fold invitation of God. The Trisagion prayer. Agios o Theos (O Holy God), Agios ischyros (Holy, Strong), Agios athanatos, eleison imas (Holy, Immortal, have mercy on us) “Agios o Theos is the first word....
Maurice Nicoll comments on the meaning of resist not evil and turn the other cheek, in the context of Will and Willing. “Instead of referring everything to the idea of fairness and justice it is far better to will what you have to do in everything and try to awaken...
Maurice NicollAmwell HouseNOTE AT CHRISTMASTIME 1948 Throughout known history, various attempts have been made to awaken Man to the mystery of his existence. So strong, however, is the external man, the man formed by contact with external life via the senses—in short,...
If you learn to practice conscious presence, you will practice conscious love. The two are completely bound. You can't do one without the other. Cynthia Bourgeault “Conscious love transforms, it nurtures, it calls people into being. Something blossoms in it, and it...
Entropy and Kenosis … how are these connected? Kenosis is a word related to letting go of something--becoming “poor in spirit.” Entropy is a scientific term related to the winding down of energy into equilibrium. The two ideas seem similar, but the Wisdom teachings...