Aspen Wisdom School
Rev. Dr. Cynthia Bourgeault
The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Bourgeault is the founder and principal teacher for the Aspen Wisdom School as well as a founding director and the principal teacher for the Contemplative Society (http://www.contemplative.org). She also serves on the core faculty of the spiritual paths Institute in Aspen, Colorado. An Episcopal priest and international retreat and conference leader, Cynthia is passionately committed to recovering the Christian contemplative path and has worked closely with Fr. Thomas Keating, Fr. Bruno Barnhart, and other Christian contemplative masters, as well as in Sufism and the Christian inner traditions
She is the author of five books: Chanting the Psalms, Mystical Hope (2001), The Wisdom Way of Knowing (2003, Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening, Mystical Hope : Trusting in the Mercy of God and Love is Stronger Than Death. She is also responsible for many articles and audiotapes on the Christian Spiritual Life, including a 6 CD set, Encountering the Wisdom Jesus, (Sounds True).
In 2001 she was invited to become a charter participant in the “Deepening the American Dream Project,” sponsored by the Fetzer Institute, Kalamazoo, MI, joining a select group of other American spiritual writers including Kathleen Norris, Jacob Needleman, Elaine Pagels, Huston Smith, and Parker Palmer; Her third book is a revision and expansion of that original essay. She is a past Fellow of the Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural research at St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, MN, and an oblate of New Camaldoli Monastery in Big Sur, California.
Love Is Stronger Than Death by Cynthia Bourgeault is available in paperback at the Aspen Chapel Book Nook by calling 970-925-7184. It can also be ordered directly from Praxis Press at praxisofpower.com, or by calling 903-664-4310. Price - $16.95 plus applicable tax and shipping/handling.
Wisdom Schools
Wisdom Schools have two purposes. The first is to make available to Christians the breadth and depth of their own Christian heritage, paying particular attention to new resources and insights from the Near East and from our own Western mystical tradition. Past Wisdom Schools have delved into Thomas Merton, Jacob Boehme, The Gospel of Thomas, Meditations on the Tarot, and The Cloud of Unknowing. We have also explored modern classics such as Jacques Lusseyran’s, And There Was Light and Jim Marion’s, Putting on the Mind of Christ. A core textbook has been The Roots of Christian Mysticism by Oliver Clement. Our goal is to recover the true catholicity of Christian tradition by returning to our own wellsprings.
This wider tradition is unanimous, however, in its assertion that the deeper Christianity cannot be known by the mind alone; it requires a transformation of the entire being. That is our second and primary purpose. From time immemorial there have been wisdom schools to raise human consciousness and transform society. We work with the core practices that sustain this transformation: meditation, contemplative prayer, lectio divina, the language of sacred gesture, and the daily practices of mindfulness, inner observation, and surrender. The Aspen Wisdom School provides opportunities for weekly community interfaith meditation and regular silent retreats.
Interspirituality is at the heart of what we are about-not in the sense of erasing differences between world religions, but rather of learning to relax and rejoice in our diversity. The Wisdom School has a close and cordial relationship with the Spiritual Paths Foundation here in Aspen. (http://www.spiritualpaths.org)
Membership
The Aspen Wisdom School is entirely supported through the generosity of its members. Classes are offered free of charge, and donations of any amount are gratefully received. Members become shareholders by an annual pledge of $250 or higher. We are particularly grateful to those larger shareholders, whose pledges of $1000 and above have made the three-month residency possible. Contributions are fully tax deductible. Checks should be made payable to the Aspen Chapel, and designated “Aspen Wisdom School”.
A Brief History
The Aspen Wisdom School began at nearby Christ Episcopal Church, where Cynthia Bourgeault served as assisting clergy from 1994-98. When she departed for British Columbia in 1997 to become the founding director of the contemplative Society, her sessions continued as much-anticipated semi-annual teaching weeks. In 2003 the Wisdom School accepted the invitation of the Aspen Chapel to move under its wing and has thrived in the Chapel’s lively climate of spiritual inquiry and inclusiveness. Membership continues to grow, allowing the biannual teaching weeks to expand into a three-month winter residency.