Cynthia Bourgeault's Homepage

“When the field of vision has been unified, the inner being comes to rest, and that inner peaceableness flows into the outer world as harmony and compassion.”

– The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind

“When the field of vision has been unified, the inner being comes to rest, and that inner peaceableness flows into the outer world as harmony and compassion.”

– The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind

Meet Cynthia

Cynthia is a modern-day mystic, Episcopal priest, writer, and internationally known retreat leader. She divides her time between solitude at her seaside hermitage in Maine and a demanding schedule traveling globally to teach and spread the recovery of the Christian contemplative and Wisdom paths. Cynthia is a core faculty member at the Center for Action and Contemplation alongside fellow teachers and colleagues James Finley, Richard Rohr, Barbara Holmes, and Brian McLaren.

Read Conversations with Cynthia

“Contemplation is not a pious lifestyle.”

“We meet at the depths where the great traditions embrace each other.”

“Contemplation is engaged and evolutionary.”

“Wisdom isn’t knowing more, it’s knowing with more of you.”

Student Notes

"I so appreciate Cynthia for her help in bringing congruence to my spiritual practice and my daily working life as an Osteopath. Cynthia's teachings on centering prayer combined with the revelation of heart cognition as my spiritual centre have allowed me to truly receive and perceive in my engagement with patients."

"Cynthia is a master teacher, who will transform your understanding of traditional Christian theology and precepts. She offers her students clear, deeply practical ways to ground their faith in embodied practice and application. As her wisdom becomes your own, you gain the clarity, freedom and confidence to do the will of God. "

"I appreciate Cynthia's teaching style as one of true integration. Her mind is brilliant and yet she has a gift for explaining the most complex theological concepts in her teaching and writing in an understandable way. At the same time she embodies heart cognition and presence; mirroring for her students their own inherent wisdom."

Newest Book

The Heart of Centering Prayer: Nondual Christianity in theory and practice. Cynthia Bourgeault cuts through the misconceptions to show that Centering Prayer is in fact a pioneering development within the Christian contemplative tradition. This book offers a practical, complete course in the practice and goes deeper to analyze what actually happens in Centering Prayer: the mind effectively switches to a new operating system that makes open-hearted, nondual perception possible. Cynthia then takes readers on a journey through the classic, anonymous text, The Cloud of Unknowing, revealing it to be among the earliest Christian explorations of nondual consciousness.

Listen to an interview on The Heart of Centering Prayer.

Discover More of Cynthia’s Books

Recent Articles

Cynthia’s published articles cover a breadth of topics that take us on a journey toward a deeper embrace of our human frailty, messiness, and limitations as the very path and locus of transformation. Read up on Cynthia’s theological insights on the cutting edge between contemplation and “ordinary” life.

Read Cynthia’s Most Recent Articles

Online Courses

E-courses provide an easy way to dive in deeper to some of Cynthia’s most powerful teachings without having to leave home! Each course offers self-paced email lessons that include video or audio recordings, written reflections, contemplative practices, and more.

See a List of Cynthia’s Online Courses

Latest Talks

If you’re new to the practice of Centering Prayer, watch this practical introduction that Cynthia gave at the 2017 Festival of Faiths. Learn more in Cynthia’s book, The Heart of Centering Prayer.

Watch Cynthia’s Latest Talk

Read Cynthia’s Most Recent Articles

See a List of Online Courses

Watch Cynthia’s Latest Talk