Seeing with the Heart
From The Little Prince to Teilhard de Chardin
“Our real task is to ask at this evolutionary cusp is not to lose sight of what is coming to us from the future, the vision of our common humanity that is indeed “groaning and travailing” to be born.”
― Cynthia Bourgeault
We are honored to have Cynthia Bourgeault, a renowned Christian mystic and scholar, teacher of Centering Prayer and beloved SAND speaker as a guest on the second episode of the Emergence Series.
There is a wonderful line in The Little Prince “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” Cynthia Bourgeault, one of the worlds great Christian contemplative teachers calls this reorientation of perception into the heart, “non-dual seeing.” From the Little Prince to the Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s visionary and mystical imagination, the whole Western mystical idea of contemplation, is a matter of learning to “put the mind in the heart.” In our conversation we will explore how Teilhard de Chardin did this through his prophetic and exceptionally relevant body of work, and and how we can too.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin is considered one of the greatest mystical thinkers of all time. He was among the very first to visualize our universe as a single, living whole and to call for an understanding of our human purpose and responsibility based on its entire fourteen billion year evolutionary journey. Way before the word “integral” was known beyond mathematical circles, he created an integral vision yoking science and religion in a common endeavor to “harness the energies of love.” His prophetic voice and non-dual vision can be a beacon for many in our dark times.
Episcopal priest, writer, and internationally known retreat leader, Cynthia Bourgeault divides her time between solitude at her coastal home in Maine and a demanding schedule traveling globally to teach and spread the recovery of the Christian contemplative path. She is the founding Director of both The Contemplative Society and the Aspen Wisdom School. Cynthia is the author of seven books: The Meaning of Mary Magdalene, The Wisdom Jesus, Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening, Mystical Hope, The Wisdom Way of Knowing, Chanting the Psalms, and Love is Stronger Than Death. Cynthia’s newest book, The Heart of Centering Prayer, is now available. Cynthia continues to contribute to The Contemplative Society in her role as Principal Teacher and advisor. She passionately promotes the practice of Centering Prayer, and has worked closely with Thomas Keating, Bruno Barnhart, Richard Rohr, as well as many other contemplative teachers and masters within Christianity and other spiritual traditions.
“ There is almost a sensual longing for communion with others who have a large vision. The immense fulfillment of the friendship between those engaged in furthering the evolution of consciousness has a quality impossible to describe ”
― Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
THE SAND EMERGENCE SERIES
The Emergence Series is a constellation of conversations with SAND speakers and teachers, intended as an exploration of the emergence palpable in the collective field at this time and an opportunity to connect with others in our community holding a ‘large vision’ and dedicated to the evolution of consciousness on the planet.
Old structures are being shaken up, old stories have come to their limits, old systems are failing us. What is emerging, where do we go from here, how do we hold it all in the tenderness of the awakening heart? What wisdom do the worlds great lineages and traditions have for us and what does the meeting of science and nonduality contribute to the emergent conversation? How does a mystic respond to a world in crisis?
Through the magic of technology, the Emergence Series is open to the participation of the entire global SAND community. Our intention with this online series is to foster conversation, connection and community in between conferences and to offer windows of contact, wisdom and heart.
We invite our teachers to engage us from a perspective of embodied, living wisdom, and offer practical guidance that can support us in our relationships, our work, our community and our world at this time.
The Emergence Series is facilitated by Vera de Chalambert, a Harvard-educated religious scholar, spiritual story teller and fellow SAND speaker.
Presenters
Cynthia Bourgeault
Episcopal priest, writer, and internationally known retreat leader, Cynthia Bourgeault divides her time between solitude at her coastal home in Maine and a demanding schedule traveling globally to teach and spread the recovery of the Christian contemplative path. She is the founding Director of both The Contemplative Society and the Aspen Wisdom School.
Cynthia is the author of seven books: The Meaning of Mary Magdalene, The Wisdom Jesus, Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening, Mystical Hope, The Wisdom Way of Knowing, Chanting the Psalms, and Love is Stronger Than Death. She has also authored or contributed to numerous articles and courses on the Christian spiritual life. 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.
Cynthia continues to contribute to The Contemplative Society in her role as Principal Teacher and advisor. She passionately promotes the practice of Centering Prayer, and has worked closely with Thomas Keating, Bruno Barnhart, Richard Rohr, as well as many other contemplative teachers and masters within Christianity and other spiritual traditions.
Vera de Chalambert
Vera de Chalambert, MTS, is a spiritual storyteller and scholar of comparative religion. Vera speaks and writes about spiritual culture, mindfulness and the emergence of the Feminine. Vera holds a Master’s degree from Harvard Divinity School and has mined for her soul at the Barbara Brennan School of Healing and Jason Shulman’s Institute for Nondual Healing and Awakening. Her work explores the meeting place of creativity, psychology and spirituality. She is deeply influenced by Buddhist and Kabbalistic lineages and is a lover of the world’s great wisdom traditions. She offers spiritual direction and works with people in times of dissolution, transition and transformation when the old certainties shatter and we are called into the fires of the Real. This is also what she sees happening in our culture at large.