During my search of material related to the ICCD conference, I found this excellent material where Cynthia describe beautifully the ways of the heart. I am posting two presentations related to the interest of my blog : Praying From the Heart.
Cynthia Bourgeault leads a one-day retreat in the contemplative christian tradition,
“The Ways of the Heart: Kenosis, Abundance, Singleness”
September 3, 2011
Presentation Number two (of four) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdvHK-gyKiw
During this past weekend, I participated on the conference Envisionthe Future: Living from a Contemplative Heart, co-sponsored by the Institute for Communal Contemplation and Dialog (ICCD) and River’s Edge in Cleveland, Ohio.
When we ask the question, what is living from a contemplative heart, we immediately start thinking that you need to have a monastic life to stay calm instead of living in our busy world. Cynthia Bourgeault made extraordinary presentations during the event. I was really touched by the emphasis she had during the event on the importance of Centering Prayer, method of prayer originated from the heart of the monastic christian tradition to develop non- dual consciousness and its similitude in effect of the Jesus teachings (Phillipians 2,5-18, and Matthew 16). In addition, she mentioned how religious belief are not necessary to be awakened to your own deepest self .
I found a clip that contain some of the material Cynthia presented in our conference so you may have a taste on the relevance of Centering Prayer in our world as a powerful method beyond the dualistic perception.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2SRVr89GFU