Cynthia Bourgeault on Mystical Hope Today
Spirituality & Practice was delighted that Cynthia Bourgeault, our most popular e-course presenter, provided a special “Benefit Talk and Q&A Conversation” about hope in our times. In her 2001 book Mystical Hope, she suggested a new way of understanding hope in the spiritual life. She explained that hope is not tied to a future desired outcome, some fix-it impulse. It has to do with presence, the experience of being met by something from within. It is an abiding sense of being that bears fruit in sensations of strength, joy, and satisfaction.
If that sounds like what we need today, then join Cynthia as she revisits her understanding of mystical hope. She believes this work has fresh and even more timely wisdom for us today as we emerge from the pandemic into a bewildered and hopeless brave new world. How do we develop our capacity to access divine hope? How do we shift to a new way of perceiving that is so needed as we face 2022 challenges?
“Hope’s home is at the innermost point in us, and in all things. It is a quality of aliveness. It does not come at the end, as the feeling that results from a happy outcome. Rather, it lies at the beginning, as a pulse of truth that sends us forth.”
A Poetry Reading by Mark Nepo on The Chord in Our Heart
Spirituality & Practice is delighted that Mark Nepo provided a reading of some of his wonderful poetry as a “Benefit” for our fund to redesign the website. A longtime friend of S&P, he is profiled in our Living Spiritual Teachers Project, and we have chosen eleven of his books as one of the “Best Spiritual Books” in the year they were published. Beloved as a poet, workshop leader, and storyteller, his spiritual writing first came to our attention with his 2000 bestseller The Book of Awakening, a daybook tapping into the wisdom of the world’s religions and the depths of contemporary psychology. That gem of a book also introduced us to his poetry, and we have looked forward ever since to reading the many poems seeded through his writing.
In a large collection of his poems, The Way Under the Way, Nepo says this about poetry:
“This is the medicine of poetry: that through raw and honest reflection, we deepen our conversation with life. The purpose of poetry and expression is to make life real, to remove everything that gets in the way, and to help us live."
This has certainly been our experience of Nepo’s poetry, and we invite you watch our replay video of his reading that was recorded live on Wednesday, December 7. Between poems, Mark also discusses his theme of “The Chord in Our Heart” and provides some insight into where the heart of poetry begins for him.
A Birthday Party with Douglas Wood and Old Turtle
Douglas Wood is a renaissance man. Not only does he write books for children and adults, he is an artist, musician, naturalist, and wilderness guide. What remains constant, no matter what his form of expression, is his voice — a voice that resonates with heart. It is a heart sound so pure and potent that it makes children and grown people alike laugh, cry, and open their eyes with new understanding.
Ever since we first read Douglas's bestselling classic Old Turtle, we have been in awe of his ability to touch us in the deepest places through deceptively simple stories that defy categorization. It is one of our favorite children's books. So we were delighted when we discovered that Douglas often does school and community programs where he reads Old Turtle, plays the 12-string guitar and mandolin, and sings. He even has a special "Happy Birthday" song.
An Evening with the Mystics and Mirabai Starr
Spirituality & Practice is grateful to Mirabai Starr for sharing her time, readings, and reflections in support of the redesign of our website. We have reviewed many of her books, attended her workshops, and enjoyed many conversations together. A writer and translator, she focuses on making connections between the perennial teachings found at the heart of all the world’s spiritual paths. She also speaks and teaches nationally and internationally on the teachings of the mystics, having translated many of their writings.
Mirabai explains that the mystics of all traditions claim that their love-encounter with the Holy One defies all description and yet their experience of longing and union pours out in the form of ecstatic, luminous, and richly descriptive poetry and prose. During the evening, she read short passages from the works of the great Christian mystics -- John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Julian of Norwich, Francis and Claire of Assisi, and Hildegard of Bingen -- as well as the Sufi saint Rabia, the Hindu poet Mirabai, and others. She offers comments on her favorite passages to show us how we can ground our encounters with the mystics in our own everyday experiences.
All the proceeds for donations and tickets will go into a fund to redesign the Spirituality & Practice website:
- move the site to a new software platform (since our current software has come to its end-of-service);
- create a new "content management system" for uploading a wide variety of content, taking e-commerce orders, and hosting Practice Circles;
- updating our look and features for our worldwide audience;
- adding a robust “Wisdom Room” with videos of practice instructions, interviews, readings, meditations, and more;
- making it possible for you to create you own mini-S&P where you save links of favorite reviews, articles, practices, quotes, and more;
- developing an app for quick access to your preferred practices and resources;
- and illustrating more ways that all of life is a spiritual practice through Spiritual Literacy and resources for spiritual journeys.