Cynthia Bourgeault is an Episcopal priest, writer, and retreat leader. She is presently director of the Contemplative Society in Victoria, British Columbia, as well as founding director of the Aspen Wisdom School in Colorado. In this nearly seven-hour audio series on 6CDs, she challenges us to take another look at Jesus. Bourgeault's approach is meeting him through insight and not hindsight.
Most Christians are familiar with the Jesus of the creeds; here the emphasis is upon Jesus as "wisdom teacher." Right belief is not as important as connecting with Jesus and the images associated with him that reflect God's presence in everything. Bourgeault examines "the Sacred Mysteries" of his incarnation, passion, the harrowing of Hell, and the Resurrection. She finds fresh stores of meaning in his parables of the prodigal son, the good Samaritan, and the laborers in the vineyard. She sees the Beatitudes as a summary of Jesus' philosophy. All of these insights are woven into the tapestry of reaching out to the world with "the heart of Jesus" and "putting on the mind of Christ," which is a state of nondual awareness.
Bourgeault calls Jesus a Tantric Master and in one soul-stirring session she talks about his path of radical simplicity, his chastity, his relationship with Mary Magdalene, and the love that animated his life and teachings. How can we follow his path? This retreat master spells out the self-emptying love that he demonstrated and bequeathed to us. This cosmopolitan Jesus speaks to our desire to move beyond selfishness, egotism, and arrogance, This extraordinary retreat ends with a description of core practices for the Christian path: centering prayer, Lectio Divina, and sustaining the wisdom encounter with Jesus.
