The Wisdom Way of Knowing: Reclaiming an Ancient Tradition to Awaken the Heart

by Cynthia Bourgeault

Book Overview

Drawing on resources as diverse as Sufism, Benedictine Monasticism, the Gurdjieff Work, and the string theory of modern physics, Cynthia Bourgeault has crafted her own unique vision of the Wisdom way in this very accessible book, nicely balanced between concept and practice.
--Gerald May, senior fellow, Shalem Institute, and author, Addiction and Grace and Will and Spirit

The spiritual wisdom and practical suggestions in...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 078796896X
• ISBN13: 9780787968960
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Length: 154 Pages
• Weight: 0.53 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 7.2"

Customer Reviews

My heart reawakened.

I found my world both inner and outer shifting. I have been a Christian for 40 years and lately felt I was missing the truth. This book deals with surrender and the embrace of a richer more comnected life. A classic.

A small treatise on radical transformation

This book won't appeal to those who believe that our rational mind is the source of our greatest meaning and truth. For, according to the ancient tradition known as Wisdom, the human mind's full scope includes heights and depths which rationality can never encompass. Neglecting these other regions of our being leads to a limited state of mind, known by the Wisdom tradition as sleep. Yes, that's right, the more invested we are in our intellect, our ego, and our attempts at logical control of the world around us, the more asleep we really are. This book is about waking from that sleep. And Bourgeault, an ordained Episcopal priest, has written it very clearly and rationally. Which is fitting, since to find wholeness we want to expand our minds beyond rationality, not do away with it. Bourgeault's particular gift here is her ability to teach about the Wisdom tradition from an interfaith perspective, without presenting too much information about too many different religious paths. For Wisdom cannot be claimed exclusively by any path; rather, it underlies all the great paths to inner knowledge. Bourgeault organizes her material by focusing on the kernel of truths shared by the Christian, Jewish, and Sufi traditions. She defines Wisdom, at the start of the book, as "a precise and comprehensive science of spiritual transformation that has existed since the headwaters of the great world religions and is in fact their common ground." And yet, even though this "science" appears worldwide, it has, in many cultures, been lost or watered down over the millennia for various reasons. In the second chapter, "How the Christian West Lost Its Wisdom," the author examines how in the early fourth century, the Christian Church changed its approach to spirituality, substituting "doctrinal mantras" for a direct, heart-centered encounter with Jesus. She then describes how in Medieval Europe, the Wisdom tradition didn't die, but rather took shelter underground, where it came up for air via outlets such as the arts, literature, and the teachings of esoteric groups. After this historical chapter, the remainder of the book focuses on the process of spiritual transformation. In the chapter entitled "Three-Centered Knowing," she discusses in depth practices for balancing mind, heart, and body. She has some wonderful insights, like "trying to find faith with the intellectual center is something like trying to play a violin with a saw: it's simply the wrong tool for the job." She also presents a different definition of what she means by the term "heart" than the one many of us might know. Rather than the seat of feelings, passions, and emotions, in Wisdom teachings the heart is "an organ for the perception of divine purpose and beauty. It is our antenna. . .[it] is not for personal expression but for divine perception." That does not mean that we must suppress the emotions. But we do learn that it's advantageous to not let them dominate us. Of all the teachings i

The Inestimable Value of Rediscovering the Wisdom of the Heart

This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in meditation and contemplation. The author is an Episcopal priest and retreat leader, but her message and her sources stretch well beyond the Christian world. The book begins with a challenging forward by Thomas Moore. Who asks us to challenge some of the assumptions built powerfully into he roots of the modern world: that the best - perhaps only - way to understand something is to dissect it; that standardized education is the best way to educate the young and that prisons are an effective way to deal with crime. Each is questionable. Cynthia takes these questions and many others in this beautifully written and satisfying book. As an example, she takes the words: Individual Freedom Happiness Surrender Each is deeply charged with meaning in our Western culture. The same words also have deep meanings in our spiritual heritage. The interesting thing is that in the two realms the words have diametrically opposite meanings. It is very valuable to see and understand this: many people want to embark upon their spiritual journey without knowing what it entails. I once saw a man who came to an introductory presentation by a well-known teacher. He got very upset when it was suggested that the work would need some sacrifice, discipline and effort. He was not being asked to give a lot of money to the teacher, in fact quite the opposite. But he thought that the spiritual path was a shortcut for getting more "stuff." Cynthia demonstrates the fallacy of this belief. She also shows that the genuine spiritual path is available to anyone who is prepared to dedicate a little time to it. And "little" is the operative word, and one of the reasons that I so like this book She points out quite correctly that meditation or contemplation should start with a few minutes wherever you are. I was also thrilled to see someone else advocate the value of practicing surrender wherever you find yourself: standing in line or sitting in traffic is a good place to start. This is a short but deep and inspiring book that I recommend very highly.

Clarity, Depth and, yes, Wisdom

An Episcopal priest myself, time and again while reading "The Wisdom Way of Knowing" I wanted to jump up, rejoice and exclaim, "Yes, this is what I've come to about Christianity after all these years!" It was like drinking draughts of crystal clear water. With a graceful touch, the author peels back layer after layer of accretions to the faith to leave one close to the pulsing heart of the tradition. She obviously lives this path and warrants the name "teacher." Do read this book. And practice the prayer and path to which it points. (Couldn't resist a little sermon.)

Freedom and Surrender

I have read Cynthia Bourgeault's THE WISDOM WAY OF KNOWING five times now. From start to finish, I find what I always find in her writing - the rich, inner tradition of Christianity which is so universally appealing. I have probably read her chapter on Freedom and Surrender ten times, and I quote my favorite lines, "Spirituality at its no-frills simplest is learning not to do anything in a state of internal brace. It is never worth the cost."

short but terrific

If you are a student of the Gnosis and want to learn more about it, and about mysticism within the Western Wisdom traditions, this is as good a place to start as anything. Unlike some other literature of this kind of subject, it is clear, lucid and very readable. The author is an ordained Episcopal priest, but esoteric Christianity is to her I believe a piece of a bigger puzzle, and a frame of reference in particular. She quotes a bit from other enlightened authors, past and present, such as Jakob Boehme. There is also an excellent recommended reading list for further study.The book is short but covers a great deal of ground in little time, so kudos here for the editing.Recommended with enthusiasm.