Each morning we wake to find ourselves on a river upon which we have never been, we proceed in uncharted waters, and we do not know where we are headed. As Wisdom students we’ve learned that it is not so much about needing to know where we are going but rather knowing where to see from and how to find our way in unknown waters. At this time, we are in the midst of the ongoing mental health epidemic in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, economic fragility, climate crisis, our kin caught up in the horrors of war, and continuing to face the deep rooted political polarization, racism and soc ..read more

As we enter into Holy week, I offer a personal account of a teaching by Cynthia and a sea eagle on remorse of being and sacred wounds.     Remorse. It’s an impactful word. For you too? Perhaps it drags up near or ancient memories of an angry God, sin and damnation unless there is repentance. I shudder at this theology. Cynthia spoke this word a couple of times at the September 2023 practice day.  My ears pricked up and something in my heart as well. I quote: “What does Wisdom bring to the world, the conscious circle of humanity bring to the planet? Especially in these time ..read more

These two chapters, written more than two decades ago, are more relevant and pertinent than ever. And it’s no coincidence that they are preceded by an explanation of the three centers of knowing. It seems to me that the more poised we are in those three centers, the more we will be able to understand, embody and live out the important truths laid out in Chapters Four and Five. In Chapter Four Cynthia describes the limits of our “one-brained” operating system, suggesting that our contemporary world “now has the capacity to end itself either in a violent Armageddon or in the slower but no less ..read more

Mary Magdalene is a living teacher, available to us now, showing us how to stand in the midst of our embodied lives and the cosmos. We can learn to occupy her inner posture in our bodies (movement center), emotional landscape and attitudes (feeling center), and thought patterns (intellectual center). One of the most striking postures she reveals to us is that of wielding a spiritual fruit or substance, bringing it forth as a force for ourselves and for another. This wielding and bringing forth substances as forces is something that Cynthia Bourgeault has been teaching for many years now. Mary ..read more

Reflections on Cynthia Bourgeault’s Talk at the Spanish Wisdom School As a new member to the Wisdom Waypoints ecosystem, I was grateful and excited to be invited to listen to Cynthia Bourgeault’s talk at the Spanish Wisdom School held outside of Bogota, Colombia in February of 2024. And yet, unlike the participants in Colombia who had been engaged in several days of contemplative work, I was acutely aware of my scattered state while logging in to the presentation. My laptop was dinging with a never-ending whir of electronic bells. Next to it, my phone buzzed with even more alarms and attentio ..read more

Bill Espinosa, an organizer of and participant in the February 2024 Spanish Wisdom School, has generously offered his first hand perspective of the Wisdom School experience at a farm just outside of Bogota, Colombia. The Fires As we drove in from El Dorado Airport in Bogota  through what was once countryside and is now a city of nine million, the driver told us how just two days before, you could see the brushfires creeping down the mountain towards the high rise condominiums and tenements that had made their way up the slopes.  The smoke had just cleared the day befor ..read more

See below this reflection for the Spanish translation. Christ the Redeemer; Rio de Janeiro In our own engagement with Wisdom, we continue to return again and again to this book and to this particular chapter, “Chapter 3: Three Centered Knowing.” This chapter lays out for us the how of being more fully present and open to higher meaning and the physiology of transformation. Since human beings are “three brained” or “three centered”, this teaching is foundational to spiritual transformation as we seek to know with more of ourselves online and available. We usually have one ce ..read more

Our Wisdom Waypoints Wisdom study of The Wisdom Way of Knowing by Cynthia Bourgeault is off and running! If you’re not participating in the online groups we’d still love to have you join the study in imaginal space, connecting from wherever you are with the energy of our collective engagement with one of our community’s core texts. As you read along, touch back here each month for a chapter synopsis and reflection from a Wisdom Waypoints Council member and feel free to share your reflections below. This month we’re exploring Chapter II, “How the Christian West Lost Its Wisdom ..read more

Watch Cynthia’s 2024 Greeting and Thank You “We are all sitting in gratitude for the new openings that your generosity and trust in us has made possible.” — Cynthia Bourgeault A Note from the Wisdom Waypoints Board As we begin a new year of fresh arisings, we wanted to first pause and honor your commitment to and participation in the community and work of Wisdom Waypoints. It is with much gratitude and fullness of heart that we, the Wisdom Waypoints Board, wish to thank you for your donations and contributions in 2023. Because of your generosity, we have been able to offer opportunities to co ..read more

We begin again, a Wisdom book practice circle. The Wisdom Way of Knowing – Reclaiming an Ancient Tradition to Awaken the Heart by Cynthia Bourgeault, is the very stuff of what it means to be human, in this time in history and unfolding on our planet. Reading the introduction and chapter one of this book, one can start to hear there is a vision and a ‘technology’ of wisdom development practices that can be implemented. Cynthia lays it bear: “I want to introduce you to the Wisdom tradition itself, not cloaked in metaphors and theologies but as its own clear vision of human purpose and the practi ..read more