Wisdom School: Three Centered Presence and Transformation of Consciousness (Centering Prayer)

We are indeed in a time of global crisis and amidst a shift in our current structures of consciousness. Drawing on the work of Cynthia Bourgeault, G.I. Gurdjieff, Gebser, and others, this Wisdom School will focus on deepening presence in our three centers - intellectual, emotional, body - and how awakening in them can support us in the transformation of consciousness. We will also explore the practices of self-observation, self-remembering, conscious labor, and intentional suffering as a way of participating in what is needed for the whole right now.

Join us in person at the Mercy Center in Burlingame. There will be an invitation to a ‘wisdom way of knowing’ through a daily rhythm with periods of silence, centering prayer, teaching, conscious conversation, Gurdjieff Exercises and Movements, chanting, mindful work, lectio divina, and contemplative free time.

Recommended Reading:

‘Wisdom Way of Knowing’ by Cynthia Bourgeault
‘Seeing Through the World’ by Jeremy Johnson

Retreat Leaders:

Heather Ruce, M.A. is a wisdom spiritual director with training in a neurophysiology based approach to understanding the nervous system. She loves working with individuals as well as facilitating groups and retreats focused on learning and practicing the Christian Wisdom Tradition.

Joy Andrews Hayter, Ph.D. is a spiritual director whose offerings include Centering Prayer and other contemplative practices of the Christian Wisdom tradition. These practices encourage us to lean into the Love that is constantly being offered within a relational web of Sacred Unity. As a scientist she sees in the physical world an expression of that love.

Catherine Regan, Ph.D. is a spiritual director, retired psychologist, and adjunct staff member at Mercy Center, primarily serving on the Centering Prayer team. She has a special interest in participating in the reclamation of the Christian Wisdom tradition and fostering the contemplative practices so urgently needed at this time in our world.