In this timely advanced wisdom school course, we will be inquiring into the nature and presence of evil as a discernible force, with a focus on these key questions: What is a useful, contemporary understanding of evil? How can we effectively deal with evil, at both an individual and collective scale?

Cynthia’s teachings draw from a wide variety of sources both spiritual and psychological, with the emphasis first and foremost on the practical: learning to recognize and shield oneself better from the toxic effects of prolonged exposure to evil; “speaking truth to power” in a way that wields real clout; and as necessary, drawing more intentionally and skillfully on assistance from realms beyond our own.

During this course, she explores:

• the metaphysics of evil with an emphasis on the process and relational nature of its arising
• the psychology of evil and its potential spawning ground
• the roots of collective psychosis
• the dangerous blind spot in the Christian strategy of “love conquers all”
• considerations of personal responsibility
• the remediating force of conscience and the costliness of engaging it

Because this is an advanced wisdom school, a strong meditation practice and familiarity with the Christian wisdom tradition as laid out by Cynthia Bourgeault is strongly recommended. Baked into the course are daily invitations to a wisdom way of approaching this material through a daily rhythm with periods of silence, centering prayer, teaching, conscious conversation, Gurdjieff Exercises and Movements, chanting, mindful work, and contemplative free time.

A note on the course components and why they are so integral to this course.

This course is a powerful, provocative, and important offering. Due to the sensitive and intense nature of the subject matter, the Gurdjieff Exercises, Movements, Enneagram, and conscious work are essential components of this experience. They are woven throughout the entire week of wisdom school in order to support a dynamic integrative experience for those interested in engaging with this material. Augmenting with these grounding, deepening, and stabilizing practices is essential.

It is important to remember the reality of the equal measure of inherent strength, sturdiness, resilience, and prosilience (intentionally building the capability to deal with a greater array of challenges) each one of us has access to as we engage with this important and evocative material.

COURSE STRUCTURE AND CONTENT

This Course includes over 30 sessions filmed live during a five-day Wisdom School with Cynthia Bourgeault at the Valle Crucis Conference Center in North Carolina in April 2023. This Course has been created as an on-demand course, to use at your own pace. The format, organization, and flow of every session has been carefully designed so that you can experience the daily rhythm and structure of a wisdom school in your own setting and circumstances. The daily flow of the course includes:

• Morning Gurdjieff Exercises
• Teachings by Cynthia in the morning, afternoon, and her responses to questions and additional reflections during several evenings
• Gurdjieff Movements in the morning and afternoons with Heather Ruce
• Chant and music sprinkled throughout
• An Enneagram video montage that highlights the essential work being done twice a day during the Work Periods
• The entire week infused with morning, afternoon, and evening Centering Prayer and gathered, collected silence
• Many of the resources (downloadable) that we used during the week, as well as others we have curated especially for this course

Participants will receive unlimited access for one year to all course materials and resources including:

• Course Session Videos. The session videos follow the precise order and flow of the Wisdom School. We’ve included all of the many ways we came together during the School: the morning Gurdjieff Exercises; Teachings by Cynthia in the morning, afternoon, and her responses to questions and additional reflections during several evenings; Gurdjieff Movements in the morning and afternoons with Heather Ruce; Chant and music sprinkled throughout; and an Enneagram video montage to highlight the essential work being done twice a day during the Work Periods; all held in morning, afternoon, and evening Centering Prayer and gathered, collected silence.
• Audio (MP3) Recordings. An audio (MP3) of most* sessions are also provided. These can be downloaded to save and use on any portable device. *We are not offering an audio-only recording of the Movements sessions or the outdoor Enneagram sessions.
• Transcript. Most* sessions have a PDF transcript that you can read / download beneath the session description and audio file. There are roughly 200 total transcript pages. *We are not offering a transcript for the Movements or Enneagram sessions. However, there are several downloadable resources for both.
• Additional Session Resources. For some sessions we have included references and supplemental content that support the teaching.
• Supplemental Course Resources. You will find related resources in this section, the last one in the course. We will be adding any new resources related to the topic of evil that we find. If you know of one we don’t have, please let us know.

“Wisdom Schools are a format for integral learning that’s based in some of the deepest roots for transformation and change in the Christian tradition. Wisdom schools are about awakening the yearning for a different kind of presence in the world and then developing the skills and the knowledge base to apply that, to transform your own life and the life of people around you.”
—Cynthia Bourgeault, Principle Teacher

Whether you plan to use the course materials for self-paced study on your own, or arrange to participate within a self-organized group, we’re certain you’ll find this a vital and transformative experience.

PRICE: $147 for Single-user access

We ask that you do not share your sign-in information with others; we have priced the course as affordably as we can (a percentage of every sale goes directly to Cynthia to support her in her work). Please don’t use these materials with groups of any size unless every participant has purchased and can access the course. To ask about financial assistance, please email robbin@wisdomwayofknowing.org.

This eCourse includes over 40 sessions filmed live during a five-day Imaginal Wisdom School with Cynthia Bourgeault at the Valle Crucis Conference Center in North Carolina August 16-21, 2020. The Course materials have been formatted and organized for easy access and use in an eCourse format, while carefully preserving the daily rhythm and structure of the live event. The materials have been designed to empower and equip you with everything you need to reproduce the Wisdom School learning experience in your own setting and circumstances. And when you enroll in this eCourse you’ll be joining a vibrant community of committed students as you experience the profound and practical nature of these teachings.

About the Imaginal Wisdom School eCourse

In this unique online learning opportunity, Cynthia Bourgeault illuminates the particular qualities and gifts of the Imaginal realm as an accessible world just beyond our own, and available to us for spiritual nurturance and exchange. Furthermore, as Cynthia emphatically states, “we are counted on for our uniquely human contribution to this exchange—a role contemporary humans have tragically lost sight of.”

Drawing from her groundbreaking book EYE OF THE HEART: A Spiritual Journey into the Imaginal Realm, Cynthia outlines a cosmic map of nested worlds within a great multi-dimensional web. She provides key principles and practices for expanding our awareness and grounding our collective reality in this expansive perspective. Once attuned and opened to this understanding, we gain greater clarity for approaching both the challenges of our times, and for receiving the real and gracious assistance available to us all.

This course material was filmed at a small in-person Wisdom School at Valle Crucis retreat center in August 2020, which also included 100+ virtual students participating via Zoom.
No prior experience with Cynthia’s Wisdom Schools is required. The course will be greatly enhanced if you have a copy of her book Eye of the Heart to accompany the video teachings.

Important to note: This eCourse has been created as an on-demand course, to use at your own pace and setting. You can refer to our ‘Getting Started’ session for some helpful tips and suggestions for engaging with the course content. Participants will receive unlimited access for one year to all course materials and resources including:

• Course Videos & Audio (MP3) Recordings – Includes 43 teaching sessions with over 25 hours of content following the precise order and flow as the live Wisdom School event.
• Optional Content – We have available for purchase a 268-page full-color PDF transcript ($20, which includes two versions: full-color and printer-friendly. With this you will also receive a bonus 99-page beautiful full-color PDF with Imaginal-related quotes and images curated by Cheryl Weiser. Link to purchase and download the PDF is available once you have purchased the course.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

• Cultivate an understanding and attentiveness to the Imaginal realm as an accessible dimension within a cosmic map of the worlds.
• Practice the mostly lost art of imaginal exchange—i.e., the giving and receiving of spiritual nurturance for personal and planetary help and healing.
• Understand how our human contribution is specific and obligatory, and how making that contribution brings greater equilibrium both inwardly and outwardly.
• Build an embodied receptivity to the energies and gifts of the Imaginal.
• Engage in Imaginal exchange to cultivate foundational “fruits of the spirit.”

APPROACH AND STRUCTURE

Students will have 24/7 access to 43 video sessions and downloadable audio, that follow the outline and rhythm of an on-the-ground Wisdom School. The course content includes:

• An introduction to some foundational practices as outlined in Gurdjieff: Mysticism, Contemplation, and Exercises by Joseph Azize that support Imaginal exchange and causality.
• Daily contemplative and embodiment practices.
• Teaching sessions by Cynthia outlining key concepts and principles of the Imaginal realm, and how we can attune to the gifts and support it avails to us.
• Daily inner work practices.
• Recorded questions and answer sessions with Cynthia.

“Wisdom Schools are a format for integral learning that’s based in some of the deepest roots for transformation and change in the Christian tradition. Wisdom schools are about awakening the yearning for a different kind of presence in the world and then developing the skills and the knowledge base to apply that, to transform your own life and the life of people around you.”

~ Cynthia Bourgeault, Principal Teacher

Whether you plan to use the eCourse materials for self-paced study on your own, or arrange to participate within a self-organized group, we’re certain you’ll find this a valuable, gratifying, and transformative process.

PRICE: $137 for Single-user access

To get started, confirm that you are logged in at My Account:
https://wisdomwayofknowing.org/my-account

We ask that you do not share your sign-in information with others; we have priced the course as affordably as we can (a percentage of every sale goes directly to Cynthia to support her in her ministry). Please don’t use these materials with groups of any size without group registration. To ask about financial assistance and group registration arrangements, please email robbin@wisdomwayofknowing.org.

Then simply click on Getting Started for the course.

This eCourse includes over 40 sessions filmed live during a five-day Imaginal Wisdom School with Cynthia Bourgeault at the Valle Crucis Conference Center in North Carolina August 16-21, 2020. The Course materials have been formatted and organized for easy access and use in an eCourse format, while carefully preserving the daily rhythm and structure of the live event. The materials have been designed to empower and equip you with everything you need to reproduce the Wisdom School learning experience in your own setting and circumstances. And when you enroll in this eCourse you’ll be joining a vibrant community of committed students as you experience the profound and practical nature of these teachings.

About the Imaginal Wisdom School eCourse

In this unique online learning opportunity, Cynthia Bourgeault illuminates the particular qualities and gifts of the Imaginal realm as an accessible world just beyond our own, and available to us for spiritual nurturance and exchange. Furthermore, as Cynthia emphatically states, “we are counted on for our uniquely human contribution to this exchange—a role contemporary humans have tragically lost sight of.”

Drawing from her groundbreaking book EYE OF THE HEART: A Spiritual Journey into the Imaginal Realm, Cynthia outlines a cosmic map of nested worlds within a great multi-dimensional web. She provides key principles and practices for expanding our awareness and grounding our collective reality in this expansive perspective. Once attuned and opened to this understanding, we gain greater clarity for approaching both the challenges of our times, and for receiving the real and gracious assistance available to us all.

This course material was filmed at a small in-person Wisdom School at Valle Crucis retreat center in August 2020, which also included 100+ virtual students participating via Zoom.
No prior experience with Cynthia’s Wisdom Schools is required. The course will be greatly enhanced if you have a copy of her book Eye of the Heart to accompany the video teachings.

Important to note: This eCourse has been created as an on-demand course, to use at your own pace and setting. You can refer to our ‘Getting Started’ session for some helpful tips and suggestions for engaging with the course content. Participants will receive unlimited access for one year to all course materials and resources including:

• Course Videos & Audio (MP3) Recordings – Includes 43 teaching sessions with over 25 hours of content following the precise order and flow as the live Wisdom School event.
• Additional Content – We have included references and supplemental content that supports the teaching sessions.
• Private Facebook group for Imaginal Wisdom School participants. This closed group will provide a space for reflection and conversation, prompted by selected quotes and questions related to the course content.
• Monthly hosted Zoom gatherings for course participants. You will be invited to join with others working with the course content, to share your experience and deepen your understanding.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

• Cultivate an understanding and attentiveness to the Imaginal realm as an accessible dimension within a cosmic map of the worlds.
• Practice the mostly lost art of imaginal exchange—i.e., the giving and receiving of spiritual nurturance for personal and planetary help and healing.
• Understand how our human contribution is specific and obligatory, and how making that contribution brings greater equilibrium both inwardly and outwardly.
• Build an embodied receptivity to the energies and gifts of the Imaginal.
• Engage in Imaginal exchange to cultivate foundational “fruits of the spirit.”

APPROACH AND STRUCTURE

Students will have 24/7 access to 43 video sessions and downloadable audio, that follow the outline and rhythm of an on-the-ground Wisdom School. The course content includes:

• An introduction to some foundational practices as outlined in Gurdjieff: Mysticism, Contemplation, and Exercises by Joseph Azize that support Imaginal exchange and causality.
• Daily contemplative and embodiment practices.
• Teaching sessions by Cynthia outlining key concepts and principles of the Imaginal realm, and how we can attune to the gifts and support it avails to us.
• Daily inner work practices.
• Recorded questions and answer sessions with Cynthia.

“Wisdom Schools are a format for integral learning that’s based in some of the deepest roots for transformation and change in the Christian tradition. Wisdom schools are about awakening the yearning for a different kind of presence in the world and then developing the skills and the knowledge base to apply that, to transform your own life and the life of people around you.”

~ Cynthia Bourgeault, Principal Teacher

Whether you plan to use the eCourse materials for self-paced study on your own, or arrange to participate within a self-organized group, we’re certain you’ll find this a valuable, gratifying, and transformative process.

PRICE: $137 for Single-user access

To get started, confirm that you are logged in at the course dashboard:
https://courses.wisdomwayofknowing.org/dashboard

We ask that you do not share your sign-in information with others; we have priced the course as affordably as we can (a percentage of every sale goes directly to Cynthia to support her in her ministry). Please don’t use these materials with groups of any size without group registration. To ask about financial assistance and group registration arrangements, please email robbin@wisdomwayofknowing.org.

Then simply click on Getting Started for the course.