Flowing Oneness
The Contemplative Vision of Father Thomas Keating
Led by Cynthia Bourgeault and David Frenette
In this eagerly awaited Centering Prayer teaching retreat, Centering Prayer master teachers Davd Frenette and Cynthia Bourgeault once again team up to explore the late teachings of Fr. Thomas Keating and what they have to offer our own continuing spiritual evolution today.
As Thomas fully embraced his nondual awakening, he began to write and see from a perspective rarely attained in the Christian mystical tradition, significantly “growing” the Christian spiritual roadmap in the direction of his signature brand of “flowing oneness.”
Through teaching, dialogue, guided meditations — and mostly through the practice of Centering Prayer itself — David and Cynthia will jointly explore how he charts this new course —and more important, how he has planted practical seeds to bring our practice of Centering Prayer to the next level.
Practicing Centering Prayer in light of the God of unity consciousness grounds us, more and more, in a reality that cannot be shaken by the crises of separation, disruption, and disintegration we are living through. From greater oneness through Centering Prayer flows the subtlety of contemplative service: God in us serving God in others.
SCHOLARSHIPS
- Partial scholarships are available for this retreat, please click here to apply.
- There is also an opportunity to give back to the teachers and Garrison Institute Retreats Sanctuary through a work scholarship. Please email us here.
Please email us with questions at scholarships@garrisoninstitute.org
TEACHERS
The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Bourgeault is an Episcopal priest and writer. She has been a long-time advocate of the meditative practice of Centering Prayer and has worked closely with fellow teachers and colleagues including Thomas Keating, Bruno Barnhart, and Richard Rohr. Bourgeault has actively participated in numerous inter-spiritual dialogues and events with luminaries and leaders such as A.H. Almaas, Kabir Helminski, Swami Atmarupananda, and Rami Shapiro. Bourgeault is a member of the GPIW (Global Peace Initiative for Women) Contemplative Council and recipient of the 2014 Contemplative Voices award from Shalem Institute. She is a founding Director of both The Contemplative Society and the Aspen Wisdom School. She is also the author of many books, including The Holy Trinity and the Law of Three, The Meaning of Mary Magdalene, The Wisdom Jesus, Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening, Mystical Hope, Thomas Keating: The Making of a Modern Christian Mystic,and others. For more information on Cynthia Bourgeault’s work, please visit her website.
David Frenette is author of The Path of Centering Prayer: Deepening Your Experience of God (Sounds True; 2012), a teacher of contemplative meditation, and a spiritual director/transpersonal counselor (now retired). He studied and worked with Father Thomas Keating for 35 years, and co-led a Christian contemplative retreat community under Fr. Keating’s guidance, where he lived monastically for 10 years. David has led Centering Prayer retreats at leading venues across the country, including 6 years at the Garrison Institute. His primary work is in developing spiritual and religious resources for contemplative practitioners, and supporting a unitive approach to meditation that includes body, mind, heart and spirit. David lives with his wife Donna in the Pacific Northwest, where he enjoys hiking in old growth forests, sampling Portland’s gluten-free food carts, listening to Beethoven, and meditating in his backyard studio shed.
ACCOMMODATIONS
There are Single, Double and Dorm rooms available. Please note, there is no available guest elevator and all rooms are accessible by stairs—except for those reserved for the mobility-impaired on the first floor. There are two communal bathrooms on each residential floor as well as a comfortable lounge with sofas and easy chairs, where tea and instant coffee are available. The lounges also are equipped with wireless, high-speed internet connection. There are several local hotels within driving distance from the Institute, for those who wish to stay off-site, as commuters. Onsite meals are included with commuter registrations.
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