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  • The Heart of Centering Prayer

  • Nondual Christianity in Theory and Practice
  • By: Cynthia Bourgeault
  • Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
  • Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins
  • 3.9 out of 5 stars (13 ratings)

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The Heart of Centering Prayer

By: Cynthia Bourgeault
Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
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Publisher's Summary

Centering prayer is the path to a wonderful and radical new way of seeing the world. It is not, as is sometimes thought, simply an act of devotional piety, nor is it a Christianized form of other meditation methods. Cynthia Bourgeault here cuts through the misconceptions to show that centering prayer is in fact a pioneering development within the Christian contemplative tradition. She provides a practical, complete course in the practice and then goes deeper to analyze what actually happens in centering prayer: the mind effectively switches to a new operating system that makes possible the perception of nonduality. With this understanding in place, she then takes us on a journey through one of the sources of the practice, the Christian contemplative classic The Cloud of Unknowing, revealing it to be among the earliest Christian explorations of the phenomenology of consciousness.

Cynthia Bourgeault's illumination of the centering prayer path provides compelling evidence of how important the practice has become in the half century since it first arose among American Trappist monks and of its maturation and refinement over the ensuing years of sincere study and practice. It will resonate with beginners on the centering prayer path as well as with seasoned practitioners.

Cover image: Mark Tomalty / Masterfile.

©2016 Cynthia Bourgeault (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about The Heart of Centering Prayer

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Difficult book to listen to

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I have read most of the books by Father Thomas Keating on centering prayer and thoroughly enjoyed them. This book has confused me and left me feeling slightly intimidated. Too many big words and over complicated. If I ever hear the word 'nondual' again it will be too soon.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment, confusion.

Any additional comments?

Definitely not for beginners. Perhaps when I have been practicing centering prayer for a longer time I may re visit it.

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2 people found this helpful

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Narration too fast to concentrate on content

It's a shame the author is not the narrator. It would be a lot better, as the author would know where to emphasise certain passages in the book. I read the book and will read it again several times. The book is a gem for the contemporary aspiring contemplative. If it weren't for the narration I would give 5/5 for the Audible version.

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1 person found this helpful

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Narration and dialogue difficult

I found the reader spoke far too fast. The content is wonderful and I find Ms Bourgeault inspiring but the use of plain English would have been better. The repetitive use of some words that I struggled to remember the meaning of took away the impact. And I still don’t know what centering prayer is.

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Wonderful

I'm a Cynthia Bourgeault tragic, so couldn't possibly write a bad review. The brilliance of her work is that she takes you there. When you come out to write something about it, there's nothing to say. You need to go back in. I'll be listening to this book again, and will try to make notes next time. This is about contemplation - not so easy to talk about.

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Heart of Centering Prayer

Good book on centering prayer. Can be hard to read/listen to due to the formal language being used, it almost feels luke it was over edited and complicated, but nonetheless is a great book on the heart of centering prayer.

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A(head) heart of its time

Cynthia’s cutting, loving and authentic sharing on Human awakening in the post symbolic, trans-rational realisation of Heartfulness is truly dazzling and absolutely a message of love, along with the process of why and how that You, are waiting to discover.

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