The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind--A New Perspective on Christ and His Message [Paperback]

Cynthia Bourgeault (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 12, 2008

If you put aside what you  think you know about Jesus and approach the Gospels as though for the first time, something remarkable happens: Jesus emerges as a teacher of the transformation of consciousness. Cynthia Bourgeault is a masterful guide to Jesus's vision and to the traditional contemplative practices you can use to experience the heart of his teachings for yourself.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"There are few spiritual teachers who give us genuinely fresh insight, but even fewer who give us the tools so we can come to those insights for ourselves. Cynthia Bourgeault does both, and does them very well!"—Richard Rohr, OFM, author of  Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer

"A masterful work. Cynthia Bourgeault invites us to follow Jesus's path of self-emptying love, and she describes wisdom practices that we Christians can use every day to transform our own minds so that we too can see with the eyes of Christ."—Jim Marion, author of Putting on the Mind of Christ 

"Bourgeault centers her expansive house of wisdom in the sayings and extraordinary death of the gospel Jesus as she turns light and darkness into a living poetry of self-emptying vision."—Willis Barnstone, author of  The Other Bible, coauthor of The Gnostic Bible 

About the Author

Cynthia Bourgeault, PhD, is an Episcopal priest, teacher, and retreat and conference leader. She is the author of several books, including Chanting the Psalms and Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala (August 12, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590305809
• ISBN-13: 978-1590305805
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.6 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,752 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Church History
  • #24 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Comparative Religion
  • #26 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Jesus

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

140 of 144 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A New View, October 16, 2008

By 

Gina Ricciardi "g in nj" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind--A New Perspective on Christ and His Message (Paperback)

Cynthia Bourgeault is a hidden treasure. When I first read her, I encountered, for the first time, the Jesus and the Christianity I had always looked for and longed for. This was confirmed to me yet again with the publishing of the her new book, "The Wisdom Jesus."

With the publication of this book, I was moved to do something I never do: give a religious book to a Catholic priest. And the results have been stunning. The priest was blown away by Bourgeault's synthesis of Jesus and his time on earth. He found new angles on both the Eucharist and the Beatitudes. He can't stop thinking about the book and was moved to give it to another priest. This priest read it and said, "Who is this woman, and why have we never heard of her?" He, too, felt changed by the beauty of Bourgeault's work and promptly bought all her books. He passed it on to another priest, and the story continues.

Cynthia Bourgeault needs to be read by everyone trying to make sense of a Christianity that has been tainted over the centuries. She returns us home. Her wisdon gives me great hope for my faith and my world.

77 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent resource for contemplative prayer, October 12, 2008

By 

J from NY (New York) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind--A New Perspective on Christ and His Message (Paperback)

While I wasn't overly impressed by Bourgealt's "Mystical Hope", her true potential as Episcopalian minister/guru emerges in "The Wisdom Jesus" which to my mind is the single best work on the practice of lecto divinia and contemplative prayer since Thomas Keating (that "great patriarch", as she calls him) first introduced it to the majority of Catholics in the United States.

The majority of the book is spent on Bourgealt's the very vital theme--for people of any denomination or faith--of "kenosis", an ancient Greek word meaning "self-emptying" but commonly used in Christian theology as the definition of what Christ did when he was on earth. By virtue of his love for others he emptied himself more and more, became increasingly more humble until he was at the bottom of the social, economic and cultural level--and then rose up as infinity of this emptiness. In Philippians 2:7 it is written that: "Jesus made himself as nothing." Bourgealt stresses that even simple and very necessary virtues like humility, love for neighbor, etc will not place us in this state unless we prayerfully ask for it to happen. She is always aware that this will be an uncommon desire for anyone, particularly the comfortable people of faith who are content with what she calls "dogma, a fabricated religious identity, or sectarian complacency."

The last chapters of the book are devoted to furthering the practice of Sacred Scripture reading in our daily lives and the tradition of centering prayer which she demystifies in a fashion I have not yet seen matched. The complications of daily meditation in our busy lives and the simple lack of motivation that even the most outwardly devout Christian has to the practice are given gentle but serious treatment. Recommend for all people of faith!

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you are searching, November 11, 2008

By 

L. C. Bonner "running water" (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind--A New Perspective on Christ and His Message (Paperback)

"If you are searching, you must not stop until you find. When you find, however, you will become troubled. Your confusion will give way to wonder. In wonder you will reign over all things. Your sovereignty will be your rest." With this quote from the Gospel of Thomas, Cynthia Bourgeault begins the Wisdom Jesus and then provides a path for those who seek knowledge of The Way beyond what the western church has promoted. You may find that what seems "new" is an affirmation of what you already knew in your heart, as holes within the traditional picture are filled in through interpretation and explanation that allow for a deeper, richer understanding of who Jesus is and what his call is for each of us.

Bourgeault's words are an artform, and a delight to read; what could be dense and unfamiliar terminology and theology is translated into a language all can understand. For those with "eyes to see and ears to hear", this book is much more... truly it is manna from heaven! Taste, eat and be filled...