“Go beyond the Mind:” How Evolutionary Consciousness Sheds New Light On An Ancient Christian Dichotomy

For more than fifteen hundred years the terrain of Christian Prayer has been fundamentally partitioned into two categories: cataphatic, or “prayer of form,” drawing on the faculties of the mind and emotions, and apophatic, formless or wordless prayer, unfolding deeper within in a person’s being, beyond both thought and personal emotion. This fundamental dichotomy has in turn given rise to two contrasting spiritual pathways: the via positiva (or “way of affirmation”) and via negative (the “way of negation”). Contemporary meditation practices are typically assigned to that latter category.

But what if, like most like most arbitrary partitions, these categories wind up separating what is intended to work together and may in fact be the unbeknownst driveshaft of our spiritual evolution?  In this talk contemporary Christian mystic and spiritual teacher Cynthia Bourgeault (picking up on the insight first tentatively ventured in the 14th century Christian mystical masterpiece The Cloud of Unknowing) will build the case that  cataphatic and apophatic are not different spiritual pathways or personality types, but two different levels of consciousness that are intended, in fact, to be in constant dialogue and reciprocal nourishment with each other in order for our authentic task as human beings can be fully accomplished.   

Event Details

When: Monday, December 15 from 2:30 – 4:30pm ET

Where: Online

Event Facilitator: The Scientific & Medical Network

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