Sacred Movements and Witnessing Presence with Heather Ruce
October 10 - October 14
Wisdom School: Sacred Movements and Witnessing Presence
Presented by the Mercy Center Centering Prayer Wisdom Program
Sacred gestures and movements have been a part of every sacred tradition. They are considered a means by which ancient Wisdom is preserved and passed down to future generations. Through their embodied symbolic language beyond our thinking mind, a deeper perception arises. This perception is anchored in our inner witness, in our hearts. Witnessing is a particular kind of presence, a new consciousness and a capacity to not get hooked by the circumstances of our lives. Developing witnessing presence is of primary importance in our contemplative Wisdom way of Being. This inner witness is not carried in our ordinary consciousness and mind but, as Wisdom teachers such as Cynthia Bourgeault suggest, is deeper in the body and the heart. Sacred movements allow us to access and develop our inner witness and cultivate the capacity to come from that deeper presence amidst our day to day lives.
In this Wisdom School we will be working primarily with different kinds of sacred gestures and Movements from the Gurdjieff tradition. There are many types of Movements such as ritual, prayers, dervish dances, mathematical patterns, etc. The objective of them all is that they help us access deeper perception and that they are prayers. Gurdjieff saw them as medicine. The Movements will be our teacher.
Join us on the beautiful grounds of Mercy Center Burlingame. Together we will engage a daily rhythm and practices specific to a ‘Wisdom way of knowing’; an ‘integral way of knowing’ which engages and harmonizes the three intelligence centers: thinking, feeling, and moving (body). We will experience a balance known in the Benedictine tradition as ‘ora et labora’ (prayer and work) through engaging self and one another in Movements, centering prayer or silent meditation, guided meditations, chanting, and sharing observations. Although this is not a completely silent retreat, silence will be the container.
Familiarity with the Wisdom lineage of Cynthia Bourgeault or the Gurdjieff Work is required. Some experience in Gurdjieff Movements is preferred but not essential.
Event Details
Where: Onsite at Mercy Center in Burlingame, CA
When: Begins on October 10th with dinner at 5:30pm. Concludes on October 14th with lunch at 12:00pm.
Facilitated by: Heather Ruce, M.A., Joy Andrews Hayter, Ph.D., Catherine Regan, Ph.D.
Find out more about this retreat and register here
