Chanting as a Path to Embodiment with Cynthia Bourgeault
How would you feel if you could respond to the small frustrations of your day with more grace?
Embodiment practices help move us into the wisdom of the body, teaches CAC Faculty Emeritus Rev. Dr. Cynthia Bourgeault. “When we connect with the body, she writes in the daily meditation Embodied Faith, we “reconnect with the wellsprings of faith.”
Tapping into that “wellspring of faith” helps us find the energy and compassion to face the challenges of our day and help ease the suffering faced by others.
Ready to explore embodiment or deepen your established practice? Chanting is a simple, accessible embodiment practice that creates deeper connections for beginners, seasoned practitioners, and everyone in between.
What Is Chanting? What Makes It Embodied?
CAC Founder Fr. Richard Rohr says that “deep knowing and presence do not happen with our thinking minds. To truly know something, our whole being must be open, awake, and present.” Embodiment practices guide us into a faith that we can experience with our whole selves — and one which we can bring our whole selves to in surrender and love.
Chanting is a practice that uses the vocal cords to unite the mind, body, heart, and spirit. Cynthia teaches chanting as a “deep-immersion experience in the creative power of the universe itself. When we bring our voice, tone, and breath to something, we engage different resonances of our being and different understandings.”
“I feel myself embodying a sacred, peaceful, compassionate sense of being. Even in the never-ending storm, I feel so much more grounded.”
—Loraine C., CAC Community Member
Be Still and Know | Chant with Cynthia Bourgeault
You can meet Cynthia and experience her teaching style with this short meditation — “Be Still and Know Chant.” This three-minute video practice is an invitation to embodied prayer by first grounding in Scripture and then settling into silence.
Live in Sacred Rhythm
For those wanting to integrate more embodiment practices, The Divine Exchange: Living in Sacred Rhythm teaches chanting, Centering Prayer, and Tonglen to help unite the physical, mental, and emotional in the spiritual.
In this self-paced online course, Cynthia Bourgeault unpacks an accessible wisdom framework, expands learning communities, and inspires more meaningful exchanges of energy and wisdom in your daily life.
Practice Joy
Faculty Emeritus Dr. Barbara Holmes describes cultivating joy in the body as “an abiding awareness of the gift given to each of us, no matter our circumstances in life.” A scholar of African American spirituality and mysticism, Dr. Holmes taught that God’s communal presence can inspire imagination and wisdom, especially in times of crisis.
In this reflection, Dr. Holmes reminds us that even amid grief and pain, joy can still be a sustaining presence in the body and the breath.
Engage More Deeply with Centering Prayer
In this one-hour teaching and workshop, Cynthia Bourgeault explores themes from her book, The Heart of Centering Prayer: Nondual Christianity in Theory and Practice.
Centering Prayer is a practical way to open our minds and hearts to presence. In this video, Cynthia explains the steps and then takes practice further, revealing how Centering Prayer invites transformation through open-hearted, nondual perception. Often called both/and thinking, nonduality is a healing stance of being present to reality without judgment and with senses open.
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