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Meditations with Matthew Fox
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Black Elk on Peace and Repose |
In yesterday’s DM we meditated with Meister Eckhart on what I call the “panentheistic pleasure” of repose. |
And in the video I turned to Buddhist teaching about the Divine Mother who is honored for her silence and connection to the “vast expanse of space,” in other words, the cosmos. She is a cosmic mother as is the Black Madonna in Christianity. We find that this archetype of repose and silence and | |
meditation that brings us to repose
and silence is universal. We find it in Christianity and in Judaism (especially the wisdom books but also the prophets, both of whom Eckhart invokes in his powerful sermon on Repose). But repose is a deeply ecumenical experience
and concept. We have seen it in Buddhism and Judaism and Christianity, let us consider it among indigenous spirituality as well. Black Elk teaches this: The heart is a sanctuary at the center of which there is a little space, wherein the Great Spirit dwells, and this is the Eye. This is the Eye of the Great Spirit by which he sees all things, and through which we see him. It is from this center that true peace derives. |
| It is the peace that comes when cosmos and heart/psyche are reunited. It is the first peace and the real peace. The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells Wakan-Tanka, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of
us. This is the real peace, and the others are but reflections of this. |
Black Elk is instructing us that peace comes from within the human heart—provided our hearts are connected to the
universe. At the center of our hearts—as well as the heart of the universe—dwells Wakan Tanka, the Holy One. One can see here what Eckhart saw in the wisdom teachings he was expounding on, cosmos and psyche go
together. If we don’t have a cosmos in our hearts, we only have an ego there. We need to expand our hearts and connect to the universe. Wisdom includes the universe and wisdom passes through the heart and
brings peace with it. |
| To view today's video, please click the image. You will be taken to today's post on the Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox website, where you can see the meditation in a larger version and also view and post your Comments. In the sharing that follows, a kind of community is developing around the DM.
If you can't reach Matthew's video on the website, try his Vimeo channel HERE. |
Adapted from Matthew Fox, One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faith Traditions, p. 155.
Banner Image: Hinhan Kaga (a.k.a. Black Elk Peak) in the Pahá Sápa (Black Hills) of South Dakota, where
Black Elk had his first vision. Photo by Ron Clausen on Wikimedia Commons. |
Queries for Contemplation Does this teaching from Black Elk about the “first peace” being our relationship with the universe elevate the meaning of cosmos and cosmology for you? |
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, please click HERE
to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths Matthew Fox calls on all the world traditions for their wisdom and their inspiration in a work that is far more than a list of
theological position papers but a new way to pray—to meditate in a global spiritual context on the wisdom all our traditions share. Fox chooses 18 themes that are foundational to any spirituality and demonstrates how all the world spiritual traditions offer wisdom about each. “Reading One River, Many Wells is like entering the rich
silence of a masterfully directed retreat. As you read this text, you reflect, you pray, you embrace Divinity. Truly no words can fully express my respect and awe for this magnificent contribution to contemporary spirituality.” –Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit | |
See Matthew Fox's full calendar HERE |
Join Matthew Fox as he leads a new course hosted by The Shift Network: Answer the Call for an Uncommon Life Through the Mystical Teachings of St. Hildegard. New 16-module video training with two live Q&A events starts Monday,
November 28, 12:00 PM PT. Register HERE. Join Matthew Fox for the monthly Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, discussing Christian Mystics: 365 Readings and Meditations. Thursday, December 15,
4:00pm-6:00pm PT Register HERE. Creation Spirituality Conversations |
In a podcast episode with the Earth and Spirit Center, Matthew Fox reflects on how creation-centered spirituality, and the marriage of the divine feminine and sacred masculine, can help us respond with hope
to the troubles of our apocalyptic times. Listen HERE. | |
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