The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers |
A Journey Through the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality |
07/25/2023
by Rick Reich-Kuykendall |
Over the next four weeks, we are going to be
looking at the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality in Matthew’s own words, beginning with his definition of the concept. |
For instance, he writes in Matthew Fox: Essential Writings on Creation
Spirituality: The four paths of creation spirituality first emerged for me on examining my own experiences and on encountering Eckhart. It is one thing to talk about the Via Positiva and the Via Negativa, but if you put them
together, they are like an electric charge—the | The four paths of Creation Spirituality, VP-VN-VC-VT, in Individual Nexus, by Engineers Without Borders founder and UCS graduate Bernard Amadei. Published with permission
of the artist |
positive and negative make sparks; they make a third thing—the Via Creativa. And that in turn gives birth to a fourth thing: Compassion, Justice, Celebration… The naming of the journey
in four paths constitutes the very backbone or structure of creation spirituality. In A New Reformation, he writes: The Four Paths
named in the creation spiritual tradition
more fully name the mystical/prophetic spiritual journey
of Jesus and the Jewish tradition
than do
the three paths
of purgation, illumination, and union,
which do not derive
from the Jewish and biblical tradition. And: |
The history of nature from the Big Bang to the present day, shown graphically in a spiral with notable events annotated. Every billion years (Ga) is
represented by 90 degrees of rotation of the spiral. Image by Pablo Carlos Budassi with the help of the evolutionary biology researcher Professor Rasmus Grønfeldt Winther, on Wikimedia Commons. | THE VIA POSITIVA
… God is experienced through
ecstasy, joy, wonder, and delight (via positiva)
And in The A.W. E. Project, he brings it into a cosmological context: Without knowing where we come from or when (that is, how long it took)–we are lost. |
Cosmology teaches us where we come from,
where ‘here’ is,
and therefore gives us a hint
as to where we are headed.
If we don’t know our origins,
it is very difficult to be
clear on our goals.
Cosmology is about time and space. |
See Matthew Fox, Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality, p. 53
See also Matthew Fox, A New Reformation: Creation Spirituality and the Transformation of Christianity,
p.
85
Also Matthew Fox, The A. W. E. Project: Reinventing Education, Reinventing the Human, p. 104
Banner Image: Banner Image: “Four Paths” Via Positiva: “Sunset Radiance” by Artem Sapegin on Unsplash. Via Negativa: A firefighter and koala stand before a bushfire near Lobethal, South Australia. Photo from Eden Hills Country Fire Service . Via Creativa: Dancers, Istanbul, Turkey. Photo by Hulki Okan Tabak on Unsplash. Via Transformativa: A vicar is arrested during the Extinction Rebellion protests, London, UK October 2019. Photo by John Cameron on Unsplash. |
Queries for Contemplation Over the next four weeks, chart yourself on a calendar as to what path you were walking on a given day. |
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, please click HERE
to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
Matthew Fox: Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality
To encapsulate the life and work of Matthew Fox would be a daunting task for any save his colleague Dr. Charles Burack, who had the full
cooperation of his subject. Fox has devoted 50 years to developing and teaching the tradition of Creation Spirituality and in doing so has reinvented forms of education and worship. His more
than 40 books, translated into 78 languages, are inclusive of today’s science and world spiritual traditions and have awakened millions to the much neglected earth-based mystical tradition of the West. Essential Writings begins by exploring the influences on Fox’s life and spirituality, then presents selections from all Fox’s major works in 10 sections.
“The critical insights, the creative connections,
the centrality of Matthew Fox’s writings and teaching are second to none for the radical renewal of Christianity.” ~~ Richard Rohr, OFM. | |
A New Reformation: Creation Spirituality & The Transformation of Christianity
A modern-day theologian’s call for the radical transformation
of Christianity that will allow us to move once again from the hollow trappings of organized religion to genuine spirituality. A New Reformation echoes the Reformation initiated by Martin Luther in 1517 and offers a new vision of Christianity that values the Earth, honors the feminine, and respects science and deep ecumenism.
“This is a deep and forceful book….With prophetic insight, Matthew Fox reveals what has corrupted religion in the West and the
therapy for its healing.” ~Bruce Chilton, author of Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography | |
The A.W.E. Project: Reinventing Education, Reinventing the Human
The A.W.E. Project reminds us that awe is the appropriate response to the unfathomable wonder that is creation… A.W.E. is also the acronym for Fox’s proposed style of learning – an approach to balance the three R’s. This approach to learning, eldering, and mentoring is intelligent enough to honor the teachings of the Ancestors, to nurture Wisdom in addition to imparting knowledge, and to Educate through Fox’s 10 C’s. The 10 C’s are the core of the A.W.E.
philosophy and process of education, and include: compassion, contemplation, and creativity. The A.W.E. Project does for the vast subject of “learning” what Fox’s Reinvention of Work did for vocation and Original Blessing did for theology. Included in the book is a dvd of the 10 C’s put to 10 video raps created and performed by Professor Pitt.
“An awe-based vision of educational renewal.” — Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice. | |
See Matthew Fox's full calendar
HERE |
Join Matthew Fox and Brian Swimme in a free online event hosted by The Shift Network: “Hope for Humanity’s Future: Science, Spirituality & the Noosphere: Find Deeper Meaning in Our Spiritual Traditions With Illuminating Insights in Science & Technology.” Tuesday, July 25,
12:00 pm PT. Register HERE. Join Matthew Fox for a Cosmic Mass and Panel Forum at the 2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions - A Call to Conscience: Defending Freedom & Human Rights, August 14-18 in Chicago, IL Wed., 8/16, 7:00pm CT - The Cosmic Mass - Honoring Gaia, Solidarity for Our Earth Thurs., 8/17, 1:00pm CT – Panel and Response to The Cosmic Mass Register HERE. |
Creation Spirituality Conversations |
Aaron Perry hosts Matthew Fox on the Y On
Earth podcast, on “Hildegard von Bingen & Her “Viriditas,” sharing profound wisdom and deep insights about the essential importance of our relationship with Mother Earth, our celebration of the Divine Feminine, and our connection with Creation Spirituality, drawing upon centuries
of knowledge and wisdom from indigenous and mystical traditions world-wide… particularly from the Rhineland Mystic Movement of the medieval European Renaissance, and a most extraordinary woman at its helm: Hildegard von Bingen. | |
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