The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers |
There is No Fear in Love, For Perfect Love Casts Out Fear |
08/04/2023
by Rick Reich-Kuykendall |
In his groundbreaking book, Original Blessing, Matthew writes about the need to let be, and
let go, and we need to do this in a number of areas of our lives. |
From letting go of a painful relationship or a frustrating job, to letting be something that already is, but
you have not been able to accept it as it is. And especially today we are talking about letting go of fear. | “Om Namah Shivay.” A regular mantra practice helps in allaying fear. Video by Agam Aggarwal. |
The word “fear” is used 365 times in the Christian scriptures—a reminder every day of the year to move
beyond fear. A lesson to learn from the Jesus story, is that suffering is indeed inevitable… |
One rose with many thorns. Photo by Peter Goldberg, National Museum of American History. Wikimedia Commons. | Pain is our enemy, but that is no excuse to run from embracing it, kissing it
long enough so that we might truly let go of it. There is no way to let go of pain without first embracing it and loving it—not as pain but as a sister and brother in our dialectical living of both pleasure and pain. Eros does not come without a price. Every rose has its thorns. …this life as we know it, is for many their
purgatory. |
Not only is there a dark night of the soul, but also a dark night of society, and a dark night of our species. |
See Matthew Fox, Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth, pp. 99-100. See also Fox, One
River, Many Wells, p. 288 and 372. And Fox, Original Blessing, p. 142. And Fox, A New Reformation, p. 102. Banner image:“The Feeling of Dreams.” Is the girl falling, or floating? Is she holding onto the string, or letting go? Painting by Ariel Whitmore. Wikimedia Commons. |
Queries for Contemplation 1 John 4:18 says, “Perfect love casts out fear.” Isn’t this a little like saying, “We need to let
go of fear?” How do you let go of fear when it comes? |
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, please click HERE
to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth
Fox’s spirituality weds the healing and liberation found in North American
Creation Spirituality and in South American Liberation Theology. Creation Spirituality challenges readers of every religious and political persuasion to unite in a new vision through which we learn to honor the earth and the people who inhabit it as the gift of a good and just Creator.
“A watershed theological work that offers a common ground for religious seekers and activists of all stripes.” — Frederic and Mary
Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice.
| |
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 | |
Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
Matthew Fox lays out a whole new direction for Christianity—a direction that is in fact very ancient and very grounded in Jewish thinking (the fact that Jesus was a Jew is often neglected by Christian theology): the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality, the Vias Positiva, Negativa, Creativa and Transformativa in an extended and deeply developed way.
“Original Blessing makes available to the Christian world and to the human community a radical cure for all dark and derogatory views of the natural world wherever these may have originated.” –Thomas Berry, author, The Dream of the Earth; The Great Work; co-author, The Universe Story | |
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 | |
See Matthew Fox's full calendar
HERE |
Join Matthew Fox and Brian Swimme in a new 7-week online course hosted by The Shift Network: "Science, Spirituality & the Noosphere: Deepen the Meaning of Your Life & the Power You Hold to Create Fulfillment & Happiness," beginning August 8. Register
HERE and receive access to a free introductory video. 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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