The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox Note: As Matthew Fox continues work on his upcoming book on his mentor Père M.D. Chenu, he has needed to focus his time and energy, and thus has pared down his Daily Meditation videos to one day a week (Monday). We thank you for your inquiries and messages of
support!
~ The DM Team |
Hildegard of Bingen & Indigenous Teachings on the Green Man 09/26/2023 |
Philosophers of the modern industrial era such as Descartes and Francis Bacon talked about “mastering nature” and clearly the West has been doing that for centuries. The Green Man is decidedly not about mastering nature but
about relating to nature, nature inside us and nature all about us. |
Jim Wert, retired lawyer and “The Wizard of Cheltenham, MD” aspecting the Green Man. Photo published with
permission. |
Hildegard of Bingen summarizes it all nicely with her teachings on greening power (viriditas) which she sometimes calls the Holy Spirit in us, our generative and creative powers. Forests and grasses
and plants are nothing if not generative. (Unless, of course drought takes over as is happening thanks to the ignoring and taking for granted of nature that so dominated modern consciousness and is coming to a cruel climax today in what we call climate change.) In her own “I am” poem, Hildegard sings of how “I am the breeze that nurtures all things green…and causes the grasses to laugh with the joy of life.” The “I am” is God or Wisdom talking. The Green God and joyful God and laughing God also “encourages blossoms to flourish with ripening fruits.” |
In “O Nobilissimia Viriditas” Hildegard praises the greening power of the Divine. Sequentia –
Topic | We are to participate in this greening power, for we are a “people who are meant to green.” In Native American traditions, plants are considered the wisest of all living creatures. They have been here the longest and by |
inventing
photosynthesis they learned how to eat the sun. (Father Sky meets Mother Earth.) By doing so, they make life possible for animals, humans included. Plants and trees could live without us–and did for millions of years—but we cannot live without
them. We are indebted to them. The Green Man reminds us of that. |
Adapted from Matthew Fox, The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine, pp. 19f. And Fox, Hildegard of Bingen: A Saint For Our Times: Unleashing Her Power in the 21st Century, pp. 34, 41f. Banner Image: “The Green Man” (detail) by El Salvadoran surrealist painter/sculptor Ullrrich Javier Lemus. Published with permission from Ullrrich.com. |
Queries for Contemplation Are we a people who are meant to green? How are we doing, personally and collectively? |
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, please click HERE to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine
To awaken what Fox calls “the sacred masculine,” he unearths ten metaphors, or archetypes, ranging from the Green Man, an ancient pagan symbol of
our fundamental relationship with nature, to the Spiritual Warrior….These timeless archetypes can inspire men to pursue their higher calling to connect to their deepest selves and to reinvent the world.
“Every man on this planet should read this book — not to mention every woman who wants to understand the struggles, often unconscious, that shape the men they know.” — Rabbi Michael Lerner, author of The Left Hand of God |
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Hildegard of Bingen, A Saint for Our Times: Unleashing Her Power in the 21st Century
Matthew Fox writes in Hildegard of Bingen about this amazing woman and what we can learn from her.
In an
era when women were marginalized, Hildegard was an outspoken, controversial figure. Yet so visionary was her insight that she was sought out by kings, popes, abbots, and bishops for advice.
“This book gives strong, sterling, and unvarnished evidence that everything – everything – we ourselves become will affect what women after us may also become….This is a truly marvelous, useful, profound, and creative book.” ~~ Andrew Harvey, author
of The Hope: A Guide to Sacred Activism. |
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______________________________________________________________________________________ UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar HERE Join Matthew Fox online as he lectures and responds to questions on his book, A Spirituality Named Compassion. The event is hosted by the Weber Retreat and Conference Center. Thursday, October 12, 2023 , 4:00pm-5:30pm PT. Learn more HERE. Join Matthew Fox as he discusses “A New Reformation: Creation Spirituality and the Transformation of Christianity” in an Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, Thursday, October 19, 4:00-6:00 pm PT. To register, click HERE. Join Matthew Fox for two days of learning and practice as he speaks at the online Stanford Medicine Contemplation by Design Summit, Wednesday and Thursday, November 1-2, 2023. Wed 4:00pm-5:30pm PT – Lecture, Q&A – Grounding & Expanding, Psyche & Cosmos, Friendship with Self, Others, the Universe: Toward a “Cosmic Religion” (Einstein) and Human/Planetary Survival Thu 7:30am-8:15am – Guided Practice – Finding the Divine (the “I am”, the Christ, the Buddha Nature, the Tselem or
Image of God) Within Thu 12:00pm-1:30pm – Workshop – Recovering the Sacred Masculine and the Divine Feminine 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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Inspired by this post? Share your insights on Universeodon, Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #RevDrMatthewFox and tag Matt with @RevDrMatthewFox FOLLOW MATTHEW FOX: |
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