The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox |
Prophets and Warriors,
Humor and Antiwarriors 10/10/2023 |
Yesterday in our meditation and video we learned from Broken Walk, and from an indigenous student of mine, and from Hafiz, of the heart dimension to the warrior. The warrior follows one’s heart—not just orders from above that a
soldier follows. |
Chogyam Trungpa talks about the “sad and tender heart of the warrior.” The warrior is in touch with his or her heart—the joy, the sadness, the compassion and the expansiveness that is there. Some people completely equate soldier and warrior, and that is |
“Warrior Spirit in Sikhism – Guru Gobind Singh’s Key Teachings” Ranveer Allahbadia interviews Sikh teacher Satpal Singh on the meaning of
warriorhood in Sikhism. |
very dangerous. It can feed, rather than tame, the reptilian brain. The idea of God as an avenging God or a punitive Father also feeds a distorted notion of masculinity. The
spiritual warrior, as Hafiz declares, relates to God as a lover. Jesus did that. Calling God “Abba” or intimate Father does that. Interestingly, the Bible on several occasions equates the Messiah as
warrior, for example in a passage from the Book of Wisdom employed in the Christmas Eve liturgy when we are told that a “fierce warrior leaps down from the heavenly throne” to assist humans in trouble. The prophet
too is a warrior for it takes warrior energy to interfere—which is what prophets do–and speak truth to power which is one way of interfering. |
Musical satirist Randy
Rainbow pokes fun at himself as a candidate for the presidential election. | John Congar, a Jungian and Reichian psychologist as well as an Episcopal priest, reminds us that part of dealing with both aggression and shame—which are characteristic issues in recovering a healthy masculinity—is |
to employ humor. The prophet has to learn to laugh at oneself or otherwise can readily fall into zealotry. Jonah in the Bible pokes fun (though unwittingly) at the whole prophet thing. And Cervantes does the same in his story of Don Quixote, so eager to defend his honor to avoid the sting of shame. Quixote becomes a favorite antihero, antiprophet, antiwarrior. |
Adapted from Matthew Fox, The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine, pp. 98-103. Banner Image: The cast of the groundbreaking war comedy, M*A*S*H, which highlighted the dark humor, tragedy, and moral questions of the Korean War during the Vietnam War years. Wikimedia Commons. |
Queries for Contemplation Do you recognize a sad and tender heart in the warrior-prophets you know? And do you recognize humor as well? |
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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______________________________________________________________________________________ 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 and other speakers in the 27th Howard Thurman Convocation and Reception, recognizing the recent designation of The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples as an historical San Francisco landmark, founded by Dr. Howard Thurman and Dr. Alfred Fisk as the nation’s first
interracial, interfaith congregation. Sunday, October 15, 2023, 3:00pm PT. Learn more HERE. Matthew Fox will be featured as the guest speaker at the Creation Spirituality Communities online course, Introduction to Creation Spirituality 6-Week Course, led by Instructor Rev. Mary Reaman. Tuesday, October 17, 4:00 PM 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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