The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox |
Hamas and Netanyahu:
Beware
“the Spiral of Violence” 10/12/2023 |
One very real spiritual warrior whom I respect is the late Archbishop of Sao Paolo, Dom Helder Camara. His book, Spiral of Violence, speaks to some of the reality that is happening in Gaza and Israel today. |
The book, written in 1970, is very short and to the point and is dedicated “To the memory of Gandhi and Martin Luther King.” It was written when the military dictatorship of Brazil was ensconced in power and the church was the only institution not directly under its control. |
Christian Palestinian activist Jonathan Kuttab, co-founder of Nonviolence International and Friends of Sabeel of North America, shares his vision for the future of Palestine and Israel. From Beyt Tikkun. |
The dictatorship tortured many priests and lay workers in the church and at one point, among 12,000 political prisoners in prison, the average age was 22 years. “It is a crime to be young today in Brazil” said one study. In his book, Camera
points out that “injustices are a form of violence. One can and must say that they are everywhere the basic violence, violence number 1.” Inhumanity toward others is
the first violence and from that arises the “second violence” which is an uprising, usually from the young. This established violence, this violence No. 1, attracts
violence No. 2, revolt, either of the oppressed themselves or of youth, firmly resolved to battle for a more just and human world. |
May there be peace with justice and mercy. “She Who Hears the Cries of the World.” Music by Matthew Fox’s student Jennifer Berezen, voice of the Star Goddess by Olympia Dukakis. Unanimous. | A third violence arises “when conflict comes out into the streets, when violence No, 2 tries to resist violence No, 1, the authorities consider themselves obliged to preserve or re-establish public order, even if this means using force; this is |
violence No, 3.” It often follows that “the logic of violence leads them to use moral and physical torture” to reestablish order. Violence number 3 is where the media often comes on board and spreads the images of violence and repression. But it is easy to miss the origins of the violence number 3, that is the violence number one, the violence of injustice. |
*Dom Helder Camara, Spiral of
Violence, pp. 18, 29-37.
See Matthew Fox, The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine, pp. 77-104.
And Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and
Society.
Banner Image: Amid the flames and darkness, the questions. Pixabay image by Chenspec, used in Thom Hartmann podcast on the former White House tenant’s likely responsibility for the intel leak enabling the attack. |
Queries for Contemplation How do you apply Camera’s analysis of three spirals of violence to the horrific situation playing out in the Middle East today? |
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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Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society
Visionary theologian and best-selling author
Matthew Fox offers a new theology of evil that fundamentally changes the traditional perception of good and evil and points the way to a more enlightened treatment of ourselves, one another, and all of nature. In comparing the Eastern tradition of the 7 chakras to the Western tradition of the 7 capital sins, Fox allows us to think creatively about our capacity for personal and institutional evil and what we can do about them.
“A scholarly masterpiece embodying a better vision and depth of perception far beyond the grasp of any one single science. A breath-taking analysis.” — Diarmuid O’Murchu, author of Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics |
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______________________________________________________________________________________ UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar HERE Join Matthew Fox, Chief Arvol Looking Horse, Dr. Vandana Shiva, Bill McKibben and others in "FORUM2023 – Earth Democracy: Rights of Nature" hosted by the Temple of Understanding. Thursday, October 12, 7:00am-9:30am PT. Register HERE, free. 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. Register 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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