The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers |
The Original Blessing of the Cosmos |
Is the
Cosmos an Original Blessing? I sort of think so. And I also think that every human being should be aware of and convinced of this. |
Because without the cosmos, where would we be? Without the 13.8 billion years of history, where would we be? Who would we be? We would be non-existent. Life, with all its trials and tribulations, but also with all its beauty and grandeur and surprises and ecstasies, would never have been ours to taste. | A graphic of the timeline of evolution, showing where humanity fits into 13.8 billion years of history. Art by DrManyScience based on work by LadyofHats. Wikimedia Commons. |
And, by the way, the 13.8 billion years of the existence of the cosmos not only makes possible our ancestors and our children and grandchildren, but also our cats, dogs, horses and other more-than-human friends, the hills, valleys, mountains, rivers and oceans, the music, poetry, humor, ideas and technologies that instruct us and interact with
us. And all the food we eat and drinks we drink. “All our relations” therefore. |
| No wonder California poet Bill Everson tells us that “most people experience God in nature or experience God not at all.” Sans the universe, none of us would be here to experience God. Or Goddess. No wonder Howard Thurman reminds us: |
It is natural that humans should concern themselves with beginnings. This is a part of the curiosity of the mind. Without it there would be no exploration of the world and there would be no growth.... This is an
inherent characteristic of mind; it is not unique to any particular age of man, culture, or society. Contemplation concerning origins is a part of the curiosity of the race. |
Science is inviting us to the table in whole new ways these days to take delight in our origins. The Webb Telescope is one such invitation. So is the moving news of India landing a device near the moon’s south pole. | The Chandrayaan-3 makes a soft landing. “Chandra” is the Sanskrit word for Moon. Video by CNN. |
Adapted from Matthew Fox, Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality.
And Fox, Christian Mystics: 365 Readings and Meditations, p. 203.
Banner Image: Rwandans celebrating the connection of
humans and nature on World Environment Day, June 5, 2017. Photo by Rwanda Environment Management Authority. Wikimedia Commons. |
Queries for Contemplation Are you taking delight in contemplating the origins of the human race and the universe we live in these days? How do you go about that? How can we spread the news? |
| To view today's video,
please click the image. You will be taken to today's post on the Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox website, where you can see the meditation in a larger version and also view and post your Comments. In the sharing that follows, a kind of community is developing around the DM.
If you can't reach today's post on the website directly, click HERE.
If you can't reach Matthew's video on the website, try his Vimeo channel HERE.
|
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, please click HERE
to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
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 | |
Christian Mystics: 365 Readings & Meditations
As Matthew Fox notes, when an aging Albert Einstein was asked if he had any regrets, he replied, “I wish I had read more of the mystics earlier in my life.” The 365 writings in Christian Mystics represent a wide-ranging sampling of these readings for modern-day seekers of all faiths — or no faith. The
visionaries quoted range from Julian of Norwich to Martin Luther King, Jr., from Thomas Merton to Dorothee Soelle and Thomas Berry.
“Our world is in crisis, and we need road maps that can ground us I wisdom, inspire us to action, and help us gather our talents in service of compassion and justice. This revolutionary book does just that. Matthew Fox takes some of the most profound spiritual
teachings of the West and translates them into practical daily mediations. Study and practice these teachings. Take what’s in this book and teach it to the youth because the new generation cannot afford to suffer the spirit and ethical illiteracy of the past.” — Adam Bucko, spiritual activist and co-founder of the Reciprocity Foundation for Homeless Youth
| |
See Matthew Fox's full calendar
HERE |
Join Matthew Fox and a speaker’s panel for brief Creation Spirituality presentations, music, songs, prayer, and refreshments in a free online and on-site Celebration of Matthew Fox's donation of papers
to the University of Colorado, Boulder. University of Colorado Boulder Libraries – Center for British & Irish Studies – 5th Floor Thursday, September 21, 4:00pm-6:00pm PT RSVP HERE for on-site attendance only. Virtual attendance link will be forthcoming. |
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. | |
Please share this post! Just click the buttons below.
OR share your insights on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #RevDrMatthewFox and tag Matt with @RevDrMatthewFox
|
|
|
|
